Long Form

Long Form Journalism by the Bhekisisa Team

Stranded: Thomas Nukeri

Xenophobia violates Health Act and migrants’ rights to care

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Refugees run the border crossing gauntlet of lions, rivers, rape and theft hoping for a better life.
Dr Llewellyn Volmink grew up in the township of Nkqubela in Robertson and is now a medical doctor working in the local hospital.

The rural doctor who came home to serve his people in their own language

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This doctor returned to his home town to live, love and heal.
Intuitive: Josephine Masedi is a self-taught midwife

Allay the dangers of maternity by honouring rural custom

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Many women consult traditional healers, so it makes sense to enlist these cultural leaders in public health education.
Bleak outlook: Life on the streets is grim

The streets where homelessness, abuse and mental illness meet

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With almost 50% of homeless people suffering from mental illnesses, according to a study, we spoke to four people who live on Durban's streets.
Meita Maine

Analysis: Why policy is failing community health workers

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Community workers are twiddling their thumbs while the state drags its heels on a new strategy, writes Mia Malan.
The youngest daughter of Samantha Benjamin* is HIV positive because her mother didn’t seek medical help.

Ignoring prenatal HIV care leads to a lifelong burden

Mothers blame themselves and their children can never give up their antiretrovirals.
Sydney Mokoena has not been able to access a doctor for eight months.

Life-saving medical care not available to ‘people of nothing’

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Appalling conditions in Free State hospitals reveal a health care system that seems to be corrupt from top to bottom.
The high court hearing of aparthied-era biological project head Wouter Basson has been postponed.

How long do we have to wait for Dr Death to be punished?

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The much-anticipated sanctioning of Wouter Basson has still not happened, 13 years later.
Tools of the trade: Evidence of Sam Maseko's addiction. His mother Audrey at least knows where Sam is now; he used to wander around and steal.

We need to talk about caving in to nyaope

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Ivory Park's Operation Thiba Nyaope provides support for addicts and their affected families.
Charity Petelo has been looking after her son since his diagnoses with schizophrenia 14 years ago.

‘The people told me they are coming to take me away tonight’

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Where traditional beliefs are more real than textbooks, treating mental illness is a balancing act for sangomas and medical doctors alike.
Bitter pill to swallow: Bonolo Mafokeng* believes her uncle could still be alive if the sisters at the clinic dispensing ARVs had adopted a better attitude towards dispensing the life-saving drugs.

‘Health’ and ‘care’ play second fiddle to Free State bullying

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The Free State health department has come under fire for a number of reasons. Bhekisisa visited the province ahead of elections to find out more.
Years of cocaine abuse led his life to ruin

Life’s precipice puts addiction into perspective

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Three drug addicts tell their stories of devastation, desperation and, finally, the long road to recovery.
Gifted: Dembe Ndou keeps the pupils and teachers entertained with her beautiful voice and extraordinary skill on the keyboard.

Autism and its uncommon angels

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Dembe Ndou learned to play piano in no time at all, but simply chatting is a complex challenge.
We feature three HIV positive women in their 40s who fit the profile of a typical M&G reader.

HIV: Not one of us can say, ‘never me, never mine’

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We feature four HIV positive women in their 40s who fit the profile of a typical M&G reader.
Grateful recipient: Pervaiz Khan

Transplants, tragedy and the true kindness of strangers

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Organ donations are rare in SA: donors and the specialists needed to do transplants are few. But awareness increases as more lives are being saved.
Apple of their eye: Sihle and his parents Jam-Jam Batiya and Beauty Mbalela.

The boy who lifts Hobeni’s spirits

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Sihle Batiya's luckier than most – but the odds are stacked against kids with Down's syndrome in the Eastern Cape.