Medical staff, together with their friends and supporters, raised more than R250,000 at the 2024 Soweto Marathon to support the caregivers of children admitted to Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.

Listen to this article 7 min Listen to this article 7 min On Sunday, the Wits Paediatric Fund campaign took strides beyond healthcare, transforming compassion into action at the annual Soweto Marathon.

A team of doctors, along with their friends and supporters, ran a combined distance exceeding 2,000km and raised more than R250,000. The funds will be used to improve comfort for parents and guardians of children admitted to the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital.

At many public hospitals in Johannesburg no provision is made for parents and guardians in budget allocations, and they have to endure uncomfortable nights on floors, benches, or chairs while staying close to their hospitalised children.

Dr Noxolo Khanyile, a trainee paediatric registrar, who wrote the proposal for the marathon fundraising campaign, said: "The biggest thing that came to my mind was, 'Are we taking care of the children if we are not caring for their mothers?' This stems from my experiences at Charlotte Maxeke witnessing the mothers sleeping on the hard floor.

"When their children are admitted they are already distressed emotionally for the sick child and now to have this added physical strain of sleeping on the floor makes the entire...