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A village with a mission
Kerry Cullinan, Health-e News Service. Sunday Tribune 29 November 2003. Republished courtesy of Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd
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Fikile Ndlovu brings a cup of liquidised sour fig and bulbinella to the lips of a spectral young man, lying listlessly in bed. "The herbal remedy is for oral thrush. It is very good. I have treated quite a number of patients and it has cured them of it," she says, her eyes glowing with excitement as she shows me the green remedy.
"I also grow sutherlandia, which is good for immune boosting. It is a bit bitter so I make into tea or else I put it with yoghurt," she explains. Ndlovu simply has to step out of the Ethembeni Care Centre to pick these herbal remedies as well as an abundance of healthy vegetables from her flourishing organic garden.
The Care Centre and garden are part of Amangwe Village, a unique area just outside Richards Bay that aims to provide holistic care and treatment for people with HIV/AIDS. The Village, to be launched on December 4th, is the result of the combined efforts of local industry working through their development agency, the Zululand Chamber of Business Foundation.
Businesses are renowned for competing with one another, but so great is the impact of HIV/AIDS in northern KwaZulu-Natal, that the major local businesses - Mondi Kraft, BHP Billiton, Richards Bay Minerals, Richards Bay Coal Terminal - have combined efforts. Amangwe once housed Mondi's contract workers, but the company no longer needed the 54-cottage village, so it offered it to the Zululand Chamber of Business Foundation.
Jill Stander, an MBA graduate who happened to be in Richards Bay visiting her retired parents, was asked to help with a business plan for the Village. Not only has she done so, but also, in the last year, managed to secure R9 million for the Village. "Jill won't say so, but she is the one who has been driving Amangwe. All this has happened in one year and it's thanks to her," said Vanessa Dean, the Zululand Chamber of Business Foundation's Communications Officer.
The Village's priorities were determined by all those with a stake in the area - business, government, amakhosi and community organisations. "We consulted all of them about what the Village should do. In July, we reported back on the recommendations and made the stakeholders vote on what Amangwe's priorities should be," said Stander. An advisory board was also set up to steer the Village.
The heart of the Village is the Care Centre. Ethembeni, an 18-bed facility which cares for those with terminal illnesses, had been going for eight years at another venue, but was struggling to cope with the demand. From next year, it will be able to care for 45 adults and 16 children and will have a full-time doctor. Sister Beatrice Ndlovu, who runs the Centre, said the new facility was so much better. "It is hard for families to nurse a dying person so they bring them here," she said. "Our patients stay for an average of a month, and about one third of them die with us. We also see more than 20 out-patients every day," she said.
Bongani Mquaise's company, BHP Billiton, is the Centre's biggest funder and has invested R4 million in building the wards alone. "We come from a region where HIV/AIDS infection is estimated to be 38% (for adults)", explains Mqaise. "Although the strength of our workforce is far below that, we are part of the community. We cannot be complacent." The food garden supplies Ethembeni's ktichen with vegetables and herbal remedies. The gardeners also teach patients' families how to grow their own food and supply them with the seeds to do so.
The second focus of the Village is to assist orphans and vulnerable children. Three social workers are already based there, and their role is to keep track of orphans, abused children, and those caring for dying parents. Social worker Lungi Blose said they were monitoring 148 children, and also helping families to apply for various grants. A daycare centre is being set up to care for younger children in childheaded households to enable their older siblings to go to school. Six cottages are likely to be used for foster care and places of safety for children who really have no place to go, although the Village does not want to establish an orphanage.
The third focus area is on community outreach, education and training. This involves things such as home-based care, income generation, peer educator training (local people who are trained to educate others about HIV/AIDS) and teacher training. People will be trained on-site in a range of skills such as gardening and catering. Richards Bay Minerals is sponsoring a rural food store that will sell produce from the gardens to the locals.
"AIDS is more than a health issue. It is a social issue. If we are to address AIDS, we need to address poverty," said Stander. |
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