CHARITY organisation, Just Breathe Initiative, is making a difference in the lives of Red Cross Children’s Hospital staff.
The organisation, based in Cape Town, was established by East London’s, Daniel Weber who was prompted to set up the organisation after losing his son, Connor, in a drowning incident at their home on December 4 2017.
The purpose of the organisation is to raise money for the benefit of the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.
“Just Breathe Initiative was established by me and a few dedicated friends to give back to the amazing institution and people that tried so hard to save Connor’s life,” Weber said.
“Through the development and implementation of various initiatives and programmes, we also aim to raise awareness on water safety and provide support for the hospital and the staff.”
On Monday December 4 2017, Connor fell into a bin which the family was using to capture water following the drought in Cape Town. His family managed to briefly resuscitate him before taking him to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.
“The next five days were a horrible roller-coaster of emotions, but one thing remained constant and that was the amazing medical treatment Connor received and the compassion and care we as a family received from the hospital staff,” the grieving father said.
“Connor sadly passed away on Saturday December 9 2017 and would have turned two this year,” he added. on February 17,” explained Weber.
Weber said that, following the passing of his son, he could not stop thinking of some of the things they saw, and the knowledge gained from chatting to staff as well as fellow parents.
“I felt compelled to give back and to try help in any way I could, and started thinking of how we could do this. Let me put it into perspective – [Red Cross] staff often work 30-hour shifts and yet they never once blew us off when we asked the same question 20 times. They cried with us, prayed with us, and treated Connor as if he was the only child in the ward.”
“On the Friday night before Connor passed away, I watched in amazement as one of the nurses sang to a small baby the entire night. When I finally went to get some sleep at 3am, she was still softly singing to the baby,” Weber said.
In honour of Connor, on February 17, the Nahoon Round Table hosted a Portuguese Evening at the Portuguese Club in East London. They raised an amount of R26,547.75 which was then donated to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.
“People can visit our site at www.justbreathe.site and go to the “donate” page and also find us on Facebook to keep up to date with us,” Weber said.with what is going on with us,” concluded Weber.
