Eeste River..... Day Nine

Today was another awesome day. It began at Auntie Goliath’s house. In South Africa the term Auntie and Uncle is used as a sign of respect for men and women. She prepared rooibos tea, guava juice, cake, and cookie. She and her husband invited members of the local police force

to talk to us too. 

Me and Auntie Goliath

The health center sees about 500 people daily. The dental section performs 40-50 extractions daily.

Auntie in her garden

Outside the health center and the community center, a skate park exists. It appears the community members have recognized if children don’t have something positive to do, they will turn to drugs, alcohol, and sex.

Dr. Tim Visser, Eeste River hospital CEO, spoke with us as well. Dr. Visser seems to support and challenge the employees to think outside the norm. Dr. Visser stated he believes obstacles should be seen first as an opportunity. Then they can be reframed as a possibility. He stated then steps can be taken for the obstacle to be a success.

Dr. Visser as well as the Allied health team gave us a tour of the hospital. The hospital has oil paintings throughout. Dr. Visser stated the oil painting (some with real oil leaf) we placed in the hospital strategically as seed of hope for patients. He stated when people came into the hospital, they receive patient care like they have never experienced. They see things like these painting that they may have never seen. It may subliminally give them hope that they can be more than what they see in their communities daily.

After the tour of the hospital, Dr. Visser and the allied health staff gave us a walking tour through the township of Mufulani. As we walked through the township, people came out to greet us. We were told some of the people stated "the whites are here" in their native language.

After the walking tour, we debriefed at Vergenoegt, a wine estate. Chef Mike gave a very vivid description of the meal. I had the mushroom starter, followed by the game (antelope), finished with the chocolate dream (the actual name escapes me, but it should have been named dream. It was divine.)

Chef Mike Isreal at Vergenoegt Wine Estate



Stephanie, Dr. Visser, Wade, Jac, and Rionell

Me with Dr. Tim Visser

While we were at the police station, we observed a room called the trauma room (no pictures), which is also known as a safe place for victims-specifically sexual abuse victims. The trauma room is operated by volunteers. The officers talked about the community involvement. The officer gave an example. She stated community volunteers walk the streets at night from 9-6 to assure the safety of the children in high crime areas. Community informants help watch for others. I really liked the communal aspect of the people.

 I learned a new phrase call “Ubuntu”, which I am probably not spelling correctly. None the less, it means I am who I am because of my relationship/connections to other people. Simply, U hurt, I hurt. The whole idea of the people in the community taking care of each other is different idea. In my experience, Americans take care of themselves first. If anything is left, we might think about others. It seems like we think of others only when we are all experiencing a tragedy. For example, a few months ago, a tornado hit my apartment complex. I talked and interacted with my neighbors more during that time than I ever had. I was somewhat envious of the South Africans. I can recall a time, not so long ago, when we put others first and cared about our neighbors.

In the afternoon, we went to Eeste River Hospital. The Allied Health team staffed a few cases with us. It was amazing to me the attention they gave each case. The hospital has several community initiatives. Rionell Gabriel and the team discussed several programs offered at the hospital. One program is called Kangaroo Care. Kangaroo Care is used normally with premature babies. The mother or father holds the baby skin to skin. The parent acts as an incubator.