Mountain High Woes and Wows

Good News-Power at the Hospital returned this week with Load Shedding a fact of life for South Africa but with unpredictable patterns. The water shortage did not abate however, and grew worse on Tuesday with nothing coming out of the spigots in the early morning and some evenings. (Great excuse to put off washing dishes). We set out for Vryhied early Saturday morning with a pile of dishes sitting in the sink which will be waiting when we return this afternoon.

With American zeal, I called engineering firms and municipal water officials to determine the root cause of the water shortages. Since the power was working, the lack of treated water must be due to another problem besides load shedding; maybe a broken pipe, pump, inadequate tank capacity or increased demand from the doubling of the boys boarding facility. Ironically the small lake and river that are the source of our supply are abundantly full, due to above average rainfall this year. To our surprise, an engineer from Zululand Water arrived at the Hospital and stated that the pump was too small to provide water for the 500 persons using the system and a plan would have to be developed to replace the pump. In the meantime the utility company would provide a tanker truck of treated water. However, the tanker truck has not arrived and the nurses must take care of very sick AIDS patients with intermittent water supplies.

The nurses are the heroes at the Hospital. The professional nurses (called Sisters) are the US version of registered nurses. They are very experienced and have had several careers in nursing, which is a good thing because they have the character to deal with day to day crises, shortages of supplies, lack of a generator or clean water. This week the Hospital had another sort of crisis with the nurses, director and doctor at odds with each other creating a tense atmosphere. Peace Corps volunteers could not ameliorate the situation, only observe and feel pain from the disconnect. Dedicated professionals, taking care of suffering indigent AIDS patients, could not work as a team. Their squabbling caused us more personal grief than the water shortages or those long trips to town for food. Finger pointing and fault finding seemed to be the norm rather than problem solving.

In spite of the difficulties of the week, several positive developments occurred. First, an order for 20 fleece hats and scarves arrived from an NGO in JoBurg so at last some funding for continuation of the occupational therapy program for the patients has started up. (Of course it will take sales of around 2000 items to fully fund the volunteer coordinator and the quality fabric, beads and shoe materials that the Peace Corps grant paid for this year.) Winter is coming and the fleece hats look very inviting on a cold day- pension distribution points in March look like a good marketing tactic. This week was spent getting the JoBurg order ready and knotting the fleece scarves with yarn fringe.

Brendon and I finally connected with the Principal at the public high school that shares Mountain High. We have been tutoring and mentoring several Zulu students but want to formally offer assistance to the school. Peace Corps encourages a secondary project at each site. The charming man welcomed us with open arms and we wondered why we hadn’t met with him sooner. The high school has 500 students, most of them boarders. They come from all over Zululand and as far as JoBurg and Durban to attend this institution, named after the first Zulu Christian convert. The school has 100% of its students pass the national matric exam each year, the best record for any public school. However, there is the age old problem of town vs gown with most of the local children dropping out before 11th grade but a great education is available, even in this extreme rural site. The students have no distractions as there is no TV, internet, video games, shopping mall or fast food within 40 miles. They are required to attend study hall from 6 to 9 pm each night. They are highly motivated and understand that their role as the promise of the new South Africa. This school has no discipline problems with every student in class, listening attentively to the teacher’s lectures and doing the required work. In South Africa, the certificate or standard is what counts in getting a good job and a bright future.

In spite of no science laboratories, no textbooks in many subjects, and 40 or 50 students per class, signs of progress are in the works. The school has just received 24 top-of-the line personal computers for the students and beautiful new biology textbooks. We offered our services to assist with the computer lab, tutor in the sciences, organize an AIDS awareness day for the students in conjunction with the Hospital staff, and provide a Shakespeare instructor for a special session. (Welcome Melinda). The Principal joyfully embraced all of the ideas and asked Brendon to work on the network that day. The new South Africa is optimistic about the future and we saw this hope embodied in the staff at the high school. AIDs Awareness Day is especially poignant as the students are on summer vacation during the December program. HIV infection rates are finally going down among teenagers but plateaus as soon as the youth leave home in their 20’s. Hopefully an assembly devoted to AIDS education and the theme “Make a plan to stay AIDS Free for Life” will empower the students, lessen the stigma, and open up a dialogue.