Support for the Transnet Phelophepa, a medical train in South Africa 

The 16 coaches of the hospital on rails, the “Phelophepa” (meaning “good health” in Tswana and Sotho, two of the local languages) has been criss-crossing South Africa since 1994 in order to offer the poorest people a modern and economical healthcare system.

The train makes 36 stops each year, mainly in the country’s rural areas. Over 50 doctors, nurses and medical students hold consultations for more than 40,000 patients every year. Operating like a traditional hospital, the train has an ophthalmology clinic, dental clinic, general medicine, a psychology unit and a pharmacy, as well as carrying out screening for diabetes and cancer.

The Air Liquide Foundation is involved in this unique initiative by supporting, in particular, the train’s psychology unit. Situations of extreme poverty sometimes are accompanied by severe psychological distress.

The aim of the psychology unit is to enrich the action of the hospital train within rural communities. Its approach is based on workshops and the use of interactive tools: theatre activities, music, videos, DVDs, etc.

The unit’s staff deal in particular with issues related to violence for groups of children from 6 to 13 years old, as well as suicide, sexuality and AIDS. A financial education program for adults has also been established.

The Air Liquide Foundation grant will permit guidebooks on these subjects to be created and distributed. These booklets are translated into eight local languages in order to reach the largest number of communities possible in South Africa.