Thousands offer to help repaint hospital

ADVENTURER and fundraiser Greg Bertish has set his sights on giving the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital a facelift.

Bertish posted his idea on Facebook on Monday night, and since then has been inundated with offers of assistance and donations. His post has been shared 2 000 times.

The most recent adventure of Bertish, who owns his own business, was sailing an Optimist, an 8ft children’s sailing dinghy, single-handed across False Bay, around Cape Point to Langebaan Lagoon.

He raised nearly 
R300 000 for the Children’s Hospital Trust, of which he is an ambassador.

Next month, the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital will celebrate its 60th anniversary. And while, as Bertish says, a lot has been done inside the hospital, it has a foreboding exterior and he says it would be great if the building could be painted a more welcoming colour.

This, he says, will help put the little patients and their parents at ease.

He is busy writing a proposal to the hospital’s management. His next hurdle will be to the department of health, which owns the building.

Bertish came up with the idea a few days ago.

“I was at the hospital a week ago, shooting a documentary with the hospital trust, and when I left I realised how intimidating it looked. So I came up with this harebrained scheme, to get it painted by November 11,” he said.

Yesterday afternoon he was still going through hundreds of e-mails and messages, with people pledging equipment, their time and money.

“Some of the messages have come from across the world, a testament to how special the hospital truly is,” he said.

The Children’s Hospital Trust has raised millions of rand for the hospital, which has gone to upgrading facilities. The most recent fundraising drive was to raise R10 million towards a R100m expansion and upgrade of the paediatric ICU.

Children’s Hospital Trust spokesperson Tammy Sutherns said Bertish is putting together a proposal which will go to the hospital’s management for consideration.

Bertish said yesterday that anyone who would like to contribute can do so via www.thelittleoptimist.org.

lynette.johns@inl.co.za