City youths volunteer at state hospitals for a day

By Chanel September
6 June 2007

As part of the June month Youth Service programme young people from across Cape Town were deployed to assist with service work at their local hospitals.

Approximately 283 young people formed part of the programme on Wednesday to help lend a hand to the health care workers who are currently under pressure, due to skeleton staff at many state hospitals in the city since the national civil servants strike.

Under the theme “Deepening youth participation in development through service”, young people were based in different hospitals at 15 key area’s within the metro.

The 15 key area's consisted of the following hospitals: Mitchells Plain, Khayelithsha, Hanover Park, Elsies River, Delft, Gugulethu, Micheal Mapongwana, Inzame Zabantu, Vanguard, Somerset Hospital, Mowbray, Eben Donges, GF Jooste, Red Cross, Groote Schuur and Tygerberg.

“From the word go the young people have been very excited to provide the service, particularly to service the communities they come from”, says spokesperson from the Commission Nathi Nomatiti.

“The services that these volunteers offered was highly appreciated by the communities in the Western Cape and will contribute to the well-functioning of public health facilities in the province”, says MEC for Health in the province Pierre Uys.