Drakensberg

I spent last week at a semi-private Catholic hospital called St. Mary's. In general, the doctors there seemed apathetic, frustrated, and tired. Even before the strike started, several doctors quit in the middle of the week because they were frustrated with the lack of resources. Even in the private sector, resources are limited and doctors must work under extremely difficult conditions. The hospital appeared to be running as normal even with the strike. The nurses and doctors were told by the hospital management that they would be fired if they went on strike. However, it seems that some of the staff may have been working more slowly out of sympathy for the strikers. On Wednesday we didn't go to work at all because the taxis and buses went on strike. Basically the entire city was shut down, and people struggled to find rides to work. Despite the frustrating conditions at St. Mary's, I did have some really good experiences with the staff there. I got a good tour of the laboratory, where they do microbiology, blood tests, and 100 HIV tests every week. The laboratory technicians were extremely knowledgeable and showed us slides of tuberbulosis and a fungus called cryptococcus. They do intensive HIV counseling at the clinic there, and 72.5% of the HIV tests that they run are positive.

The strike continues, and negotiations seem to be reaching some end. The government has increased its offer to 7.25%, but the union is demanding a 10% increase. It is still unclear when the strike will be resolved, and until then patients will continue to suffer. Please continue to pray for a quick resolution of the strike and our continued safety.

Last weekend I went to the Drakensberg mountains with six other students in my program. We hiked about ten miles on Friday and 6 miles on Saturday. It was absolutely gorgeous, and I am hoping to visit the mountains again in July.