In 1978 members of the Muslim Youth Movement’s Isipingo branch wanted to provide free water to the people living in the informal settlement of Malukazi. The Kader family stepped in, donating a piece of land on which the MYM erected a clinic. Initially, Muslim doctors from the area provided free health services on Sundays. In 1980 the clinic was handed over to the IMA Clinics Committee, and is now run by professional nurses on a full time basis.
However, as pivotal a role as it played, the IMA KZN recognised that the 90m2 clinic was in dire need of a facelift and instead of renovating it, undertook to replace it with a brand new 560m2 structure, which was officially opened in March this year.
The new clinic – which was made possible by a generous 2.2million rand donation from the South African Muslim Charitable Trust (SAMCT) offers a range of much-needed services including primary healthcare, the training of caregivers interested in home-based care, HIV testing and counselling, as well as access to a dermatologist and an optometrist to the surrounding community.
The double storey structure also houses a youth and senior citizens club, and will soon provide tuition for high school learners in the area. The IMA KZN will now look into improving the facilities at its other primary healthcare clinics which are situated in Marianhill and Bremar in the midst of very poor communities. All IMA KZN clinics – in addition to offering specialised services like optometry, dermatology, occupational therapy, etc. – are approved VCT centres and offer HIV AIDS counselling and testing on a regular basis.
These clinics, together with the IMA KZN mobile clinic which serves the community of Inchanga, take care of the medical needs of just over 6000 people. They also run four week ‘home-based care’ training courses under the tutelage of a qualified nursing sister, which equip approximately 300 people a year with the skills and knowledge they need to administer home-based care to the sick.
