Night vigil for health train
Determined woman sleeps rough to be first in queue
VICTORIA Maqanda spent Sunday night sleeping in a fold-up chair in Swartkops while she waited for the Phelophepa Health Care Train to open yesterday morning.
“I persevered through the night. Today I am victorious,” Maqanda, 62, of Motherwell, said.
“I spent the whole night waiting for this day.”
Maqanda has had a problem with her knee for years.
The train, with a hybrid Sesotho and Setswana name roughly translated as “good, clean health”, spends 36 weeks a year travelling the country and delivering healthcare services to communities.
It will spend two weeks in the Eastern Cape, starting in Swartkops yesterday.
Maqanda said she had to sleep next to the train to ensure she was first in line.
“I slept on a chair outside all night long. I kept thinking of my bed but the pain in my knee kept me focused.”
She arrived in Swartkops just after 12.20pm on Sunday. But while the train arrived two hours later, it only started helping people yesterday morning.
“I am victorious because I was the first to get treatment,” she said.
Maqanda has had a swollen knee for years and nurses gave her an injection yesterday which immediately alleviated the swelling and pain.
But while Maqanda celebrated, hundreds more would-be patients left disappointed when told the train could only help a specific number of people.
Phelophepa manager Lynette Flush said that apart from a few hiccups caused by the huge number of patients, everything else had gone smoothly. “We reached our capacity,” she said.
“There are many people who are in need of the services. Some were here before the train even arrived.”
More than 300 people were assisted yesterday – 120 in the eye section, 75 in the dental section and 120 in the general health section.
But not everyone was thrilled with the train.
Aaron Grootboom, 74, of Uitenhage, said he arrived in Swartkops shortly after 3am yesterday hoping to have his eyes tested.
“We were told we would be served [yesterday] but were turned away. The arrangements were very poor,” he said.
The main objective of the Phelophepa train, started by Transnet in 1994, is to assist marginalised communities where people have to travel far to access healthcare services that are often too expensive for most of them.
The train’s staff teach people about the importance of prevention and early detection of medical conditions, and provide screening for diseases, eye care and dental services.
The train will leave Port Elizabeth on February 3, with visits to Mthatha, Mount Ruth, King William’s Town and Queenstown to follow.