To assist in healthcare
delivery, Avian Park
has been serviced by an informal weekly clinic run by two home-based care
workers employed by the Department of Health as well as by medical students
from the Stellenbosch
University, under
supervision of Professor Hoffie Conradie.
The site of the informal
clinic is a container that is otherwise used for the administration of directly
supervised TB treatment. Referred to as the 'TB container' by the local
residents, it is in a dilapidated condition.
To enable Ukwanda to extend
its community involvement, expand the medical services delivered and improve
the educational experience of undergraduate students, a program of
infrastructural improvements needs to be undertaken. These improvements are
aimed at the essential maintenance and upgrade of the existing container, which
would in turn permit (I) an improvement in service delivery and training and
(II) ongoing sustainable healthcare practices and activities.
(I) Improvement in service
delivery and training:
- TB and general healthcare training for healthcare
workers, including the home-based care givers, who will in turn be
encouraged to train others
- Institution of better healthcare systems
- Exposure and training of more local undergraduate
medical students, who have already expressed a strong desire to work with
underserved rural communities in their future professional careers
- Increased health awareness and preventive
medicine activities in the community, with a pediatric focus
- Enlarging and optimizing the platform for
tri-partite interaction between the Department of Health, the academic
institution (University of Stellenbosch) and the local community (Avian Park)
(II) Practices/Activities:
- Continuation of a weekly clinic run by the two
care workers and Stellenbosch
University medical
students
- Creation of a garden by and for the local
community as part of an upgrade and beautification initiative. The garden
will also be a valuable food source for the community
CFHI will provide the clinic
with medical supplies and vital equipment through our Recover program. The
Recover program operates by sending donated medical supplies to underserved
communities either via shipping containers and/or through our students, who
carry the supplies, as requested by our community partners, with them on their
travels to our program sites.
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