The facility has been named after Shaikha Al Jalila bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, daughter of Shaikh Mohammed and Princess Haya.

Princess Haya toured the facility, accompanied by Albertina ‘Mama’ Sisulu.

Operating from the Netcare Sunninghill Hospital in Sandton, near Johannesburg, the WSPCCA is a charity that facilitates life-saving heart surgery for under-privileged children from 
across Africa.

Princess Haya’s involvement with the WSPCCA began in April 2008, when she first visited the centre as part of a legacy tour with Nelson Mandela to raise awareness of paediatric cardiac health in Africa.

Carrying forward her mother, Queen Alia’s legacy of caring for the most vulnerable in society, particularly women and children, Princess Haya this year became Global Patron of the charity and, this summer, embarked on a fact-finding tour to visit children’s hospitals across Europe to increase awareness and promote research, investment and training in the field of paediatric 
cardiology.

The aim of the fact-finding tour was also to assist with the development of the Al Jalila Children’s Speciality Hospital in Dubai, which will be the first dedicated children’s hospital in the United Arab Emirates.

The Shaikha Al Jalila House will serve as short-term accommodation for children who need post-discharge care, allowing them and their families to be close to the centre to receive outpatient care as and when required.

With the vast majority of patients coming from poverty-stricken areas in Africa and unable to afford the high cost of accommodation and transportation, the House will provide housing for parents to stay comfortably while their children undergo the process of life-saving surgery and post-operative care and observation. The House previously belonged to Dr. Ajay Maharaj, a neurosurgeon at the Netcare Sunninghill Hospital, who reserved it for the WSPCCA until adequate funding could be raised to purchase the property.

“We could not be more blessed,” said Lynda Bleazard, CEO of the WSPCCA. “The House is the perfect size and is in the perfect location for our patients and their parents. Where we could previously only accommodate four people at the hospital, we now have space for up to 14 patients and parents at a time. It’s going to save us so much in transport and accommodation costs, which means that we can redirect funding into paying for more surgeries rather than operational costs.” But a house is nothing without its furnishings and this is where the WSPCCA’s partners and friends have come out in huge support of the charity – donating furniture, appliances, garden services, plants, decorations, paint and consumables to ensure that the house becomes a home.

“We’d like to transform the place into a skills development hub as well, where volunteers can teach parents various skills while they are staying in the house and while their children go about leading normal lives as they play in the garden, before they head back to their countries,” added  Bleazard. —