Back From Impendle!

Sanibona!

Yesterday we arrived back in eThekwini (Durban) after our first rural home stay in the village of Impendle. It was quite an experience to live with a new family in a very different location. Our group of 24 students was divided in half so that 12 visited Impendle and the other 12 students went to Amatikulu (we will switch locations in a few weeks). For this short home stay we were paired up with another student, so that we were not totally on our own, which was really nice. The family I stayed with consisted of a Gogo (Grandmother) and her two grandchildren. The little girl was 5 and the little boy was 2, they were both really cute and fun to play with. Also, a friend of the Gogo’s was a 15 year old student who was quite fluent in English which made communication a whole lot easier since no one else spoke any English in our home.

My home in Impendle

We arrived in Impendle in the early afternoon on Monday. We picked up our program director in Impendle and then headed to a primary school. We sat in on a Zulu class just to recap some of the important phrases we should know. A group of students in grade 7 sat in the class with us to help us with our Zulu as we helped them with their English. The students were incredibly kind to us and we really had a good time getting to know them.

Primary School in Impendle

After the school visit we headed to the Gomani Clinic, which was one of two clinics in the town of Impendle. The nearest hospital was an hour drive away. For emergency situations, specialized care, complications in child birth, etc. patients are referred onto the clinic’s larger sister hospital. A problem with this is that the ambulance takes a minimum of 3 hours just to arrive at the clinic so many patients end up dying while waiting for the care that they need. Overall, the clinic was extremely clean…I was very impressed with the resources available and the overall cleanliness of the entire facility.

From the clinic we went to go and visit a Sangoma (a traditional Zulu healer). This was the highlight of our trip to Impendle for me. We all entered the Sangoma’s round house and had the opportunity to ask her questions about traditional medicine and what types of problems people have who come to see her. What was really interesting was the role that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) played in the role of certifying Sangomas. Every Sangoma must be certified by attending workshops that teach the importance of cleanliness and referring patients on to receive medical treatment when needed (especially in the cases of HIV/AIDS and/or TB infection). I found it interesting that the CDC and PEPFAR were the ones who were the driving factor in the certification process with the Sangomas. The Sangoma then showed us the routine of what she typically does with a patient. It was a pretty intense experience of burning incense and the Sangoma speaking with our ancestors…at one point it sounded like she was having an exorcism. It was a really awesome experience to have this opportunity to look into how traditional healers and traditional medicine is used in South Africa.

Mama Sangoma in her roundhouse where she practices traditional medicine

After our Sangoma visit we were dropped off at our home stays for the rest of the evening. We played with the kids outside for a while until the sun went down. Our Gogo cared for not only her two grandchildren but also for the many cows and chickens that lived on her property. Her photo is at the very top of the page in the front yard (she was actually saving me from the cow that had cornered me). For dinner we had “mystery meat” it looked similar to a fetus…but I think it was just a strange cut of beef. Neither of us ate much of that but luckily Gogo made us steam bread (my favorite thing I’ve had since we got here) and that filled us right up. Then the 15 year old girl who was staying with us offered to braid my hair….little did I know how much of a commitment this was. It took two days to finish all of my hair and probably a total of 6 hours. However, there really wasn’t much else to do once the sun went down and the next day it was mostly a sandstorm outside so we were once again stuck inside. So 6 hours of pain later…my hair was finished!

My little buhti and some newborn chicks in our yard

Our "bathroom" really just a bucket in a shack, the first time I used it one of the cows ran head first into the side of it. I think the biggest struggle for me in rural living was no running water, I think I would take running water over electricity.

Day two in Impendle we visited the clinic again and went on a tour with one of the nurses of the facility and met more staff members. All of the staff seemed to be incredibly tired and overworked. At one point the nurse mentioned that she doesn’t even know where the key to the front door of the clinic is, but it doesn’t matter because they are just always open. After seeing how full the waiting room was I can understand why that is the case. We also visited another school where the students sang for us…they were incredibly talented and we all really enjoyed it.

Afterwards we headed back to the home stays to spend more time with our families. That night Kelsey and I were asked to make dinner….we made pasta with the limited resources we had accessible to us…it was probably the worst meal I have ever made but Gogo was so nice to us and everyone said that they loved it (personally, I thought it tasted awful). For breakfast each morning we had porridge… that was also a struggle to get down, very sticky and glue-like texture…but we managed. After breakfast we packed up and headed back to Cato Manor (about a 3 hour drive). However, we will return to rural living in a few weeks to stay in two more villages along with a hiking and camping trip in the Drakensberg Mountains which we are all looking forward to!

Another shot of Impendle

It was really great to get back to my host family in Cato. I missed my little sisi Moo so much, I’m not sure what I will do when we have to move out of our home stays in two weeks! The time is flying by here…today we had a full day of classes and guest lectures on primary health care in South Africa. Friday we have off because it is Heritage Day, everyone gets the day off so we are each taking our host families to the beach for the day. I’m looking forward to a day out in the sun and enjoying more of the Indian Ocean.

Enjoy the ngempelesonto (weekend)!

