kesh26

[kesh26]

THE CITY LIFE OF WARWICK JUNCTION

The Hustle and bustle of the city, the busy traders shuffling about and the impatient hoots of the taxis – my initial thought was that “this is a sensory overload”. I was completely overwhelmed at how busy it was, there were a great deal of people everywhere and they made use of every bit of space from the pavements to the walkways. Initially I was a little scared, because I’m not used to the lively atmosphere of the markets packed with people moving in many different directions. My feelings towards the market were “this place this dirty”, “it is very busy” and “it has a terrible stench, I can’t breathe”. I even went on to question my safety and had a fear of getting robbed. Much to my surprise it was easy to adapt, and the people were all friendly and welcoming. As we walked through the market I began to feel more at ease as we were greeted by passing people and smiling faces. It wasn’t at all what I had imagined.  

Warwick consists of nine markets namely the bead market, the Impepho & lime market, the Brook Street market, Berea station market, the early morning market, the bovine market, music bridge and the herb market. I remember thinking oh my word “how are we going to tour all of these markets in just a few hours, there’s way too much to see”. However we were able to visit every single one, we had time to view each stall in every market and observe what goods people had to sell, we had time to stop and purchase goods and we even got informative talks on each market with regards to the rich history each market has, the contents of the markets and the unique importance of each one.

My favourite market was the bead market, it was filled with vibrant South African coloured traditional bead work. I was in absolute awe of the intricate and beautiful handcrafted work. Each piece was absolutely stunning, the hard work and fine motor coordination required to make each item is tremendously demanding. Especially when you’re sitting on a crowded floor with lack of back support, a baby strapped to your back and then the challenge of threading tiny beads. It’s definitely not an easy task at all but they make it look so effortless, on top of that each item is incredibly cheap. I honestly felt the prices didn’t correlate with the hard work put in. I have a great appreciation for the honest and wonderful work each of these women do.

Walking through the market I was able to appreciate the work each person did because hearing the background stories really provided context. I was able to see the hard work and determination each person possessed. Setting up those stalls every day and sitting outside in rain, wind or scorching heat is not easy, it’s a great challenge that each person working has to face. Realizing the bizarre conditions these traders must withstand left me with a newfound respect for the work they do to make an honest living. Hearing about how the women in the Bovine market work hard day in and day out to put their children through university was beyond inspiring. It made my complaints of walking in the heat with aching feet so trivial and irrelevant.

“The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members, a heart of grace and a soul generated by love” (King, 2000) … This quote resonated well with me because I think it accurately describes the community I observed at Warwick. In listening to the rich history of Warwick relayed by the tour guide, all our community lectures came alive. I was able to see people from different walks of life come together to create a community based on trust, hard work and kindness. Witness the interactions between various venders displayed the respect they have for each other and highlighted the unity they share. Visiting the nine markets was definitely an interesting experience, not one I would have gotten due to my own personal biases and perceptions. Therefore, I am truly happy that I was able to not only learn a lot but experience the market and all it has to offer first hand. This authentic experience is one that has left me with a lot to think about.

[kesh26]

#3 _ Experience of week 1

Monday evening came along and brought with it anxious feelings at the pit of my stomach as I knew Tuesday was near and the block was fast approaching. I recall checking my phone at least 15 times to go double and triple check a memo checklist I had made just to ensure l I had everything I needed. I don’t remember sleeping a wink that night and before I knew it my alarm had rang. Usually My thoughts would have been “oh no, already” but this time I chose to greet the morning with positivity, instead I said to myself “This is going to be a great day and I’m going to learn a lot” and believe it or not it turned out to be better than I expected!

As I got dropped off at the facility the bus driver had asked what time do we finish and my thoughts were “oh its Tuesday of course 3, so I said 3” and a colleague corrected me and said 12! From that statement I already knew the day was going to be great! Although how embarrassing, however it was a great start to the day.

Driving through the pathway leading to the facility was somewhat unusual as I didn’t think there would be a paintball arena!! Upon arrival we were greeted by brightly coloured buildings with neatly groomed gardens and welcoming faces. It almost felt as if I was at a school as the set up was so structured with people sitting at tables keeping busy and a supervisor sitting at the head of the room observing everyone. We were greeted by many people who were so eager to meet us and introduce themselves, it gave me a sense of belonging.

The facility had a tranquil atmosphere and from initial observance I could already see there was apparent institutionalisation. The service users were all set in routine and followed times in which they’d have tea and lunch.

In the little time that I had on Tuesday I was able to gather a lot of information about the facility from conversing and engaging with the supervisors about the routine of the service users as well as information about how the facility worked as a system. I was also able to get a lot of information from both the clients that I was allocated as they were willing to speak to me and answer any questions and assessment forms I presented before them. I thoroughly enjoyed my first day at the challenge and from getting acquainted with my client’s I can already see I’m going to enjoy working with them.

Apart from the facility and the service users I was pleasantly surprised by the group of colleagues I get to work with as their enthusiasm and drive is what also motivates me. I am truly blessed to get the opportunity to work with this group of people and I look forward to seeing what the coming weeks will bring. I am also pleased to say at least I didn’t need any relaxation techniques or brown paper bags just yet.

I think week 1 went relatively well even though it was short, however I wish the week was longer, so I could be more productive as you can’t recycle wasted time.

