Officials from the Department of Health, together with various stakeholders, brought services to the community members from Tabase Mission in Mthatha, recently.
According to the health promotion manager from KSD area who is responsible for community-based services, Siphelele Jubase, they were following a call made by President Cyril Ramaphosa that government officials should embark on the programme of Thuma Mina, where they will work with all other stakeholders to take services to the people.
He said, as the Health Department, that they have an outreach programme which responded better because they had received the best platform of taking services to the people.
“We are here to drive this programme and respond to the appeal that was made by the ward councillor of this ward, Councillor Liemakatso Molakalaka, that we must come and give help to this community,” said Jubase.
He confirmed that each stakeholder and departments are giving out their own services. Jubase added that even police officers were invited so that they could assist those who might want advice regarding cases.
The ward councillor of the area, Liemakatso Molakalaka, said that she had decided to ask for intervention because she had realised that her people were struggling to get these services. According to her, some of them prefer to go to Stanford Terrace Clinic in Mthatha because it is easy for them to reach it.
“Some of them are living very far from the clinics. I then asked for help from the Department of Health, asking them to come and assist the community, using this community hall.
“Before this outreach, health officials came and immunised children here; from there I asked them to host a programme where they will go deeper to my community.
“After I made that request, they brought a Mobile Clinic to one of the localities,” said Molakalaka.
She added that after those services she realised that a mobile clinic was needed in some of the areas.
She confirmed that now that they had hosted this outreach programme, they would rotate it. According to her, most of these community members depend on a social grant; this causes the chain of poverty to grow.
“I also want these organisations to take part in teaching our boy children because our area is a hot spot of gender-based violence (GBV) and rape cases are very high here. We do have the virginity testing of young girls, but we do not say anything on our boys.”
Member for Jumba Traditional Council, Gudlulwandle Sidubulekaya, said that they were happy to receive these services because it saved their money.
“Most of the time we go to town when we want to get them, but in order for you to go to town you must have money. We need this and we hope that they will bring it back again,” said Sidubulekaya.
