GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - At the recent AGM of the Camdeboo Hospice, outgoing Chairman Brian Hough gave the dire warning that, without some major new financial backing, the organisation may not be able to continue to offer services to the local community.
Funding proposals submitted to various corporate bodies have been met with very little success. In the past year, funding came from the EC Department of Health (DOH), the National Lottery Commission (NLC) and the Foundation for Professional Development (FPD).
The DOH funding will be depleted at the end of June 2019. The NLC grant covers some of these expenses but this source will come to an end in December 2019.
On-going projects such as Friends of Hospice subscriptions, honey, book, jumble and cake sales and Message in a Bottle continued throughout the year, while events such as the Cabaret and Art Auction, Hike and Hobble and the White Elephant stall helped to cover general running costs.
All those who volunteered their time and expertise, and well as made financial contributions and supported the fundraisers, were thanked.
Camdeboo Hospice currently has 24 paid staff members, spread between the office, the patient care programme, and the HIV Testing and Counselling Services Programme.
There are 185 registered patients, with a cost to the organisation of approximately R900 per patient each month.
This means that almost R2-million is needed for the year. The vast majority of these patients are in Graaff-Reinet, with a small number in each of Aberdeen, Jansenville and Klipplaat.
At the meeting, Gerald Buisman, Yvonne Drummond, Brian Hough, Marcia Kalebe, David Lancaster, Val Loock, Eira Maasdorp and Lee Visser were all re-elected to serve on the board for the next financial year, with Sharon Shell welcomed as a new member.
The guest speaker for the meeting was Marcia Kalebe, a former employee of Hospice Palliative Care Association and currently a member of the board.
She gave an informative talk on palliative care, stressing that the essence of palliative care is the relief of suffering and not end-of-life care. The goal of palliative care is to provide quality of life and dignity in death.
At the first full meeting of the Board on 24 June, the following were elected to executive positions: Brian Hough will continue as chairman, with Gerald Buisman as his deputy. Lee Visser was elected as treasurer, with Yvonne Drummond as secretary.
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