Laura Woollett

Photos

Sun, 31 Aug 08 17:25:11 +0200

Here is a very small sample of photos from Umthombo and the mobile health clinic. I hope it helps to give a small idea of what it's like.

Back home

Sun, 31 Aug 08 16:38:53 +0200

There's not much more for me to say except that I am home, it was very sad to leave but I am sure I will return in the not too distant future. I had the most amazing experience, it was so different to my day to day life that it almost doesn't seem real. Being back home and straight back into my studies, literally the day after I returned, is very surreal. Those 5 weeks were a tiny proportion of my life but they will stay with me forever and occupy a much larger proportion of my memory. Thank you to everyone who made my time in South Africa so special.

Hippos and crocs galor

Thu, 21 Aug 08 20:46:31 +0200

Having left Durban I have spent 2 very drunken nights and 2 beautiful days in St Lucia wetlands park, a world heritage site. I have met some brilliant people. In St Lucia there is a massive estuary where there are thousands of hippos and crocodiles. The hippos even come up into the town to eat at night. There are monkeys everywhere, in fact they are considered a pest here - I find it hard though when they are sitting do innocently infront of your hostel cabin! I was meant to go whale watching but this was cancelled due to really windy weather - nevermind, some other time. We did a lot of chilling out (in other words, recovering from hangovers) and trips to see the hippos and crocs. Yesterday morning some of us went to a beautiful beach called Cape Vidal, passing rhinos and zebras on our way. At Cape Vidal we went snorkelling and saw some amazing fish.

I am now staying in a bush camp in Bushlands next to a game reserve. It's an incredible place. Monkeys, lizards, bush babies and other animals all around. Went on safari today, absolutely incredible.

Have to go. Lots of love to you all.

Goodbye Durban

Thu, 21 Aug 08 20:32:50 +0200

I have now said a very sad farewell to Durban. It was horrible, I hated leaving. It was so sad to say goodbye to all the kids and the staff. It's all very well saying I want to come back but many of the kids will not still be there. Also it's hard to leave the kids not nowing how they are going to be and cope with life and future events, it's especially hard to leave the pregnant girls. I have no idea how Nana's pregnancy, birth or baby will be, how Xolisile's scan and hospital appointment will go, whether Thanda will recover from her pneumonia, if Wendy (the girl who was raped) will stay with her grandmother, or even if Precious will succeed in recording her album. There are so many things I will probably never know. I have contact details for the staff but there is no other way to contact the kids directly. I shed a lot of tears.

My final weekend in the Durban area were spent in the Valley of 1000 Hills, which was beautiful, and then in a township called Mayville. I went to Mayville for traditional sunday lunch, as one of the staff invited me to her house. It was great food and an incredible atmosphere, you can hear people singing from all around. On our post lunch walk the atmosphere changed a little as we past a house with 16 bullet holes in the window and front door! I think this was a result of fighting taxi drivers after the strike.

Durban has given me an experience I will never forget. The children from the streets and the Umthombo staff have given me an insight that is so important and I am so grateful for. I have loved getting to know everyone.

Scabies, TB and sex education

Thu, 14 Aug 08 19:05:04 +0200

This is a random title for a blog I know but it sums up my day really! This morning we did our rounds in the mobile clinic and got to a spot where there were a group of children living. About a week ago we saw a girl from this spot who had what we thought was severe scabies and, very likely, AIDS. She is now in the hospital, as far as we know. However all the other children in this spot have got scabies. It's a nightmare situation as we cannot take away all their blankets and clothing to wash otherwise they will have absolutely nothing, and there's no point treating some of them if we can't treat them all or wash their clothes and bedding. All we could do was give them lots of cleaning stuff and buckets to wash themselves and inform the public health department. I don't know how it works it South Africa so who knows what they will do - it's so frustrating!

Later this morning we went to a primary school in a hospital in Durban. The school teaches all the kids that are patients in the hospital. They all have some form of TB. They were so lovely and performed a little dance for us whilst we clapped. They then showed me their artwork before going off for lunch. Instead of giving them sweets I gave them each a chewy blackcurrant vitamin tablet.

