Residents of La Rochelle and surrounding areas flocked to the informative launch, which was assisted by doctors and nurses from the Johannesburg South community who will be full and part-time volunteers and workers to provide healthcare services to anyone in need. In honour of International Women’s Day, Scalabrini Missionaries launched a community healthcare centre for a women’s health awareness project at St Patrick La Rochelle on March 8. Residents of La Rochelle and surrounding areas flocked to the informative launch, which was assisted by doctors and nurses from the Johannesburg south community who will be part of the full and part-time volunteers and workers to provide healthcare services to anyone in need, particularly migrants, refugees, and underprivileged South Africans. Father Eduardo Gabriel, the project’s coordinator, said during the launch the project’s goal is to relieve pressure on the public sector. “We have been planning this project for quite some time and we are overjoyed that it has finally come to fruition. The building we used was a school convent, and the nuns who ran it closed it down in the 1990s. The building was then used for bible training before being given to us to be used for training, skill development, and education. In the long run, we hope to expand our services to include men as well as children,” said Gabriel.

Doctor Bernard Uzabakiriho, a gynaecologist oncologist at Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital, University of the Witwatersrand, believes that launching it on Women’s Day is appropriate because the primary focus of their healthcare centre will initially be women’s health. “Such projects are critical in collaborating with government initiatives to reduce disease burden through disease awareness, screening, testing, and treatment at the primary healthcare level. To close identified gaps in access to healthcare facilities, particularly among minority groups, while also providing service to the people. “Comprehensive services will be provided, beginning with the prevention of cervical cancer through vaccination, screening, treatment and upward referral as needed. As we start, we intend to grow and add services such as an adolescent clinic, antenatal care clinic, postnatal care clinic and a component of mental health.”