The Reaphedisa Grow Great Champions CHW Club, which comprised Nicolene Mohale, Mavis Selotole and Elsinah Mohale achieved a feat that some would consider nearly impossible last year [2018].
The team was named Limpopo’s club of the year, despite it having only four members at the time. It is one of the smallest Grow Great Champions clubs, yet finished with the highest number of points.
The trio attributes their success to the close ties they have with their community and the number of people they helped last year.
“What I love about our club is that we’re well known in our community; families receive us with open arms whenever we visit them and they are always interested in learning about the work we do,” says Selotole.
“They really make it easy for us to work with them. There are only three of us in the club now, but we help many children and pregnant women. For us, it’s good that there are so many people we can help and educate about stunting. The more people know about it, the better.”
It is this curiosity from the community that encourages them to keep working hard.
“Our community members are always interested in finding out about what we do. For example, if they see us weighing a child of their neighbour’s, they’ll ask whether we can do the same at their house. They really love what we do – and we are always happy to explain why we do what we do and educate them about malnutrition.”
The awards they won last year, as well as the fact that they are competing against larger clubs, have given them a reason to work harder. They chuckle as they reflect on the Grow Great Champions awards ceremony and agree that it was the highlight of 2018.
“The best part about it for me was the hotel, it was my first time staying at one, and the prizes of course. We didn’t think there would be such rewards for the work we do,” says Selotole.
Elsinah says: “For me, the concert was the best part. I did also enjoy my stay at the hotel, though. Those are things we never thought we would ever experience.”
The trio believes that other CHWs can achieve can produce great work by working hard and prioritising their communities.
“Keep working hard and be confident in your performance, there are many benefits to the work we do and there’s a lot you can learn from it. Be friendly as that will make your work easier,” advises Selotole Elsinah had a simple message: “always put the community first” while Limpopo’s top Grow Great Champion in 2018, Nicolene, had the following advice: “Treat patients equally and with respect.”
*This article is from the first edition [2019] of our On The Field CHW magazine and has been edited for brevity.