Welcome to Worcester

In our first week in Worcester we saw many new things, obviously, we are in a new place. To try and describe everything that we did and saw would take far too long. For me the highlights of my week were easy to identify, and they included:

"Hello to my Health"

This is a 5 week education programme for Diabetics, to teach them about Diabetes and how to deal with all the aspects that come along with it- complications, nutrition, medication etc. There are various members of the team that do the education, they include Doctors, nurses and Dietitians.

Watching them interact with the patients was amazing, the energy that they had and the way they connected to the patients was truly inspiring. One could see that every person in the room ,Dr's and patients, were having fun. I think that everyone walked away having learnt something. As Health Promotion is a passion of mine I hope to one day be able to conduct education in the way "Hello to my Health" is done. They put theory that could be so complex into such a basic and understandable form, whether it be through songs or ice breakers, quick explanations, actions or questions. It just goes to show that the more interactive you are with people and the more pure interest you show in them as an individual the more they will respect and listen to the advise you have to share with them. Cannot wait for the next session, "Hello, hello, hello to my Health".

Ceres, Growth Monitoring

Children. What did I experience? My senses were definitely in fill use this day. From seeing lots of cute little faces with snot noses, to hearing the adorable laughter of a child and the not so adorable crying of some(not wanting to be measured) , to having felt little hands in my own hands and in my hair as well as smelling the odd dirty nappy, I'd say my senses had a full day of experiences.

Growth monitoring is an incredible way to prevent so many problems, such as early recognition of malnutrition and stunting to helping a child ensure they have the best brain development through Vitamin A supplementation etc.

For me Growth monitoring is one of my favorite parts of Dietetics, we have the ability to make a difference in someone's life that could have caused unnecessary speed bumps in their later life, as well as the fact that I really enjoy being around children and interacting with them. Needless to say this day was greatly appreciated and enjoyed in every way.

One of my biggest goals in life would be to make a difference in as many children's lives as possible as they are our future, and we need to make sure our future is healthy and ready to be the best they can be, to allow them to grow.

It was also nice to see the different areas within the Winelands area, the drive was spectacular and even allowed us to have a group photo with a scenic background.

Tut in Hermanus

Hermanus is always such a special place to go to, where I have so many memories and where a lot of my motivation to continue dietetics came from. So to be back there was like a breath of motivation, especially considering we did such fun things.

Although "Community Profiles" are quite a mission and sometimes finding all the information is a bit harder and takes a bit longer than we thought it would, I think it is  a very necessary task to do in the beginning of the block. As the block goes on you will learn more about your community and how it functions, but to have that general background information of the community you are working in before you decide on what your plans are is greatly beneficial in ensuring that what you are changing or doing is actually needed.

Making a breast, a simple easy to make one, was so much fun and I think it is such a great way to help with consultations of showing how proper attachment should occur as well as the anatomy of the breast. Just in general a brilliant idea to help us make it easier for moms to understand.

Doing case studies on problems mothers occur during breastfeeding is a really good way for us to discuss and understand how to handle these situations in "real life". Especially because we were able to discuss it with someone who has experienced breastfeeding . Breastfeeding truly is an incredible "gift" the body is able to provide to ones child, every time we discuss breastfeeding I become very passionate and also, I suppose in a way, irritated that some moms even though are well educated seem to still believe that formula feeding is best. I mean breast milk comes from you, it is made by you specifically for your baby what better nutrition could you possibly give your child?

General orientation of the Worcester community

A very big part of understanding ones community, I think, is to see the different aspects of the community(housing, shops, schools, roads etc) for yourself. To explore the streets of each sub-district and to go into the shops from where people can buy their food can only benefit us in understanding how communities function and survive.  Having a general "map" orientation of a place in which I am truly helps me to see where I want to go and what goals could be achievable for that community.

Week 1, done and dusted, well more like done and snowed. Adjusting to the cold has been interesting, Cape Town now seems so warm even though it is only a beautiful scenic  1.15 hours away. Being away from "home" allows one to really appreciate what they have, but at the same to know that the amount which we will grow from Ukwanda will help us to blossom into better people and better Dietitians makes being away not all that bad.