Dr Katja Heering visited the Care Centre from 9 to 22 March 2012. She describes care assistant Fanelesibonge singing in a ward and joking with an older patient. In the end, both were laughing. Heering also remembers exchanging daily greetings through gestures and smiles when words were not enough.
One Sunday, she joined Father Gerard and a group of children on a trip to the aquarium in Durban. The children marvelled at the sea creatures and particularly enjoyed the dolphin show. For Heering, these encounters showed that life at the Care Centre included companionship and shared experiences alongside nursing care.
The photograph shows the author, Dr Katja Heering, not any of the patients or children described. Source: German newsletter no. 31 (2012), pp. 2–3: www.bsg.org.za/fileadmin/Files_sites/Malteserorden/bbg/privat/rundbrief-31.pdf