A chance conversation at the 2017 Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland conference in Cardiff led to a very informative and thought-provoking evening earlier this month for SI Tenby and District. Debbie Smith, known as ‘Dr. Debbie’, lives in South Africa and attended the conference as a member of SI Cape of Good Hope. As result of this chance meeting, Dr. Debbie agreed to address SI Tenby on her next visit to the UK.

Dr. Debbie began her talk by explaining her circumstances after the death of her husband, when she became involved in a charity called ‘A House for Humanity’ which builds houses for those in extreme poverty in South Africa.. She personally paid £180 to a local builder so that a house could be completed.

Following this, Debbie retired from her teaching career and returned to the Western Province of South Africa. She currently works in the Karl Bremer hospital, which covers an area equivalent to a third of England. Debbie deals with children of all ages who are HIV positive. There remains a stigma around HIV and many of these children are at risk of being attacked for their drugs through the growing gang culture. Some of these children have to travel long distances to attend their appointments, where they are tested regularly to ensure the treatment is effective. Children also travel from the Eastern Cape to access the free medication provided by the Western Province.

However, of greatest concern is the sexual risk that these children face on a daily basis. Dr. Debbie has started a scheme to help children to protect themselves. She had noted that none of these children wore underwear and because of this they are attacked and abused by HIV positive men. They believe that this will cure them as they pass on the deadly virus to children, both boys and girls. Under Debbie’s scheme, the children are given seven pairs of pants, one for every day of the week. They are told that these pants should only be removed by themselves, their mother, or their ‘gogo’ (who is their grandmother). This empowers the children, who are taught to say ‘No’.

Dr. Debbie also talked about her work in the ‘Kangaroo’ ward at the Karl Bremer Hospital - the special care baby unit for premature babies, where most of the mothers are also HIV positive. She works with Dr. Beryl Lebranto, the lead Paediatrician, and three other volunteers, including the daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. The hospital is very dated, with no central heating, causing particular difficulties between May and August, when it becomes very cold at night. Many of these babies have been abandoned because of the high costs of caring for premature babies. There are insufficient incubators - only nine in the whole hospital. To keep the babies warm, the volunteers often use bodily contact and Dr. Debbie explained, to the amusement of her audience, that all of her jumpers are baggy at the front as she usually had a baby tucked in there. However, on a more serious note, she concluded her talk by stating that these babies also desperately needed hats and nappies.

SI president Iris Davies then thanked Dr. Debbie for her most informative and inspirational talk. Donations of dozens of small knitted baby bonnets and packs of boys’ and girls’ pants were gifted to Dr. Debbie by the SI Tenby and District. It is hoped to further the link with SI Cape of Good Hope and incorporate this into future programme action projects. Please visit the website at http://sigbi/tenby.org for more information about the work.