[kesh26]

Ignorance Is Not Bliss

Sitting in the lecture feeling naïve and clueless as my lecturer proceeded to talk about the Life Esidimeni tragedy was truly a catastrophe in itself.

As a health science student, it was my duty to be well informed about the Life Esidimeni tragedy as it was a major violation of constitutional rights in terms of dignity of Mental health care users. I feel extremely embarrassed and horrified as I had only heard the headline and did not take the initiative to further research and increase my awareness.

My initial justification was that I have been occupied on physical block for the last year and did not keep abreast on psych related issues, well to be honest how oblivious does that sound? It was my duty to find out and be knowledgeable about the care of mental health care users and surrounding issues as I truly am passionate about caring for all types of health care users in general. This was a vast lapse in judgement and I hope to never drop the ball again.

As an OT student and a as a human this catastrophe is one that truly perturbs me as I cannot seem to fathom how a health minister can authorise the relocation of mental health care users from Life Esidimeni and place them in the hands of the utterly ill-equipped NGO’s. It makes me sick to my core to think the lives of these people were just disregarded and seen as irrelevant as the death of 144, the torture of 1418 users clearly indicate the neglect. Medication is extremely imperative in maintaining psychiatric conditions and psychiatric clients rely on medication to be functional. Basic needs such as food, water and decent living conditions are individuals’ constitutional right. Therefore, the blatant disregard of the health department in not providing monthly grants and funding to the NGO’s coupled with the people heading these NGO’s was a recipe for disaster as covering up the deaths of mental health care users was more of a priority to avoid a political scandal.

After reading up on this tragedy I now have greater insight as to why my lecturer was so perturbed at the lack of hands when she asked, “who of you know about the Life Esidimeni tragedy”. I am also upset at myself for being so uninformed and feel as though I have let myself down and the profession. This sounds like a drastic statement to make however it is that lack of knowledge and ignorance that was a contributing factor in the tragedy as imperative issues such as dignity of those mental health care users were overlooked. I make a promise to myself to always be informed and not remain so linear in my thinking but to expand my horizons and read widely.

[kesh26]

#2 _ My Thoughts On Mock Prac 🗣

The reality of prac being literally and figuratively around the corner was evident today by the slide show presented before me, I was quickly made aware of the fact that I was in the dark As the lecturer continued to press “next slide”… It was truly a wake up call as to the mountain of preparation and amount of work I still have to do in order to be ready for prac and I still won’t be completely good to go when the time comes. At this point if I could get a whole psych textbook in my head by osmosis I would!! (Side note - why hasn’t this been invented?!!)

Despite my little anxiety attacks throughout mock prac I was completely moved by the motivational talks that were given and I was awe inspired by the experiences each of my lecturers shared. Each video I watched had left me captivated and made me want to be a better student, a better clinician and a better person altogether. Just listening to the words roll off my lecturers tongues as they professed their passion for OT was so powerful that I could feel the intensity and vibrations of their passion in their voices.

Not only did this mock prac prepare me in terms of the content and what was to be expected of this block, but it further prepared me for the next 18 months, it filled me with drive and motivation to be the best version of myself, to wake up each morning with a purpose and to own that purpose and not shy away from it. It made me realise my love for OT and why I chose to study it. Sometimes the lines get blurred with all the stress from different modules, deadlines and challenging workloads and you feel like you’re going to crash and burn and not going to make it but seeing and hearing from these lecturers that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you do succeed and come out on top had restored my positivity and gave me something to remember during tough times. You just need to find your WHY,HOW and WHAT.

Yes I have a lot of work to do in terms of researching and preparing for next week and yes I am nervous about what this block will bring but I am extremely excited to start!! I cannot wait to see what these next few months hold in terms of working alongside my peers and under my supervisor and more-so I cannot wait to learn as much as possible and experience all there is out there on offer.

These next weeks and months are going to be busy and intense however with good time management, forward planning and support anything can be accomplished. I feel refuelled and motivated to take on this new challenge head on!!

[kesh26]

#1 _ Preparation For Countdown

Envelope template, Hamiltons anxiety form and unniform... that’s when you know the Psychosocial block is upon us!

Do I have all the assessment forms prints? Do I have everything I need? Will my supervisor like me ? These are the questions that have been in my head from the minute I heard “ welcome back, We trust you’re well rested and ready to work hard”

Whenever I start a new block I’m always perturbed and filled with mixed emotions. However, this time around I’m super excited to see what this block is all about!!

In preparation I’m up to date with all the course material, although that’s barely hitting the surface of the knowledge thats out there. I still plan on reading as many articles and textbooks to broaden my knowledge and be in a position to provide the best client care and overall holistic therapy.

The one lecture that has sparked my interest has got to be the Jacobson Relaxation Technique however I have not done the practical yet... but that didn’t stop me. I researched this to provide myself with insight beforehand and also I may need to use this 👀🧘🏽‍♀️to calm myself down.

Overall, I plan on using the constructive criticism I have received on previous blocks to advance my performance and be a better student. During the last three pracs I have learnt that its okay to make mistakes as long as you learn from it as making mistakes is the first step to learning. Another important thing I’ve learnt is it’s absolutely imperative to take initiative as this is what turns an average student into a good or great student 👩🏻‍🎓.

I hope this block proves to be a great learning experience which exceeds my every expectation. I look forward to learning from supervised practical experience, from my peers whom I will be working alongside and from as much reading material I can get my hands on. I also look forward to evolving as a student and displaying great exponential growth as a student clinician.