Hoedspruit and I: Meghan Perry
In August this year, Meghan along with a group of teachers, doctors and occupational therapists started the Baby Box Project which aims to give essential toiletries and clothing to new mothers.
Although Meghan Perry has only been in Hoedspruit for three years, she has immersed herself into the community and has recently been integral in the start-up of a new community project called Baby Box.
Meghan first arrived in the Hoedspruit area in order to carry out her community service year in Tintswalo Hospital as part of her bachelors degree in Speech Therapy – a degree that she totally self-funded.
Meghan told the HOEDSPRUIT HERALD, “I always wanted to go rural and I have always loved the bush,” and so she bravely made the move, not knowing anybody in the area. Reflecting on her time at the hospital, Meghan says, “Tintswalo was like a drug. I loved it more than anything but I knew it was bad for me. It was incredibly emotionally draining.”
Meghan worked in the high care unit, working with premature babies, babies with cleft lips and palates and those who have been oxygen deprived. She says that the study of speech therapy is so broad and covers feeding and swallowing. She would often have to think of innovative ways to get the babies to feed and be weaned from tubes to their mother’s breasts.
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During this very lonely but incredibly rewarding community service year, Meghan remained in a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend, Worack. He then took a huge leap of faith by moving to Hoedspruit to be close to Meghan and started his own business, Foxcon Climate Control, Refrigeration & Maintenance. This after Meghan was given a permanent position at the hospital. However, within a few months, she found out that she no longer had a job there.
This was a trying time for Meghan and Worack. Having only recently set up the airconditioning business from scratch, with no prior business experience and very little knowledge of the area, Meghan losing her job was a real blow. However, she found the positives in the situation.
“I thought to myself, maybe there is a reason for all of this and it is a blessing in disguise. I was not re-deployed to the hospital and so started my own private practice.”
Without having a clue how to set it up and very little business knowledge, Meghan knew she had to branch out and introduced herself to local schools and even became involved in hypotherapy through African Dream Horse Safaris – where horses are used for physical, psychological, emotional and social development in a person.
However, despite the private practice, Meghan was seeking a more sustainable income and took on a post at Tsakane Special Needs School in Acornhoek. Meghan has a huge passion for rural healthcare and is always drawn to helping those in need.
She hopes to gain further qualifications as a Lactation Consultant and as a Reading and Spelling Consultant in the near future and then to take on a Masters degree in Public Health in 2020.
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There certainly seems to be no stopping this goal-driven 25-year-old but she stresses that she is hugely thankful to the Hoedspruit community for welcoming both her and Worack with open arms,”We just hope it all comes together. Hoedspruit has been wonderful, it’s been amazing, we are so lucky. It just shows you, anything is possible if you put your mind to it.”
In August this year, Meghan along with a group of teachers, doctors and occupational therapists started the Baby Box Project which aims to give essential toiletries and clothing to new mothers.
The group fund raise in order to put the starter kits together and have a list of goodies that make up the box.
The group recently dropped off 38 boxes to new mothers at Tintswalo Hospital and hope to make drop-offs monthly going forward. Meghan notes that the Tintswalo Hospital has the highest birth rate in Mpumalanga which is shocking as it is only a district hospital.
Meghan says, “It is about offering kindness and dignity to empower these new mummies.”
The project relies on funds from the community, as well as family and friends at this stage but it is hoped that the project will grow to the point where they can expand into other rural areas around Hoedspruit.
Meghan’s passion for rural healthcare is certainly inspirational and her positive outlook on life is absolutely contagious. It is incredible to think of the wonderful impact she has made on the Hoedspruit community in such a short space of time – the future of Hoedspruit certainly looks great with people such as Meghan in it.
