On the morning of the Tshepo festival the health team went to say farewell to the clinic staff. They were very appreciative of our visit and have extended an invitation to return next year. We thanked them for their support and for their honesty. In addition, we explained that we would be writing an update to the report that we produced last year and that we would forward it to their Manager in the hope that she will share this with them. Our parting gift to them was a Christmas card and a bumper tin of biscuits!
We leave the clinic in the knowledge that although there has not been dramatic change since last year, there have been some small improvements and our key message to the Thoughtful Path is that it is vital that the relationship that we have initiated is sustained in 2013. Our hope is that by doing so, there will be successful outcomes for both parties, but ultimately that the people of Munsieville will enjoy better health.
The Safety team said there farewells too to those who had supported our home visits. We all provided feedback to Project Hope on the key areas of development that they may wish to consider going forward.
As regards to the Tshepo festival- Wow!
Just under 2,000 children entered the Munsieville stadium for the 3rd annual Tshepo Fesival. Some of the children got there up to 2 hours earlier so that they could get into the stadium first. Anyone who has organised any festival for children knows how difficult it is to pull these off! However with Project Hope staff, GSK Volunteers and an army of community support staff the event was a resounding success and was deemed to be the most successful yet.
There were many different events for the children to sing, dance and play musical instruments. The purpose of the festival was to provide a Christmas party for the children and the main theme was to promote health and safety in the home. The EHS team delivered a number of activities and displays which proved to be a hit with the children.
One of the really rewarding moments was being able to partner with the West Rand Disaster Planning unit. In joining up forces with the EHS team we combined our forces to deliver an enjoyable and educational experience for the children.
The health team focussed on paraffin ingestion and burns by using a doll who had previously been loaned by a local crèche and expertly repaired by our own seamstress Nicola! The safety team focussed on general aspects of paraffin safety and we got some great interaction with the children who were hungry to learn more on how they can provide a safer home for themselves.
There was lots of special moments for all the team but the one memory we all have is those lovely smiling faces of the children!
Arif, Nicola, Stacy, Robert, Duncan Bob and Veronica
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