Cape Town - Gift of the Givers (GOTG) is preparing to send a multi-disciplinary medical team to Touws River to provide much-needed health-care services to its underprivileged residents.
The team is due to arrive in less than three days and will set up a camp at a school, GOTG said.
Western Cape Medical Team co-ordinator Naeem Kathrada said earlier this month the non-government organisation had received an urgent plea for assistance from residents who had little to no access to health-care services.
“Touws River is a town that depends on the tourism industry. I think most of the residents were working at a game reserve in the area before the pandemic saw it shut down. They also have only one clinic managed by one nurse and a doctor who come in once a week, which means not everybody can be seen.
“When we received calls for assistance, Mr Sablay came over last week to scope the situation. I then came a few days later, and as soon as I arrived, I was approached by children who had been struggling with toothaches. I couldn’t attend to them all, but I helped out a few. That highlighted the need for an intervention,” he said.
Kathrada said he was moved by the need and humbleness of the residents.
“Despite being in pain or having suffered for a long time with their ills, the people here are gracious and clean, even the children. It made me want to help relieve their pain even more,” he said.
About 40 doctors from various disciplines are to arrive on Saturday, and more than 1 000 patients are excited to receive medical attention.
GOTG said the intervention would also give it the opportunity to assess and scope how the Department of Health could better respond to the community.
GOTG Founder Imtiaz Sooliman said: “We have been supporting the community of Touws River during Covid-19 with bulk food items for the community soup kitchen given the 95% unemployment rate.
“During a follow-up visit last week, we discovered that the medical services were not sufficient or reliable for an extended period. That’s why we decided to deploy a multi-disciplinary medical team to assess the health status of the entire town.”