Beyond the Buffalo River

<p><em>Beyond the Buffalo</em> is a personal memoir by two young and idealistic health professionals who in the aftermath of the 1976 Soweto riots made the decision to move to a small rural hospital in a black homeland at the height of apartheid in South Africa. At this time of social and political upheaval they felt called to go to a place where they might be able to make a small difference and better understand what was happening in the country of their birth.</p><p></p><p>The three years that followed were to change their lives. Their time together at Charles Johnson Memorial Hospital in the Nqutu district of KwaZulu challenged the very tenets of the lives of privilege they had lived and fostered a love for their country and all its people. It would influence their personal values and professional directions for the next 20 years in South Africa and carry over into their work in Australia later in their lives.</p><p></p><p>This book is written in two distinct voices and with its many colourful images paints an intimate picture of life in a far-flung corner of South Africa in the mid-1970's and uncovers inspiration and hope in the most unlikely of places.</p>