Sunday Outing

This Sunday Lauretta surprised Winrose and I with an outing to Midlands Meander.  She told us that she and her family were just going out for lunch and invited us to go along, but it ended up being so much more.  First we stopped in the town of Howick to take pictures at a view point of the Howick falls.  The views here in South Africa are so amazing.  We took a couple pictures at the waterfall and then continued driving. 

Next we stopped at the capture site of Nelson Mandela where a new monument has been built.  At first look the monument seemed to be an abstract of metal shards, but once we stood in the right spot we could see Mandela’s profile outlined with the metal. We also walked through the small museum on site that gave a history of Mandela’s life.  It talked about his upbringing, how he was captured at this site during apartheid, his life in prison, and his rise to leadership as South Africa’s first democratic President. We also had lunch at a little restaurant near the capture site. 

 After lunch, we drove to a type of market place where we could walk around and window shop.  There were coffee shops, dress shops, craft shops, and home décor shops. I didn’t buy anything, but it was nice to walk around and look at all the crafts.  We finally headed home after our busy Sunday to get some rest. Winrose and I were so thankful for our little surprise.  We had no idea that there is so much to do around our small town of Bulwer.  We are definitely looking forward to another outing, and hopefully soon.

Indaba Conference in Durban

CMMB information table

This past Friday I was lucky enough to travel to Durban with some of my colleges to attend a conference on medical male circumcision in South Africa. The goal of the conference was to discuss the progress that has been made since the MMC campaign launched in the province two years ago. Those invited to the conference included Amakhosi, Izinduna, youth organizations, healthcare professionals, NGOs, community-based organizations, and donor organizations. Amakhosi are the chiefs of different areas in South Africa, and Izinduna are the second in charge to the Amakhosi. We arrived at the conference and set up an information table on CMMB and the services we provide at our MMC clinic. There were several other organizations that also set up tables with their own pamphlets on MMC. Once the conference started, we listened to several speakers talk about an overview of MMC in KwaZulu-Natal, how to foster collaboration between service providers, and the necessity for scaling up MMC. 

Small group discussion

We then split into 3 “commissions” to talk in small groups about different topics.  My group focused on the myths of MMC, the effects of those myths, proper scientific facts, and how to address and correct the myths. It was great to hear other health care professionals voice their opinions and concerns about how to promote and improve MMC.  I had no idea so many different stakeholders for MMC were in South Africa and that they were so involved. Just before the end of our small group discussion, one doctor stood up and shared some of his opinions.  He said he’s been circumcising for several decades and has learned one crucial thing: We should not set targets based on a headcount.  When we focus solely on the numbers, it decreases the quality of care we are able to provide. He admitted that once circumcised around 100 boys in one day (a large gain for reaching targets), but confesses he is ashamed because he knows he did not take the time to talk with each boy or supervise nurses suturing the wound after he cut.  The doctor spoke very passionately about this issue, and it was definitely the message I walked away with after leaving the conference. Before the end of the conference, the MEC from the department of health gave a brief speech about the different methods of MMC and how health care providers should support one another to achieve our goals and provide quality care.

 We left the conference and took a quick detour to see the beach since both Winrose and I had never been to Durban.  It was my first time seeing the Indian Ocean! We grabbed a quick bite to eat and enjoyed the view before heading back home.  It was a long 2 hour drive back, but I had a great experience in Durban at the conference and I’m hoping to attend more in the future!