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October 24th, 2007, Succes in KZN, by Carolyn Douglas
I have often wondered what impact volunteers in Africa have on the communities they work in. Sure, they begin programs, train and get villagers motivated, help tutor school aged children, construct buildings or wells, engage in health care, and the list goes on. BUT, when the volunteers return to their respective homes, what occurs in those African communities? Are they able to continue on their own? Have the volunteers laid the ground work for a sustainable program? I would like to share a South African community success story with you (and of course, it is from Ndawana)…
Arriving in January (2007), I spent 4 ½ months volunteering with Edzimkulu and have now returned to continue that work. For various reasons, the other dedicated and wonderful Canadian volunteers also departed Ndawana and South Africa in June. Upon my return I was truly impressed with the fabulous Community Health Workers (CHW) from Ndawana and I must take my hat off to them.
During the absence of the Canadian volunteers, not only did the CHW continued with their regular duties such as home visitations, escorting clients to hospital/clinics, monitoring client adherence, DOY TB support and voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), but they also managed to find time to organize and build a Home Based Care (HBC) team in two nearby villages, Mangeni and Tsawule. Mangeni is a mere 18.5 km away from Ndawana and should only take a few minutes to drive, by Canadian standards. However, it is one of the most treacherous routes I’ve ever experienced, being a narrow and winding clay mountain track. Tsawule is situated about 9 km closer to Ndawana than Mangeni and the road, albeit still winding and slick, is significantly less difficult to travel. That aside, Busi Duma (program manager from Ndawana) and the Ndawana CHW (specifically Nobuhlalu, Babalwa, Nonceba, N’thabeleng & Alina) championed a series of training sessions and exchanges with eight new Mangeni HBC women. Other Ndawana CHW (specifically Noluthando, Nonthlantla & Sindiswa) traveled to Tsawule daily where similar training sessions were completed with the two new Tsawule HBC women. Busi remained in Ndawana overseeing all the details while Nobuhlalu and Babalwa commitment allowed the Mangeni & Tsawule expansion to be realized.
After receiving a ten day intensive training course from the Dept. of Health instructors at the Community Centre in Ndawana, the eight Mangeni women were divided into teams of two and assigned an area to oversee. Keeping in mind that homes in this village are spread over many kilometers of rough terrain and roads, which by Canadian standards are simply goat trails, each HBC team was responsible for a very large area. For four months, Ndawana CHWs Nobuhlalu, Nonceba, Alina and N’thabeleng took turns living away from their own families and assisting the new Mangeni women in their further training and with hands-on experience. The Mangeni teams were accompanied by an Ndawana CHW, walking several kilometers each day to visit five or six different families with serious health issues. Days were usually 7 – 8 hours long spent visiting and caring for these new clients. This was not an easy task, as travel was all done by foot, pushing through the biting wind and fierce winter chill that envelopes the Drakensberg region of South Africa where Mangeni and Ndawana are situated. Early June to mid September in this area is like tenting outdoors in a crisp, cool Canadian November… not particularly warm!
The project was an extremely successful venture and an estimated 70% of clients visited needed some form of assistance beyond what the HBC and CHW could immediately provide. Individuals were identified and assisted with transportation to visit a doctor or hospital. They were able to acquire necessary medicines and received counseling and support to deal with serious health issues and nutrition. Such an event would otherwise have never occurred due to the remoteness of the village. Orphans were also identified and preparations made for them to receive child support grants.
The community of Mangeni has encouraged and supported their eight new HBC women and welcomed the CHW from Ndawana with open arms. At present, a local family has donated a vacant two room building for the Mangeni HBC workers and Ndawana CHW to meet and administer VCT testing and other health care consultations. The Nduna (advisor to the chief) has even planned for each community member to put forth 20 Rand (about $3 Cdn) to build a new permanent health post.
All this occurred without any Canadian assistance or presence (as we were all on leave)… sheer determination, will power and a positive vision for the future on the part of a few amazing Ndawana women to make their world a stronger, safer, healthier place to live.
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