McCord Hospital Medical Center

We visited a local, private hospital that was established by a McCord who had been a Christian missionary. On the side of the building, there was a sign with the heading that said “Sinikithemba.” At the hotel restaurant this morning, I asked one of the servers who speaks Zulu what this meant. She said “always believe” and used the example that if you want to be a doctor, you must always believe that you will be a doctor. This heading was followed by a quote of Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Our focus was their HIV/AIDS clinic. We were told about the full range of services that are offered. They are doing an amazing work. Their focus is get people tested, to understand their diagnosis and then to accept treatment. The are involved in a lot of outreach to try to encourage testing. Currently, they do not hand out testing kits, but will go to groups such as workplaces and churches that invite them in to do a testing day.

There is a lot of counseling involved when there is a positive test. The primary issue is for people to understand the hope that they have in spite of their diagnosis. This is critical to successful treatment. Most importantly they prepare the people to disclose their status. As a matter of fact, they will not provide anti-retro virus medications to those who are unwilling to disclose their status; The concern is that this is a difficult disease to face alone and the likelihood of compliance with a strict regiment of medications is less likely if they have not disclosed.

Because this is a private hospital, there is a cost to these services. For an adult the “all inclusive cost” to being on ARV therapy is R140 per month; for a child it is R50 per month. If you cannot pay this, you are referred to a public clinic.

The (I think) Medical Director came and spoke with us. He has such a good perspective for a group of social workers to hear. He was a Christian man, which was revealed when he led us in a prayer before our meal. He was a very lighthearted man, not taking himself to seriously. He acknowledged this and said that he believes that we have to have balance in our lives. It was such a refreshing perspective in a land of such overwhelming need.

The Center for the Abused

This Center used bot be called, the center for abused women. Then they came to more fully realize that abuse doesn’t just happen to women. The sad thing is that funding is so very limited. They actually have a safe house for women that currently can’t be used due to a lack of funding. But there remains so much need.

They operate a hotline to deal with crisis situations. They work with people to make sure that they understand the legal process, primarily, exactly what it does mean to get an order of protection what we might call a restraining order.) Often the survivor (often called the victim) has no idea the process that they are entering with that first step.

We heard an amazing story of a woman who had been being abused for over five years by her son. She went to get an order or protection and met a counselor (all volunteers) who explained the process. She has now been a volunteer with the Center for three years. The skills she learned, particularly related to being empowered, enabled here to move ahead in a positive way. She has a relationship with her son, who has learned through her guidance, how to move past drug addictions. What a powerful testimony. And due to a lack of funding, they are so limited in what they can do.