Volunteering: a tool for social improvement

Sarah Fox is one of South Africa's children's hospitals. Located in Cape Town, it specializes in the care of children with tuberculosis, asthma, malnutrition and AIDS. Univates Pharmacy student Uliana Liége Deves decided to experience this situation closely and put herself in the place of the other in a process of empathy. During a month, from Monday to Friday, the student from Arroio do Meio carried out volunteer activities with hospital professionals, assisting in the separation of medication, playing games and caring for the children.

"The families of those children do not usually visit them. It is very sad. There are little kids who have been there for a year without anyone going to see them”, she says. She reports that, although most do not know how to speak, some children called her mother. Uliana points out that the experience was rewarding and contributed to her inner and even professional growth. "Through them I was able to find new ways to feel and see others. Volunteering is rewarding. I would like everyone to go through this”, she says.

Although the covenant was not made through the university, the student reports that the course was directly related by the way it is thought and presented to Univates students. "The exchange was a time to experience all the concepts worked in the classroom by teachers. As my area of ​​work is health, volunteering served, mainly, to have greater awareness of the other. This is an opportunity to enter the job market with a vision and learning that will make a difference" she affirms.

You can help too

Upon returning to Brazil, the now former Sarah Fox Hospital volunteers are raising money for the purchase of teaching materials that will aid in the learning of children. "Many do not know how to speak, consequently, neither to read nor to write. A part of them will participate in a music therapy project that is inactive due to lack of resources. The amount collected will be sent monthly to the professionals involved", explains Uliana.

Donations are only in cash and can be made here.

Text: Ana Amélia Ritt

Translation: Makeli Aldrovandi