Children recovering in Gauteng’s public hospitals will soon have access to portable desks designed to help them continue learning from their hospital beds, as 110 MiDesks are rolled out to paediatric wards across the province.
For many children spending weeks or even months in hospital, staying on track with schoolwork becomes almost impossible as treatments, overcrowded wards and limited learning space disrupt their education.
Now, a partnership between MiDesk Global and Belgian supporter ADS Insight hopes to help change that after 110 portable MiDesks were handed over to hospitals across Gauteng, with the official launch taking place at Steve Biko Academic Hospital on Tuesday.
The desks will be distributed to Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Charlotte Maxeke Hospital, Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital, Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital, Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital, Sebokeng Hospital and Klerksdorp Hospital.
The initiative was inspired by a moment witnessed by Steve Biko Academic Hospital’s head of Paediatric and Child Health clinical unit, Professor Jeané Cloete, who saw a young girl using a MiDesk to complete homework while waiting for hours at a rural clinic.
