Hope, a Goat, and a Hospital

At a hospital down the road from where Nelson Mandela grew up, the rural community still lived without the standard of health care their compatriots took for granted. More than a decade into the country's democratic era, the hope and promise of freedom hadn't yet changed the chance babies had of being born alive, or children making it to their fifth birthday. Making life "better for all" takes more than rhetoric and policy. It requires real people, doing real jobs, often under difficult circumstances. At Zithulele, a "sticky core" of four doctor friends responded to the call to make a difference. Their story is one of hard work and humanity. There's heartache; at times, hilarity. But mostly, it's a story of hope; a story of ordinary people doing their bit to make South Africa better.