Download PDFA Message from the Chairperson of the Gauteng Community Health Care Forum
As Community Healthcare Workers (CHWs) we began the year 2021 with so much uncertainty about what will happen to us and the communities at large when the vaccine arrives in South Africa. We all do not know much about this new variant of the coronavirus, and we don’t know the symptoms as it seems they slightly vary from the initial COVID-19 virus.
We have heard that there is a vaccine that is being prepared for us but nobody is sure about all of its side effects. We have had to educate our communities about it without being given any knowledge about it from the Department of Health and it has been a challenge. Yet as CHWs we have to keep our heads high and give a brave face to our fellow citizens.
As we begin this year I urge all CHWs to take a stand and demand to be given information about any COVID-19 outbreaks upfront. We must demand this so we can prepare ourselves as CHWs and represent ourselves well in the struggles that we are facing with this Department, which keeps undermining us.
May we keep doing the good work we’ve always done regardless that we are often insulted in our workplaces and called “THE CAN’T READ AND WRITES”. Let us play our role and show our consciousness for our communities.
To Forum (GCHCF) members, let us all keep this ship going because the struggle is not over and we cannot abandon the ship.
Compliments of the new season! Ha re dule re direla setshaba! AMANDLA!
This article was submitted on 8 February 2021. You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Karibu! Online (www.Karibu.org.za), and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.
