For the first Friday of February I was back at the Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust (HACT), the very first project we visited on this trip some two weeks ago. On that first day Sarah and I were given a tour of the facility at HACT and we were told of some of their current and future initiatives. You can find out about all they do by following this link: HACT
One of their newest initiatives is the Grassroots Soccer programme that they are rolling out from April to replace the existing LifeSkills Programme they run in Primary Schools. This change was one of the decisions that came out of their annual monitoring and evaluation exercise at the end of last year. The intention is that the Grassroots Soccer engages the Primary school pupils in an activity they enjoy and enables them to build a mutually supportive cohort to whom the facilitors can then deliver the AIDS Awareness curriculum. This will later be extended to cover Gender Based Violence, all in an age appropriate manner. They will also continue their Peer Education Model for High School, this is a programme where 10 to 15 students are selected from Grade 10 (15 to 16 year olds) and these students are supported by a school based facilitator and mentors from HACT. They are taken through the AIDS Awareness programme and then these peer educators are responsible for delivering the programme and any other associated Life Skills, in a manner of their choosing. Sometimes it will be assembly based presentations, perhaps inviting a guest speaker or another form of peer interaction. They are encouraged to be as creative in their delivery as they wish and as ambitious as they dare! At the end of the year, the peer educators from the 6 high schools all join together to attend a three-day leadership camp, which enables them to reflect upon their experience and allows HACT to learn from that cohort's experiences and make any necessary changes to the following year's scheme.
Increasingly HACT are seeing the impact of the national crises in Oncology provision in South Africa, which is more marked in the region of KwaZulu Natal. There is a severe shortage of cancer diagnostic and treatment equipment in SA and a corresponding shortage in competent and qualified practitioners. Terminally ill patients are increasingly co-infected with HIV AIDS and Cancer, consequently HACT are experiencing an increased stay duration in their respite unit. The consequence of this is that the total number of patients who can be offered care in the unit has dropped from 240 in 2017 to 200 in 2018. The need for this facility does not diminish and HACT cares for people from all walks of life and all ages, young women with HIV AIDS and Cervical Cancer to Gogo's (Grandmother's) with HIV AIDS. The issue of cervical cancer is increasingly alarming as even if women do have access to Pap Testing, they often are not given the results and even if they are, they have a typical nine month wait for the next stage of treatment, by which time they may already be at Stage 4. This is particularly galling for a cancer that has a good chance of treatment if it is diagnosed and treated at an early stage.
The beautiful blankets and quilts that were kindly donated by our wonderful knitters, crocheters and seamstresses were very gratefully received and will be an additional comfort for individuals in palliative care.
Much of this information was explained to me as we went on two trips from the centre in Hillcrest. For the first, our driver was a charming man called Mr Mshengu who works tirelessly for HACT. At 9 am, he had already taken two of the Respite Unit patients to two different hospitals in Durban, about a 70km round trip, in Friday morning rush hour traffic. He was due to return to collect them, after their treatment about 10 hours later! In the meantime, there was no time for him to rest, he commenced his home visits, one of which we joined. We went to meet V, a gentleman who has had a number of stays in the respite unit and is now living independently again for a spell. He lives in a rural community deep in the 1000 Hills Valley.
When he first came to the attention of the HACT his accommodation was a rather tumbledown mud brick hut with no toilet facilities. He was so unwell and had been bedridden, so that he needed to be taught how to walk again. Thanks to a generous donor, funds were made available to build a solid brick house on his land, with a ramp for access and also a separate toilet hut.
This meant that he could return home after his period of convalescence at HACT. As we drove down the track and then off-track into the bush, V came into sight, sitting in his walker/seat in his yard. His wide smile was all the evidence one could need of the esteem and love he felt for the team at HACT and for Mr Mshengu, who looks in on him from time to time. He manages quite well alone, as a friend will pick up his disability grant and buy food for him and his 21 year old son also stays from time to time. HACT keep a close eye on him, to ensure he maintains his medication and he eats sufficiently well. He is hoping to have electricity installed before the winter and he has started to grow a few veggies (tomatoes and butternut) which he has to keep a close eye on to ward off goats and monkeys!
