Nurses takes to the streets on World Diabetes Day!

 

3,5 million people in South Africa are suffering from diabetes. However, this number is in reality much higher since it’s estimated that more then 50% of people are unaware they have the illness and have never been diagnosed. This is one of the major tasks that the HOPE Centre is tackling on a daily basis. To this end, on World Diabetes Day (14th November), the nurses will take to the streets in the fight against diabetes!

Diabetes – One of the most dangerous illnesses in South Africa
Around 60 people die every day from Diabetes in South Africa. This is according to Statistics South Africa. South Africa does not even feature in the list of top ten countries for Diabetes prevalence, yet the rate of people dying because of the illness on the continent is far higher than in the countries with higher prevalance. Many deaths and complications could be avoided if people went for screening and if people sought health care earlier. South Africa's high death rate is caused by lack of access to insulin and to medical professionals that are specialised in treating Diabetes. But also, numbers would come right down if people had a higher level of awareness and practiced healthier lifestyles.

Project HOPE never stops screening
On Saturday the 14^th of November the HOPE Centre staff along with Empilweni Nursing College, community leaders, volunteers from local organisations and Right to Care (an HIV Counseling & Testing Organization) will take to the streets once again to promote public awareness of diabetes and hypertension, educate patients, perform demonstrations and encourage all residents to test, prevent and manage this life-threatening illness.

Hard to recognise - serious complications

The majority of people in South Africa have type 2 diabetes, however many of these cases go undiagnosed as there are very few symptoms initially. Symptoms for diabetes include fatigue, excessive thirst and urination, slow wound healing and skin infections, blurred vision and regular bouts of thrush. As these symptoms can be very mild and develop gradually, many people fail to recognise them as warning signs of diabetes.

Diabetes complications are serious and include heart disease, stroke, blindness, amputations and kidney failure. In most cases these complications could have been avoided entirely by early diagnosis and proper treatment.

Related links:

International Diabetes Federation

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Itsoseng Garden – A greener Community after Mandela Day!

A day full of productivity, teamwork and cheerful people from all corners of the world! Project HOPE staff members in South Africa are constantly finding new projects and initiatives to help the rural communities around Johannesburg. The latest project was to establish and plant a sustainable herb garden in the community of Itsoseng. With some great help from the community members, volunteers and sponsors in the name of Mandela on the 17th of July, this became a great success!

What is ”Mandela Day”?        
Mandela Day is a global call to action for citizens of the world to take up the challenge and follow in the admirable footsteps of Nelson Mandela, a man who transformed his life, served his country and freed his people. Its objective is to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better and, in doing so, to build a global movement for the good of mankind. 

“Mandela day is a day when people forget about themselves and give back to those less fortunate communities.  Interacting closely with such communities is a reality check. I think South African people are caring and humble people who have a giving spirit and are willing to help out if they can. It feels good to make a difference, to help the community. Everyone coming together as one - like Mandela would have wanted. Celebrating and living the true Madiba legend is what it’s all about”.

- Nadia Harvett, Human Resources Manager, Boston Scientific, South Africa.

Joyful day of gardening in Itsoseng

It was amazing how quickly a piece of dry land transformed into a living garden of herbs and vegetabes, with a bit of team work and a fantastic collective spirit. The enthusiasm was high all around and the gardeners’ excitement couldn’t be hidden. The singing and dancing hardly stopped throughout the day!

Project HOPEs aims with the project at Itsoseng was to revive the community garden next to the HOPE Centre Clinic and to train community members  on how to take care of their garden and make it sustainable. The aim of the garden is to promote a healthy lifestyle, reduce food security issues, and to create an income for the garden members.  So far it has been a real success story!

“I’m so happy and excited about this new garden. I have worked in a garden before at my previous job as a domestic worker. There were also herbs so I have a bit of experience. I have no job at the moment so I will definitely be here every day to look after the garden. I’m looking forward to see the plants grow.” - Thokoziale Mashaba, Gardener of Itsoseng community.

