Caregivers in South Africa's hospices see death every day. One of them said, 'Must I give it up because it's hard and not nice and ugly and painful? Not a chance.'
Surviving the Death that Surrounds
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A woman who had been abandoned came to Diepkloof Hospice. Rachel Mabena was shocked. "Maggots coming out of the orifices... They were on the face... That day I could not sleep." (VOA / D.Taylor)
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"I feel sorry for all of you that do mundane jobs," said psychologist Cameron Hogg, who calls palliative care "... the most energizing work that's humanly possible." (VOA / D.Taylor)
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The caregivers feel isolated from society. "They're afraid of us 'people of death'," says Snowy Nkoana. "They can't speak about death ...because it's taboo. So we are taboo." (VOA / D.Taylor)
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Duduzile Tlhapane remembers a patient. “I learned so much from her. Whenever I feel weak in life, I think of her. She was a privilege. She made me believe in God.” (VOA / D.Taylor)