Celebrating our impact: Meet Velenkosi

Our team of volunteers and staff first came into contact with Velenkosi after receiving a request from a local caregiver who is faced with large time constraints due to her increasing number of patients. In order to reduce her workload, African Impact took over Velenkosi's weekly home visits, and learned his story.

When Velenkosi began attending clinics and hospitals after experiencing severe pain behind his eyes, he was informed he was suffering from meningitis. For unknown reasons, Velenkosi was discharged early from hospital following his diagnosis and as a result of not receiving adequate medical attention has subsequently lost his eyesight.

Velenkosi speaks with volunteers of his wishes to be able to assist his wife with their two children but can simply not operate as he is in a constant state of fragility and weakness. It is puzzling to think of a man such as Velenkosi, who resided across the road from the local clinic, could be in such dire need of medical attention and the local resources could offer nothing more. Volunteers delivered crutches and nutritional drinks and hoped this could help assist in mobility.

During subsequent visits, volunteers were concerned that there was no improvement and asked for Velenkosi to be added as a recipient for our EPap nutritional supplement as part of our 10 Families project.

After a month of regimented home based care visits, parcels and nutritional supplements, volunteers experienced a very victorious moment when their most recent visit saw Velenkosi walking! It was a beautiful day for the volunteers to report this news back to the volunteer house and proof of the value of their work in the communities and the hope it offers families.

Velenkosi’s mother, who was so busy caring for him each day, has been able to resume work in the town of St Lucia as Velenkosi’s health has improved so drastically that he is no longer in need of her round-the-clock care. Without the dedication of our medical team, this kind of recovery could not have been possible.

If you would like to help more people like Velenkosi, please visit The Happy Africa Foundation website. 

Staff Profile: Mumsy Mathonsi

Mumsy is African Impact’s housekeeper, and started working for us back in 2010. She’s a jack-of-all-trades, as before being employed here she held a great many jobs including breakfast chef, dinner chef, waitress and more. This makes Mumsy great at all aspects of her job – from cleaning and tidying to work in the kitchen and her afternoons out on project. She says here at African Impact she feels at home, and she hopes to make it that way for the volunteers.

“I like my job very much as a cleaner, I really like most for people to stay in a clean place,” says Mumsy, whose passion for her job is easy to see. “This place, I wish it to be like five-star, I can’t help it.”

Mumsy’s also happy to be working with African Impact, as working with the international staff and volunteers is improving her English very much.

Not only is Mumsy busy in the volunteer house most days of the week, she is also out on projects on occasion, particularly at afterschool club in Khula Village.

“It was a great challenge to be in project,” says Mumsy, who just recently started coordinating projects and volunteers. “Playing with the kids it’s more challenging and it’s nice also like to be with volunteers, sharing the languages sharing the opinions.”

Celebrating our impact: Meet Meline Dhembe

When volunteers first stepped foot at the Njokweni household, it was crammed with young adults, the children of the matron of the household – Meline Dhembe. Although we were there to visit a family a local caregiver said was in need, it was clear from the onset that it was Meline herself who was really in need of our help.

The mother of six children and numerous grandchildren was clearly suffering, and to even examine her proved to be a daunting task both for the volunteers and her faltering energy levels. In the end, we learned that Meline was suffering from tuberculosis, like many people in this region. According to the World Health Organisation, more than 400 000 cases of TB require treatment annually in South Africa, but cure rates barely reach 50%. This is mostly due to fragmented medical services, poor patient management and a lack of knowledge regarding strict treatment regimens.

The future for Melina looked bleak, but since our first visit to her in February of 2012, she has become healthier and stronger. Volunteers visited her every week, and even took the time to visit with her husband when he fell ill. They took her EPap each week, and helped with basic medical advice and treatment at one point when she had a rash on her hands. 