This afternoon I went with a group of the girls, all about 16-18, for a picnic in the park to talk about sex, contraception, HIV/ AIDS and anything else about health that they wanted to know. We had a hilarious time, they were not shy at all - i guess that's because they know me! We talked about HIV and pregnancy, STIs and condoms. I had a load of condoms to give them and showed them how to use them properly. They were so funny, re-enacting sexual positions with the condoms - so unlike British teenagers! I was surprised that not many of them seemed to have ever used a condom. They asked questions like: does it hurt when you use one? Also comments such as: you don't eat the skin of a banana so why use a condom? That made me laugh a lot. These girls have been through so much but know how to enjoy themselves, they really make you think about what's important (it's cheesey but true). I will love you and leave you on that note.

Thank you for all you reactions, I love reading them.

Coughing babies and malnourished children

Tue, 12 Aug 08 18:04:14 +0200

The last two days we have spent a large amount of time at the refugee camp in Durban. Most of the people there are families from the Deomocratic Republic of Congo. They have been so pleased to see us each time. We have given out plastic bowls for washing, shampoo and washing powder. They all bring their children to see us, mostly young babies with a cough or children who have bloated tummies and itching skin. These problems all seem to be related to the fact that they don't have access to much food or clean water. It has been the first time during my stay in which I have seen many children with obvious signs of malnutrition and even starvation, the skinny legs and arms and bloated tummies and drawn faces. They are so loving though and love to be cuddled and carried around - I had one little 2 year old at my feet or on my lap all morning! There was also a 4 month old baby who was vomitting after every feed, I then discovered he was being fed porridge because they had run out of milk and now the porridge had practically run out. It breaks my heart sometimes and I just wish I could go out and buy them all enough food and water.

When we were at the camp yesterday the press turned up and this morning on the second page, was the story about the camp and how Umthombo were helping out. It is great promotion for the organisation and brilliant that the peoples' stories are being heard.

After going to the camp today we went back to the drop-in centre and did a beaded jewellery workshop with the kids there. So many of them really got into it, including a surprisingly large number of boys. They made bracelets and earrings. We bought loads of fruit and juice for them all to have whilst they were making the jewellery - it vanished within seconds! I really hope this is something they will continue after we have left.

I can't believe my work with Umthombo finishes on Friday, I really don't want to leave. I have built up a good relationship with some of the kids and I can't bear to say goodbye. One of the girls is an amazing singer and has a session in a recording studio to start recording an album, I hope I will be able to hear it at some point.

South African Hospitals and Refugees

Sun, 10 Aug 08 17:30:44 +0200

Thank you so juch to those of you that have posted reactions on my weblog, i'm so pleased you are reading it and enjoying it, it's really nice to hear what you guys all think.

The weather in Durban is still fab, although I don't understand I don't seem to be changing colour at all! I think it must be that the sun isn't that strong despite it being hot, also I spend a lot of my time in and out the mobile clinic so I don't really spend long periods of time in the sun.

last week was another great week at Umthombo. I spent a morning in Durban's biggest non-private hospital, The Addington Hospital, with an 18 year old girl who lives on the street. I went with her after she came up to me the day before and told me she was worried she was pregnant, she is also HIV+. We worked out she was probably about 4 months gone. The poor girl was so worried, she already has a 1 year old boy who lives with family but she never sees him. I went with her to the hospital and was so appaulled by the care, if you can call it that, she received. We didn't see a doctor for about 3.5 hours, this I was prepared for, and when we did he was so so awful. He was asking me everything despite me telling him to ask the patient herself and he did not ask any past obstetric or gynae history at all. He was asking us to leave when I told him she had a child a year ago, I thought this was important for him to know. The next patient was in his consulting room before we had even stood up to leave! Maybe it's all the communication skills training I've had at Barts but I was so annoyed and did not feel happy leaving the consultation. The advice to HIV+ pregnant women in South Africa is quite different to the UK. Firstly, 3/10 babies are born with HIV as not many women can access anti-retrovirals needed to reduce the risk of transmission. Also, women are advised not to mix formula feeding with breast feeding and to stick to one or the other. This is because, without access to clean water, the risk of dysentry and malnutrition from formula feeding outweighs the risk of HIV. However, most babies who are HIV+ do not live beyond 3 years.

One afternoon last week I went to visit The Dream Centre, an AIDS hospice, where there are several other volunteers. It was really interesting to look around and meet some of the patients. Some of the women were making bracelets and jewellery from beads and wire and selling them to visitors. This gave us a great idea to do this with some of the girls, and boys if they're interested, next week. So we have bought the materials and will do this as an activity next week.