After saying farewell we headed back to Hillcrest and then set out again with the Assistant Manager for the Gogo Support Programme. This is a fabulous and much admired programme that aims to educate, empower and uplift grandmothers who are caring for orphaned grandchildren in the Valley of 1000 Hills region of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, leading to better life outcomes for both the grandmothers and their grandchildren. The success of this program is such that P now has the Gogo Toolkit, which helps other communities to set up and run their own Gogo support activities.
This has been running for 10 years in the 1000 Hills region and one of the wonderful events is the Gogo Olympics in April every year. Gogo's from various communities in the region join together to compete in a Soccer tournament which is the culmination of that year's fitness activities. In the Kwanisa area there is an additional fitness facility, an outside gym. My money is definitely on this community's Gogo's to win the gold at the 2019 Gogo Olympics!
The great thing about this gym, is that it is not only great for agility and fitness, it is also very sociable. It is adjacent to the local Primary school and the football pitch where the Gogo's practice, often to the enthusiastic support from the school children on their break. It is also a great community facility, today there were lots of school age children there, as the local school was closed for a teacher's awards day.
Returning to HACT I reflected on the proactive and empowering activities that they operate, it's is most definitely a "hand up not a hand out" mentality. Another example is the clothing scheme, women are selected to participate and each Friday morning they purchase a bin bag full of mixed clothing that has been donated to the centre, sorted by volunteers the previous Tuesday or Wednesday. The bag costs R15 (just under £1) and the women then go back to their communities where they sell the clothes on to make an income for themselves. This is primarily a short term intervention to allow women to get back onto their feet, but some women have made quite a business out of it.
This blog cannot do justice to the extent of the initiatives and support HACT undertakes; as with all my monitoring visits I am overwhelmed by the dedication of the staff, the selflessness of the skilled volunteers and the proactivity of the recipients of the care and support. Their enthusiasm is infectious.
Once I got back to the lodge, I was delighted to receive two photos from 1000 Hill Community Helpers in my email in box. These were photo's of the young girls who each received one of the lovely school dresses that were kindly donated to us and some of the children who received a lovingly handknitted jumper from our wonderful knitters! These will be most welcome on the chilly valley mornings.
Smiles all round today! For me, it's the last day visiting the projects for this trip. I'm popping to a local farmers and craft market tomorrow to see if I can acquire any more lovely items for our beadwork and craft stall. After that, it's off the Durban to catch my flight back home.
Thank you for having me South Africa, I look forward to coming back soon. To KwaZulu Natal I say "ukuvalelisa, ngizobuya" (I bid you farewell, I will come back)
One of their newest initiatives is the Grassroots Soccer programme that they are rolling out from April to replace the existing LifeSkills Programme they run in Primary Schools. This change was one of the decisions that came out of their annual monitoring and evaluation exercise at the end of last year. The intention is that the Grassroots Soccer engages the Primary school pupils in an activity they enjoy and enables them to build a mutually supportive cohort to whom the facilitors can then deliver the AIDS Awareness curriculum. This will later be extended to cover Gender Based Violence, all in an age appropriate manner. They will also continue their Peer Education Model for High School, this is a programme where 10 to 15 students are selected from Grade 10 (15 to 16 year olds) and these students are supported by a school based facilitator and mentors from HACT. They are taken through the AIDS Awareness programme and then these peer educators are responsible for delivering the programme and any other associated Life Skills, in a manner of their choosing. Sometimes it will be assembly based presentations, perhaps inviting a guest speaker or another form of peer interaction. They are encouraged to be as creative in their delivery as they wish and as ambitious as they dare! At the end of the year, the peer educators from the 6 high schools all join together to attend a three-day leadership camp, which enables them to reflect upon their experience and allows HACT to learn from that cohort's experiences and make any necessary changes to the following year's scheme.
