Mpho Phaka, South Africa

[00:05]
I arrived on the train on the 4th of August, 2014. We normally wait for nine months, and I miss home all the time — but I love what I’m doing. I’m here as a primary healthcare nurse. My main service is cancer screening.
While I was already working on the train, I realized that I had a breast lump. That’s when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. If the doctor tells you that your lump is cancerous — whether you’re a professional nurse or not — you will be shocked. Once I decided that I was going through with treatment, I became very positive. And I think my diagnosis has helped a lot of people in the different communities I went through.
[00:51]
[Music]
Phelophepa is a healthcare train that delivers health services to disadvantaged communities in rural areas. In some places, the clinic is very far, and transport is so scarce that people have to walk. So the train can reach those areas. Phelophepa is here to support the services that the Department of Health provides to the communities.
[Music]
We get students from different institutions — optometry students, dental students, and nursing students.
[02:03]
[Music]
The train offers eye care services — they screen the patients’ vision and offer spectacles to those who need them. For oral care, they check the teeth, clean them, fill cavities, and extract where necessary.
[Music]
The health clinic delivers primary healthcare services, which include prevention and treatment of minor ailments. There’s a lot of arthritis and joint pain. We also treat respiratory conditions, and we detect many complications from chronic illnesses.
[02:50]
Then there’s the psychology clinic — they run workshops outside in the community.
[Music]
[Spoken in another language — possibly “Nam Sanjay estimated”]
[Music]
Cancer screening is available throughout the day. Patients can walk out of the train, go to the cancer tent, and have their pap smears or prostate checks. I think by telling them about myself, I encourage patients — and then they talk amongst themselves: "Oh, you see, she’s the same. She was treated for cancer as well."
[03:44]
[Music]
I still get patients who communicate with me and say, “You see, you helped us by screening us. I’ve been going to whatever hospital for my treatment, and now I’m at this stage.”
[Applause]
[Music]
A good nurse should meet each and every person at their level. You put yourself at the level of that gogo in the community — that person who has never gone to school. You should be empathetic. You should understand the different living conditions of different people. Nurses are just super important to each and every institution.
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
You.