Thanks to the care provided by our medical staff and volunteers, Meline is now free of TB and has gained a whopping 11 kg on our EPap nutritional supplement. Meline is now a regular member of our Ezwenelisha Support Group, and attends meetings on a weekly basis.

On our last visit to her house, Melina ran up the road from her house to the main street to meet the vehicle of volunteers, smiling and waving as she ran. 

If you would like to help more people like Melina, please visit The Happy Africa Foundation website. 

Volunteer blog: Beatrice

It's 'Medical Outreach and HIV Awareness' volunteer Bea's last day on project today, and after all of the great work she's done with us we'll be sad to see her go!

Read her personal blog to find out more about her time with us in St Lucia. 

Staff Profile: Nonhlanhla Mthethwa

Nonhlanhla started working for African Impact in September of 2009, where she was employed as a cook in the busy volunteer kitchen. Before coming to St Lucia, she had been trained at Phinda Private Game Reserve, a prestigious lodge in the area. Despite being trained at a five-star lodge, Nonhlanhla loved cooking for the volunteers straight away.

“The meals that I’m making here are more African, which I like cooking,” she explains.

After running the kitchen for a number of years, Nonhlanhla got the opportunity to head out on our projects as she helped with the formation of the Mothers’ Support Group at Malibongwe Creche.  

“I feel more comfortable outside,” Nonhlanhla laughs; saying that although she has a passion for food and cooking, the realisation that she had the potential to do both was an exciting one. She now shares her time between catering for the volunteers and helping her community through projects like support groups and Reading Club.

Her favourite part about being out on projects is teaching people about what’s happening in their lives when they do not understand themselves. “Support group members are gaining a lot of knowledge, and the volunteers are teaching a lot about why things are happening in our lives,” explains Nonhlanhla.

Whether she’s working out in Khula and Ezwenelisha or here in our kitchen, Nonhlanhla says she’s “so proud” to be a part of the African Impact team and all the good things being done.

“Wearing that t-shirt with the badge, I feel so proud even in the taxi! It’s not just a restaurant – no – we’re helping my community!” 

'Peak of the week'

Bea taking a patient's blood pressure in their home.

Current 'Medical Outreach and HIV Education' volunteers Bea and Jess have put together a blog detailing their experience on the project. Check out their first impressions of the project and hear them recount their highlights. 

Being on the medical project is often challenging as you meet people who have many difficulties in life. We have met people too weak to get out of bed, people who worry about not making it through the month because they don’t have enough money, people who are battling HIV or AIDS and seeing the condition they are in has at times made us afraid we won’t meet them many more times. Every day we meet someone who is in need of a lot of help and it can at times be very frustrating because you want to do everything for them, but unfortunately that’s not always possible.

However, we always try our best. We might not be able to do everything but with African Impact we can do something, whether it’s handing out nutritional drinks, medicine, dropping someone of at the clinic or cleaning a wound. Nothing beats the feeling of visiting a very sick patient sitting there talking for a while to keep them company, and as we leave hear them say that we are “giving them the hope to keep on fighting”.

All we do is important for the community and we are happy to help in any way, but there are a few moments that stand out as extra special for both of us. We thought we would share those with you and each write a “peak of our medical weeks”.

Beatrice’s peak
My peak has without a doubt been when we visited a man who is on the Home Based Care project. He has AIDS and is very skinny and weak, and he spends most of his days in bed unable to walk because it hurts his legs. On one of our visits he said he wished he had crutches and the next time we saw him, we made sure to bring some for him. 

Even though he is always smiling (something I admire among the people we meet given the condition they are in) his face lit up even more when he saw the crutches and he couldn’t stop thanking us. The way he looked at them was as if I had just given him one million dollars – he was incredibly happy and thankful. I couldn’t stop smiling as I saw how happy we made him and that moment will stick with me forever.

Jess recording the measurement of a young patient's
bicep on our nutrition programme.