Increasingly HACT are seeing the impact of the national crises in Oncology provision in South Africa, which is more marked in the region of KwaZulu Natal. There is a severe shortage of cancer diagnostic and treatment equipment in SA and a corresponding shortage in competent and qualified practitioners. Terminally ill patients are increasingly co-infected with HIV AIDS and Cancer, consequently HACT are experiencing an increased stay duration in their respite unit. The consequence of this is that the total number of patients who can be offered care in the unit has dropped from 240 in 2017 to 200 in 2018. The need for this facility does not diminish and HACT cares for people from all walks of life and all ages, young women with HIV AIDS and Cervical Cancer to Gogo's (Grandmother's) with HIV AIDS. The issue of cervical cancer is increasingly alarming as even if women do have access to Pap Testing, they often are not given the results and even if they are, they have a typical nine month wait for the next stage of treatment, by which time they may already be at Stage 4. This is particularly galling for a cancer that has a good chance of treatment if it is diagnosed and treated at an early stage.
The beautiful blankets and quilts that were kindly donated by our wonderful knitters, crocheters and seamstresses were very gratefully received and will be an additional comfort for individuals in palliative care. 
Much of this information was explained to me as we went on two trips from the centre in Hillcrest. For the first, our driver was a charming man called Mr Mshengu who works tirelessly for HACT. At 9 am, he had already taken two of the Respite Unit patients to two different hospitals in Durban, about a 70km round trip, in Friday morning rush hour traffic. He was due to return to collect them, after their treatment about 10 hours later! In the meantime, there was no time for him to rest, he commenced his home visits, one of which we joined. We went to meet V, a gentleman who has had a number of stays in the respite unit and is now living independently again for a spell. He lives in a rural community deep in the 1000 Hills Valley. 
When he first came to the attention of the HACT his accommodation was a rather tumbledown mud brick hut with no toilet facilities. He was so unwell and had been bedridden, so that he needed to be taught how to walk again. Thanks to a generous donor, funds were made available to build a solid brick house on his land, with a ramp for access and also a separate toilet hut. 
After saying farewell we headed back to Hillcrest and then set out again with the Assistant Manager for the Gogo Support Programme. This is a fabulous and much admired programme that aims to educate, empower and uplift grandmothers who are caring for orphaned grandchildren in the Valley of 1000 Hills region of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, leading to better life outcomes for both the grandmothers and their grandchildren. The success of this program is such that P now has the Gogo Toolkit, which helps other communities to set up and run their own Gogo support activities.
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| The Soccer coach puts me through my leg press routine |
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| One Gogo tackles the shoulder press |
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| Sindi (centre) has lost 7kg since starting to use the gym in December! |
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| The local facilitators participate too! |
The great thing about this gym, is that it is not only great for agility and fitness, it is also very sociable. It is adjacent to the local Primary school and the football pitch where the Gogo's practice, often to the enthusiastic support from the school children on their break. It is also a great community facility, today there were lots of school age children there, as the local school was closed for a teacher's awards day. Returning to HACT I reflected on the proactive and empowering activities that they operate, it's is most definitely a "hand up not a hand out" mentality. Another example is the clothing scheme, women are selected to participate and each Friday morning they purchase a bin bag full of mixed clothing that has been donated to the centre, sorted by volunteers the previous Tuesday or Wednesday. The bag costs R15 (just under £1) and the women then go back to their communities where they sell the clothes on to make an income for themselves. This is primarily a short term intervention to allow women to get back onto their feet, but some women have made quite a business out of it.
This blog cannot do justice to the extent of the initiatives and support HACT undertakes; as with all my monitoring visits I am overwhelmed by the dedication of the staff, the selflessness of the skilled volunteers and the proactivity of the recipients of the care and support. Their enthusiasm is infectious.
Once I got back to the lodge, I was delighted to receive two photos from 1000 Hill Community Helpers in my email in box. These were photo's of the young girls who each received one of the lovely school dresses that were kindly donated to us and some of the children who received a lovingly handknitted jumper from our wonderful knitters! These will be most welcome on the chilly valley mornings.
Smiles all round today! For me, it's the last day visiting the projects for this trip. I'm popping to a local farmers and craft market tomorrow to see if I can acquire any more lovely items for our beadwork and craft stall. After that, it's off the Durban to catch my flight back home.
Thank you for having me South Africa, I look forward to coming back soon. To KwaZulu Natal I say "ukuvalelisa, ngizobuya" (I bid you farewell, I will come back)
