This article was first published in Mercy Live in June 2004 and tells the foundation story of Mercy Clinic in Wintervelt, South Africa.  Mercy Clinic reached about 3,000 people a month through its various services and provided excellent health care to the people of Winterveldt and surrounding areas until its closure in July 2015.   This was a very sad time for the people of Winterveldt, and, indeed, for the Sisters of Mercy.  The author of this article Sr. Marilyn Brown still resides in South Africa where she continues her ministries. 

Mercy Clinic Winterveldt – 1988

In September 1988, Mercy Clinic began providing health services to the people of Winterveldt. They had asked us to provide health care for them. Initially we used two rooms in the sewing centre – one as a consulting room and the other to store medicines.

On our first day we saw 40 patients. The staff consisted of one professional nurse and a community health worker. As time went on, our numbers increased to 80 patients per day, twice a week.

“We employed another nurse who used a corner of the sewing room to see patients. When she took blood pressures, she had to ask the ladies to stop using the sewing machines so that she could hear the heart beats.”

As the patient numbers increased, we began providing health services three times per week, and in April 1991 we moved into our own brand new clinic. It was wonderful to have all that space. We had been providing curative services and health education, but it became obvious that a Well-Baby clinic was very necessary. Many babies were dying from diarrhoea, malnutrition and various communicable diseases that could be prevented with an immunization programme, health education and adequate nutrition. We provided the ‘Well-Baby’ clinic with immunizations every six weeks. About 260 babies were attended to at the clinic, on a six week cycle. Health education was given every day. We employed another nurse and were able to provide services five days a week.

Mobile Clinic, Wintervelt

We were given a mobile clinic by Friends of Baragwanath and began providing health services to surrounding areas via a mobile service. We also initiated a TB service in partnership with the Department of Health.

As Mercy Clinic had electricity and plenty of space, other health-care organisations joined us: the Medical University of South Africa set up a dental clinic to cater for the needs of the community and Lions International organised the services of an optometrist and provided spectacles and a computer for eye testing.

Nutrition Centre, Gardening, Wintervelt

This year, 2004, through the Southern African Bishop’s Conference, Mercy Clinic has been chosen as one of twelve pilot programmes to provide Anti Retroviral Therapy to a carefully selected and well-educated group of Aids sufferers. This programme is still being developed and we look forward to the day when we will be providing this absolutely necessary treatment, giving life to those who are at death’s door.

Marilyn Brown rsm
South African Province