Phelophepa, Transnet’€™s mobile health train that has bought primary health care to thousands of rural South Africans, is managing to reach almost 5 000 individuals every week.

Within four years the train has managed to reach a total of 67 855 patients, who receive quality and in most cases, free health care.

A survey among 475 people trained in the Phelophepa Edu-clinic, revealed that these individuals had reached and shared their knowledge with 50 000 people within their communities in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.

The train is a mobile clinic that stops at various rural destinations for five-day visits to supplement services already rendered by the Department of Health.

The health clinic, psychology clinic, eye clinic, dental clinic and Edu-clinic render primary services.

To sustain the benefits of the visits to the various communities, the train runs an Edu-clinic that provides information about basic health care to people selected by the specific community.

The Basic Health Education Programme, presented by the Edu-clinic, is a set of integrated training materials that includes a manual, transparencies, play cards and videos.

The course content covers personal and environmental hygiene, nutrition, contraception and information about disease prevention that includes STDs, HIV and AIDS.

The course is designed for literate or illiterate people with no previous health training and has also proved to be popular among the traditional healers.

“What we are hoping to do is that when we leave, the people we have trained are going to train others,” said Dr Lillian Cingo, manager of Phelophepa.

In addition to this training, Phelophepa’€™s Edu-clinic and Psychology Clinic also offer AIDS workshops at rural schools and communities.

The Basic Health Education Programme will soon be expanded to include an AIDS outreach programme that will be aimed at the youth, key community figures and traditional healers. The intention is that these people will reach out to their communities as happens with the health education programme.

Phelophepa management is currently negotiating with key roleplayers such as Lifeline, the National Aids Convention of SA (NACOSA), Children in Distress (CINDI), the Child Welfare Society and St John’€™s Ambulance to offer peer and lay counselling training, home-based care training and HIV/AIDS information sharing.

* For more information on the training material, Alrika Hefers can be contacted at 043-740-3924. The Basic Health Care Programme can be purchased from Phelophepa as well as a video, covering the most frequently asked questions on the subject of HIV/AIDS at shop floor level and in secondary schools.