PHOTOS: South Africa's 'train of hope' is a godsend for millions. But new threats loom
It's late evening in the town of Thaba Nchu in South Africa's Free State province, and at the local train station, a group of residents snuggle deeper into their blankets to ward off the bitter autumn chill. They have given up warm beds and cooked meals at home in exchange for hard plastic chairs on the platform in their eagerness to get a spot on the train the following day.
Yet none of them is looking to travel.
The train they have come for is the Phelophepa, a 19-carriage mobile health-care clinic that has been crisscrossing South Africa since 1994. "Phelophepa" is a combination of the Sotho and Tswana languages meaning "good, clean health." Equipped with modern, well-maintained facilities, a fully stocked pharmacy and a team of 22 medical personnel, the Phelophepa offers a full rangeto people in rural and under-resourced areas of the country who may otherwise have to go without.
