A project initiated by the second-year nursing students and the staff of the School of Nursing (SON) at the Northwest University Potchefstroom campus is still ongoing after 10 fruitful years.

In 2015 the SON donated and planted lemon trees at eight different clinics around Potchefstroom.

According to Anna-Therese Swart, one of the founders of the project, every year a clinic is celebrated who takes the best care of the lemon trees.

“This year we celebrated Mohadin clinic who cared the best for their lemon trees at a pledge ceremony of the School of Nursing graduates on April 4.

Another initiative that took place on May 13 he second-year nursing students gave health education to the parents/caregivers of children from birth to 5 years about the “sooth the throat” remedy.  Free packages with a teabag, sugar and lemons were handed out to the parents by the nursing students. According to the integrated management of childhood illness (IMCI) guidelines of the Department of Health, warm water or weak tea with sugar/honey and a squeeze of lemon juice will help to soothe the throat and relieve a cough.

“This was the main reason for us to plant the lemon trees at the clinics to provide patients with free lemons to be able to prepare the remedy for use,” Swart said.

The School of Nursing staff, Mrs Cheryl Jordaan and Mrs Anna-Therese Swart who founded this lemon tree project and Mrs. Stephani Botha who initiated the idea of handing out free packages with lemons thanked the staff of the clinics of the Department of Health and the NWU nursing students for their positive attitude towards this project.