Child patients to benefit from another Dream Room at Steve Biko Hospital
Each Dream Room is equipped with games, books and toys to create a safe space for child patients at the clinic. The new room brings the total number of Dream Rooms across the country to 58.
The Reach For A Dream Foundation has unveiled a new Dream Room at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital’s Paediatric Clinic in partnership with Medtronic.
The addition brings the total number of Dream Rooms across the country to 58, creating spaces where children awaiting treatment can find comfort and relaxation during their clinic visits.
Equipped with interactive games, books, toys, and virtual reality experiences, these spaces provide much-needed relief from the clinical setting, allowing children to engage in imaginative play, social interaction, and creative exploration.
Each Dream Room is facilitated by psychology graduates trained in Early Childhood Development (ECD), ensuring that children receive guided support through carefully curated activities.
These trained professionals help young patients reach their developmental milestones while fostering resilience and emotional well-being during their visits to the clinic.
“We’re grateful to Medtronic for partnering with us in transforming this clinic into a space that brings children joy and healing, safety and care while receiving treatment. The educational books, toys and activities guided by our interns will help make the nurses and doctors’ jobs easier,” said the foundation’s Head of Operations, Chloe Katompa.
Nazley Bayat, Medtronic’s HR Manager, added: “Reach For A Dream’s purpose aligns closely with Medtronic’s: we aim to restore health, alleviate pain and extend life. This Dream Room allows us to do that for children in the hospital and gives them a chance to be children.
“These children are sometimes so afraid when they come here because they’re not familiar with the environment, they’re far from home, so this is why this space matters so much. It’s a space to play, to imagine, to smile and for even just a moment, just be a kid,” Bayat said.
Bayat thanked the Steve Biko Academic Hospital and Reach For A Dream teams “for helping us make this a reality”.
Gauteng’s MEC for Health, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, said they hope to continue partnering with the foundation, as their work is a shining light for kids provincially and nationwide.
“Reach For A Dream does important work for our children. Their impact is seen in hospitals across the province and country at large. We hope the foundation continues to grow and make more dreams come true,” Nkomo-Ralehoko said.
“It’s a beautiful space where you feel that even if your child is not well, as a parent, you have that assurance that your child is in a proper space, a welcoming space, that makes them feel comfortable while they wait for treatment.”
The MEC added that speaking to staff, a lot of the kids never want to leave the rooms, and it goes a long way in reshaping how hospitals and doctors appear to children.
The foundation said it’s committed to expanding this initiative, creating safe and inspiring spaces that help children believe in a brighter future.
They hope that the Dream Rooms continue to be places of joy, imagination, and resilience, where healing becomes a positive and transformative journey for children and their families.
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