Shared Knowledge & Understanding

Post by Mark Hibbins, Hospice Wits Financial Manager

Mark Hibbins

Despite South Africa being the most advanced country in Africa, we're nevertheless fairly isolated in terms of our understanding or even awareness of worldly developments, specifically around palliative care and, to a large extent, technological advances.

Our country is a vast cauldron of many factors. We have 11 official languages, cultural differences and massive anomalies in living and education standards. Within a mile or two from the wealthy live thousands in abject, unbelievable poverty, with the majority whom are unemployed. Our government health facilities are crumbling, many barely functional.

Hospice Wits has units in Houghton, a wealthy area, and Soweto, an impoverished area. We're so fortunate to share a partnership with Suncoast Hospice.We're extremely proud of our Soweto facility and the services we offer to the community. These are only possible to continue because of the generosity of financial contributions from local and international funders.

Sadly, our USAID/PEPFAR funding terminates in March this year, and this will definitely place an additional burden on us to find alternate funding in order to continue our work in Soweto.

For me, the partnership with Suncoast Hospice represents a golden opportunity for both of our hospices to benefit from a sharing of knowledge and understanding.

Our staff who've visited U.S.A. and Suncoast have returned invigorated and filled with new ideas and enthusiasm. And their experiences have been shared with us. We're also in awe that you and your staff who've visited here over the years feel you've learned from us. We trust our mutual association will remain strong.

We're also implementing a number of Suncoast Hospices’ initiatives. We're excited about the ultimate benefits we surely will receive.

Reflections on the Last Two Weeks

It's hard to believe that we've been gone for two weeks. Today (it's Sunday the 17th as I write this) we spent a lovely afternoon having a long leisurely outdoor lunch hosted by Nigel and Dee (Hospice Wits CEO and his wife and my host and hostess). We ate at their outdoor bowling club (not like our American bowling).

Many of our previous Hospice Wits visitors were there including Bev, Dorcus, Ntombi, Penny, Patrick, and Ritta. Joy, marketing manager was also there with her family. It was a delightful afternoon.

We all remarked how fast these two weeks have gone. I can see the sadness in our Hospice Wits's colleagues faces. I can already feel my own beginning telltale signs of starting the saying goodbye process. This disengagement is always difficult. I feel so at home here, surrounded by friends doing similar work. At lunch we were talking about a patient Susan, Terri, and I saw with Penny last week who was admitted to the IPU in Soweto the end of the week. It was nice to be able to confirm what Penny was telling Dorcus and Bev about this patient's primary caregiver.

We've accomplished so much. We spent two half days with their leadership team sharing leadership best practices and reviewing resources available to hospice staff including our Learn Center. I don't believe I told you that Suncoast Hospice donated 6 laptops to Hospice Wits. We brought them in our luggage. These laptops will be placed in the Soweto and Johannesburg offices so staff can access the Learn Center and the Internet (for additional resources).

By the end of Monday we will have provided a day of education to all clinical staff at both locations. By the end of Tuesday we will have made visits with the homecare sisters at both locations. We also spent a day making visits in Soweto with Penny, their social worker.

We have provided support activities, team building, and a powerful activity that reinforced the connection to and importance of all their employees.

We've learned a lot also. I have pictures of a clinical room used for counseling of adults and children I'd like for us to replicate. The walls are painted using nature scenes and mythology to assist with connecting to the symbolic aspects of therapy. I have ideas of how we might use such a room on our campuses.

I have facilitated discussions with the staff and leadership team about how to continue enhancing our partnership. I'll be sharing these suggestions with all of you. First and foremost they'd like to communicate directly with their Suncoast Hospice counterparts. Much more to come.

We will send a few more posts before we leave.

Wish us well during our final three days here. We travel Wednesday night arriving back in Tampa around noon on Thursday. Another 24 hours or so of travel... Susan, Terri, and I will be back to work on Monday the 25th.

Know that we've done a great job representing all of you during these two and a half weeks.

Gratefully,

Stacy

Today Was Spectacular

Today was spectacular. I mean truly spectacular. I am so proud of the team with me. Susan and Terri are doing a wonderful job sharing their many gifts of self with Hospice Wits staff.  It's going to be hard to put into words to describe how I feel about today. I know there will be more to share once I've had a chance to be still and think.  For now I'll tell you about our day. It's almost 5:30 pm in Jo-burg.

This morning we spent 4 hours with the management team. All 6 of their leaders committed to giving up half a day (on a Friday) to be with us.  We started with an activity led by Terri. We all completed an autobiographical poem about ourselves and then shared them with each other. I then led a discussion about leadership which culminated with each of the managers and CEO completed two different leadership questionnaires. Given the amount of trust in the room, the Hospice Wits staff began sharing some feelings regarding their own leadership strengths and leadership behaviors they'd like their colleagues to help them with.  Terri then ended our time together by facilitating a very heartwarming activity.  She will blog about this herself so I won't say more.  Just one hint... It involves each manager being 'pinned' by us. The pins are jigsaw puzzle pieces. We repeated this activity in the afternoon with all the staff on the Jo-burg campus and we'll repeat this activity in Soweto.  By the time we leave every paid employee will have a pin. I'm sending a few pictures for you to see.

