By: Nokulunga Lebambo

The Transnet Phelophepha train has landed at Ximhungwe in
Bushbuckridge to offer healthcare services to the people of the area and
surrounding villages, starting off in Mkhondo, then Belfast and
Komatipoort earlier on in the year, the train is now in the
Bushbuckridge Local Municipality where it will be stationed for 10 days
before it moves to Limpopo Province. The Transnet Phelophepha train
was founded in 1992 and its aim is to transform the provision of
accessible healthcare to rural communities across South Africa.
Affectionately known as the Trains of Hope, the Healthcare Trains provide
comprehensive primary healthcare services utilizing national railways to
make quality healthcare more accessible. Remote communities benefit the
most in these trains. The people of Ximhungwe will have now be part of
those who benefit from the train. The train provides access to dental care,
eyecare, primary healthcare support, and psychology and pharmacy
services.

The train is set to provide healthcare to over 3000 people in the area
in the 10 days that it will spend at Ximhungwe. Healthcare is provided
on a first come first served basis and those who do not make it to their
preferred clinics at the train are encouraged to come the following day

to get assistance. The eye clinic charges 30 rand for glasses and
5rands for eye drops meanwhile the dental clinic charges 10 rands .
According to the train manager stationed at Ximhunge, DR Thabiso
Manamela, these amounts are not payment however a donation that
goes a long way in assisting the train to continue to do its work
efficiently.

“We have a weekly target of seeing 1500 patients however due to the
influx; we sometimes exceed that number because our people are
really in need of these services. Our work is not limited to the train; we
also have community outreach programmes where some of our staff
members go out to schools and community clinics to raise awareness
and to teach about the various societal challenges such as mental
health, teenage pregnancy, anger management etc”. said Manamela.

To officially welcome the train to Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga MEC
for Health, Sasekani Manzini and Bushbuckridge Local Municipality
Mayor Lydia Moroane visited the train last week and conducted a walk
about in the train to see how the different clinics operate and interact
with the people. In an interview with this publication, Manzini reiterated
the importance of communities taking care of their mental health and
getting rid of the stigma attached to mental health challenges.
“we are urging our people to use the psychological health clinic of the
train, gone are the days where women were encouraged to hold on in
abusive situations, women need to come here and relay their
challenges to the psychologists here so that they can be strengthened
and equipped to face day to day life without constantly snapping or
breaking down. We also encourage men to speak out, times have
changed and we are saying that men are not sheep who are
supposed to weep silently. We believe that the number of gender

based violence cases can significantly be reduced if men attend
counseling sessions. People should not only come here for eye
glasses, they should make use of all the services offered here. Cancer
screening is done here; they should also prioritize doing that because
when such illnesses are detected early they are easier to manage:”
she said.
Ximhungwe Resident Sharlotte Nyalungu also added that they are
happy that the train has arrived in the area and that they will get to
access specialist services free of charge. “Going through the hospital
or clinic process is quite long, tedious and expensive for many of us
as health facilities are far from us. We are happy to access such
services at our doorstep without having to go through a long process
of going to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning. We did not
know that one can have their teeth deep cleaned and through this
train we have been enlightened to know that we need to take better
care of our teeth. We wish the train can permanently stay here “
In addition to servicing the needs of patients, Phelophepa creates much-
needed temporary jobs at each community visited, employing people from
local communities as local translators, general cleaners, data capturers,
nurses, and catering / hospitality staff.