Volunteers see need through new eyes

The Students Health and Welfare Centres Organisation’s (SHAWCO) 750 km health tour to celebrate the organisation’s 75th anniversary was an unforgettable experience for the volunteers – and the communities they treated.

The #750kmforSHAWCO initiative is the brainchild of medical student Liam Devenish, head of SHAWCO Clinics. It was an experience that the 50 SHAWCO volunteers, the volunteer doctors, nurses, dentist and occupational therapists will not forget soon, he says.

HIV tests, diabetes tests, vaccinations, breastfeeding assistance for mothers, health promotion and training community health leaders were just some of the services offered along their route.

On the final night of the outreach to bring free healthcare services to farmworkers and rural communities in Clanwilliam, Swellendam, Zoar and Slanghoek, James van Duuren, SHAWCO health president, thanked the volunteers and shared the “glorying reviews” from the communities that they visited.

Taxing conditions

Conditions were often taxing on the road. They had to scramble to their campsite in the dark on the first night, hold down gazebos in treacherous winds, and function as red sand blew through a space where their mobile clinic was set up. They were also confronted by the dire poverty, lack of resources and level of need of the hundreds of people who visited the clinics during the outreach.

But the outcome was eye-opening; different from anything they had imagined, says Van Duuren. Having travelled more than 1 000 km, many of the students returned with a greater appreciation, not only of what they have, but of their vocation.

Many shared a vision to make health more accessible, speaking of SHAWCO’s value as a vehicle and an opportunity to enhance their learning and understanding – and to equip them for the future. It was also about working together, starting with offloading their equipment and supplies along a human chain at each stop.

This SHAWCO partnership with the Trust for Community Outreach and Education touched the hearts and lives many. At one of the sites, the children got together and shouted: “SHAWCO! SHAWCO! SHAWCO!”

As one of the community members in Slanghoek commented, “Ek’s gelukkig ek het die dokter kom sien [I am happy I came to see the doctor].”

• Professor Steve Reid, Head of Primary Healthcare at UCT and supervising doctor for SHAWCO mobiles, talks about their 750 km health drive...
• Dr Andrew Murray, a volunteer doctor on SHAWCO’s 750 km journey to health, shares his thoughts about serving the community...
• Student doctors Inae and Josh talk about the impact of their screening station on the community around Slanghoek Primary...