Beauty

Before thinking that I’ve gotten confused in pairing this picture of the shacks of Itipini with such a contradictory title, read on! Working in a place that previously served as the city garbage dump has its share of unpleasantness. Looking down the hillside toward the brown Mthatha river, it is still unfathomable to me that each shack constructed out of corregated metal, car parts, tarps or any available debris is the place that so many people call home. At first it was relatively easy for me to come to Itipini each day, spend my time helping in the clinic, and not think much about the fact that these people live in a garbage dump. But now that I’m getting to know some of the locals and am learning about their stories, I am becoming more saddened by the conditions they are living in. Death is becoming much too real. In my short time being here, I know of at least 5 deaths from within the community—AIDS victims who lacked the support they needed to get onto life sustaining medication before it was too late; a stillborn baby; the sudden illness and death of our jovial watchman who was one of few men who was actually married and loved his family; a premature two month old twin who still weighed under 2 kg. There is no shortage of tragic cases.

But amidst all of the disheartening stories I am able to tell, I have been challenging myself to discover the beauty in this place that is finding a place in my heart. Surprisingly, I haven’t had to look too far:

Friendship:

Some people at Itipni are an incredible example of true friendship through their actions. There is one lady who comes into the clinic everyday to pick up her friend’s TB pills who is often not well enough to come herself. I have witnessed numerous people go along to the hospital with a friend, knowing full well that they will end up spending the entire day standing in long lines to be seen and sitting in crowded waiting rooms. Not my idea of a good way to spend the day, but there are many people who will do this for the sake of helping out a friend.

Joy:

There are a lot of happy people around! It’s pretty amazing to me that these children always seem happy to see you each morning and are ready to smile and giggle and just be generally silly like any regular kid, even though it’s quite likely they just came out of their shack where they sleep with multiple people in the same bed and maybe didn’t have anything to eat for breakfast. Another lady, Boniswa, hangs around outside the clinic most days and never fails to great me with a smile, and likely a handshake or hug. She has a psychiatric condition, which I’m not sure has been diagnosed or medicated, and is a pleasure to have around (even if she smells quite awful as a result of rarely bathing). Apparently she doesn’t make a lot of sense in the things she says, but to me it really doesn’t make a difference since I don’t understand Xhosa anyway! So it’s easy to get away with smiling and nodding and she will continue telling me stories that seem to make her happy. Somedays she even likes to dance with me. I love her contagiously joyful spirit!

Resilience:

I am impressed with the way people in Itipini survive in spite of the hardships they live with. Their homes are in terrible condition; they have very few clothes, very little food, and many family members to care for. Water can be in short supply. Jobs are unavailable; education often unattainable. Take all of this and add into the equation that many of these people have HIV or AIDS, making daily life that much more difficult. Yet so many of these people still do what it takes to get by and somehow make it through to tomorrow, next week, or next year. For whatever reason, they don’t give up, and to me this is quite admirable.

Hope:

In the face of death and despair, this community is also scattered with stories of hope. Some people really do care about their health--I’m proud of my TB patients who come in everyday to get their pills. It’s exciting when patients anxiously inquire about lab results or remember to go to a doctor’s appointment. Or when a patient who has not been doing well comes into the clinic and reports, “I’m better!” There are success stories of individuals who have stayed on their ARV’s and whose health has drastically improved after being severely ill. Entrepreneurship is also becoming increasingly popular—people are interested in gaining the skills they need and are putting forth effort to earn their own money instead of depending on government grants. It’s great to see people becoming interested in taking a hand in improving their life.

I still have days when I look out over a sea of garbage and can’t help but think how terrible all of this is. But then I come across yet another example of friendship, joy, resilience or hope, and am reminded that even the dump (tipini) can be beautiful.