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