An organisation born in the darkest days of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to serve the community of Kenton and its surrounding areas. Coastal Kindness is currently raising funds to improve the two local clinics.
It is hard to remember, when the world has mostly returned to normal, that only three years ago the impact the Covid-19 pandemic might have on our lives was just beginning to sink in. The hard lockdown was a very difficult time. But out of that fear and uncertainty emerged extraordinary groups and individuals who stepped up to help their communities in all kinds of ways.
One of them was Kenton based Coastal Kindness, which delivered medicines and groceries to those in desperate need; acquired five oxygen concentrators that kept alive people who couldn’t be hospitalised (because there were no beds available) and made and distributed masks.
Medical services are few and far between in Kenton, with no hospital, very few doctors, and only two clinics.
When the pandemic eased and the lockdown lifted, Coastal Kindness turned their attention to other health issues. They assisted at vaccination sites at the pharmacy and at the clinics, urging community members to vaccinate and setting up appointments. Daily medicine deliveries continue, first aid courses have started, they have bought several AEDs (heart defibrillators), and have a growing dementia support group.
Now they are raising funds to improve the ekuPhumleni (“Kenton”) and Marselle clinics, which are crucial for residents without medical aid.
“Over the past three years Coastal Kindness has been actively involved with the two health clinics that service people living or working in Ekuphumleni, Kenton, Marselle, Bushmans, Klipfontein and surrounding areas,” their proposal reads. “We have come to know and be trusted by the staff and our offers of support and assistance have been warmly welcomed and received.
“Sadly, neither clinic is fit for purpose. Indeed, it would be fair to say that the buildings and furniture are in a dilapidated state. These clinics are not a conducive environment in which to treat patients for health issues. Both clinics are non-compliant with realistic health and safety standards.”
With the blessing of local health officials, they plan to raise funds to upgrade both clinics; use the funds to pay their chosen contractors and suppliers directly; and oversee and project manage the work.
They plan to first upgrade the office of the Kenton Clinic manager, then complete work in Marselle, before returning to Kenton to undertake further work there. Work to be done includes specific repairs or adjustments. At the office of the Kenton Clinic manager, it is insulation of the wooden cabin outside the clinic that is the clinic manager’s office; putting in windows; installing lectrical plug points.
At Marselle, there are extensive renovations planned to furniture and walls, flooring, air conditioners, bathrooms, electrical wiring, fencing, ceiling and secure storage.
The total cost of these targeted renovations is R2 million and several fundraising initiatives are already under way.
First, acclaimed artist Rose Deary has donated her painting, ‘Reflection’ now on display at The House Planner in Kenton. To buy a raffle ticket go to https://bit.ly/ReflectionsCC (shortlink to the raffle on the Coastal Kindness website). Tickets are available until 14 April and the draw will take place on 18 April.
Next month, Kenton Asian will be hosting a fundraising auction for which several businesses have donated valuable prizes. So far, they include a child’s electric car, a trip with Cliff Reynolds in his 1941 Tiger Moth, two nights at Kariega Game Reserve and some special wine donated by Rose and Gordon Wright of the Karoo Wine Club, who last weekend organized the third highly successful Kenton Wine Festival. Details will be on Coastal Kindness’s website soon.
[pullquote]Basically, Kenton was a field hospital that we as a community set up ourselves.[/pullquote]
One doctor, a pandemic, and an incredible community
Talk of the Town asked co-founder Robbie Avis how Coastal Kindness had come about – and how it had kept the candle burning, three years after Covid-19 changed the world.
“It was February 2020 and Covid was about to hit South Africa. Here in Kenton, we had two under-resourced clinics and one doctor,” Avis said. “So a group of us went to Dr Eleanor Galpin and said, ‘You can’t look after everyone: what can we do to help?’”
For many communities, social media came into its own during that period and the WhatsApp group Kenton 365 quickly became a Telegram group as its membership grew past the WhatsApp limit.
“Every morning we posted a message that would give people hope, and we used it to share the latest available reliable information about how to stay safe during the pandemic.”
Dr Eleanor Galpin was working flat-out: they fed her.
A team was established to go to the pharmacy every day and collect people’s medication and deliver it to them – “so that it wouldn’t be so big a burden on the pharmacy”.
“That group continues today: every day someone checks who needs their medicine delivered to them, collects it and takes it to them.”
Businesses and individuals donated money to buy six oxygen machines.
“That kept so many people alive at a time when the hospitals were too full to take any more patients,” Avis said. “Just the other day, someone told me, ‘I am a survivor because of being able to use one of those machines’. Even today, those machines are used all the time.
“Basically, Kenton was a field hospital that we as a community set up ourselves.”
They made and shared videos on how to use the oxygen concentrators – in English, Afrikaans and isiXhosa.
Covid waned and things were less intense. And then, one day, there was an incident in Kenton’s High Street.
“A man had a heart attack and all the right people were there.”
But the right equipment in good working order tragically wasn’t.
“The Emergency Medical Services ambulance had a defibrillator – but there were no pads, so it was useless.”
“We said, ‘That cannot happen again in Kenton’.”
Avis, a former professional conference organiser, got to work on fundraising and they bought four AEDs – automated external defibrillators.
A defibrillator is used to revive a patient in cardiac arrest. An automated one does not require a highly trained professional to operate it: it gives you step by step instructions how to check for breathing and pulse and where to place the electrode pads on a person’s chest.
When the electrode pads are in place, the AED automatically measures the person’s heart rhythm and determines if a shock is needed. If it is, the machine tells the user to stand back and push a button to deliver the shock. The AED is programmed not to deliver a shock if a shock isn’t needed.
The next step is to administer cardiopulmonary rescuscitation (CPR) if it’s required.
That’s where Coastal Kindness stepped in once again.
“We realised we needed more people in the community trained in first aid, and so we spoke to [Gardmed private ambulance service owner] Dave Gardner to partner on a training project.”
For the past few months, Gardmed has done first aid training – both Level 1 and Level 3.
Coastal Kindness provide CPR and AED training.
“We now have 200 people in the community trained who know what to do when they’re first on the scene of an incident.”
Why does this organisation work so well?
“Partly because I’m bossy, but mostly because we have a good community,” Avis said. “We have so many people quietly doing fantastic work in their own corners, taking leadership in their areas of expertise or interest.”
The Rotary Club of Kenton had been particularly supportive of Coastal Kindness’s work.
“But our focus is specifically health care.”
