Events

Beating TB with Ballet (2017/8)

Joburg Ballet performed to three packed houses on Friday evening 5 May 2017 and the morning and afternoon of Saturday 6 May 2017 in the Onrus River Dutch Reformed Church. The audiences were treated to ballet in the round, with the dancers performing in close proximity, as opposed to the usual stage setting.

On Wednesday 3 May a large number of aspirant ballerinas from Hermanus and surrounding towns, as well as many balletomanes, had the privilege of attending a master class, watching artistic director Iain MacDonald putting the dancers through their paces. Afterwards he graciously interacted with young ballet students who put their best foot forward.

On Thursday more than a hundred learners from schools in Zwelihle, Hawston and Mount Pleasant  attended the company’s dress rehearsal. This outreach programme exposed not only these youngsters, but also local pensioners, who would otherwise not have had the opportunity of attending a show like this, to this exquisite art form, performed by a world-class company.

Proceeds of this fundraiser helped to enable SANTA Hermanus to continue its work in combating tuberculosis (TB), a disease that is rife in the Overstrand causes the death of people every month.

SANTA Chairman Sue Holmes thanked the community for its overwhelming support, not only by attending the concerts, but also through generous sponsorships.

TB can affect more than your lungs

Tuberculosis (TB) commonly presents as a disease of the lungs. However, the infection can spread to all organs in the body. This means that you can develop TB in the brain, bones, the urinary tract and sexual organs, the intestines and even in the skin. Tuberculous meningitis is sometimes seen in newly infected children.

These were some of the facts that Dr Naas van der Westhuizen shared with people who attended SANTA’s (South African National Tuberculosis Association) awareness function on Wednesday, 7 November 2017, in the Overstrand Auditorium Banqueting Hall.

“This session to educate the people of Hermanus about TB has been the realisation of a dream of Pat van Schoor, my predecessor as chairman”, said SANTA chairman Sue Holmes. “We are pleased that some 100 people attended the morning tea, because everyone in Hermanus is at risk of developing TB, since an estimated 80% of inhabitants in the Western Cape carry the TB bacteria. It is therefore important that people know how easily this airborne disease can spread. If a TB infected person, who is not on treatment, talks, sings, coughs or sneezes the bacteria are spread. Anybody in the vicinity can then develop TB, even after months or years, as long as 20 to 30 years later.”

Dr Van der Westhuizen pointed out that it is also important the people know that, once people are on treatment they are no longer contagious. It is equally important that people take their TB medication religiously for at least six months. This is is where employers can play an important role by actuality administering the drugs.