Volunteers help at State Hospital

MAGRETH Bennett last year visited an elderly man in the Katutura State Hospital and found him lying on a rickety bed in a ward with dirty walls and floors and an unbearable smell.

Her first thought was: “Why does nobody do anything about these inhumane conditions?” Her second thought was: “Why don’t you do something?” This was the start of the Pukumani Trust. Volunteers from different churches, doctors’ offices and schools gather every first Saturday of the month at the hospital to scrub, clean and paint ward after ward.The fifth floor has been completed and work has now started on the sixth floor.After a thorough cleaning, the furniture is repaired and new curtains are hanged.Magreth and her team of volunteers also talk to the hospital cleaners and other staff about the importance of hygiene and a clean and friendly environment for the sick.Last Saturday about 50 volunteers showed up at the hospital and according to Magreth this number is increasing every month.People who visit patients the hospital see the change and either return to help or stay and jump in.In January there will be no work done, but from then on people who would like to help are welcome to go to the Katutura State Hospital on every first Saturday of the month.According to Bennett, the response from the public has been overwhelming – not only from the volunteers but also from the business community.”Every time the trust has run out of money we receive another donation, either monetary or goods, so we can carry on, but there is still a lot to be done,” she says.Volunteers from different churches, doctors’ offices and schools gather every first Saturday of the month at the hospital to scrub, clean and paint ward after ward.The fifth floor has been completed and work has now started on the sixth floor.After a thorough cleaning, the furniture is repaired and new curtains are hanged.Magreth and her team of volunteers also talk to the hospital cleaners and other staff about the importance of hygiene and a clean and friendly environment for the sick.Last Saturday about 50 volunteers showed up at the hospital and according to Magreth this number is increasing every month.People who visit patients the hospital see the change and either return to help or stay and jump in.In January there will be no work done, but from then on people who would like to help are welcome to go to the Katutura State Hospital on every first Saturday of the month.According to Bennett, the response from the public has been overwhelming – not only from the volunteers but also from the business community.”Every time the trust has run out of money we receive another donation, either monetary or goods, so we can carry on, but there is still a lot to be done,” she says.