When illness separates people from their families and familiar comforts, the smallest human connection can mean everything. HospiVision has spent nearly three decades making sure no one has to face those moments alone.
Pretoria, South Africa (05 February 2026) – Public hospitals can be overwhelming places. Long corridors. Hard news. Too much time alone with your thoughts. For many South Africans, being admitted means being far from home, separated from family who cannot afford to visit, or carrying fears they don’t know how to voice. And then, often when it is needed most, someone pulls up a chair, asks how you are really doing, and stays.
That is where HospiVision steps in.
Founded in 1997 by a small group of churches in Pretoria who simply decided to show up, HospiVision has grown into a national force for care within South Africa’s public healthcare system. This year, the faith-based non-profit passed a remarkable milestone, having supported more than 201,000 patients, families and healthcare workers across public hospitals in Gauteng and the Western Cape. In 2025 alone, their teams reached 45,605 people at facilities including Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Tygerberg Children’s Hospital, Karl Bremer Hospital, and Vredenburg Hospital.
HospiVision volunteers and staff at Vredenburg Hospital | Photo Credit: HospiVision
We spoke to the HospiVision team, who are present in these hospital corridors every day and a clear theme emerged from every conversation. When families cannot be there, and medical staff are under immense pressure, what patients need most is someone who will stay, listen, and treat them with care. That presence often comes through the simplest acts, a chair pulled closer, a question asked with sincerity or a moment of undivided attention that reminds someone they still matter.
Christel Kloppers, HospiVision’s Finance and Marketing Manager and a former volunteer, explains that many patients are far from home, with families who are working, cannot afford to visit or live too far away.
“Many patients are far from home,” she explains. “Families are working, can’t afford transport, or live too far away. Some patients also face stigma that keeps loved ones at a distance. When people become ill, they often carry questions that aren’t purely medical. They ask why this is happening, what will happen to their families, or what they did wrong. We don’t have the answers, but we are there to listen.”
That listening matters. Volunteers offer conversation, a hand to hold, and the simple dignity of being seen. They also provide practical comforts like toiletries, clothing, books, or magazines.
“Those small acts of presence can turn a hospital stay from something to endure into something bearable,” Christel says.
Behind the milestone of 201,000 lives touched are stories that linger long after the hospital visit ends.
Gawie Le Roux, HospiVision’s Vredenburg Coordinator, recalls sitting with an elderly woman who was anxious and desperate to go home.
“We sat with her and listened, and by the end she was calm,” he says. Another moment involved a man awaiting an amputation, terrified of losing his independence. “We couldn’t change his situation, but we could make sure he didn’t face it alone. That’s what we do. We show up when people need it most.”
For Christel, one memory from her time as a volunteer changed how she understands care entirely.
“I realised how much I had underestimated the power of simply being with someone in a time of need. You see a patient who looks utterly hopeless, and when you leave, something has shifted, just because someone sat with them. It’s hard to put into words, but it changed how I see what presence can do.”
She believes South Africans often overlook the impact of small moments.
“We tend to chase big differences, but it’s often compassion and understanding that truly matter. As a nation, we have so much to give. Retirees can offer time. Those with resources can offer practical support. Volunteering doesn’t just change the lives of others, it changes your own view of the world.”
That sense of care extends well beyond hospital beds. At Tshwane District Hospital, HospiVision employee Jabulile Shabangu volunteered her services to the burial support team, facilitating dignified funerals for more than 20 unclaimed individuals. People who might otherwise have been forgotten were laid to rest with respect and care.
Phakama Magadla, HospiVision’s Karl Bremer Hospital Coordinator, shares a moment that stayed with her.
“A patient once said to me, ‘It’s nice to have someone who cares.’ That showed me how powerful presence and listening can be, and how pastoral care restores dignity and humanity in healthcare spaces.”
Simphiwe Leshabane, Grant Administrator, remembers visiting a young mother who felt overwhelmed after giving birth and feared she would never complete her matric exams.
“She contacted me later and sounded full of hope and determination to sit for her finals,” Simphiwe says. “That shift stayed with me.”
At Steve Biko Academic Hospital, Training Manager and Coordinator Tessa de Bruin notes the impact on hospital staff too.
“Doctors and nurses thank us as soon as they see our tags. Volunteers become a family and we work together.”
Amy Julies, HospiVision’s Tygerberg Hospital Coordinator, describes one of her earliest group sessions.
“At first, patients had faint smiles. Through conversation, presence, and shared stories, those smiles grew. By the end, they were smiling fully. It showed me how offering time and listening can change someone’s day.”
HospiVision’s reach also includes rebuilding lives beyond illness. At the De La Porte Oasis centre, 131 people completed skills training last year in baking, sewing, needlework, and digital literacy. Their soup kitchen served 4,343 meals in 2025, with women making up nearly three-quarters of those supported.
A child eating food from the HospiVision soup kitchen | Photo Credit: HospiVision
Skills Development Coordinator Takalani Murulane beams when he speaks about one baking student.
“She started her own business and is now a well-known baker on TikTok as Ntanga Bakery. Every time I see her, I feel proud. That’s what skills can do.”
HospiVision is also investing in the future of mental and spiritual care. Through a partnership with the University of Pretoria, they offer online courses in spiritual care, pastoral counselling and trauma support. This year marks the launch of a two-year, full-time Hospital Chaplaincy Programme, the first SAQA-registered NQF Level 5 qualification of its kind in South Africa, developed with support from the John Templeton Foundation.
For Christel, the reason this work matters is simple.
“Illness doesn’t only affect the person in the bed. Families carry guilt when they can’t be there. Hospital staff are stretched thin. When we show up, we fill gaps that would otherwise leave people unseen. Healing is not only physical. It’s knowing someone cared enough to be present.”
HospiVision’s journey proves that you do not need medical training or large budgets to make a meaningful difference. You need willingness. Willingness to sit, listen, care… and once you experience what it means to be truly present for someone in their hardest moment, that instinct to care has a way of following you far beyond the hospital ward.
HospiVision is a registered non-profit organisation (NPO 016-668). To learn more or support their work, visit www.hospivision.org.za. Or you can find them on The Helpers.
Sources: Interview with the HospiVision team
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