Sani Pass to Lesotho

Danika and I in the car as we are leaving Underberg


A view of the landscape


A view of the Sani Pass




A view of the Sani Pass from the top



At the highest pub in Africa....


In a little Basoth hut...this woman let us try her homemade bread and beer. The beer was a bit different than good old Kokanee


A view of the Sani Pass Road as we were driving down....the corners were a bit tight


The Edzimkulu volunteers decided to go on an excursion through the sani pass. This is a long road that goes up a mountain into Lesotho and you ascend over 1000m in a few hours. Most of the drive is through no mans lands..between the South Africa and Lesotho borders. The drive was rocky to say the least....
We made a few stops along the way to take some pictures and get some info about the area. We made it to the top and were stamped into Lesotho. We enjoyed some lunch at the highest pub in Africa, which gave a really nice view of the pass and the food was quite good. We drove into the country a little ways and visited a small hut where we were fed fresh bread and beer.
The drive down was long....I was actually quite happy to step out of the vehicle and get back on solid ground.

The hospital

St. Apollonaris Hospital, yes it is quite small


One of the wards (a better one)


The rehab space, actually not too bad.... they have one OT and a part time PT


This is where they store the xrays...organization???? Somehow they do manage to find what they need.


A patient outside the hospital, carrying a chest tube, container made of glass


This is a real child...this DOES exist. Severe malnutrition. This child is bones in a sack of skin...litterally. Shockingly, this child can move itself in his crib, despite the lack of muscle.


A baby in the infant ward, eating cheesies off the floor. Not sure if the nurses knew he was there, because I had to help him back to his crib


So here are a few pics of the hospital that I visit once per week. We come here mostly for ARV's, but also for TB treatment and to check on our patients. It is amazing the difference in standards of hygiene....
The hopital has male wards and female wards. There is no elevator...I am not sure how some patients manage to use the stairs. Most of the wards are really just one big room with 16-20 beds tucked in so close together. You are lucky if you have a divider. There are no IV poles..they hang bags on teh curtain rail (if there is one), and otherwise peopel hold them as they move around. There are no side tables. they eat sitting up in there bed, and I dont think that there is any variety in the diet: rice, chicken and veg. in a room with 12 beds, there will be only 2 oxygen dispensors....what do they do if more people need oxygen?? And they admit many people for TB. (which reminds me...the main TB treatment center int he province..they cant take people who need oxygen!!!) The patients chart stay on their bed and their names are written above the head of the bed. Not quite up to the Alex's standards of FOIP. I am able to read anyones chart and I frequently go get Xrays to take to our clinic. Lastly, if you want something done..usually you must do it yourself. For example...I somehow ended up feeding the malnurished child because I was the one to ask for some fluid for him....he was crying and would not let go of my fingers. Most of the day at the hospital is waiting in long line ups, trying to get the doctors to listen to you. Not so different from home I guess!