Meet our people: Christinah van Rooyen

 Christinah van Rooyen (63) joined Carryou Ministry last year as a Social Mobilisation Co-Coordinator, following a long career in the nursing sector.
 "I worked as an Assistant Nurse at Sir Albert Hospital in Randfontein from 1982 until 2009, until health issues caused me to take a break," she says. "Then I did part-time work at Lesedi Private Hospital in Soweto and also worked at a hospital in Carletonville.
 "I live in Finsbury (Randfontein) and often came into contact with Home-based Care workers from Carryou and they told me about the wonderful work being done by the organisation.
 "That prompted me to drop off a copy of my CV at the Carryou offices and the rest is history," she says.
 "I love what I do. It is incredibly rewarding to change people's lives by teaching them about health matters. My team and I visit factories, settlements and places like the municipal dumping sites to teach people about the importance of being tested for HIV, high blood pressure, TB and sugar diabetes. We encourage them to limit the number of sexual partners they are involved with, to use condoms and adopt healthy lifestyles."

Hope

 Christinah grew up in Westonaria and when she married moved to Toekomsrus. She is now a single parent and lives in Finsbury.
 "I live with my youngest daughter and my grandson, who I am raising because his mother died," she says. "When not working or taking care of my family I spend most of my time at my church where I am one of the leaders.
 "My hope is that I continue doing what I am doing for many years to come. I think it vital we older people encourage and groom the youngsters, so they can be prepared and able to face the future.
 "Kids face many challenges today and, as elders, we cannot sit and let the world pass by without helping and becoming involved."

Meet our people: Ndivhuwo Daba

 Ndivhuwo Daba (33) has been a Social Mobilisation Coordinator with Carryou Ministry since September last year but his life could easily have taken another path.
 "I completed three years of a university law degree in Limpopo and then, one day after school, I was stabbed and my life went haywire," he says. "I needed time to think and reflect, so I dropped out of university and came to Randfontein where my father worked.
 "Along the way I met Mzi (Tshikitsha) and he offered me a position with Carryou. Strangely, I always wanted to be a social worker, or something along those lines, as I like working with people. I love what I am now doing.
 "Unfortunately I chose the wrong degree but I have only one and a half more years to complete it and one day I will."
 Ndivhuwo's main function at Carryou is liaising with companies so health-testing and primary health education days can be set up for workers on the business's premises.
 "The response is generally very good," he says, "and we are able to supply them with statistics regarding the health of their employees, so they can do what is needed to follow up. Of course no information is given about individuals - that is confidential."

Radio

 Ndivhuwo led a nomadic type of life growing up.
 "My father's job saw us living in Limpopo, Botswana, Soweto and Lenasia," he says.
 His great love, outside of his job, is radio.
 "I started working on campus radio and then went to a radio station in Limpopo," he says. "I've been applying for part-time gigs on local radio stations but so far have had no luck."
 In a long-term relationship, Ndivhuwo has two daughters, one aged 6 years and the other, 7 months.
 "When not working, I'm kept busy by them," he says. "I also read a lot."

Testing and Social Mobilisation Programme produces positive results

 The Carryou Ministry Testing and Social Mobilisation programme, carried out in partnership with the Gauteng Government, is producing significant, positive, results.
 This is according to Programme Manager, Mzi Tshikitsha.
 "We are seeing definite changes in the lifestyles and habits of many in the communities we serve," he says. "People are using condoms, not only themselves but are also distributing them to friends. This project has been going for five and a half months and, in that period, I estimate we have distributed close to 450 000 male and female condoms.
 "The main reason for that, is we are delivering condoms directly to the communities, making them more accessible and available. People no longer have to visit a clinic that is often far away from where they live," he says.
 "Although we do not yet have the final numbers, all indications from our testing programmes, show the rate of new HIV infections is falling dramatically."

Challenges

 But Mzi is quick to acknowledge there are challenges.
 "Youngsters, particularly boys, believe they are immortal and know it all," he says. "There is sometimes resistance because they figure they've heard it all before. But the fact is, things are constantly changing. For example, the treatment today is very different from what it was not long ago.
 "Over the next few weeks we plan to increasingly run the programme in schools in the area," says Mzi.
 The Testing and Social Mobilisation Programme sees pop-up facilities set up in communities, factories and schools, for example. Co-ordinators are there to provide health education and counselling and members of the public can get free testing for HIV, diabetes, TB, cervical cancer and high blood pressure.
 Affected people are referred to appropriate healthcare professionals, social workers and counsellors.
 "But prevention and precaution will always be better than cure," says Rev. Lawrence Mabaso, Carryou Ministry, General Manager, "and, in the future, Government may well place even greater emphasis on education and the prevention of these diseases.
 "With an ever-increasing demand for limited social welfare resources, that makes sense."