We Are All In This Together

Last week was another busy week at the Blue Roof! Just how I like it. Unfortunately, Rhona was out sick until Thursday, and there are a number of items that cannot move forward without her approval, so I spent the week preparing and managing as much as I could without her. She’s feeling much better now – back to her vibrant self! – so I’m sure next week and the weeks that follow are going to be even busier as we continue to make things happen!!

One of the things I am currently working on is helping furnish the clinic. We intend for one of the rooms upstairs to become a learning center, filled with computers and a library, where we can teach computer literacy classes to our staff and patients, and offer a study space for the youth group. This guy Kerwin represents one of the companies we are quoting for the job, to provide us computers and a wireless network for the clinic. He stopped by last week to check on the status of the job, and then he ended up talking to me about my stay here and how I should really get out and see South Africa or I’ll regret it (which I know already, and we’re trying to figure out the car situation, but there’s a lot of other things going on as well!!). After he said goodbye, he caught our accountant Duane in the hall and we ended up talking even more, which led to a discussion on how vastly different lifestyles in South Africa can be. He was saying that whether he moved to the U.S. or Canada, London or Johannesburg, his lifestyle would not change dramatically from what it is right now. He made the point that people who live comfortably in South Africa are often incognizant of the fact that there are people not too far away who do not have access to clean water, let alone medical care. I think this is symptomatic of many places in the world – because even in NYC, people get used to walking out of Bloomingdales and passing beggars on the street without the slightest recognition. And I think when it comes to South Africa, you might wonder how people can be so blind, but depending on the areas that you live and work in, the country’s poverty level may be even less obvious than it is in the States. It’s interesting to think about how easy it is to live in a bubble and feel unaffected by things happening to people right in your immediate community. The province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa has an HIV prevalence rate of 40% (http://www.avert.org/safricastats.htm). Imagine you’re at an assembly of some sort, sitting in an audience. Look to the person to your left. Now look to the person to your right. According to these stats, at least one of the three of you is infected with HIV. I often talk about how inhumane it is for people in the rest of the world to feel detached, unaffected and irresponsible for the HIV pandemic in Africa, but it’s important to realize many people in Africa feel just as detached, unaffected and irresponsible, due to the circles they run in. If you aren’t witness to the masses of dying people that statistics report, then what makes you connected?

The social work interns started work here last Wednesday, and it is great to have them here as an added service to our clinic. Once we hire a social worker, she will oversee them, but for now, they are working with our VCT counselors. When our patients come in for doctor’s appointments, to pick up their medication, or to get tested, our staff will inform them that they have the option to see a social worker as well, if they are interested. Since the social work interns are still students, they cannot make any formal recommendations and take the action that a certified social worker can, but they can identify urgent concerns and make Dr. Itua and the counselors aware, so we can address the issue as soon as possible. I created daily reports for them to fill out with regards to their work here at the clinic, which will help us keep track of their contributions to the clinic, and learn how we can improve the system.

Rhona came in for half a day on Thursday, which was good for her to ease back into things, and we also had a bunch of meetings that she needed to be a part of. First, we met with East Coast Architects, who are slowly but surely clearing up all the building snags from construction of the new building. The main issue is that the big items that remain to be completed – the parking lot needs to be tarred, the roof needs to be repaired, and the electrical cabling needs to be properly set up to handle more electrical power (for air conditioning, etc.) - could potentially need more funding than what we have right now. This week, we will be following up with the guy who handles the account for the renovations, so we know exactly how the funding was spent and if any money remains to address these outstanding items.

Our next meeting was with Eric from Human Health Development Trust. LOVE HIM! Human Health really wants to work with us to get all the people in the community who have HIV and TB on treatment, and they are willing to train our staff for FREE to make sure that the job gets done! They are going to train our VCT counselors and our HBC workers on TB-DOTS and Home-Based Care, and they are going to train all the staff on HIV/TB counseling. Once the training is complete, they are also going to conduct the assessments, so our staff can be SETA-accredited, which is very exciting! This training will enhance the quality of care our team provides to patients on a daily basis!

For my next meeting, Nicole, the receptionist, took me to the Austerville Clinic for their community meeting, which is about a five minute walk away from the Blue Roof. There I met volunteers from Happy Hearts and Senzane Care Center, as well as nurses and representatives from the Austerville Clinic and Wentworth AIDS Action Group. I’m so happy I was able to attend because it really gave me some perspective on how the different community clinics can really work together to address the medical needs of the very poor in Wentworth. There was still an air of competition though. What’s silly is that we all exist for the same purpose, and there is always going to be a need, so why can’t we just all work together to achieve our common goal? The meeting also gave me great insight into the kind of community council that KCA wants to start for the Blue Roof. I have to be careful about how I proceed here, because I don’t want the councils to be in competition either, but my impression of this meeting was that it focused on the needs of the Austerville Clinic and what the community can do to help them. So then, every clinic should have a meeting that focuses on their needs and how the community can contribute. Or, alternatively, these community meetings should be held in a neutral location, or held at different locations every month so that the meetings are not so focused on one organization’s needs versus another’s. I mentioned something about us getting sewing machines donated so we can set up an empowerment program for our patients to make clothes on site – and a woman at the meeting mentioned different organizations that would be willing to donate fabric for the initiative. I’m very excited about looking into this and getting this and other empowerment programs rolling!

Another thing I noticed is just how blessed the Blue Roof Clinic is for having the support of Keep a Child Alive. During the meeting, various concerns raised by those present all came back to funding in one way or another. "We want to do this, but we need funding." "The government is going to fund the repairs to our roof, but we do not know when, so we just have to wait." Keep a Child Alive has made the beautiful new building at the clinic possible, and donations from people just like you help Keep a Child Alive continue to sustain the programs and services that our clinic provides to so many patients in need.

My day was not over just yet! At 4:00PM, I met with the Blue Roof youth. There were ten kids present today, a few more than last time, and I hope the numbers will continue to rise in the coming weeks. I’m going to ask all the kids to bring someone new to the Blue Roof meeting next week, or an old member that hasn’t been to Thursday meetings yet. Using the KCA College Program and the KCA Kid Power initiative as a guide, we discussed how to fundraise and the different events we could do. The majority of them want to do a fashion show, which is very ambitious, but I’m confident we can get it together!

I also talked to the kids about participating in the Youth Day that’s being hosted next weekend by WOW (Women of Wentworth), but unfortunately, they did not want to have anything to do with it. There is apparently some kind of animosity between the Blue Roof youth and the WOW youth, because the kids were very adamant about “having nothing to do with them.” It’s so unfortunate, because all the different community clinics are working for the same common goal, there is no reason to be in competition with one another, and not support each other’s work. The more support we give one another, the more effective we will be as a movement! I’m going to contact all the other advisors for the youth programs in the area, and see if we can orchestrate some kind of youth team building, where all the programs have to work together!

On Thursday night, Rae and I attended a braai (barbecue) that the German students living on Rhona’s property were hosting. We weren’t sure if it was still happening because it was raining, but we wanted to show up just in case! And I’m glad we did, because it was indeed still going on, and it was a lot of fun! The girls that stay on Rhona’s property are Marisa, Anna, and Uti, and they are the sweetest! Everyone at the braai, except for Rae and myself, were final year medical students, and they are in South Africa doing their practical, which has got to be fascinating! Next week, the girls are going to come shadow Rhona at the Blue Roof, and I’m looking forward to share with them all the incredible work that is taking place here!