Jessica’s peak

A meeting with a man and his mother on the Home Based Care project this week affected me deeply. The man, sick with AIDS and a bad cough, was lying under several blankets in the corner while his mother was talking to us. She was visibly upset about his condition and she explained to us that she feared for her son’s life. 

She was crying when she said that it was African Impact’s work and visits that gave her hope and made her keep on going. I felt really proud in that moment. I felt proud to be able to be a part of this project and help her and her son, and her words made it clear to me that we actually do make a difference. 

Monthly update: April

Combining recycling efforts with fun to create a great bowling game for
the participants of Ezwenelisha's Holiday Club this month.

April is over? What?! Time has passed by so fast! We are into the second quarter of the year and this has led the volunteers down many different avenues on projects. There has been Holiday Club, bed making, the start of Girls' Club, Earth Day, large support group numbers in attendance.. read on for more news!

Holiday Club
Following the Easter weekend volunteers kick started April with daily themes for a week of Holiday Club. Volunteers and children alike had a brilliant time with activities surrounding sports, animals, Earth Day and craft making, and ended with 'Ezwenelisha's Got Talent' show. For finer details of our Holiday Club check the our 'Holiday Club' blog..

Crèche
Education volunteer time this April was split between finishing lesson plans for Malibongwe Creche before rotating onwards to Impumelelo Creche. Finishing up at Malibongwe meant various things for the children and volunteers. 

Child Assessments were undertaken before our departure, with the assessments being adjusted to cater for the younger ages of children. We were hugely impressed by the amount of information the young kiddies had absorbed. Mama Doris was very pleased that we were undertaking such assessments and noted the areas such as colour recognition that the children must work on. Volunteers ensured the children were very clear it was not a test so as not to stress them, and each child was happy to get a sticker for their hard efforts.

Volunteer Bea undertaking child assessments with the
kids at Malibongwe under the helpful watch of a teacher.

Malwande's Child Assessment was further adjusted so the questions posed to her involved pointing at the correct objects and shapes. Malwande has trouble with her speech and has only occasionally said the odd Zulu word. It was incredible how much knowledge she had stored away in her head. Volunteers and staff will continue to work closely with her. 

Volunteers were faced with large numbers upwards of 60 as they moved onto Impumelelo Creche. Learning groups at this creche are split into 3 rooms; a baby room, a middle class room of 2-3 year olds and then a room of Grade R children preparing for primary school. Volunteers began lessons of review and were hugely impressed by the what the children already knew - a big shout out to the teachers who have obviously been working very hard. We are very excited for the following weeks with these children and teachers.

We continue to visit Inkanyezi Creche every Friday for lessons with the children. Volunteers are constantly commenting on how beautiful it is to be with these children as they care and play with one another so beautifully. This month volunteers have been once again assisting Mama Gumede in her garden, and it looks fabulous!

Baby room
We saw a large number of education volunteers during the month of April, and thus we had enough to allow one volunteer to assist Mama Doris and the ladies in the baby room at Malibongwe. For first timers changing nappies and lulling a crying baby to sleep appeared as daunting tasks but everyone agreed it was hard not to love each child as they slid a cheeky smile their way. Baby room duties consisted not just of wiping bottoms, but also assisting at feeding times, cleaning bottles and bowls, sweeping up after eating times, wiping faces and noses, treating for ringworm and creating cute resources for the rooms! These duties are of a huge help to the ladies who are often with the children for over 10 hours each day.

Afterschool Club
The children attending After School Club are having a blast! Our April volunteers spent a total of 18 hours with the kids over three days on the project. The average attendance of the club has risen to 36 children, which proves just how amazing our volunteers have been at preparing activities! Fun games that were played this month include the infamous "Soap Game" which involves a netball-type setup with the use of wet soap instead of a ball. The afternoon activity was a definite volunteer favourite this month. 

African Impact's first Girl's Club!