On Friday we discovered a refugee camp in Durban where victims of xenophobia have been staying. When they saw our mobile health clinic they asked if we could go to them as they have lots of children and haven't been able to access health care. We turned up and a huge queue of people formed infront of the bus. It was mostly women with children ranging from 6 months to 2 or 3 years old, a little younger than we are used to. It was heartbreaking to see these babies and young children without access to clean water or soap. Most of the babies just had coughs but we did not have medicine to give these little ones so we are going back tomorrow with more supplies.

It's been a nice chilled out weekend. Yesterday I met some of the women who work for Umthombo for breakfast, which included a bottle of wine - my kind of women! We then went back to one of their flats to prepare for a party. This was great fun and the party was brilliant. It's really nice to get to know the people who live here. We all left at midnight and 13 of us piled into a pick-up truck/ buggy. It was hilarious, I have several bruises on my back from being squashed in the back of this buggy whilst going along very uneven South African roads.

I won't go on anymore. I can't believe it's my last week in Durban, I would recommend this place to anyone. Thanks again for responding to my messages, I love reading your reactions.

The Drakensberg mountains and Lesotho

Wed, 06 Aug 08 10:55:38 +0200

There's a national strike in South Africa today so that means no work. Normally no work means time for a bit of exploring and fun, not in South Africa when everyone is striking - I mean everyone (including taxis and shop assistants) - and it's not recommended that you go anywhere in case there are demonstrations and protests! So, bearing that in mind I thought I could spend some of my time updating my blog.

I spent last weekend on a trip to the Drakensberg mountains - mountains bordering South Africa and Lesotho. This was an absolutely brilliant weekend. I joined a british couple and their 13 year old son, I was their adopted daughter for the weekend! We went to the beautiful Howick Falls and then spent an afternoon on a horse trek through the mountains. This was incredible with fantastic views. Cantering through the wilderness on horseback must be one of the best ways to explore. At the top of the mountains it was clear and sunny in the daytime but at night it was freezing. We stayed in a little cottage in the mountains and had to light a big open fire to keep ourselves warm - central heating doesn't exist here! The next day we went on a 6 hour hike up one of the mountains to see some bushmen paintings, some of which were as old as 10,000 years. We saw babboons and some large antelope type things (I don't know how you spell the proper name)! On our last day we took a 4x4 up the Sani Pass to Lesotho. This was brilliant but quite hairy, i think it would give you the heebee jeebees dad! There's a reason it's called a 'pass' and not a road. We went to a Lesotho village and then had lunch, and of course a beer, in the highest pub in Africa (2873m).

Time is going by so quickly, I can't believe it. There is so much to see and do out here, so much so that today was my first lie-in! On that note I will love you and leave you.

The kids on the street

Mon, 04 Aug 08 21:35:01 +0200

I don't know where to start, there are so many things to tell you all about the children and there stories. Last week was great, we saw all sorts of different health problems that the kids face. Most are relatively minor things that you could sort out at home in the UK, ie. dressing wounds, giving paracetamol, but some of the children need antibiotics or referral to hospital or the STI clinic. There are two main big groups of kids that are rivals and really don't get on so I quite often see kids that have gotten into fights and attacked each other with bottles and knives. Most of these children are teenagers but some are as young as 8 or 10.
Last week I went on a couple of trips out of Durban to the rural areas to take some children back home. This was a great feeling to feel that the children want to go home and are being reunited with their families. I was very surprised at the reactions of the kids and the families though, there does not seem to be many signs of emotion when they return - no hugging or kissing! These families have not seen the children for months and they don't appear to be overjoyed or relieved. Maybe it's a cultural thing and behind closed doors it's different, I cannot judge. It seems that with most of the kids their parents are dead, I think mostly due to HIV/ AIDS, so they go back to live with grandparents or aunts and uncles. It is so sad to hear what these children have been through.
On friday I went to the hospital with one girl who is now 21, she has been living on the streets since she was 7 or 8. She went to get stitches taken out of the many stab wounds she has suffered on her face. The boy that stabbed her has been arrested and she has to go to court to testify later this month.
As a girl on the street it is likely that you will be raped at some point. Sexual abuse is a real problem for both the girls and boys. If you are a new girl on the streets or you do not have a boyfriend then you are likely to get raped. Many of the boys have more than one girlfriend, but the girls rather that the other options. It's not just the girls, the older boys abuse the younger boys. I couldn't belive the stories when I heard them, and there is nothing that can be done to stop what goes on.
Many of the girls get pregnant and, although not forced, give their babies away so that they are safe as they realise the streets are no place to have a baby. After speaking to one girl it seems that they don't realise that they won't ever get their children back, let alone see them again. They don't use condoms as their boyfriends tell them that they can't love them if they use one. I am in the process of trying to organise condoms to be available in the toilets at the drop-in centre - I think this is a basic necessity that could easily be made available. Also, hopefully this week I am going to have a picnic with the girls and talk to them about HIV.
These children amaze me, they are laugh and smile a lot but nobody can even begin to imagine what they have been through. Due to their lack of ID books (essential for anything in SA) they are non-existent. Providing medical care is a great thing to be able to do and helps a lot but I think more importantly it is that extra bit of care and attention that they receive that probably has a bigger impact.