“It’s so enjoyable to be here, seeing all these people working together, creating something. Two days ago I was in Oxford Circus, in central London, surrounded by busy and stressed people, driven by consumerism - it’s such a different world. Here you find joy and a spirit of “living” that I think we have lost in the Western world. People are singing and dancing and are so excited to be a part of something, it’s a real eye-opener”.  - Lesley Billington, volunteer and expat from UK A herb garden reaps many benefits. A herb garden has the benefit of motivating patients and local community members to use more herbs in their daily food which helps in reducing salt and spice intake. Additionally, in another garden project at a different community, we have been able to see the pride and joy that garden members experience by working together on the project and  enabling them to maintain a well-run and profitable group. To this end, all proceeds from selling produce from the garden are shared among the members. The HOPE clinic staff also teach the patients about the health benefits of using herbs in  food, which is  a great opportunity  for them to learn how to use these wonderfully scented and tasting herbs both in the kitchen and even for medicinal purposes.

Thank You!

We want to say THANK YOU to the kind sponsors that have played a substatial role in making the Mandela Day gardening project happen! We are also overwhelmed by the degree of engagement of all the volunteers that came to help us out, it’s truly heartwarming to see. A great team and great work!

Read more about Mandel Day here– Nelson Mandela Foundation:

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Mandela Day – Make a difference, Join us

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead”
– Nelson Mandela

What is ”Mandela Day”?

Information from the Nelson Mandela Foundation:
Mandela Day is a global call to action for citizens of the world to take up the challenge and follow in the admirable footsteps of Nelson Mandela, a man who transformed his life, served his country and freed his people. Its objective is to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better and in so doing, to build a global movement for good.

”Take action, Inspire change – Make every day a Mandela Day” - These inspirational words from The Nelson Mandela Foundation encourage each one of us to simply do good every day, living Nelson Mandela’s legacy and helping to build the country of our dreams. Mandela Day is dynamic and ever-changing: it belongs to everyone and can take place anywhere, at any time.

Nelson Mandela International Day was launched in recognition of Nelson Mandela’s  birthday on 18 July, 2009 via unanimous decision by the UN General Assembly. It is more than a celebration of Nelson Mandela’s life and legacy. It is a global movement to honour his life’s work and act to change the world for the better.

The HOPE Centre supports Itsoseng in honour of Mandela Day, 17th July

Project HOPE South Africa is supporting Itsoseng, an informal settlement in the outskirts of Johannesburg, in honour of Mandela day on the 17th of July by reviving their community garden. Project HOPE aims to plant herbs and provide training to community gardeners to make the revived garden sustainable.

Health awareness is already a key focus for Project HOPE’s HOPE Centre staff and we are constantly identifying ways to raise awareness in new communities. The Mandela Day project in Itsoseng is no exception:

”We already have a success story from Kopano Garden in Zandspruit where community members and patients from the HOPE Clinic are involved, working together to make some extra money, learn about gardening, and for most; to better their health”. We see a high interest for creating the same in Itsoseng and want to make it happen.” – says Portia Zulu, Health Education & Training Officer for Project HOPE South Africa.

We are hoping for a high level of interest on Mandela Day – from both community members and volounteers. The aim of the project is to revive the community garden and train community members on how to take care of their garden so that it is sustainable. The aim of the garden is to promote a healthy lifestyle, reduce food security issues, and create an income for the garden members.

We need YOUR help to make this happen!

To turn this piece of land into a sustainable and lush garden of herbs, we need your help! The 17th of July, in honour of Mandela Day, is the day when the transformation is happening.

So, do a good deed and make a difference for the community members in Itsoseng! Come and help us transform this land and hand it over to the community.

We are in need of sponsors and donations

Our goal is to make this a sustainable project which means we are in need of kind sponsors and donations, both for Mandela Day itself and for the long-term.

If your company or organization sponsors the Itsoseng Garden, we are happy to show everyone our gratitude on social media and on our website in appreciation.
See the list of what we need here:

Thank You!

Please contact Refilwe or Portia to let us know of your interest in contributing or for further questions or information.

Refilwe Lechoba – HOPE Centre Program Coordinator

Email: rlechoba@projecthope.org
Phone: 010 210 7335/ 076 133 8426

Portia Zulu - Health Education & Training Officer

Email: pzulu@projecthope.org
Phone: 079 021 3804 

Read more about Mandel Day here – Nelson Mandela Foundation

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