Cape Town - The new La Maison de Christoff Holistic Health Centre will enrich the greater Delft area, with increased access to a relevant model of holistic and preventative care services.
The new centre was opened on Thursday, at The Nex Indawo Yethu complex, by local charity organisation Hope Cape Town Association and Trust.
The flexible model of care, employed at La Maison de Christoph, was informed by the latest scientific and policy guidelines, like Ecological Life Course Health and Nurturing Care Frameworks, and was expected to grow and develop, through strong collaboration with the community in it’s holistic approach.
Hope Cape Town Association and Trust spokesperson Shelly Stamatiadis said the centre was funded by the Bippop Foundation in Europe, and would focus on providing services for the elderly, men, women, and children, with a special focus on prevention, lifestyle, and mental health – while building on their previous work addressing HIV.
Stamatiadis said: “In addition, caregiver-child clinics will promote responsive caregiving, and provide caregiver support and care. The facility will also aim to provide support services for vulnerable groups, like adolescent mothers and children with disabilities,” said Stamatiadis.
The provincial Health Department will be supporting this new centre and its services such as occupational therapy, antenatal care during pregnancy, and child health, through an integrated approach with the organisation.
Metro Health Services chief director Giovanni Perez commended the supported-self management facility by Hope Cape Town Association and Trust, and said the initial intention was to use this as a vaccination centre but, in the longer term, it would be used to assist with various health-related activities, in partnership with Hope Cape Town Association and Trust.
“We need to look at more integrated spaces, driven and owned by the community, and then supported by government, rather than the community just being passive recipients,” said Perez.
Bippop foundation representative and Trustee Martin Hörnig was essential in establishing the new centre and said he was passionate about enriching South Africa and it’s communities after the death of his brother Christoph, who the centre was named after and was a frequent visitor to Cape Town.
Hope Cape Town Association and Trust operations manager Marlene Whitehead said the opening was an emotional day for the organisation because Hörnig has been a trustee of Hope Cape Town Association and Trust for many years, and had gone the extra mile to assist the organisation with securing funding for this health centre.
Stamatiadis said services would open to the general public at the beginning of November, but health and wellness courses for community health care workers, and early childhood development (ECD) workshops, had already commenced.
kristin.engel@inl.co.za