UCT physios pay it forward to Hanover Park community

Staff and students from the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) Division of Physiotherapy donated their time and expertise, as well as several pots of nutritious food, to the community of Hanover Park during an initiative to promote wellness and reduce health inequities.

The second annual Health & Wellness Day, held on 15 November at the FG Lowe Village in Hanover Park, attracted about 400 people who participated in a range of activities – from education and individual therapy sessions, to exercise classes. Where required, they were given onward referrals to other healthcare professionals.

The participation of the UCT team, led by the department’s senior clinical educator, Fahmida Harris, aligned with UCT’s commitment to prioritising social responsibility activities to help address South Africa’s development challenges: “The aim is to share knowledge that will benefit society by fostering civic literacy in students, while providing them with further learning and skills,” Harris said.

“The aim is to share knowledge that will benefit society.”

The UCT team included physiotherapists Na-eelah Pandey and Mariam Maged, along with six students: Amienah Harris, Rukshaar Samodien, Olwethu Gumede, Connor Davids, Aaliyah Isaacs and Lindokuhle Mashinini, on behalf of the Islamic Medical Association (IMA).

Multi-disciplinary team

Along with the physiotherapists, the multi-disciplinary team included dentists, doctors, optometrists and nurses, all providing their services free of charge. Childhood immunisation was highlighted, while community members were screened for, among other things, diabetes, hypertension and vision problems.

With community mobilisation and empowerment proven to be key features of optimal health promotion, the students not only helped boost scarce resources in Hanover Park, but also benefited from the opportunity to collaborate and establish partnerships with various community stakeholders to strengthen future health promotion programmes.

These included, along with the IMA, the Hanover Park Community Health Centre, YMCA Athlone, the Networking HIV/AIDS Community of South Africa (NACOSA), Hope for Africa, the South African Police Service, the local Community Policing Forum, the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA), City of Cape Town’s Environmental Health Department, and Vannie Hanover Park.

Harris, who is also a board member of FG Lowe Village, arranged for the donation of the pots of food that were distributed to community members during the event.

Harris said the day was a huge success, with the students learning first-hand the value of a holistic approach to improving service delivery, and the relevance of adopting a primary care approach to healthcare.“They can now identify health challenges more easily and can facilitate the design and implementation of community health and wellness programmes more efficiently,” she said.