| A CLINIC FOR THEMBA by HANS LUDOLPH |
 |
 |
| Wednesday, 11 January 2012 17:59 |
 When I started the Itsoseng Kidz Club for orphans and vulnerable children about six years ago a grandmother of two boys aged 2 and 5, both double orphans, came to talk to me on opening day. She was concerned about the health of Themba the small two year old who had previously been tested and found to be HIV positive. He had an upper respiratory infection and was feverish. I had not knowingly seen a positive child before and was very distressed when a medical doctor also present on the day commented that he would not ‘ be with us for long’. To have a CD4 count done was not an easy mission in 2006 as Hospitals would be strict and not allowing people to visit who lived outside their ‘catchment’ area. It was just before Christmas and it seemed that everyone I knew had gone on holiday. Except for Sr. Nomawonga Mtshizana. I knew her as a member of the Rotary Club of Soweto and she also served on my committee of RFFA (Rotarians for Fighting Aids). Nomawonga worked as a nurse in the Paediatric HIV Ward of Baragwaneth Hospital in Soweto. They were willing to see Themba early January 2007.
Sadly, two years ago his grandmother decided to live ‘at home’ in Nelspruit and took the boys Zanele and Themba with her. The only thing that reminded me of him was an image on my computer screen.
It was last Saturday at Kidz Club when I felt two arms around my waist. Themba had come back. I quickly remembered that previously his little arms and scarred little hands would be clutched around my legs. The first thing his grandmother did when she saw me was to show me the referral form for his medication which will last until 9th January, 2012. Themba will in future be looked after in his own clinic. The reason for telling this little story is that from the day I met Themba my crusade to bring primary health care to Itsoseng began. Hans Ludolph 15.12. 2011 Editor’s Note: Of the 200 kids who came to the Kidz Club at Itsosen at that time, Themba was Hans’ “baby” and Hans literally became Themba’s “fairy godfather”. We remember how devastated Hans was when Themba’s grandmother decided to move back to their tribal area in Mpumulanga, and can just imagine how emotional it must have been when Hans felt these arms around his waist this week. Many of us will remember Themba as this little snapper who ran up to all visitors and hugged them around their knees. It is thanks to Hans (or is it Themba?) that Itsoseng is the multi-container precinct that houses the Kidz Club, the Computer Centre and Library, the offices and room for adult education, the borehole for irrigation and consumption, and today the very active Healthcare Clinic |
