The Health Care Centre at Living Hope, a faith-based non-profit, is a place where miracles happen, according to its manager, Sister Margaret Roberts.

She spoke at the centre’s 20th-anniversary celebration on Friday November 29, recalling how those who could not walk, walked out of the centre, those who could not see regained their sight, and those who were critically ill were healed.

Reverend John Thomas, former director of Living Hope, reflected on the centre’s origins and said that while the centre had celebrated its anniversary on Wednesday November 27, they had chosen to hold the celebration a day before World Aids Day, on December 1, as it reflected on the origin of the centre.

Living Hope was established in 2000, and offered a range of community services. In 2002, the organisation started with home-based care and had three carers in its employ.

Reverend Thomas said it was a time when the False Bay Hospital had been overwhelmed by HIV/Aids patients and patients had to be "hot bedded", meaning those showing slight improvement were sent home prematurely to free up space for critically ill patients waiting on stretchers in the hospital’s hallways.

He said one of the home carers had, in her own time, visited a discharged patient on a cold rainy August morning and found the woman to be critically ill. The carer had paid for a taxi to transport her and the woman back to False Bay Hospital.

“While our carer was checking her in, this patient lay down on the floor at the entrance to False Bay Hospital and died,” said an emotional Reverend Thomas.

After extensive planning and fund-raising, the hospice building was completed in November 2004. An article in the False Bay Echo described the facility as a "pristine state-of-the-art step-down facility with 20 beds" (Health MEC opens R3m 'flagship' Aids hospice, Echo, November 9, 2004).

Reverend Thomas said the opening ceremony had been led by the then Health MEC Pierre Uys.

“We trusted God for the money to be in the bank by the time we needed to pay the builder, and that's what happened,” Reverend Thomas said.

As the HIV/Aids crisis began to subside, the centre expanded its services to care for other patients.

Today, the facility functions as a transitional care centre with 22 beds, bridging the gap between hospital and home, and two of these beds are available for medical aid patients.

The centre’s former clinical coordinator, Sister Sybil Fourie, who retired in 2021, said the centre had been “cultivated” and a lot of seeds had been sown to harvest the fruits of today.

She wished the centre well for the next 20 years and said: “I praise God that I was part of the sowing and cultivating and now the harvesting.”

The event concluded with cake, tea and coffee.

According to Living Hope’s 2024 annual report, the centre served 257 patients this year with 170 125 interventions - a measure of every time something is done to make a positive impact on a patient such as home visits, wound dressing and distributing chronic medication.

Visit livinghope.co.za to find out more about the organisation.

Some of the staff who have been there from the centre’s inception, from left, are patient care coordinator Yvonee Smart, general assistant Azasakhe Mana and centre carer Nolifa Mokson.

Reverend John Thomas, former director of Living Hope, reflecting on the centre’s origins.

Living Hope’s centre manager, Sister Margaret Roberts, cutting the anniversary cake.

Living Hope’s centre manager, Sister Margaret Roberts, showing visitors the health-care facilities.

Beds in the Living Hope Health Care Centre have knitted blankets.

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