Ethembeni Place of Hope

Today was my first day at Ethembeni Place of Hope. I had an idea of what I was going to be doing, since a couple of my other classmates have already done some clinical days there before me, but I was still really excited to experience a new place. Today was really hot from the start, so I already knew it was going to be somewhat of a long day. When we were dropped off in Mpophomeni at Ethembeni, Sister Kathryn and a couple of the other health care workers were there already. We kind of just sat around for a little bit, because Sister Kathryn was trying to finish some paperwork. So while we were waiting, one of the health care workers showed us around the place. They have four beds at Ethembeni for a temporary place for patients (inpatients). We briefly met two of the patients. They looked pretty sick, and they had just woken up so I didn’t get to ask them much. Hopefully next Thursday when I’m there I will have the opportunity to interact a bit more with them. They were really happy to see us though.

Ethembeni Place of Hope is an non-governmental organization (NGO) and is funded by the Howick Community Church and private donations. They have two nurses, Sister Kathryn and Sister Louise, as well as health care workers, volunteers, and church members that are on the team. Just to begin with though, my Ethembeni experience is very much different from that of the others at the clinics. It is more laid back, slower in pace, and just all around different. I felt that the other places understood a little better what it meant to have a student there. For example, they were more inclusive in translating any Zulu into English. But the experience was still very welcoming for me as a student.

Today, Bethany and I went out with Sister Kathryn, a health care worker, and volunteer to do home visits. We would all pile in the buckey and journey along; it was quite the experience. I will highlight two of the visits throughout the day that impacted me the most.

The patient, who stuck out to me the most out of all the visits, was the second home we visited. The home consisted of a 24-year-old lady with TB and HIV, which was the patient we were seeing, a 43-year- old lady, which I will detail about later on, an 18-year-old boy, who was away at the time for high school, and two 5-year-old children. All of these individuals were being watched over by an 80-year-old grandmother! She was the primary caregiver and provider for all. The 43-year-old was the daughter of the lady, the 24-year-old was the grandchild of the lady, and one of the 5-year-old children was a great-grand child of the lady. The sad thing also was that the 43-year-old, in addition to not being able to find her medical card, was HIV positive and mentally challenged. Also, the parents of one of the 5-year-old children had died from HIV and was abandoned until the grandmother had picked him up. I could not even fathom the situation at first. Her daily life just seemed like a constant struggle. Their home had very little ventilation, no fridge, and not much room. My heart broke for her. I looked around the home and at her, and I felt so bad, probably one of the worst feelings I have had thus far. So all I knew what I could do was pray for her, so I did. I prayed for each family member and a special prayer for the grandmother. I will continue to dedicate her and her family in my prayers.

The second visit I will talk about is the last visit we did for the day. We visited this family that lived in this building built by hand where we met a middle-aged man who was on the waiting list for Ethembeni services. He was different from many of the other patients we visited, because he had literally given up on life. He had abused marijuana, was mentally confused, and showed many signs of failure to thrive. His caregiver had told us that all he did was sit in the back of the house with the chickens and stare off into space, which was totally true upon my own observation. It was very sad. The visit ended with us praying for him. Ethembeni mostly provides spiritual care and referrals, so its a different kind of nursing that I am exposed to, but I like it. The spiritual health of a person is so important when considering holistic care. This picture is of one of the other houses we visited. A mother and three children live in this shack.

In my next visits, I plan to ask and follow-up about the last patient we visited as well as the family with the 80-year-old caregiver. When I think of both of them, the idea of desperation and poverty come to my mind, and my heart becomes heavy. So I will continue to pray to God about their situations, because I feel that is all that I can do now.

Overall though, what delighted me today were the last fifteen minutes we spent with the kids at the family center. They just want to be loved and held. Most all of the children there are orphans or their parents have died of AIDS. They are such a joy to be around, and I hope that on my next visit I will be able to spend more time with them.