Final internship day

Us with Cecile, one of the F1 students that came to App in the fall.

Yesterday was our final day of the internship, and I have to say that it was extremely bittersweet. As excited as we were to return to Cape Town before heading back to the US, we all realize that Bloem has taken a special place in our hearts.

Anyway...back to the internship. During my last day,  I was working in the clinic helping to hand out supplements based on BMI and illness. There are three things worth noting from that experience.

Milk Mountain

1. One women came in with a small child. We asked her if she was receiving grant money for that child and when she responded that she wasn't, we asked her why not. Her response went a little something like this...the government grant agency refused to give her grant money for the child because her (the woman we were speaking to) fingerprints did not match her mothers. Umm....hello?! EVERYONE'S FINGERPRINTS ARE DIFFERENT!!! Basically, when it came down to it, the government just didn't feel like helping her and she was educated enough to know the difference.
2. The government has decided to stop funding milk supplements for mothers who have children under the age of 6 months because they are strongly trying to promote breastfeeding. Well, someone didn't get the memo and thus developed "Milk Mountain," a pile of unused milk supplements that will not ever be used and is just sitting....waiting for expiration.
3. The incidence of strokes is increasing among younger generations due to the HIV/AIDS crisis.