While preparing for the past two CHW filming days, I caught myself reflecting heavily on my experience in South Africa thus far. What are some of my most meaningful and memorable experiences? What made them so? Using the Notes app on my phone (which has been functioning as somewhat of a travel journal) I traveled back in time through the past four weeks.
As I flipped through each note, I recalled our travels to countless beautiful historical sites—the Constitutional Court, the Apartheid Museum, Soweto, the Hector Peterson Memorial—where we’ve had the opportunity to learn from the rich history of this nation, learning powerful lessons about intentionality, compassion, and the dangers of violence, negligence, and closed-mindedness. I recalled our tour with Lwando Xaso, who spoke so beautifully and powerfully about this nation’s history, while so eloquently reminding us that both our greatest challenge and gift lie in our ability to authentically and open-mindedly confront and critique our past and our mistakes. I recalled the eyes of Danny, our 71-year-old tour guide who lived in Soweto during the violent uprisings, as he approached me in the upstairs gallery, laid his hand on my shoulder, and recounted desperately seeking shelter when the police ravaged his town and took the lives of his community members. An important reminder that the material we learn spans more than the words we read on museum walls or the confines of the business center to the lives of real people and their families.
As of two days ago, I had 37 note entries of moments, people, and places I’d like to remember forever. With these past two days of filming now complete, I am left with a dozen more moments I’d like to freeze in time within the yellow backdrop of my treasured Notes app.
I wish to remember the community healthcare workers’ gracious and unconditional compassion, kindness, and openness towards our team in letting us use their spaces, follow them throughout their day, and ask for their stories. I wish to remember the echoes of the community healthcare workers as they sang the most beautiful songs while holding hands and stomping their feet rhythmically against the concrete floors of the outpost. I wish to remember the heartfelt interactions between Windy and her son in the kitchen of their home in Hammanskraal. I wish to remember Windy hugging her elderly patient as she described their mother-daughter relationship, and I wish to remember Hosea speaking so passionately about delivering medications to his patients who would otherwise have no access to such resources. I wish to remember us dancing and laughing with children and the community healthcare workers on the streets of Hammanskraal and the clinic outpost. I wish to remember Agnes enthusiastically speaking with me about her favorite female wrestlers and her heartfelt revelation that she watches the sport every night as a reminder of her own strength to continue working as a community healthcare worker, despite little support and years of work with no compensation.
I also wish to remember how I felt in these moments, hoping to one day be able to look back at the yellow pixels of my Notes app to relive these memories. I wish to capture how inspired I am by the CHWs and the incredible work they do in their community, and I wish to capture my gratitude.
To the community health workers we had the pleasure of interviewing today—Hosea, Windy, and Agnes— and the rest of the CHW team, I am so inspired by you. Thank you for showing me kindness, grace, and compassion. Thank you for teaching me about bravery, sacrifice, perseverance, and love. Thank you for teaching me about the beauty and power of vulnerability. I can only hope to one day have a fraction of the courage, selflessness, and kindness that you all share.
