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I started with LifeLine as a volunteer counsellor in 1999 at the Khayelitsha branch. I then worked at Spencer Road Clinic. In 2005 I started working as an adherence counsellor at Groote Schuur Hospital. I became a counsellor in the paediatric clinic and also in the ID clinic. When Dr Roux, who heads the clinic, noticed my good work with adolescents, he invited me to attend the PATA conference held in Swaziland from 27 November to the 1 December 2007.
The Swazi Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Mr Njabulo Mabuza, spoke at the opening of the Pata Forum, these were his words. "You will know better than I know how our children are suffering. PATA are doing something valuable, admirable and rare."
At the Gala dinner on the first night we were entertained by the Traditional Swazi Band, Sigublau Sabalozi. There were also other people who delivered their speeches, i.e. David Altschuler, Joia Joia Mukhengee. Blaise Bucibyuta heeded his call and did an impromptu Pata Pata dance which was a wonderful experience.
We were grouped into different categories - i.e., Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, psychologists, counsellors, and social workers. We met in the mornings in our special fields from all over Africa to discuss our roles in our clinics. In the afternoons we gave feedback to the rest of our treatment team. In the evenings the experts in the different fields gave information on TB, HIV and adolescence.
I was exhausted, but didn't want to miss one session as it was such an incredible and wonderful learning experience. Dr Chewe Luo who is a self-confessed “children's rights activist” from UNICEF and a paediatrician by training, delivered a keynote speech at the Wednesday night Swazi shebeen.
She provided delegates with an overview of the progress and detection and management of paediatric HIV. These were her words, “We are moving forward. Most countries have strategies in place but it is not enough yet.”
Donna Futterman from New York, who is highly experienced with teenagers, presented a simple model called LEARN which implored health care workers to listen to their patients, explain their perspective, acknowledge differences in perspective between care workers and patients, recommend treatment and negotiate treatment.
Dr Renee Nassen, from Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, spoke on her work with adolescents. David Altschuler and Paul Roux gave feedback on the organization’s progress and vision and praised delegates for their input. Dianne Melvin spoke about the benefits and disadvantages teens might have when disclosing their status to someone else. Lucia Kemp from UCT discussed depression and suicide and warned of the danger of not taking suicide threats seriously. A documentary produced by Dr Carol Baker, from Hamburg Clinic in the Eastern Cape, was shown on the difficulties of administering ARVs to the adolescents, particularly when they are depressed, poor and do not have stable families. The film was also screened at the film festival in Montreal, Canada. The Kidzpositive bead project was displayed at the PATA Market place.
I would like to express my gratitude to LifeLine for having given me the opportunity to attend the conference. What a wonderful experience! I have gained so much regarding adolescence. I want to implement this knowledge in my every day work. No words can explain how I feel and I would like LifeLine to give this opportunity to other staff members so that they can also be exposed to such a wonderful growing experience, which will benefit their patients.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.......VIVA LIFELINE!
Pumla Tyulu |
