Tswalu Kalahari

The Clinic

Tswalu operates a primary health care clinic on the property for all Tswalu residents, as well as any other members of the neighbouring farming community. This service is available free of charge to all users.  The origin of the clinic at Tswalu was a happy accident. A German guest at the lodge, Dr Ludwig Föcking, fell ill during his stay. He had to go all the way to Kuruman for treatment, but instead of complaining, he turned this experience into something positive and proposed establishing a clinic on the property. The clinic was thus opened in 1999 and operates as a three way partnership between the State Health Service (who provide medication), Dr Focking and a number of other medical professionals in Germany who provide equipment (such as ECG, ultrasound scanner, defibrillators, dental chair etc) and Tswalu who provides the nurse, vehicle and buildings. In addition, Dr Focking also offers training to our nurse in his clinic in Germany every second year.

The vision of the clinic is two-fold. It serves to provide primary health care for everybody on the reserve and in the surrounding area, and it also has a vital educational role in the community. This includes an extensive HIV/AIDS awareness programme as well as the WARMTH programme (WAR against Malnutrition, Tuberculosis and Hunger), which aims to educate residents on the benefits of healthy eating and offers various immune system and nutritional supplements. Food gardens are encouraged and awareness lessons are presented to both expectant mothers and mothers with young children.