Exiting students from Lilitha College of Nursing conducted a Covid-19 awareness and prevention project at Phumelela Special Care Centre on Monday.
Ntombekhaya Mjali said, as a lecturer of the psychiatric nursing science module, students have to delve into intellectual disabilities as well as children with special needs. “Our fourth year students who were allocated at Nomzamo and Ezibeleni Clinic have to undergo practical exposure. When they are about to leave the college, they have to do community psychiatry, a project they have to complete on their own without any funding. We wanted to check their initiative and they chose Phumelela.”
Mjali said the students had to source their own funding and provide awareness on mental challenges. “People with mental problems are often discriminated against. It is one of the things that concerns the psychiatry branch. They chose the school so the college can show our care and support and to make a meaningful contribution to the school.”
Student nurse Yolanda Mqikela said they owed the success of the event to local doctors and businesses who had made donations. “We held a soup kitchen, gave out party packs and engaged them in a quiz game. Most importantly, we had an awareness on Covid-19 as we heard they had recently lost a pupil from the virus.”
Teacher Vuyiswa Qhele said the students visited the school annually and they were grateful for their programmes that sought to educate young people.
