For the past four weeks, my friend Erin and I lived in the Kwanokuthula township outside of Plettenberg Bay, South Africa. We worked in the clinic there and shadowed a community health worker Sandra visiting patients at their homes with the PlettAid organization. Most of Sandra’s patients have chronic illnesses, like HIV, TB, diabetes, arthritis, and others. We got to know these patients, and wanted to hear more about the stories of their lives, and the people behind just their illnesses. We learned a lot about how much social stigma can harm individuals, but also how impactful the community health workers can be and how much support comes from the Kwano community. We decided to make them into a short film so we could give them a space to share their resilient and inspiring stories.
A Backpack Full of Adventure 