Sala Kahle

A few more glimpses of South Africa

Just wanted to share a few pictures from our adventures so far:

Kristen in Cato Manor, the township that we are staying in...all of the homes are the same size and layout because they were built by the South African government after apartheid.

My little sister and I before leaving for the Zulu Reed Dance.

We were encouraged to dress traditionally, however I don't think that by any means we "blended in with the crowd." Out of over 70,000 people we were the only white people that I noticed. Many of the people there were from very rural villages and it seemed like we may have been the first white people that had ever seen. A lot of the girls wanted to take pictures with us, hug us, and touch our skin and hair. It was quite interesting that out of over 50,000 topless girls, our small group of 24 white American students seemed to be more of a spectacle. Living in a country where we are the minority is quite an experience, it can be trying at times, but these are the times when I feel I am learning the most and will be experiences that we will never forget.

At the Zulu Reed Dance, after the girls presented themselves to the Zulu king and dropped off their reeds.

More girls from the Zulu Reed Dance

their intricate bead work is incredible and so beautiful. You can find most of the beads in markets all around town...a necklace is somewhere around 50 Rand (about $8 U.S. dollars).

The beach in St. Lucia, where we stayed after the Reed Dance.

My adorable little sister

All of the kids in Cato Manor are so cute. A lot of the students like to go for runs in the morning before we leave for class...and typically there is a group of little kids waiting who join in to run alongside us barefoot.

Hope you enjoyed the photos!

Hospital, NGO, School Visits... and preparing to go rural!

Sanibona! Unjani? (how are you?)

This past week has been great (not as exciting as elephants crossing the road, but still good). Classes were mixed up a bit and instead of sitting through lectures and learning Zulu for most of the day we instead got to begin our field studies. Each day different groups of students (depending on interests) went to different hospitals, clinics, NGOs, and schools. I visited a hospital not far from where we are staying that was partially privatized...so care is not free there like it is in the large government hospitals. However, visits can be scheduled ahead of time (instead of waiting for up to 7 hours in line) and most services are not very expensive, especially compared to prices back home in the United States. Also, the hospital I visited had a wonderful program for children who are living with HIV/AIDS and are really known for their effective child treatment programs.

For my ISP (Independent Study Project) which occurs the last month of our semester I have decided that I want to work with orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) since I feel that I have had little exposure to this age group in a public health context. As of now, my plan is to conduct a needs assessment of a rural orphanage. On Wednesday I headed to an orphanage a little bit outside of town to visit and collect information. The orphanage was for children under the age of 6 who were mostly orphaned due to AIDS, with many of the children living with HIV/AIDS currently. I also learned that what we consider to be an orphanage in the United States is not necessarily the same concept here in South Africa. The organization takes care of children from 6am until 3pm. The children all have a place to go home to...but most are living either with parents who are sick with HIV/AIDS and unable to care for them or with relatives who have taken them in after their parents passed. Most families prefer to always take in relatives rather than leaving them with a live-in orphanage with strangers caring for them. However, this means that these children are living in extreme poverty, mostly shacks.

The little kids were a bit afraid of us at first...not used to seeing mlungus (white people) very often... but they warmed up quickly and the older kids had no hesitation to play with us. The facility was severely underfunded and is currently only able to provide 2 meals a day. The first meal only consisted of bowls of porage and the second consisting of half a sandwich (two pieces of white bread with apricot jam). There are a total of 91 children and 5 volunteers who are in charge of taking care of all the children. One volunteer told us how these are typically the only two meals the children get all day (Monday-Friday) since food is extremely limited where the children stay at night. The volunteer Faith, told us how this is a major problem since so many of these kids have HIV/AIDS and need to have access to a variety of nutrient rich foods. The organization has a beautiful garden outside where many vegetables grow...however we were told that they cannot continue to maintain the garden due to a lack of money for new seeds. When I asked Faith what they would do first if they received more funding she simply said that she, "would buy more food for the children."

Thursday we visited a local high school and sat in on classes and talked with students. I sat in on a life orientation class, a math course, and a Zulu class. Classes were very different with students mostly just talking to each other and ignoring the teacher. In life orientations class students just copied notes out of a text book. Math class there was one problem written on the chalkboard that the students were supposed to work on throughout the class period (nearly 1 hour). Then, the teacher solved the problem on the board...although the answer she provided was incorrect. Zulu class was the only course I attended that was taught by a black teacher. All other teachers and staff members were either Indian or white. The school used to be an all white school prior to apartheid, however now it is known as a primarily black school. It was an interesting visit.

Friday was a big exam day. We had our final written Zulu exam and our Zulu oral exam...it was tough and a bit intimidating to walk into the room of our 4 Zulu teachers firing questions away! However, we were well-prepared and we are all happy that it is over now! It's hard to believe how much Zulu we actually have learned since arriving here just a little less than a month ago!

The weekend we had free with our families in Cato Manor to relax after a busy week. On Saturday we took a group trip to the beach. Some friends and I went to Victoria Market to pick up some longer traditional African skirts for next week when we stay in a small rural town (it's not typical for women to wear pants or shorts). Then, we visited the Moses Mabhida world cup soccer stadium in Durban where a sky car takes you over the giant arch, it was really cool. At the top you can get out and enjoy the view of downtown Durban (second picture below). Then, we relaxed on the beach watching all of the surfers catching big waves out in the Indian Ocean.

