CHoiCe Trust invites you to wear a ribbon on their right wrist on Saturday 8 October to indicate that
you are experiencing grief, whether personally or in solidarity with another.
Dr Ewa Skowronska, the CEO of the Hospice Palliative Care Association, explains, “The last few years
have been grief filled. For everyone. Globally, there are billions of ‘the walking wounded’. And we
are all grieving. There are those that are facing life-threatening diagnoses, and there are those that
are grieving both literal and emotional deaths.”
For this reason, the global theme for World Hospice Palliative Care Day, an annual awareness that
falls on Saturday 8 October this year, is ‘Healing Hearts and Community’. The aim is to spread hope
by demonstrating that we are not alone in our grief and that we can help each other to heal.
This campaign has been endorsed by Janet Jobson, the CEO of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy
Foundation, who observes that, “The theme for this year’s World Hospice Palliative Care Day
complements our own focus on growing societies’ ‘courage to heal’. The Arch, as he so loved being
known, was a founding patron of HPCA almost 40 years ago now. He was a fierce advocate for access
to palliative care and dignified dying as a human right. For these reasons the Tutu Legacy Foundation
supports the call to people in South Africa to wear a ribbon on their right wrist on Saturday, 8
October – to honour our grief; individual and collective.”
Ribbons can be any colour or size, demonstrating the very individual nature of grief. Those who want
to support hospices in the lead up to World Hospice Palliative Care Day can purchase a ribbon from
us.
Author of The Grief Handbook, Bridget McNulty notes that: “We’re all so awkward about grief. But
we need to bring it to the surface – it’s the one thing we are all guaranteed to experience in life. The
ribbons in the HPCA campaign communicate the individual nature of grief…This campaign is so
powerful because it externally communicates what we all know we’re going through. And gives a
little reminder to be kind to others on the same journey.”
CHoiCe Trust has provided quality hospice and palliative care in the rural communities around
Tzaneen for over 10 years. The organisation remains focused on supporting health and development
of vulnerable persons and this includes care and support services provided by our dedicated and
committed team. If anyone in the Tzaneen area would like to get a ribbon from us, please contact
our offices at 015 590 0272 or email office@choicetrust.co.za. We look forward to joining with the
Tzaneen community to show our support and solidarity in acknowledging and dealing with our
individual and collective grief.
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