Things that may be of interest

Tue, 29 Jul 08 21:15:41 +0200

Two things that I thought you might be interested in:
Firstly, the film 'We are together' is being shown on Sat 2nd August at 19:30 on Channel 4. It is a brilliant award winning documentary about the children of Agape orphanage in South Africa. It is definitely worth seeing.
Also, the guy that set up the project I am working on, Umthombo street children, has written a book called 'Little outlaws, Dirty angels'. His name is Tom Hewitt and the book is available on Amazon.

email alert

Mon, 28 Jul 08 20:49:48 +0200

Being the incompetent computer user that I am I have just worked out how to send out an email notification to you all but couldn't work out how to do it without writing another message on my wall! Sorry.
L xx

Durban, South Africa week 1: 21/07-28/07/08

Mon, 28 Jul 08 20:27:55 +0200

Hi everyone,
I am really sorry I have not started writing this blog earlier, I have had a few initial problems with internet etc but it should be ok from now on!
It is incredible out here, I can't begin to explain how friendly and welcoming everyone is. They have all made me feel so at home by inviting me out and treating me like they have known me for ages.
The weather is lovely - pretty much like a very good english summer - with clear blue skies and temperatures in the mid 20's. It does get dark and cooler at about 5.30 though. All the south africans complain that it's too cold and can't believe it that we are lucky in england if the weather even gets this good! It is the end of winter here.
I have been quite surprised by the extremes of wealth out here - people living in mansions driving fast cars compared with people living in the townships. I have also been surprised by the segregation that still seems to exist between blacks and whites. Although it's obviously not as bad as it used to be there is still a lot of racism and there are separate schools. Also, after talking to people I am working with, all the labouring jobs are done by black people.
My first week has been mostly introductions, getting to know everyone, staff and street kids, and the area.
At the weekend I was invited by locals I work with to a traditional zulu funeral in a township outside Durban. This was an incredible experience which I felt so privileged to be included in. Then yesterday I went to the opposite extreme and went to a gig in Durban's botanic gardens. It was a beautiful day and everyone had their picnics and wine and beer. The band were a mixture of funky jazz and soul type stuff (like a jazzy Morcheeba)!
Anyway, I am going to spend most of my blog talking about the work I am doing. I am working on a mobile health clinic for street kids. We basically spend the days driving around the city stopping off and talking to the kids on the street and treating them for all kinds of problems. If it needs urgent treatment we take them to the hospital. In one day, considered a quiet day, I saw and tried to treat many stab wounds (face, neck, hands) and queried pneumonia (possibly TB) as well as many other minor ailments. Last week there was a girl who had been raped by 18 boys. It is so shocking the things these children go through and still keep smiling. Today I learnt that about 7 in 10 of the kids on the street have HIV, however none of them can access anti-retrovirals (ARVs) or have CD4 counts or viral load tests as they do not have ID books or birth certificates. These are necessary documents in South Africa in order to access anything from basic medical care to education. People talk about universal access to ARVs by 2010 but these children will never have access unless this situation with documents is resolved.
Anyway, I am sorry to ramble on, I realise it can be quite boring to hear about people's travels. I will try to keep my blogs relatively short and sweet from now on!
Laura xxx