There are many brilliant aspects to our beautiful seaside town. One look at the surrounding dazzling blue ocean and the smell of salty water confirms that this is pretty much the greatest place to live. There is evidence of the Xhosa and English culture everywhere - from the vendors selling handmade African treasures to upmarket retail stores. Our town is known for its friendly people. No matter who you are, you are considered a 'mama' if you're a grown/middle-aged/elderly woman, a 'sisi' if you're female, 'boetie' if you're a male, or a 'dada' if you're a grown/middle-aged/elderly man. People will greet you by these names and perhaps even ask how you are. There is a laid-back vibe to the city where no one is in any particular rush, and if you are, well there's no traffic so you'll get to your destination on time. We may not have the most entertainment, and goodness knows if you want to go anywhere 'fun' at night then you better go before it closes at 18:00. However, we are a nation who loves to socialize over a braai or enjoy the nature on our doorstep. With hot summer days, warm summer nights, and slightly cool winters but colder nights, there's nothing really to complain about E.L.
If there were something though that I'd change about our city, I'd urge the government to put more money in the upkeep of our government hospital, Frere Hospital. This hospital provides medical care for the poor. Last night for our weekly youth activity, the 4 of our young women and 2 of us leaders went to Frere in aim of visiting those children who do not usually have visitors. If you could see inside of this health care facility you'd be as shocked as I was: Paint chipping on the walls, lack of organization, the almost outdated supplies and machinery used to help patients, how entire rooms are filled with patients in beds all with various ailments crammed together...Yes, I realize this is a government funded hospital, but much can be improved to help save lives in this place.
I was pleased to see that majority of the sick children in the hospital had their mothers or a family member sitting by their bedside. It made me sad to see those little ones hooked up to machines, fighting for their lives. Immediately I was drawn to the cots of twin 4 month of baby boys. A nurse was busy feeding fortified milk in a syringe to one of them whose body was covered in a skin infection. In the cot beside him, his brother was crawling (4 month old!) around looking up at us with the widest, innocent little eyes. Their little bodies, so tiny and trying to fight off various infections, made me feel instantly grateful that I have a healthy body. The little boy who had just finished his milk dinner started to cry, yet the nurse couldn't pick him up and cradle his sweet little body in her arms as she could spread the infection he had to the other children. This little boy has to learn to soothe himself. I wanted to hold him. I wanted to love him. What was truly heartbreaking was when we learnt from the nurse that these twins were abandoned. Nobody visits them.
When their infections clear up, social services will take them away to live in an orphanage. And you know what, they'll most likely remain there until they're old enough to care for themselves, that's how many orphans are in our country. There are too many to place into willing families. When it comes to cultural barriers that may be off-putting when considering adopting a baby of another race, seeing these little boys confirms that nobody deserves to grow up like that. They are people, they need love and affection. Race and culture shouldn't prevent anyone from caring for children whose parents didn't want them. If anyone understands the impact of race and culture, ask any South African. It's what we deal with everyday. This has been a lesson learned for me.
Something as small as a visit to a government hospital really opens your heart and makes you grateful for what you have. No matter how difficult you think the issue's you're currently facing are, take a look around, there's somebody else suffering in a way you have never had to experience. That in itself is a blessing.
