Roanoke, AL – Compassus recently sent a team of 12 volunteers, including volunteer coordinator Cynthia Bonner of Roanoke, to assist Living Hope, the company’s sister hospice program in Cape Town, South Africa. The Compassus interdisciplinary team, which included physicians, registered nurses, a hospice aide, social worker, bereavement coordinator, chaplain and a corporate colleague, spent a week in Cape Town working side-by-side with Living Hope clinicians.
“The amazing trip to Cape Town gave our team the opportunity to help others in multiple settings: an after-school program, small hospital, infectious disease clinic and in the local communities,” said Bonner. “After spending time in South Africa, my world view is forever changed.”
Through a partnership started in 2011, Compassus donates monetary aid, medical supplies and health care expertise to support Living Hope’s health care and hospice services in the impoverished township communities of Cape Town. Compassus matches voluntary employee donations to the dollar every year, and last year raised more than $73,000 for the ministry-based nonprofit.
“I witnessed many ways the community cares for its members,” continued Bonner. “Because of Cape Town’s poverty, many newborns are abandoned outside. A local church manages a baby box where mothers can leave infants if they can’t provide care. In another instance, I saw an elderly woman caring for 11 children in a make-shift home with only two beds. Though the community is underprivileged, the residents care for one another like family. My heart goes out to them and I am honored to have been able to visit and offer support.”
Living Hope offers health care services, counseling and education to more than 200,000 underprivileged residents in Cape Town. Its programs focus on improving general health and hospice care, HIV/AIDS treatment and prevention, and economic empowerment. Living Hope provides health care for more than 36,000 South Africans annually through in-home visits, medical clinics and a 22-bed inpatient hospice center.
“Compassus has a calling to deliver compassionate care not only in our local communities but around the world. Serving alongside Living Hope allows us the opportunity to live out this higher purpose,” said Deanna Hall, executive director for Compassus – Roanoke. “We are proud of our team and the work they do for the people of South Africa and hope it inspires others to join the effort to advance the well-being of those facing life-limiting illnesses.”
For more information about Compassu, visit our Roanoke, Alabama page or call (334) 863-4984
