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23 October 2020 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Supplied
Dr Potgieter and her team from Beanies4Babies are with women from Westerbloem retirement village, who knit the beanies and socks.

A passion for neonates, especially premature babies, led to an alumna from the University of the Free State (UFS) to co-found Beanies4Babies, an NPO  which provides knitted beanies and socks to all babies admitted to the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) in public hospitals.
Dr Johané Potgieter, a first-year medical intern and co-founder of Beanies4babies, says neonates, especially premature babies, are unable to generate their own heat, and thus are dependent of additional measures to warm them. They have a larger head-to-body surface area which increases their risk for heat loss if the head is not covered. 
According to Dr Potgieter these little miracles have to use all their energy to grow stronger and fight infection instead of generating heat to prevent them from getting too cold. During her studies she was fortunate to learn vital lessons from passionate and vibrant doctors and sisters. One of them, Sr Vanessa Booysen, lit the fire in her heart for neonates, more specifically premature babies, she says.
Need to prevention hypothermia in premature babies and neonates
The dream started in 2018, when she was a 4th-year medical student, doing her first call in the NICU at Pelonomi Tertiary Hospital. “I noticed the need for additional measures to prevent hypothermia in neonates and was eager to actively combat it. I had an amazing idea for a new project, which sadly had little support. I shared my thoughts with my friend, now co-founder, Clarette Cronje.”
“It was challenging, everyone thought this was going to be a once-off donation. However, I knew my dream was too big for limitations like this. After numerous attempts and failures, a door finally opened to liaise with the Mother and Child Academic Hospital (MACAH) Foundation. As they say: ‘Fall seven times, stand up eight’,” says Dr Potgieter. 
The NPO currently provides about 300 packages of knitted beanies and socks a month to all neonates admitted to the NICU in the public hospitals in Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth. 
The aim is to expand the project nationwide, and according to Dr Potgieter, they are also are launching it in January at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, where she now works. 
A need exists 
Dr Potgieter says they had always trusted and hoped for something that would change lives but had never imagined it would be on such a scale.  
“There is a need for beanies and socks for these premature babies. We come face to face with this daily and have only scratched the surface. Global statistics for premature births are one in every 10 births. National statistics are one in every seven births. 
“Premature and newborn babies cannot generate their own heat through shivering or adding additional layers of clothing to their skin. They are exposed to the surrounding air and objects, increasing their risk for heat loss. They lose a great deal of heat from their heads, making it of critical importance to cover their heads. A large number of our mothers go into premature labour, with an earlier due date than planned, arriving in an ambulance without a newborn’s clothes. So it is clear that a bigger hand is driving this project,” says Dr Potgieter. 
Also involve the elderly
Beanies4Babies not only focuses on supporting neonates, but also involves the elderly in the community who knit the products for project. “The angels at the old age homes eagerly knit away. But they need wool. Donations for wool and packaging are needed to service hospitals in three provinces (Free State, Eastern Cape and Gauteng).”
“Volunteers and financial support are also needed as operations have been scaled up to ensure efficiency.”
Says Dr Potgieter: “We are privileged to have a dynamic team of doctors, students, sisters and allied health professionals who support our project.”
Beanies4Babies now functions as one of the First 1000 days projects of the MACAH Foundation that aims to optimise the future for the young generation. 
“I am blessed to have the opportunity to do what I love and that is to make a difference.” 

News Archive

‘Sola Scriptura’ — Does Scripture still reign as authority?
2017-02-21

Description: Theology Open Day Tags: Theology Open Day

Thania Labuschagne, Nico Oosthuizen, and
Suthea van der Westhuizen.
Photo: Supplied


Reformation 500: Sola Scriptura [scriptural authority] and contemporary conflicts of interpretation was the theme for the Faculty of Theology and Religion’s official opening and annual Open Day on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS). The faculty was recently renamed to be more inclusive of other denominations, as well as to be sensitive to the impact religion has on society, both in the past and presently.

In his welcoming address to first-year students, Prof Fanie Snyman, Dean of the Faculty of Theology and Religion, said, “I hope that you indulge in the theological dish served to you, and that it will create in you a deep hunger to know more.”

One first-year, Neo Kgaje, had this to say, “I first wanted to do Archaeology, but then I decided to follow my calling as a missionary and study Theology. I would like to serve in my own community in Botshabelo.”

Thania Labuschagne, former chairperson of the Sola Gratia student association, said, “The annual opening is always very special for me. We become part of a family here.” Her message for first-years was, “Maintain your passion for what you do. Make sure of your calling, and everything else will fall into place.”

Prizes awarded
Prizes were awarded to several students who excelled in the previous year. The best third-year student in 2016 was Suthea van der Westhuizen; best fourth-year BTh student, Thania Labuschagne; and Nico Oosthuizen was recognised as the best Master of Divinity in the fifth year.

The Director of Shepherd Centre for spiritual leaders, Dr Gerhard Botha, awarded certificates for the completion of a 9-module short learning programme presented by the centre.

"May you hunger to know more"—
Prof Fanie Snyman, Dean of the
Faculty of Theology and Religion

Current affairs addressed through scriptural analysis
While acknowledging that the debates around the authority of Scripture are complex and not easily resolved, Prof Hendrik Bosman from the Faculty of Theology at Stellenbosch University (SU) argued that it is an indispensable precept of Christian theology. However, it can no longer be taken as a given, since the authority of Scripture is increasingly vulnerable. He said, “Sceptic academics and critical theologians are challenging the more traditional ways of accepting the authority of Scripture.”

Prof Bosman highlighted the negative impact that certain claims of scriptural authority have had on the marginalised and vulnerable groups in society — “the suffering endured by people of colour, Jews, the LGBTQI community, and women due to prejudice and hatred. … [When reading the Bible], one must also be held accountable by the marginalised and the vulnerable in society.”

Prof Juliana Claassens (Faculty of Theology, SU) presented Beyond Revenge: Responsible Bible Reading Practices in a Traumatised Land. “As a community of believers who hold dear the principle of Sola Scriptura, what do we do with texts that revel in the downfall of the enemy and propagate revenge as a viable solution to the hurt and pain people are experiencing?”

Prof Claassens continued, “This question is particularly relevant given the deep wounds that many in this beautiful country of ours carry. … There is thus a real danger that expressions of violence survive and grow ever stronger with each utterance, until the violent ideas they propagate are considered to be normal.” Her recommendation? “Foster communities of care, focused on breaking down walls, instead of erecting them.”

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