religion

we are working in the province of kwazulu natal in msinga area in a town called tugela ferry. we are about 6 hours away from johannesburg by car. our work this time is with the home based carers, which are focused on doing home visits (community health) around the area. the main hospital is church of scotland hospital and there are about 13 satellite clinics around the area. a lot of the clinical practice here is defined by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. its sad to see so many infected individuals, the average age of death is 44, people dont grow old enough to even collect their pensions, which kick in at 60.

we had dinner in a home on wednesday. it amazing the generosity of spirit of people. we were a group of 5, they were a family of 4 and had a couple of guest. people around here dont have much, but they still managed to set up a feast that included chicken, beef, veggies, rice, and other little side dishes. i put a little bit of food on my plate and decided that it might be better to go home hungry than gorging and leaving the family with less.

on wednesday also, there was a conference with the home based carers to talk about many different aspects of the services that they provide. it was all in zulu, so we didnt understand most of the conference but the most impressive aspect of the conference was the way song is such an important method of the communication..in the middle of talks, people would start dancing and singing. at one point, a song developed that was all about the arv drugs and regimes.

christianity, both at the hospital and hospice, are a big aspect of the communal life. its interesting to see how christianity defines many of the experience and directs the manner that individuals view their role here. many of the people that work here have a deep seated believe in christianity, but the manner which they view the role here varies considerably. some people see their work here as their calling, chosing an austere life dedicated to the service of others. some individuals see their role here as a hierarchical relationship, where they are imparing this "knowledge" over the "savage masses" and saving their souls. how do you define yourself and your role when you come as an outsider to a community? how do you guard againts being ethnocentric and culturally ignorant and insensitive? i see things now on how we establish a relationship with the other. of the amazing people that we have met here, the most salient characteristic is their ability to see and treat people as their equals, seeing the work here as a collaborative enterprise, a deep respect for the local culture and the people.