McDonald’s South Africa supports keeping families together supported by McDonald’s South Africa, Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) South Africa provides a safe home, comfort and care to families of sick children receiving specialised treatment

RMHC is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation that creates, finds and supports programmes that directly improve the health and well-being of children and their families across the world.

In 2013, supported by McDonald’s South Africa’s owner operators/franchisees, RMHC South Africa opened doors to two Ronald McDonald Family Rooms. The rooms were built to take care of the mothers of sick children receiving specialised treatment at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto.

To date these Family Rooms have had more than 50,000 families come through their doors. The mothers of the sick babies at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and medium risk neonatal ward at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, who are usually from Soweto and other areas of Johannesburg, are provided with a comfortable place to rest, regroup and engage with other mothers in similar circumstances. They are also provided with hot meals and refreshments throughout the time they are caring for their babies at the hospital.

In 2017, after three years of hard work, RMHC launched its first 27-bedroom Ronald McDonald House in South Africa and Africa at the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital. Located in Parktown, the House is on the top floor of the hospital. It includes a kitchen, dining room, library, games room, meditation room, children’s playroom, TV room and a lounge. The House was built to provide accommodation for families with sick children, to stay at little to no cost, while their child receives critical medical care at the hospital.

Every project that RMHC South Africa has embarked on, has been a labour of love that has required funding, skills and infrastructure. The importance of community, business and government support is critical to ensure that every family that goes through the doors of RMHC programs is taken care in the best way possible.

“We want to see RMHC spreading throughout South Africa to ensure families are kept close during one of their most trying times. To achieve this, we need to ensure that we have well-run programs. As we expand, we want to ensure that every Family Room or House has the right infrastructure for that particular hospital and community and that we have the right skilled people to care for our families,” said RMHC South Africa chairman, Siphiwe Reggie Skhosana.

McDonald’s South Africa provides majority support for operational costs including corporate and individual donors and volunteers that give generously of their resources (human, time and money) to ensure that families stay together and close to the care they need when they have a sick child.

McDonald’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Greg Solomon says RMHC is at the core of the business because McDonald’s is a family brand that children and families interact with daily. “The Ronald McDonald’s House Charities is a great opportunity for us to invest in the people and the community that continues to love McDonald’s food for the past 22 years. As a brand that has continued to be a beacon of happiness and value to families in the country, it was important for us to invest in an initiative that will impact the people we see and serve every day in a meaningful way.”

We believe that health is a fundamental area that impacts every person’s life – especially a family. The question then was: If we are not providing medicines and hospitals, how can we bring hope and keep families together in a way that depicts our values and objective as a business? The answer: RMHC. Through the programme, we are impacting the lives of children and leaving a legacy. That is why we are so passionate and committed to ensuring the RMHC programs succeed.”

McDonald’s South Africa donates 50 cents of every Happy Meal purchased at its restaurants across the country to fund and support RMHC programmes.

All the change placed into donation boxes at all McDonald’s restaurants is donated to RMHC. So, the next time you get your McDonald’s meal, help keep families together by donating your change or visit www.rmhcsouthafrica.org for more information.