Next week we leave for our first rural home stay. Kristen and I are both going to Impendle, a small rural village where we will stay with families...this time no running water or electricity, however we do have bug spray! We have a full schedule including a visit to a rural hospital to see how it runs and then a visit to a Sangoma (someone who practices traditional medicine). It should make for some interesting experiences!!

More to come once we get back to Durban!

Sala Kahle

Zulu Reed Dance, Elephants, Zebras, Hippos, and more!

This past weekend was absolutely one of the most incredible experiences in my life. We left for the Zulu Reed Dance early Saturday morning, it was about a four hour drive from our Durban home-stays to the Zulu king's traditional palace which is farther inland and in a very rural area. In total there were over 50,000 girls taking part in the traditional Zulu Reed Dance ceremony. Each girl goes through virginity testing before they are given a reed to bring to the king. At the palace they present themselves to the king in their traditional outfits consisting of beautiful beaded skirts, necklaces, bracelets and head pieces. It was an amazing to be a part of the traditional Zulu culture. The picture above shows the girls with their reeds in line to approach the king's home. They all looked incredibly nervous on their way in, but once they dropped off their reeds they were all smiling singing and dancing in celebration.

After the Reed Dance we left for St. Lucia, an area on the east coast of South Africa. The drive was about two hours in total, with about a 20 minute drive through a wildlife game reserve. We weren't expecting to see any animals since we were really just cutting through the park a short distance. However, about 10 seconds after entering the park we saw an elephant right next to the road. We stopped and watched the elephant cross the road in front of us. It was unreal! (Even in the picture below it still looks fake!) Then, we went on to see zebras, rhinos, springbok, and water buffalo all within our short drive! We arrived in beautiful St. Lucia and enjoyed a group dinner with one of our community health professors. In the morning we went to the beach to see a family of hippos laying out in the sand.

Seeing all of the animals in addition to the Reed Dance was really amazing....a weekend I absolutely will never forget!

More to come soon...

Sala Kahle

Zulu Reed Dance Weekend

Sawubona,

This weekend we are heading to the annual Zulu Reed Dance. It is a few hours from here in Durban in a more rural area of KwaZulu Natal province in South Africa. There will be thousands of young girls (ages 16-20 years old) who will dance for the Zulu royal family. The dance is said to promote marriage, loyalty and chastity. It was abandoned for many years until the present Zulu King brought it back into existence in his effort to stop the spread of AIDS. At the end of the dance, the King and other men in the royal family get to choose one of the girls as his wife since polygamy is a huge part of the royal Zulu culture.

We're looking forward to learning more about the traditional Zulu culture. As students we were told to dress in traditional African clothing (long colorful skirts). My host Mama noticed me getting my clothes together for the event and started telling me about when she would dress traditionally with her family. My Mama and I don't get the chance to talk very often as she knows very little English and I know very little Zulu. Typically I chat with my siblings who are all quite fluent in English and Zulu. She got out all of the colorful beads that she used to wear and insisted that I wear some of her beads to the reed dance tomorrow afternoon. I really appreciate how our host families here truly treat their host students as a daughter or sibling...it has really made the home stay experience that much more amazing.

I hope to post some pictures from the event after the weekend...until then I leave you with the above photo of a few young girls we saw doing traditional Zulu dancing outside of the market....a preview of what's to come!

Hamba Kahle

Sifunda isiZulu... and health!

Sorry for the lack of posting... my computer decided to crash last week and I'm still in the process of getting regular internet time. But here's a little update of our past week or so!

We've been coming to the SIT house every day (7 am pick up, between 4 and 5:30 dropoff) for a full day of Zulu, field study seminar and community health seminar. Zulu is pretty challenging but since we have 2 hours a day, we've already learned a ton. Later in the day, we generally have guest lectures come in from surrounding medical schools and the University of KwaZulu-Natal. We've been learning so much about the South African health care system, leading health indicators, and current health issues in the country. Next week, we'll be going to hospitals, NGOs, and schools to see first hand whats going on around Durban.

Last weekend we had a little break from the daily schedule and stayed in apartments right on the beach in Durban. Waking up and looking out at people surfing in the Indian ocean was definitely a luxury :) We spent the weekend shopping, spending time on the beach, and we went to uShaka, an aquarium and water park. Even though it's technically still winter here, it was around 80 all weekend!

We're definitely starting to settle in in SA, and are really starting to understand the culture and people. In terms of public health, one thing our academic director said today really struck me. He said that there should be "African solutions to African problems", which goes along with a lot of what we learn in Syracuse. Coming in, we had such preset ideas of what works for which health problems, but we can already see thats going to completely change being in a new community. I'm really excited to be working in such a new setting.

Every student in our program does an Independent Learnership Project for the second half of the semester. I'm going to do mine on an evaluation of birth practices in a maternity ward in a rural hospital a few hours inland from Durban. I'll keep you updated as I figure out more specifically what I'm going to be doing!

For now, sala kahle :)