Term 2!

Its been one of those weeks when I have worked with a lot of children! In fact, I didn't see any adult patients at all! Working with children is messy! This week resulted in my Saturday being spent disinfecting all of the toys I use for assessment and therapy...everything-from blindfolds for games at the creche to blocks to teddy bears-has either been drooled on, put in a kids mouth or used as a tissue...But every time I am able to complete a hearing screening or assessment, or achieve my aims in a therapy session, I am reminded that it is WORTH it!

A new group of speech therapy and occupational therapy students have joined us, as the last group has moved on to a new prac. While I am starting to feel quite settled in to the creche and community, it is a whole new experience for the speechies and OT's who have just started. This week we spend a lot of time explaining and discussing what we have found to work in therapy in the creche, including taking note of the children who need a bit of extra attention during activities. I am learning how to share information that we have discovered over the past 6 weeks, while still leaving room for creativity, new ideas and different perspectives from the new students. I would hate to get stuck into the rut of doing the same games and activities every single week, instead of having our creativity challenged to make our 3 hours at the creche the best 3 hours of those children's week!

This week was significant because OT and Speech and Language assessments have been completed in Rainbow creche! Individual therapy programs are starting to unfold for those who show significant delay- as opposed to group therapy where we target very general aims. Group therapy still goes on for the rest of the Grade R's (5 year olds), where we have been focusing on development of auditory skills, fine and gross motor skills and language development. I still have to learn a lot about the cultures and socio-economic backgrounds of these children in order to ensure that the instructions and stimuli used in our activities are relevant. I feel as if we were not really on top of our game this week with some of the stimuli, and this showed as the children lost focus easily.

We should be completing the hearing screening at the creche in the next session. So far we have identified many children with impacted cerumen, and have nearly finished developing an information letter to be sent home to the parents...the reality is that the parents wont be able to take their children to the hospital for cerumen management, so we are trying to suggest alternatives, such as using olive oil or cerumen softening drops. To be honest, I don't even know how many of the parents will spend money on olive oil or softening drops... so if anyone reading this blog has any other suggestions for cerumen management in this community, share the ideas! I get frustrated that so many children in communities in South Africa don't get the help and intervention that they need!

It seems as though this prac might be changed up a bit, as new locations within the community are added...I am excited to get involved in other parts of the Mariannridge community!

Setting the scene: The 1st world-3rd world country

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do. - Helen Keller

I love South Africa. The amazing beaches, friendly people and warm weather. I get to suntan by my pool even in winter, or study in my hammock outside. The latest Fro-yo franchise has opened 10 minutes away! There are so many cultures that add to the flavor of beautiful South Africa! The South Africa that I live in is a first world country, and very comfortable.

10 minutes down the road, things are quite different. Its a 3rd world country, uncomfortable to see, let alone to live in. POVERTY. I begin to dislike South Africa, or rather, the situation that the majority of the beautiful South African people live in. HURT. Literally every person you meet has been affected by HIV/AIDS in some way. Grandmothers or older siblings look after young children, as their parents have passed away. Children may walk kilometers to get to school, in broken school shoes, carrying nothing but a pencil and dirty work book in their school bags. BROKENNESS. Statistics (Rape Survivor Journey) tell us that in South Africa there is more of a chance that a woman will be raped than learn how to read! Sub-standard living conditions, lack of public healthcare facilities, alcoholism, gang violence, FEAR.

As a student audiologist I realise that if I am going to meet people where they are, I have to have some understanding of the situations that they come from. No matter how much I have learned about the hearing and vestibular system, auditory pathologies, electrophysiological tests, hearing aids, aural rehabilitation, Deaf culture or the like in my 3 years of studying, there is still so much value in understanding the community and issues that surround their everyday life. If someone is late for an appointment, it may be because they had to leave home at 4am, walk 10km and catch a taxi. If they seem unresponsive in therapy it may be because there was no food at home and it's impossible to concentrate!

3 and a half years ago while on a mission trip in a small village in Mozambique, I was in a situation when I learned this lesson. I came across a mother, her toddler and baby, sleeping on a mat in the sun outside their mud house. I went over to offer a friendly greeting, only to notice that the toddler had a severely infected eye. The child was crying, her eye was oozing, with flies sitting on and around it. It was a heartbreaking sight. Once I got hold of our translator I was able to establish that the toddler had not yet been brought to the clinic! I was angry and couldn't understand how the mother could leave her child's eye like that! I was also angry that the mother was not making any attempt to wipe her child's oozing eye and keep the flies away! It was only later that I discovered that the mother was also sick, and that's why she was unable to calm her crying child. It is likely that she no longer had the energy to keep wiping her child's eye and shoo the flies away. I asked why she hadn't brought the little girl to the clinic yet- she simple had no money for a taxi or the doctor! Thankfully we were able to return early the next day and drive the family to the clinic 20 minutes away. We were able to pay the consultation fee for them- about 6 Meticais each (+- 3 Rand/ 20 US cents), including medication, and buy them some food to help them regain their strength.

If only I had known the extent of the situation before feeling angry and judging the mother! But nonetheless, it was an experience that I was able to learn from. I hope that I am able to give my patients and members of the community enough of my time to fully understand their situation, to show empathy and respond in kindness instead of judgement. There are so many factors that contribute towards the brokenness and poverty of individuals in South Africa. Each story is different, each life is precious and the future of each person can be brighter than it may look right now! Hope can be brought to every situation!