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Employees from the Johannesburg Zoo spent a day at the Tshwaranang Hospice for people with HIV/Aids, where they planted a vegetable garden and donated much-needed items.
Donating gifts to the hospice
AN avenue of exotic pine and indigenous trees encircles the Tshwaranang Hospice, beckoning at the entrance, creating a verdant ambiance.
The flora and fauna bring some serenity to the facility's inhabitants, who sit calmly on a sprawling green lawn, under the shade of the trees, while they receive counselling from the nurses.
Situated in Glen Austin in Midrand, in the north of the metro, the hospice is home to some 14 HIV-positive adults, mostly women who have been thrown out of their family homes because of their HIV status; some ran away in fear of ill-treatment and neglect.
Mid-morning on Tuesday, 31 March and the sweltering Joburg sun scorches obliquely across Tshwaranang's white bungalow. A minibus pulls up, and out climb 18 Joburg Zoo employees, among them horticulturists.
Vegetable garden
They are here to donate gifts and to plant a vegetable garden comprising cabbage, green peppers, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, lettuce and other vegetables, which will contribute to the hospice's efforts to provide healthy meals.
Planting vegetables at Tshwaranang Hospice
The delegation is led by Agnes Maluleke, the chairperson of the zoo's HIV/Aids committee. The visit is part of the zoo's social responsibility project, which entails helping people in Johannesburg who are infected with or affected by HIV/Aids, she says.
It is a conduit to distribute private-sector donations to people with Aids who are living in hospices, and to assist small organisations that have limited funding. A full hundred percent of donations received are directed to improving people's lives.
The zoo also donated slippers, towels, face cloths and hairdryers to the hospice, as well as wheelbarrows, spades and indigenous trees.
While it receives some financial help from civil society groups and local businesses, Tshwaranang is in dire need of other essential items, including disposable nappies for adults, disposable rubber gloves, basic sanitary items and a small bus to transport patients to the clinic for routine checkups.
"The facility's vision is to have all members of the community join hearts and hands to fight the effects of Aids on individuals, families and the community," says Mama Dipuo Ann Hlatshwako, a matron at the hospice.
Normal life
Tshwaranang's aim is to help its patients get their self-confidence and dignity back, and nurture them back to a normal life. "We are confident that, based on the care they receive and the roll out of antiretroviral treatment, an important number of patients who come into our care will return to normal life, and take up their social responsibilities again."
Hlatshwako says the challenge in fighting HIV/Aids is to encourage community members to get involved and "contribute according to their capacity, in order to overcome the Aids pandemic and its devastating effects in our community".
Another challenge is to avert illiteracy, combat major infectious diseases and improve the health of the patient's children, who are housed in a separate facility, in Ivory Park, also in Midrand.
Tshwaranang comprises a recreation room, a kitchenette, a private room for "obvious health reasons", a duty room for treatments and a craft room where waste is recycled and used to make artefacts, which are sold for profit.
The centre
The centre has fewer than 10 staff members, with most of its helpers coming from the local community and giving their services voluntarily. Two of the permanent staff members are professional nurses who provide care to the patients and administer treatment; there are a number of handymen who work in the garden and around the premises, an administrator, the centre manager or matron, and two chefs.
For every meal of the day, a special diet is prepared according to each patient's medical requirements. After eating, they spend quality time outdoors in the fresh air.
Wearing a white coat and simple brown skirt, with her glasses dripping off her nose, Hlatshwako says the aim of the centre is not to change the way in which its patients led their lives, "but to improve their lives where necessary. Those who are well enough are discharged and allowed to go look for jobs and make a living for themselves."
Tshwaranang is one of many philanthropic organisations in Joburg that are trying to deal with the HIV/Aids epidemic through caring for those infected and affected by the virus, she notes. The hospice is registered with the Department of Health and since last year it has received an R80 000 grant from the City of Joburg.
Hlatshwako points out that HIV/Aids affects all people, "either directly or indirectly". Joint efforts are required from society, civil society organisations and the government for the world to deal with the epidemic effectively.
Statistics
Between 1990 and 2007, the number of people with HIV rose from about eight million to 33 million; since 1981, more than 25 million people have died of Aids-related illnesses.
The latest world statistics, to the end of 2007, on the HIV/Aids pandemic were last published by the Joint United Nations Programme on Aids (UNAIDS) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) in July 2008.
They indicate an increase in the number of people - mostly from developing and transitional countries - who are in immediate need of antiretroviral drugs; of the nine million infected, only 2,99 million have access to effective treatment and current prevention methods, or only 31 percent of all people infected.
The statistics reveal that prevention programmes in many countries are not reaching those who are most at risk for infection, including women, youngsters, racial and ethnic minorities, as well as certain high-risk groups.
Zoo's donations
In addition to the vegetables, the zoo employees plant an indigenous tree as a symbol of the strong and fruitful relationship the parties share.
An evergreen tree, the Rhus lancea is not deciduous and grows slowly, reaching heights of up to 30 metres when mature. The tree signals the start of a great partnership, which will be strengthened as it sturdily grows, says Piet Lesiba Malepa, a curator at the zoo's delta section.
When fully grown, it will be multi-trunked and produce a high number of branches that grow in diverse directions. It will possibly have fissures in its dark gray trunk, which will reveal an orange mahogany colour beneath. The compound leaves will form in groups of three, with leaflets that are two to three inches long.
The tree's leaves are shiny and dark green and its small flowers are whitish-green and give way to yellow or red berrylike fruit that grows in clusters. The fruit contains small black seeds with a paper like coating.
"The planting of this tree is an indication of the relationship between the two parties, and because it's evergreen, ours will be forever strong," Malepa adds.
Speaking to the tree as she waters it, Hlatshwako says: "May you grow stronger to resemble our partnership and never seize to blossom. We will forever enjoy sitting under your shade."
For more information about the Tshwaranang Hospice or to offer support contact Mama Dipuo Ann Hlatshwako on 082 902 6684.
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