Hlokomela clinic staff sang a song for Christine du Preez, managing director of Hlokomela, who welcomed the guests and stakeholders in attendance. She thanked the donors and the parties that contributed to Hlokomela Junction Clinic as well as the staff from Hlokomela, the Department of Health and Discovery Fund.

“A lot of good can come from this project but Hlokomela needs the support of the community, farmers, and local businesses,” Du Preez said. Hlokomela’s clinics and community work are a massive success in Hoedspruit and the surrounding areas and can bring relief to the community in Letsitele who often have to spend hours and days queuing at local clinics and hospitals.

The organisation was established in 2005 and has a great track record. Sr Laverne Stebbing, clinical manager at Hlokomela, explained the technicalities of the Hlokomela Employers’ Health Club (HEHC) and the pricing models that farmers, factories, and businesses can access for their staff. The aim is to provide accessible health care to employees and to increase productivity through efficient services offered at Hlokomela Junction Clinic.

Also read: Hlokomela Clinic celebrates 18 years of support and healing

“We are taking a phased approach to opening the clinic, starting with the HEHC after which we will open up the clinic to the wider community through health cards,” said Stebbing. She added that in the future they would add vaccinations for babies and women’s health services to the clinic. According to Stebbing, the focus is currently on acute and chronic medication for patients sent to the clinic by their employers.

She said that anyone can get access to their chronic medication and that members of the community can receive parcels with their chronic medication at Hlokomela Junction Clinic as soon as the clinic is registered as an external pickup point on the DABLAPMeds system. Pieter Vorster, director at Mahela Group said: “It is a privilege to be involved in this project.

We believe that the facilities will make a tremendous difference in the lives of many people in our community.” Vorster referred to the history of the clinic premises on the Mahela farm. “This used to be known as Hlanganani Sports Ground and the community gathered here regularly. We saw a need at Mahela for a clinic and this old gathering place was chosen to serve the community,” he explained.

For more information and to get involved with Hlokomela Junction Clinic as an employer for your employees to access health services in the Letsitele area, contact Sr Laverne Stebbing at 083 604 2054.