The Edu-Clinic Programme
For 36 weeks of the year, the Phelophepa Health Train tours South Africa bringing health care and advice to the country's poorest and remotest areas. Many of the thousands of people treated at the Train have had no other access to health facilities. However, for one week in the year they are able to visit doctors, dentists and opticians as well as learn about preventive medicine and nutrition as part of training programmes and outreach to local communities.
Canon Collins Trust supports the Train's Edu-clinics through which 25 volunteers are trained as local healthcare practitioners at each stop. Prior to the arrival of the Train, the people of the area elect the members of their community who they think are best placed to receive this invaluable knowledge.
Once the Train arrives, the selected volunteers spend a week becoming experts in basic healthcare, covering topics as diverse as family planning, nutrition, and the symptoms of diseases. By the end of the training they are equipped to radically improve the health of their communities. The Train leaves behind a team of dedicated volunteers able to recognise illness and ensure that it is treated in time.
"This train has freed us from small and big prisons. If I had had this knowledge a year ago my father perhaps would still have been alive. I would have known more about what to do. My family and community will learn from me."
A volunteer after completion of her Edu-Clinic basic health course.