Girl's Club was first started last year by a Peace Corps volunteer and has now been taken on by African Impact. Project Manager Alanna and volunteer Francien had a brilliant first session getting to know the girls and decorating their journals, which will be written in each week. African Impact are excited to facilitate the group, which will revolve around crafts, activities and discussions regarding the empowerment of women and girls. The groups rules are things such as 'we are kind', 'we give compliments', 'we have big dreams', 'we laugh together', 'we are honest' and 'we are family'. In total, three sessions were held with the 30 girls, who were chosen by the school to participate in the group. We look forward to facilitating the group each week!

Earth Day
22 April was Earth Day! African Impact and volunteers called for all hands on deck and planned a massive garbage pickup in the Khula community. Volunteer coordinator Monique and volunteers walked from St Lucia to Khula to assemble with fellow garbage collectors at the Khula Village entrance. 

Volunteers and staff were joined by members from Khula support groups and our Ezwenelisha support group, community workers, new garbage pickup participants and various other members of the community making for a total of 59 people. The joint display of care for our planet resulted in a total of 62 bags of rubbish being collected! After the morning events everyone enjoyed some juice and fruit as volunteer Beatrice delivered a speech about the relevance of Earth Day and some facts about how long items take to decompose. We <3 Earth! 

Click here to view a video from the day!

Support Groups

Our Khula and Ezwenelisha Support Groups gathered this April and spent entire mornings catching up and learning about various topics including gardening, recycling, defence classes and plenty of yoga when joined by yoga instructor David from St Lucia. Khula members continue to work away with their beads to sell and the Ezwenelisha members continue to care for their support group garden as winter approaches.

Mother's Support Group members really banded together this month and showed how beneficial the existence of such a group can be. There was joy as a member welcomed her adorable little child into the world, and there was grief as a member lost her Gogo (grandmother). The show of the support from the ladies towards each other as these events unfolded was beautiful for the volunteers to see how such a support system can create strong, empowering bonds for these mothers. The group also had some great fun during the last session of the month, when volunteers prepared mommy-baby exercises for the ladies and their children to try out. 

Home-Based Care and Home Assistance 

Volunteers visited numerous patients in the communities and provided many much-needed clinic drop offs this month. We can see that the colder months are already starting to affect families especially our older patients. During April local caregivers alerted us to 3 new patients in the Khula area who are in need of extra assistance and volunteers said they are pleased that they can provide that extra attention. Volunteers busy on the Home Assistance side of things as well - successfully building a bed for one of our Home Based Care patients and laying a new floor for another.

10 Families

In total over the first four months of the year, our patients have gained over 30kg on the EPap nutritional supplement, and we're very happy to report that most participants are looking happy and healthy. Deworming medication delivered to Pendukile's family has really helped the children look healthier and when they hit the scale at the end of this month we could tell the medicine had done them well! 

Two of our 10 Families members, Mama Dhembe and Mama Gumede (also part of our Ezwenelisha Support) have graduated our nutrition programme and are looking fit and healthy. In their place we have two new patients identified as lacking essential nutrients and are confident that we will have the same successes as we have with past members! 

Volunteers pose with our Adult English Class participants
who received certificates this month. 

Certificates 
April has gone mad with certificates being handed out for many of our projects! 

Primary School HIV education: Although Easter holidays did make for a slight disruption in lessons at the beginning of the month, volunteers were pleased to hand out 17 certificates to children! 

Reading Club: Volunteers were stoked to be handing out our 'Bronze' certificates to the learners attending the club. The total amount of certificates handed out were 8. We are having an average attendance of 51 and this remains to be one of volunteer's most-loved projects.

Garbage Pick Up: Phase 2 of our Garbage Collection project has been hugely successful and has attracted many new ladies to join the volunteers on a Thursday afternoon of cleaning up Khula. This month we handed out 5 certificates and picked up 54 bags of rubbish!

Adult English Classes: During our last week of classes this month, we handed out four certificates of attendance to our most dedicated students. They are so proud to be attending the classes and having a certificate made it even more special!