Aprils Events

Here are some random pictures of some of the events in April...
Spent a weekend out in Durban which is along the Indian Ocean and nice and warm!! Spent 2 days at the beach, trying to work on my tan before heading back to the mountains.
The last weekend with the younger volunteers, we participated in "The incredible race". It turned out to be quite fun actually. We had to race around town to do some physical challenges and gather clues...we didnt have a local, but we managed to do ok. We didnt even come in last!!!
One day in the village, we had a doctor come out and spent time with the kids. He did a mini exam on one of the kids infront of the rest. The kids actually really liked it!
John, Fiona, Danika and I all got to help feed a calf...that was intersting. Never agian...I ended up with so much slobber on my hands...:)
All you people in Edmonton dont have to feel so bad about having a snow fall recently....We also have snow now. Though it isnt on the ground at our house, it is covering the mountains and the temps have gotten much cooler...I think that I will be happy to be leaving the mountains soon!!!



Dr. Biaggio visiting the pre school kids to teach them about medical exams. This kid didnt know what he was in for!


Team Spar Canada for "The Incredible Race" through Himeville and Underberg. Danika, John, Fiona and I


A sunset in Underberg


At the beach in Durban


Durban Beach


Visiting the Himeville museum. They had these manequins in a lot of the rooms...


Our first view of snow on the mountains....Its getting cold out here!


A village child wearing the mother theresa vest..


Me with the bottle...waiting to feed the baby calf for one of our neighbors


Me feeding the baby calf...getting completely slobbered on.....never again!



Danika with a bush mans painting out in a cave near Himeville

Kids at the village

Here are some shots of the kids in the village:

The Dentists

The women of the village performing a welcome dance for the dentists


The dentist's bus stuck in a ditch, as they make their was to the lodge in the pouring rain


The dentists getting set up at the community center


Me working with one of the hygenists



The dentists at work


One of our patients after being tortured by the dentist...he cried and cried...


Another patient


Me with a family that I helped get to see the dentist


We had two groups of dentists visit us at the community center. Each group stayed and worked for 7 days straight. Over 1000 patients were seen for fillings, extractions and cleaning. The first group of dentists were quite unlucky and had to endure a week of cold and rain...and many trips into the ditch. The second group were happy to see some sunshine. Our home based care workers worked very hard throughout, translating and teaching all the villagers about the importance of dental care. Despite it being a long few weeks for the Canadian volunteers, it was a very successful visit!

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!

Somethings...

The HIV Support group Choir


The gum boot dancers...very cool dancing. They use their hands and their boots and make as much noise as possible


The meal served at the end of the presentations...it was actually really really good.

I found myself in a situation where I had to stop and think....what the hell am I doing here? I went to an HIV/AIDS awareness celebration with our HIV/AIDS support group choir. I walked into ther hall and immediately noted that I was the ONLY white person for what felt like miles. I was immediately herded to the head table, which just happens to be situated on a stage in front of the whole crowd. Great. Anyway, I managed to sit through 3 hours of speechs, all done in Zulu...and NO I have not learned this language yet. The choir, however was amazing. There was also a presentation by the Gumboot dancers, which was quite spectacular. At the end of it all, we got fed some very tasty food. I was also thanked profusly by a few of the organizers, for coming and showing support.....
Anyway....



Expert Volunteers...Fiona and myself!


This is a photo of the camp setup. You can see theUmzimkulu river in the back...and you cant miss the Beer tent, fully stocked with Black Label and Hansa!



The Kayakers in the river going through 'Slot Machine', a set or rapids.

This past weekend I went out the The Thromi X-Fest with a fellow volunteer, to do some more volunteering....It was really good fun actually. Basically this is an extreme sport festival. There was alot of kayaking ( because that is a huge thing down here) and downhill mountain biking, which I dont understand how people could be so stupid to do, lond distance mountain biking, canoeing (in the south African sense...not wuite like home) and a multisport challenge, consisting of kayaking 20km, running up a mountain for 5 km, and mountain biking for 20km. Fun hey?? My volunteer cohort Fiona and I helped out a little bit with registration and such, but mostly enjoyed the sporting events and the evening festivities. I think that I may be turing into a volunteering expert...this weekend we are helping out with a HUGE canoe festival called the Drak challenge....should be fun too...

Hope everyone is well!!

Pictures from My trip to Mangeni

The kids next door, posing for one of the many many pictures I took of them. They loved it!


Our room, shared between 4 people. We also cooked and used the toilet in here. Cosy....


The people living next door..they wanted their photos taken. The kid was not too happy with us white people..he started to cry every time I looked at him.


Us crossing the river to make our home visits....the girls must do this everyday. Actually there are 2 rivers to cross....


A shot of the village and a common house in the village. Most houses are made of two or more small buildings made of mud and brick, with straw type roofs.


One of the Kids next door. She just loved us...