ABOUT US – LemonTreeKids

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Who we are

Lemon Tree Kids is a Non-Profit Company Under Section 21, Reg: 2012/004342/08 | PBO: 930043711

After being involved with the Paediatric Oncology Units in Pretoria since December 2009, we came to the realisation that these children are very special. Since then we have been committed to helping these children with cancer and to get them the best medical treatment available in a warm, comfortable environment.

We strive to do this through various projects and taking hands with the public to make a change. Lets face it, we cannot do this on our own!

We have a clear set of goals we are trying to achieve

To transform all rooms / wards in the units into “FANTASY WORLDS”. We want every child to feel it is their home away from home.
To improve the rooms and equipment to ensure the best Medical Care for all children with cancer.
To ensure the personnel have all the essential equipment available to offer the best possible care.
To support the children’s needs with regard to groceries, toiletries & essential clothing in an effort to improve food security while making the children more comfortable.
To support research initiatives to improve the survival of all children with cancer.
To support individual children with special needs if motivated by Paediatric Oncologist

Adopt a Room

With the permission of the Steve Biko Academic Hospital, the Paediatric Oncology Unit has started to transform each room into a fantasy world, so that our patients will feel at home and less scared to be in a hospital, often for long periods without their families. The project and its ongoing maintenance, is done independently Lemon-Tree-Kids NPC and completely privately funded. We have made some drastic improvements across communal bedrooms, treatment rooms and even the classroom over the years with amazing lemonade-makers, but the maintenance and upgrades remain a constant. Transforming a child’s environment in a positive and imaginative way, has been instrumental in the recovery of our patients.

Blades-4-Buddies

At the Paediatric Oncology Unit we regularly treat kids with Osteosarcoma (bone cancer). The reality exists that in a Government Hospital, there’s a very long waiting list for prostheses and some who were fortunate to receive prostheses never wore them, due to extreme discomfort.

We would love to help more kids that have had an amputation to receive prosthetic blades and assistance to walk, run and jump again!

Food Parcels

Most of our children come from poor socio-economic circumstances rooted in a food insecurity, which contributes to malnourishment. If patients are malnourished at the time of diagnosis, they usually struggle with tolerance of chemotherapy treatment, making them even more susceptible to infection. This may cause delays in their treatment and affects recovery. We try to send patients that are well and strong enough, home for a while, but often they return to a shortage of food… With the aid of our dietician we assist our patients to maintain better health at home through food parcels and adjusted eating plans. We have subsequently seen rapid improvements in their nutritional status when returning from home. Our Food Parcel Project ensures these kids can maintain nutritional balance upon their discharge.

The Paediatric Oncology Unit at Steve Biko Academic Hospital offers treatment to children with cancer from Gauteng, Mpumalanga and some from Limpopo. As part of a government hospital our resources are very limited, but our hearts and our dreams are big! We trully believe that when life gives you lemons – and it happens so often and has no age restriction – one should lift your head, reach for help and make some leomade! Giving hope is as much part of the journey towards recovery and finding your place in the world. That is how Lemontree Kids came about and with our successful projects we have made lots of lemonade that changed many kids’ lives and saw many lemonade makers rise up with us.