SANTA stands for South African National Tuberculosis Association. To help raise funds and to give SANTA an identity in Hermanus, the organisation runs a secondhand bookshop, manned by dedicated volunteers. The shop, simply called SANTA Bookshop, is housed in the first half of a quaint building reminiscent of old Hermanus fishing cottages, in Aberdeen Street.
Over the years it had become a favourite destination for book lovers near and far, and subsequently attracted more and more donations of large quantities of — sometimes valuable — books to help this worthy cause. The sale of books is the only consistent source of income (apart from donations and bequests) of SANTA Hermanus.
The People
The shop is run by three part-time employees, a large roster of dedicated volunteers, and of course, SANTA Hermanus Chairman Sue Holmes, whose passion for the cause is the driving force behind it all.
The Cause
This organisation supports the fight against tuberculosis (TB), a highly infectious disease that is rife in the Western Cape, the Overstrand being no exception. SANTA’s main contribution is paying the salaries of eight clinic staff members. This became an ever increasing need since health budgets have been cut nationally. The Overstrand is the only sub-district in the Western Cape supported by an outside party. Thanks to SANTA’s involvement the Overstrand can still fight TB better than any other sub-district.
TB is an airborne disease. When a TB infected person who is not on treatment, coughs, talks, sneezes or sings, he or she spreads live bacteria into the air. Anybody can inhale it and either develop latent TB or full-blown, active TB, after months — or even as long as 20 to 30 years later.
It is estimated that 80% of the Western Cape inhabitants carry the TB bacteria. It is, however, important to remember that a person who is on treatment is no longer infectious. A vital part of SANTA’s work is to contact, trace and test people for TB, thus helping to contain the disease from spiralling out of control.
Photo: SANTA Hermanus Chairman Sue Holmes, with some of the Christmas presents for children affected by TB, at their annual Christmas celebration (2022). Image credit: SANTA Bookshop website.
(Source of photos and text: https://santahermanus.co.za/bookshop/)