After all the staff left Susan, Terri, and I stayed in the room to process the day and the week. We cried, laughed, and expressed gratitude to each other, our families, and you. This trip would not be possible without everyone's support.

So my heart is full. In fact it is brimming and overflowing with love right now. Tonight we're having dinner with the management team to celebrate our first work week here (please slow down time...). We understand we're being taken to an authentic South African restaurant. I heard someone mention worms...

Tomorrow is the weekend. We'll work on more posts so you'll have plenty to read Monday.

Until then,

Stacy

Susan Moloto, Soweto Hospice sister tells her story

Susan Moloto, a sister (nurse) with Soweto Hospice tells of the care given to the "poorest of the poor" in Soweto, South Africa.

Welcome

Jump to the most recent post.

Care 4 Soweto is a partnership of Suncoast Hospice with the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa supporting the important work of the Hospice Association of the Witwatersrand and Soweto Hospice.

Our purpose is simple – To provide care, aid and support to the Soweto community - ravaged by endemic disease. The people of Soweto and surrounding Jo-burg, are making valiant strides in caring for those patients and their families who are battling terminal illness, and also helping with some of the most basic of needs: food, housing, and care for the children.

Please consider participating in this effort and donate to the important work of the Soweto Hospice and their many programs for the people of Soweto. It only takes a minute.

Follow this blog, and follow our ongoing commitment to our friends in Soweto. Please pass along the address for this site, to your friends and family as well. Thank you for your support, and we encourage you join our partnership.

Gift's poem

Below is the poem Gift wrote while a patient in our Soweto hospice:

THE GIFT

By Gift Khontyaphi

 

My Lord I ask you now,

Help us children and me;

To grow up until we die.

I thank you Jesus,

Because you help me when I'm sick,

I thank you Jesus for our mothers,

 Our doctors, our sisters.

They love us so much.

Please Lord help me

To grow up until I die.

I have lots of sickness

Since I have been small

Now I am better

I feel well.

To feel sick is not good

I feel tired

And don’t want to drink my medicine,

I feel sad, I want to see and be with my family.

To die is not alright.

Don’t think about dying.

If you think,

 You are going to die fast.

Because to die is not alright

I want to grow up,

Grow up until I die.

My HIV is not alright 

I want to drink my medicine

Please Lord give us Power

I know children want to grow up

But if you don’t take your medicine

You will die

I feel bad, I feel sad,

I feel naughty, cross and angry,

I feel everything has been stolen from me

My life has no control.

It makes me want to be naughty

Please Lord help me.

My Lord I ask you now,

Help us children and me;

To grow up until we die.

 

Graduation - Ancillary Nurses Course at Soweto Hospice

By Eugeny Maraba

We had an exciting start to the week when Old Mutual presented the Training Centre with a well needed donation of R 9000.00. In 2008 Old Mutual partnered us in training Ancillary Nurses (Care Workers) who are from the previously disadvantaged communities of Soweto, Diepkloof and Orange Farm. The majority of candidates live in informal settlements where crime is rife, and basic services such as clean running water and electricity is still found lacking. A great number of the candidates are teenage school drop outs and unemployed. Previously Hospice subsidized this training completely however with the change of our financial climate the Old Mutual assistance now lifts that sole responsibility.

 

This is just one example of the learning programs that Hospice is funding. More help is desperately needed. Please donate today. 

More Photos Available

Exciting news everyone!

Cathy has uploaded new photos to the Soweto Trip 2009 photo album. The camera she is using has a GPS device attached to it so it is logging the location of every photo taken. The picasa photo album we are using can then utilize this information to place each photo on google maps.

You can use the Images & Map link on the main menu above or follow this link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/albumMap?uname=CathySowetoTrip1&aid=5322787999172399297#map

Go check it out!

Wow, wow, wow

I'm not sure where to start... I can't believe today is only our second day in Soweto as I feel as though we're among dear friends already. The staff have been so welcoming and inviting. We're greeted with smiles and hugs. The nursing sisters were overjoyed with the medical supplies we provided. I was overjoyed how easy it was getting the supply bags through customs at the airport! The customs officer did question me as he saw how many bags we had. I smiled (as much as I could after being up for most of the last 24 plus hours-didn't sleep much on the plane- but that's another story!) and told him we were visiting Jo-berg for two weeks and thankfully he waved us through.

We spent most of Monday visiting patients. I think it will take us awhile to sort through the myriad of feelings we have in order to share all of them with you. Our sister hospice is doing amazing work, providing food parcels, and lots and lots of love to patients who are living with so little. Hopefully soon we'll have more pictures on the site for you to see.

Someone on our trip asked me if I saw much difference between this trip and our trip in 2007. Soweto is changing some. They are so proud of hosting the 2010 World Cup soccer and there is much road construction to to prepare for this. Hotels are being built in order to meet the expected demand. That is very good for the economy. Unfortunately the extreme poverty and needs of patients is no better. I am very proud to say, though, that our sister hospice is working very very hard to slowly chip away at this.

We've had some very interesting conversations with our South African colleagues about this. The reasons for this poverty and suffering are very complicated- political, social, personal- etc. I'm not sure that it is up to us to solve or even truly understand. We're here to lend a hand and make a difference. As one patient said to us yesterday when Roxie, Laura and I were visiting with Sister Maria, "Don't forget about me."

How can we...

More to come,

Stacy