Upgrading kitchen facilities in a home for chronically ill children

St Joseph’s Home strives to provide sustainable, relevant and high quality care to underprivileged children, who are medically fragile and disabled.

OVERVIEW

The Home was established in 1935, and started off caring for ten children with bone diseases and malnutrition. Today St Josephs cares for upward of 145 children who suffer from cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, organ failures, injuries resulting from accidents and other long-term chronic ailments.

The Home has been on its current site since the 1960s, and many of the buildings and facilities have not been upgraded since then. Recently, the Department of Health informed the Home that their kitchen no longer satisfied the Department’s requirements, and informed them that they would have to replace or upgrade the kitchen’s preparation surfaces and extractor hood to comply with new regulations.

WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT THIS PROJECT

These ill children have compromised immune systems, and are particularly vulnerable to disease and infection. An upgraded kitchen will minimise to danger posed to these children.

EXPECTED LIFE CHANGE

An investment of R61,482 will pay for the purchase and installation of the necessary stainless steel fittings. At any given time over 125 children are resident at St Joseph’s, and over the course of 2008, 431 children were admitted to the Home. Cost per life change is R142 per child.

NEED

Hundreds of children suffering from a range of chronic and debilitating ailments benefit from the services St Joseph’s Home provides. The care provided by the home provides some measure of relief to the families of these children, who also benefit from the support services offered by the Home. In addition, taking on the burden of chronically ill children frees up valuable space and resources in hospitals, enabling them to focus on patients in urgent need of care.

The children resident at St Joseph’s are particularly vulnerable to infections and the spread of diseases, and so it is of vital importance that all of their facilities meet the requirements set out by the department of health. Investing in improved facilities in the Home’s kitchen, will help protect the health of all the children at the home for many years to come.

ACTION PLAN

Preparation

Quotes have been received and a reliable supplier identified.

Implementation

Upon receiving funds, the following steps will be followed:

• Supply and fit stainless steel canopy
• Supply and fit stainless steel worktop
• Supply and fit stainless steel driptray

The installation will take three weeks to complete

Monitoring and Evaluation

• The Home will monitor the installation of the new fittings.
• The quality and workmanship of all work must be approved by the Home.
• The new facilities will be evaluated against the criteria set by the Department of Health.

ORGANISATION ASSESSMENT

St Joseph’s has a long history of providing for chronically ill children in the Western Cape. The range of services offered by the home is excellent, and is evidence of an understanding for the need of a holistic intervention in the lives of the children in its care.

The organisation is well supported by a mix of local and international donors from all sectors, though it does rely heavily on the Department of Health for funding. The recent addition of a fundraising manager has enabled the Home to secure funding to meet some of the needs laid out in its strategic planning document.

RISK PROFILE

Key Strengths

• Concept: This simple replacement of outdated equipment will provide a healthier environment for chronically ill children.
• Design: Most of the Home’s funds are used on children in their care. This project
• Capability: The organisation has identified a supplier who has produced high quality work for the Home in the past.
• Sustainability: The new stainless steel surfaces are designed to last, and will provide future patients at St Josephs with a suitable facility for many years to come

Key Risks - Low

• The project uses an external contractor. This makes it somewhat vulnerable to changes in prices and timelines. The Home has, however, used this particular contractor before and has only had favourable experiences.