The Critical State Of Health Care In The Eastern Cape

The seriousness of the lack of health care is being experienced here in Aberdeen as it is throughout the Eastern Cape. Although no persons interviewed in Graaff-Reinet or Aberdeen in connection with health care wished to be quoted, it was very obvious that necessary health care services to the general public are in complete disarray!
Primary Health Care facilities are understaffed, the Aberdeen Clinic being a prime example and even trained nursing staff salaries are not in keeping with Government Hospitals. The Aberdeen Clinic building is not being maintained to an acceptable standard, as repair work is not being done, which is one of the many challenges the clinic faces. Staff shortage at the clinic is compromising the running of this health care unit to its full potential which does little to alleviate the other challenges or the standard of health here in Aberdeen. Posts should be advertised for qualified nursing staff with an adequate salary offered.
Lack of vital medication is prevalent, as there is a marked decrease in service delivery, especially medication needed to treat HIV & AIDS and TB. Medication shortage can lead to incomplete doses taken, and therefore a resistance being built up, or in some cases if there is not sufficient medication for the full course to be completed, the treatment is withheld. These are serious consequences to contemplate.
The Pharmaceutical Services in Port Elizabeth appears to be under enormous pressure, and have admitted that since 2009 stock availability has declined for numerous reasons. They have enormous staff shortages of pharmacists, organizational difficulties of major proportions, stock management systems are not in place, and challenges with lack of quantities of medication needed from government pharmaceutical tenders given, as these pharmaceutical companies are not coping with public demand, and there also appears to be a complete breakdown of any form of business organization within the Pharmaceutical Services. Their challenges, of which there are many, have consequently been passed down to all Primary Health Care Centers in the form of uncertain or no health care drug facilitation.
Patient care and service delivery has therefore been totally compromised. This is a major setback in many health issues. Due to no stock, or only part deliveries of supplies from depots, the non-availability of essential drugs with no substitutes available, has been the result for PHC.
It appears that “health” with all its requirements here in the Eastern Cape should be a number one priority for the Minister of Health. This unbelievably chaotic situation which is unfolding looks like a disaster waiting to happen.
Article By: Joan Tinker

Friday Walkabout

On a beautiful Friday autumn afternoon, a group of volunteers from Aberdeen Publicity and Tourism Office (APTO) continued our walkabout to improve our local knowledge.
First visited was Aberdeen Self Catering where we were met by the owner Frieda Strydom. Everyone was very impressed by the standard of the units.
We then went onto Hunters Lodge, a "bush camp in the town", with very adequate facilities for the huntin'...fishin'...shootin' fraternity. Mr Deon Hurter very kindly showed us around.
Finally to Karoo Moons, Aberdeen's only 4 star guest house, to admire the beautifully appointed rooms and enjoy a fabulous spread of an individual plate of canapés with a choice of wines or flavored water, all hosted by Ernest and Ramsey with their usual panache.
Our next "walkabout" will include the hospital and the old folks home... anyone wishing to join us please visit the ABC Bookshop for further details.
Article By: Sandra Bowker

Aberdeen Garden Club Celebrates 2010 World Soccer Cup

On Thursday 6th May on the farm 'Doringdraai' the home of Dickie and Colleen Ogilvie, the Aberdeen Garden Club members enjoyed an entertaining morning. The drive to the farm over dirt roads and sometimes donga-like pot holes did not deter the competency of the driver David Miller, who once again used the intrepid 'Born to Perform' comfortable taxi.
Calling on route to collect Jadre Lategan, two beautiful Sheepdog puppies a few weeks old, were loved and admired.
After Denise Weldon had given the members a thought for the day, the club was given an extremely enlightening talk on the Soccer World Cup written by Padgie Pienaar, and delivered by Anna Featherstone. To make the talk more authentic, Anna and David wore the South African World Cup T-shirt, waved the South African Flag and blew the colourful 'Vuvuzela' as seen in the picture. At the next meeting in June it was decided that members should do the 'Diski Dance' initiated by the 2010 South African World Cup enthusiasts.

John Watermeyer then gave the members a wonderfully historic explanation of how the farms 'Doringdraai' and 'Schoorsteenberg' had become his family’s farms in 1966.
These two farms encompass 9,200 hectares on which separate groups of Marino ewes, Angora goats, lambs and kids are farmed.
The homestead on 'Doringdraai' once served as a small post office, and this farm together with 'Schoorsteenberg' where a local telephone exchange was once situated, were owned by the Miller family for three generations. These two farms were then sold to the Hume family who eventually sold them to John Watermeyer.
John spoke of droughts, floods and the hardships of farming in the Karoo. He spoke of stock rotation and the uncertain availability of food for livestock. Wonderful moments of weddings on the farm 'Doringdraai', held under the magnificent old trees, which always seem to become revitalized by each wedding.
Farming in the Karoo with its unpredictable and harsh climate brings a respect to those farmers who survive it, establishing their roots, making history and producing a culture of "gain by hard work" for their families and to South Africans.

