Queen Ntuli | The Village of Vukuzenele | Need
The idea for the Organization of Cross-Cultural Exchange (OCCE) began during 2002 and 2003, while I served as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Mpumalanga Province in South Africa. At that time, I worked with the University of Pretoria’s Center for the Study of Aids in Nelsprit, South Africa, to begin educational and preventive programs designed to combat the HIV/Aids pandemic. What struck me was the need to include the diverse, cultural knowledge of traditional healers (sangomas and inyangas) whom 80% of the population use to increase wellness. A sense of urgency drove me to use my own resources to return to South Africa (April through August 2006). Through a public health program at the University of Michigan-Flint, I undertook an internship with the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa, and the Presidents Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR). While at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban I worked with the PEPFAR team organizing workshops to educate Traditional Healers on western advances toward combating HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.From February through April of 2007, I again returned to South Africa for additional research and fact finding. While interviewing the traditional healers in townships and villages in South Africa, and upon further examination of the health issues in South Africa, two areas of need were apparent. First, the lack of access to high quality medical treatment due to poverty conditions, and secondly the need to build a sustainable community.Looking forward it became obvious that without OCCE I would not be able to continue funding this project by myself, therefore the growth and sustainability of OCCE is necessary to continue research and for the pilot program of adopting the village of Vukuzenzele, South Africa. Again, the growth of OCCE is pivotal to the traditional healers role in their communities as well as the plan to adopt the village of Vukuzenzele and work with its residents.-Brenda Gonzales OCCE Founder/Director

Queen Ntuli (1959-2006)

Key to the success of this project is the interviewing of sangomas and inyangas, traditional healers, in the village of Vukuzenzele. OCCE is responsible for bridging the gap of communication and opening those lines so accurate information about wide spread disease and its prevention are disseminated. Through open discussions and interviews of the respected community leaders and traditional healers, this gap of language and culture regarding AIDS/HIV and TB is breached with accurate knowledge and understanding. Though, it must be done in accordance with the specific culture and through the appropriate channels. In Vukuzanzeke, everything goes through a sangomas. These people hold an important role in the well being of their community. One such woman who remains an inspiration to the OCCE is Queen Ntuli, who has been practising traditional healing from her home in Folweni. In speaking with her she explained that it was an issue of familiarity with the community. “People come to us because they trust us,” says the petite healer. “We live with them and we’ve been given power by the ancestors. We also don’t just focus on the disease, we go beyond the sickness.”Despite high levels of awareness surrounding AIDS related vaccines (ARVs), “people who are on ARVs still come to me [for treatment] … they are scared about taking it forever and are always looking for an easier way,” said Ntuli, who is a member of the KwaZulu-Natal Traditional Healers Council, and also works with UKZN’s medical school instructing western-trained medical students on herbal medicine. But a problem was that traditional healers themselves often did not understand how HIV worked. Some genuinely believe they could get rid of the virus, while others deliberately misled people into believing that they could cure HIV/AIDS. Ntuli explained that many traditional healers did not realise that their medication was just treating the symptoms and not the virus.Zeblon Gwala, who makes ubhejane, an herbal remedy, and runs the Nebza AIDS clinic, is not a traditional healer, but told PlusNews that his grandfather appeared to him in dreams and gave him the recipe. He said its recent popularity has meant he has been staying up till late brewing the medication, grinding the ingredients by hand, and trying to get more plastic bottles to distribute. The 89 different herbs found in ubhejane are sourced, he said, from as far a field as the Democratic Republic of Congo. Gwala is adamant that he has never claimed he can cure AIDS, and since there have been no trials looking at whether people on ARVs can also safely take ubhejane, he strongly advises his clients against mixing the two.Mr. Gwala and Ms. Ntuli spoke of their divinational healing powers. As per the history of traditional healers, when a member of the family who is a traditional healer passes on, then the gift is passed on to another member of the same family. Traditional healing is seen as a sacred profession with rules to ensure that the healer is clean and spiritual. The medicines prescribed in traditional healing vary; some have long shelf life and some are fresh depending on the diagnosed illness. Sometimes it is necessary to use the bones of animals. Traditional healers do not only treat a single person, they have access to the whole family. There is always communication from the traditional healers and they are very approachable.

The Village of Vukuzenele

“Wake up and do it yourself” is the translation for Vukuzenzele, a village of 200 homes, nestled in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains in the KwaZulu-Natal province of the southwest region of South Africa. Traveling down the Makofu highway, usable during the summer and made impassable with winter rains, one can see the striking differences from relative poverty in the mountains of Appalachia and urban areas such as New York City and absolute poverty in most areas of South Africa. Language is the ethnic marker in South Africa and the people in this area speak ‘Amabhaca’ a combination of isiZulu and isiXhosa, which shows the fusion of two major speaking groups of South Africa. Traditional healers (sangomas and inyangas) are key stakeholders in this area, from whom 80% of the people rely on to help rid demons or treat the common cold. In addition, electricity has not yet been introduced into the village and cow dung is used for fuel. Household assets show that of the 200 homes only 15 had pit latrine toilets while other households had no toilet facilities at all, (Community Survey 2007). There ae communal wells, which provides water to the residents, and many use water from the nearby river. The main food crops are maize and sugar beans.The residents of Vukuzenzele want to eradicate poverty and disease on their own, but they need help. This is why the 501(c) 3 non-profit, Organization for Cross-Cultural Exchange (OCCE), was developed. Its purpose is to help those who need guidance and financial help through capacity building. OCCE’s mission statement, “Bridging the communication gap between traditional and western ideals through research and cross-cultural exchange,” establishes the philosophy to fully recognize and respect the culture and traditions of the people who need help to reduce poverty and maintain a decent quality of life.” Interviewing traditional healers, providing access to quality treatment for patients and addressing associated poverty issues are the tenets of OCCE.Below are some photos and documents from the people of Vukuzenele:[gallery=11]

Need

According to the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, civil society should “support efforts to assist in democratic institution building, strengthen communities, promote equitable access to resources and ensure respect of rights and diversity.” Thus, OCCE’s vision meets these specified goals. Approximately 93% of the people in Vukuzenzele live in mud homes and the poverty rate is 74% (versus 45% nationally) with unemployment the highest in the nation, (Statistics South Africa 2007). Chronic illness is rampant in many of the households and although HIV/AIDS has not reached this rural village at the incidence rate of urban areas, it is still hovering as an imminent threat.The impetus for this venture is locally based. It gives me an overwhelming feeling to be invited to help address health and poverty issues raging in this rural community. Nosipho Mbanjwa, a resident of the village, Mr. Rogers Mcwabe, the traditional leader (induna), and several community members have expressed an interest in becoming involved with this pilot project. The local school, Cetswayo, needs rudimentary items such as pencils, paper, and books. At the pinnacle of their wish list is a library and two computers once electricity is installed in the village.Poverty does not cause AIDS but it has been shown to be one of the factors. The aim of OCCE is to address this devastation and buffer the village of Vukuzenzele. By providing appropriate mechanisms to establish public health projects and build capacity against poverty Vukuzenzele can conquer poverty and provide the standard of life its residents deserve.