This Mandela Day, we invite you to help us continue creating miracles — quiet, brave ones that unfold every day at St Joseph’s.

Behind each child’s recovery is a journey of resilience, expert care, and deep compassion — and behind that is someone like you.

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Take Angel, for example.

She arrived in 2021 with a tracheostomy and feeding tube, withdrawn and silent. Through multidisciplinary care, including innovative therapies like hydrotherapy to stimulate speech, Angel began to heal. Today, she eats on her own, speaks in two-word sentences, and laughs freely. Every whispered word is a reminder of what your support makes possible.

This July, through our 9 Zero Challenge, we’re spotlighting nine urgent needs in our care environment. One of the most basic — yet critical — is nappies.

 

How you can help
Donate medium, large, or extra-large nappies by dropping them off at our reception.
Order online and deliver to:
St Joseph’s Intermediate Paediatric Care, 40 Pallotti, Montana, Cape Town, 7490
Questions? Reach out: 021 934 0352 or development@stjosephsipc.org.za

“Mandela Day is a reminder that small actions can change lives. At St Joseph’s, we see it every day — in every child who takes their first step, says their first word, or learns to trust again. Your support helps make those moments possible.”
— Christelle Cornelius, CEO

This Mandela Day, let your 67 minutes help children like Angel take their next brave step.
Together, let’s keep the miracles going.

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A Day in the Life of a Child with a Life-Limiting Condition

Life for a medically fragile child is far from ordinary. It’s often exhausting, sometimes painful, and always filled with courage.

At St Joseph’s, a typical day begins with careful monitoring — temperature checks, blood sugar readings, oxygen levels, medication schedules, and sometimes hospital visits for follow-up procedures. Children with diabetes have their fingers pricked several times a day. Those with chronic conditions swallow handfuls of pills and endure treatments that are difficult for even adults to bear.

And through it all, many are far from their families, missing the comfort of home.

Children living with life-limiting illnesses face not only physical symptoms and side effects from treatment, but also the emotional weight of isolation. Research shows these children are more likely to develop social and emotional challenges than their peers.

But there is hope.
Children are remarkably resilient, and here at St Joseph’s, we witness that every day.

At the end of June 2025, we discharged 14 young patients who had spent between 88 and 2,494 days in our care. These children battled everything from HIV and TB to malnutrition, neurological conditions, trauma from accidents or brain injury, and more. Watching them walk out healthier, stronger, and smiling again is our greatest reward.

Every moment of comfort, every step forward, every miracle is made possible through your support.

Regular monthly giving has never been more important. It helps the organisation plan more effectively, reach further, and—critically—ensure that no child is turned away because of a lack of funds.

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St Joseph’s is a registered non-profit organisation and approved as a public benefit organisation (PBO) under Section 18A of the Income Tax Act in South Africa. Donors will receive a Section 18a Tax Certificate. NPO 002/908 and PBO 130000399. VAT Reg. No. 4840113866.

Thanks to our partnership with the Chapel & York Family of Foundations in the Netherlands, Canada, and the United Kingdom, those who give to St Joseph’s from these countries can now enjoy tax benefits. You can find more details here

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This Mandela Month, help us give dignity, care, and joy to South Africa’s most vulnerable children.
Be a part of their story.

“Mandela Day is a reminder that small actions can change lives. At St Joseph’s, we see it every day — in every child who takes their first step, says their first word, or learns to trust again. Your support helps make those moments possible.”