The Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) has joined the prestigious list of companies who have funded a Dream Room through the Reach for A
Dream Foundation.
Few days ago, Reach for A Dream opened the Dream Room at the Donald Gordon Paediatric Oncology Ward in Parktown, Johannesburg, which was sponsored by RMHC.
This marks the opening of the first of five rooms which RMHC committed to in August last year with another Johannesburg room earmarked for opening in late 2019. The remaining three rooms will be unveiled nationally, including openings in Cape Town, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal between 2019 – 2020.
The Dream Room at Donald Gordon caters for children of all ages who are fighting different types of cancer. The space offers a safe haven that allows children to be exactly that,children and forget about their illness. Currently, RMHC operates their Ronald McDonald House operating at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital in Parktown, as well as two Ronald McDonald Rooms at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto. The House provides accommodation for families with sick children while they receive critical medical care at the hospital.
“As a committed corporate citizen, RMHC strives to continuously make a positive impact in the communities in which we are based. The opening of this Dream Room is another one of our efforts to provide opportunities for these children to take time out during their challenging times,” said Sphiwe Reginald Skhosana, board chairman of RMHC South Africa. The Reach for A Dream Foundation has committed to bringing 30 Dream Rooms at various hospitals around the country that supply critical care to hospitalized children between the ages of three and 18 years old.
An initiative that was launched in 2018, Dream Rooms are dedicated spaces at hospitals forchildren and their families who are facing life-threatening illnesses and undergoing
treatment. The Dream Room is designed to help families escape an unfamiliar, and often
intimidating, clinical environment to, instead, spend time in a colourful area that inspires delight in the people who visit. Designed as sanctuaries within South African hospitals, these Dream Rooms are spaces where hospitalized children can experience the joy of being a child.
