Busy Week

This week we had a very atypical schedule, which meant more field study type classes. Tuesday we split up and went to visit different hospitals. My experience there was actually not very good, and I think a lot of that had to do with the level of disorganization. They were basically under the impression that we were there to volunteer, not to tour the hospital and learn about public health. So we spent most of the day in the pediatric ward playing with the little kids, most of which were HIV positive or extremely malnourished (and by malnourished I mean literally skin and bones). Even though I didn’t learn as much about the hospital itself, I did learn a lot about these kids and the poor conditions of the pediatric ward. I was really surprised that they just let parents walk right in and out of the ward, even though most of the kids were HIV positive with CD4 counts below 350 and are many times more susceptible to any kind of infection. One little boy that was there couldn’t get himself out of bed, while all the other kids were coloring and playing. It’s sad to know that he’s probably near the end of his battle, and that he himself didn’t have any control over his HIV positive status.

Wednesday we toured different NGOs (Non-Government Organizations), and my group went to an organization called “OneVoice.” Basically, they go into local schools and educate grade 8 students about prevention of HIV and AIDS, and they do it in a way that is interactive and fun for the students as opposed to just learning about it in a health class. They are funded by PEPFAR (The US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), which (as with most other organizations funded by the US), is going to run out very soon. I was really impressed with their organization though and I learned a lot about how the NGO is run, which I hope will be useful to me when I someday (hopefully) fulfill my lifelong dream of starting my own NGO.

Yesterday we went to tour different schools in the area, and my school was Clareville Elementary. The school serves some local kids, but is mainly a school for refugee students from Rwanda and Congo, whose families came to South Africa to give their kids a better education and escape violence. The school prides itself on the success of the refugee students, most of which come to SA without knowing any English or Zulu. After observing some classrooms it was obvious that the refugee students were answering more questions and definitely wanted to learn more than the local students. It was really interesting though and I’m glad we went.

Next week we will be going on an excursion to a rural area called Impendle and staying in pairs for two nights in homes without any electricity or running water. We’ll be touring a rural hospital and going to see a Sangoma (a Zulu witch doctor), which should be really interesting. I probably won’t have any more internet from this point until next Wednesday, so I’ll fill you all in on how it goes next week. Other than that, things are good, I just had my Zulu final today and I'm having a movie night with my sister Nelo tonight. Thanks for reading!