Go 20 October 2022

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Choc training of local traditional healers vital
TAMMY FRAY
Early intervention in ch i l d h o o d
cancer saves lives. This year, the
Childhood Cancer Foundation
(Choc) East London, in collaboration
with the Department of Health, has
been training traditional healers across
the metro to strengthen local capacity
to save affected children.
Choc regional programme assistant,
Portia Jodwana, said Traditional Health
Practitioners (THPs), in the metre, who
were respected leaders, were consulted
by 70% of the community.
The training they have r e c e ive d
equips them to become part of a
referral network between hospitals and
clinics which are able to attend to the
children referred to them by a THP.
The training covers early warning
signs of childhood cancer, different
types of cancer, different treatment
options, debunking myths and stigmas,
and other aspects.
Jodwana, who has trained 100
THPs between 2020 and 2022, is
working closely with the department to
train more.
“By training the THPs we are
debunking more myths and stigmas in
our communities when it comes to
childhood cancers.
“We hear good stories from our
families where THPs ask patients
medical questions before they treat
patients and further where they help
families get to local government
clinics.
“With each training we hold, more
training requests arise and people
sincerely want to know how to identify
these early warning signs.”
Bhisho health department official,
Zoleka Mbange, said the training had
been effective in that it had capacitated
traditional healers with knowledge and
skills, especially as many THPs claim to
be able to cure cancer.
“Traditional medicine is as old as
our forefathers, before the emerging of
Western medicine, and people were
treated and cured for ailments without
doubt.
“Therefore, as the department, we
cannot ignore them as if they do not
exist. Contrary to that, capacitation is
key for them.”
Local anthropologist at the East
London Museum, Nandipha Mlonyeni,
said the training was vital.
“Pe o p l e ’s culture in general evolves
because of different reasons,” M l o nye n i
said.
“Education is constantly needed not
only in health care, also in different
aspects of life.
“Traditional healing cannot remain
the same while everything else
changes, including the climate.
“This education will emphasise the
need for traditional healing to be
relevant to current society and its
ch a n g e s .
“Both organisations, CHOC and the
Department of Health, need to do field
work in communities and conduct
research on traditional healers
operating in those communities so that
they do not only deal with the formal
registered healers but also educate the
informal ones that are only known in
their neighbourhood.
“A lot of people in communities
believe that there are illnesses that are
only found in elderly people and refuse
to accept that children can also be
affected and that can delay the child
from getting proper treatment,”
Mlonyeni said.
Joint efforts to help
keep pupils in school
TAMMY FRAY
Thousands of pupils drop out of school every
year in Buffalo City, but local NGOs,
educators and social workers are working
together to try combat this problem.
Zero Dropout is a local programme,
affiliated with the Small Project Fund, that is
involved in helping keep children enrolled in
s ch o o l .
The programme has identified 5,987 pupils
who have dropped out of school in Buffalo
City and has helped return 2,340 of them back
to the classroom.
Sasha King, a social worker who is
affiliated with the programme, said the school
dropout issue was a symptom of deeper
social, psychological, physiological and
financial challenges that children faced.
She said the misconception that children
dropped out of school because they were
naughty or lazy inhibited the possibility of
helping and supporting them when they
needed it.
Zero Dropout identifies schools across
Buffalo City that have a problem with pupils
dropping out and pays home visits to the
children to determine the reasons behind their
absenteeism and consequently what support is
needed.
Langa Primary principal Lulamela Mazula
said a social worker from the programme was
appointed to assist in determining the cause
behind the increased dropout rate at the
s ch o o l .
In one instance, they discovered that in a
household with 13 children, four who had
attended Langa Primary had stopped going to
school because they did not have s ch o o l
uniforms or enough food at home.
Zero Dropout intervened and the children
were returned to school.
King said in another instance, a pupil wa s
at risk of dropping out as she was unable to
complete tasks or follow instructions.
When Zero Dropout intervened, she wa s
taken to Frere Hospital for testing, where it
was determined that she suffered from minor
hearing loss.
She was provided with drops for her ears
and a hearing aid and is reportedly performing
well.
Mazula said that through the programme,
the school had been trained to monitor
attendance and collect data.
The programme also teaches school
administrators to develop a clear vision and
mission as well as incorporate more activities
and games into classroom work as an
COMMUNITY CARER: A Hope Lithemba
Kitchen NGO member feeding hungry
children in the Parkside area. P i c t u re s :
TAMMY FRAY
incentive to encourage pupils to view s ch o o l
as fun.
Brenda Mazwi, the founder of NGO, Hope
Lithemba kitchen, works hard to prevent
children in her area from dropping out of
s ch o o l .
Mazwi founded her NGO in 2018 to
provide support to vulnerable, abandoned and
neglected children from Parkside.
She provides children with meals, Wi-Fi for
homework and other related support that will
enable them to attend school.
Mazwi said in her area, parents left their
children behind while they worked in different
cities or were struggling with substance abuse,
leaving their children to fend for themselves.
Zero Dropout programme leader, Dr Paul
Cromhout, said school dropouts were at
greater risk of HIV, teenage pregnancy,
substance abuse, and other dangers.
Mazwi witnesses this in her own
community and mentors young girls to try
prevent them from leaving school.
Sixteen-year-old Cheslyn Sauls said thanks
to Mazwi’s help and guidance, she had
avoided risks such as teenage pregnancy.
Memorial restored by BHS and Amathole Museum
Prompted by Stephanie Victor of
the Amathole Museum, the
Border Historical Society decided
to facilitate the restoration of the
Draaibosch Memorial plaque.
The replacement plaque was
formally unveiled on Heritage
Day, Saturday September 24, at
the Memorial – about 12km west
of Komga on the road to Kei Road.
Border Historical Society
chairperson William Martinson
provided a brief summary of the
history of the memorial before the
new plaque was unveiled by
Gray Ranger.
The memorial commemorates
an act of bravery by a soldier who
earned the greatest recognition
possible at that time, the first to
earn a VC in this country.
It does not seek to glamourise
or justify the colonial wars of the
time. The anonymous donor
DRIVE TO EQUIP WOMEN
MIWA East London staff
presenting their second
Wo m a n ’s Basic Vehicle
Maintenance Workshop, in
collaboration with Cliffies
Auto Repairs, on October
15. Attendees are shown
how to change a wheel and
conduct a simple check on
fluids, lights and so forth.
C l i ff i e ’s Auto Repair thanks:
D&T Servicing , Rob’s
Motors and Automed
Service Centre, GUD
Holdings With Holts –
Tyreweld, NGK, Midas
Bowls Road EL, Bosch and
Total Engergies, for their
support. The next session
will be held soon by
another workshop P i c t u re s :
SUPPLIED
NEW PLAQUE: Gay Ranger, left, cuts the ribbon at the unveiling
of the new plaque, and right, Draaibosch ward councillor Zola Tyali,
representing the area Pictures: SUPPLIED
whose generous donation made
the plaque possible was thanked,
as was Crankshaw Marble and
Granite, which expertly
manufactured and installed it.
The ward councillor from
Draaibosch, Zola Tyali, attended
as did some local farmers and
various people from East London
and Komga.
Victor brought an interesting
handwritten signboard from the
Amathole Museum collection.
This was presumably prepared
by Captain Tod Newey in the
1950s and displayed in the
vicinity when the memorial was
erected. The board records the
engagements that occurred during
the battle of Draaibosch.
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