Elim Hospital receives another huge donation from Swiss Government

Date: 26 June 2014 By: Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Elim Hospital received medical equipment worth thousands of rands from the Swiss embassy last Saturday.

The equipment included electrical beds, examination tables, a radiology screen, filing cabinets, a neonatal intensive care unit ventilator and infared lamps.

Switzerland's ambassador, Mr Christian Meuwly, said that his office understood the importance of maintaining their activities with and continuing to give support to the hospital. The hospital was established by a Swiss missionary, Dr Georges-Louis Liengme, in 1899.

“Our solidarity with the hospital will help patients to get medical treatment and attention in a way that will benefit society more,” said Meuwly. The relationship between the Swiss embassy and the hospital has seen the hospital receive a donation of medical equipment to the value of R1.4 million in the past two years.

The MEC for Sports, Art and Culture, Ms Nandi Ndelane, said that the department was grateful for the donation. “We are more confident than ever that we are moving South Africa forward,” she said. “Giving the gift of medical equipments to a health facility is simply a life-saving gesture to somebody you don't know. It is considered the highest form of selfless behaviour.”

Ndelane added that the embassy's noble gesture would surely change people's lives when they visited the hospital.

The mayor of the Vhembe District Municipality, Cllr Tshitereke Matibe, indicated that the municipality had always had a good relationship with the Department of Health. “In cases where any of our hospitals experience a lack of water, the MEC can make submissions to our office, so that we can drill a borehole to make sure that the lives of our people are not compromised,” he said. “We also thank the Swiss Embassy for such a kind gesture of making donations to our hospital.”

The partner in the donation project, MediClinic, became involved in the transportation of the equipment to South Africa from Switzerland. “We will also service and install the equipment at the hospital,” said Mr Zane Fanie, CEO at the MediClinic Tzaneen. “I trust that our small contribution will help the doctors and staff of the Elim hospital to further enhance the quality of life of patients and the greater community.”

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Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

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The old building was declared a museum. The Swiss ambassador, Mr Christian Meuwly.