Article By: Joan Tinker

The Two Wolves Inside Of Us All

One evening a Cherokee elder told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.

He said, "My son, the battle is between the two ‘wolves’ that live inside us all.

One is Unhappiness (evil). It is fear, worry, anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority and ego.
The other is Happiness (good). It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed…"

With acknowledgement to the wise Cherokee...
Submitted By: Nikolas Jankovich

An Adventurer In The Realms Of Historical Research

Energetic, industrious, versatile in her interests and a passionate ‘historic adventurer’, she lives every moment to its fullest. This is only a part of what makes Wendy May Dirkse Van Schalkwyk the dynamic person she is. She strides around Aberdeen as if she is being propelled by an invisible force, collecting historic information, looking for new and interesting projects, assisting in the general running of the Hopsriver farm, but never still. An hour in her company will advance your general and local historic knowledge at an unbelievable rate.
Wendy May Scott, born to an Irish father and English mother in Port Elizabeth on 8th May 1945, was educated at Collegiate School for Girls in Port Elizabeth. At the Grahamstown Training College, Wendy trained as a teacher and specialized in nursery school/infant education; she subsequently taught at schools in Port Elizabeth, one being the Summerwood School, where pupils came from the Summerstrand and Humewood areas. Wendy taught for 7 years, and in that period became the Senior Assistant of the school. Recently, the Grahamstown Training College honored Wendy as an ‘Achiever’ for the publishing of her book ‘Aberdeen of the Cape - A Retreat of the Future’, her work as a correspondent for the 'Advertiser', 'Stoep Stories', and the 'Hour Glass', also for stories submitted to the 'Karoo Sky' and for books co-authored, one being the 150 year festival of the NG Church in Aberdeen in 2005, ‘NG Gemeente Aberdeen 150 Jaar Fees 1855-2005’. Wendy has recently assisted Tony Westby-Nunn with research and information that he said was ‘invaluable’ in the production of ‘The Cape Journal Willowmore’. Copies of books written and co-authored by Wendy have been donated to local libraries.
Wendy’s very first articles appeared in the ‘Cape Collectors Guide’ in 1976. These articles were on ‘Brass Rubbings’ which she took from the top of a stone tomb of Sir William Molyneaux 1548, in Sefton Church, Liverpool, England in 1968. It was during this time that Wendy taught ‘docker’s children’ in a not very salubrious area of Liverpool, now known as ‘Beatle Country’.
Her work also involved dyslexic children and her research and subsequent teaching was so successful, that one of her past pupils is now a highly qualified lawyer in New York. Her knowledge and expertise opened many doors to her, and she was consequently offered a post by the United Nations.
Wendy is also an avid traveler. She toured Zimbabwe and Namibia spending a month in each country, and also visited Egypt to see where her war time pilot father had been stationed. In Europe, Wendy spent seven months traveling and over the past few years her overseas trips have taken her mostly to the U.K.
Wendy was invited to join the ‘Graaff-Reinet Study Group’ which is by invitation only and limited to 15 members. Here members are asked to talk on any subject except their profession and, as Wendy has so many diverse interests, it is probably not a difficult task for her to do. Her love for Victorian Architecture, her passion for the Karoo, for preserving local history and her vast knowledge, makes her a perfect tour guide for this area. She has also been instrumental in ‘cemetery documentation’. Recently Wendy assisted in the training of the first official tour guides for Aberdeen.
Wendy’s interests include genealogy, restoring and collecting antiques, tapestry, and her collection of antique porcelain dolls dressed by Liz van der Merwe, are beautiful and irreplaceable.
The Post Office and Magistrates Building in Aberdeen, declared a national monument in 1991, is largely due to Wendy’s efforts, as was the photographing of every single house in Aberdeen, done by the students of the University of Port Elizabeth in 1990.
Wendy married a farmer Pierre Dirkse Van Schalkwyk in 1973 and they have a daughter Anita May and a son Pierre Scott.
Wendy’s enthusiasm for life, boundless energy and endless interest in the historical Karoo towns that surround her, the care and motivation she has given her children family and friends, has made her one of the Karoo’s special women.

Article By: Joan Tinker