Be Part Yoluntu Centre

Be Part Yoluntu Centre Be Part undertakes cutting edge research on HIV, TB, infectious diseases & lifestyle illnesses.

A research nurse should be a protocol-driven perfectionist,Driven by an obsession for data accuracy.So is there place fo...
29/04/2026

A research nurse should be a protocol-driven perfectionist,

Driven by an obsession for data accuracy.

So is there place for a creative spirit like Sr Lianda Pretorius?
Someone who was once a soprano in a famous children’s choir.
A flower arranger, chef, adventurer. A mother to two sons, one who is an under-23 Sharks rugby player.
A nurse who has been a sales rep for Bayer | Pharmaceuticals, an estate agent for Pam Golding Properties?

Is there place in such a data-driven environment for a free spirit with a beautiful smile? A natural leader and community builder?
The answer is a resounding YES.

Because the ultimate role of a good research nurse is to build healthy bridges between scientific research and patient care.

Thanks to research nurses like Sr Lianda, Be Part’s clinical trials not only display accurate data collection. But the participants also enjoy excellent patient-centered care. And care is at the heart of good research-driven healthCARE.

Community engagement is not about running ahead to show people the wayIt is not standing back to have a better view of p...
20/04/2026

Community engagement is not about running ahead to show people the way
It is not standing back to have a better view of people’s many failings
It is not dragging people on a path they don’t want to walk
It is not about removing the stones along their path
It is not about financing a new road.

Real engagement is with real people
Walking on the road traveled by the people
Leaning in to really listen and learn from one another
True community engagement is walking alongside the people
Different voices maybe, diverse instruments, but together: one beautiful song.

See how we walk alongside OUR community @ www.bepart.co.za

In Russia, it was called the Polish disease;In Poland, it was the Turkish disease;Turks called it the Christian disease....
14/04/2026

In Russia, it was called the Polish disease;
In Poland, it was the Turkish disease;
Turks called it the Christian disease.

Doctors call it the great imitator.
Our rural population call it the “city disease”.
In South Africa it is “vuilsiekte”: the dirty disease.

Syphilis.

It seems it is never the fault of one’s own country, or its people. There must be someone else to blame, another nationality, ethnicity, the other sexual partner. It can’t be us.

The instinct to find a scapegoat is core to human nature: “othering”. We need someone to blame, especially if the victim is marginalised by society, whether through nationality, ethnicity or social class:

🕎 Diabetes was once called a Jewish disease (by the Americans);
👣 Plague was blamed on Blacks living in District Six (actually caused by the British);
💰 TB was said to be caused by the poor (TB is caused by poverty, NOT the poor).

Older “treatments” for Syphilis included a public whipping at the hospital, on admission and discharge. For 500 years Mercury was the extremely toxic and barbaric treatment for Syphilis. It was felt moral degenerates who contracted Syphilis, deserved painful humiliating treatment.

Victims were mocked for this shameful “venereal” disease, named after Venus, the goddess of love: “One night with Venus, is followed by a lifetime with Mercury”.

In 2026, much has changed. Penicillin is an effective treatment, resulting in less serious tertiary disease. And less deaths.

But Syphilis is still a disease shrouded in social stigma: it either results in the denialist blame game described above. Or a paralysing shame.
The result is the same: unnecessary delay in effective treatment.

At Be Part, we have run an award-winning weekly After Hours Clinic. A free service to our community. We have managed 16 000 clients the past 17 years.
And treated 500 Syphilis patients the past year alone.

They have all been treated effectively.
And with dignity.

Why is TB 4 times more common in townships like Mbekweni?Compared with the nearby suburbs of Paarl.TB is a “social disea...
10/04/2026

Why is TB 4 times more common in townships like Mbekweni?

Compared with the nearby suburbs of Paarl.

TB is a “social disease” (Dr Virchow, 1840).
A disease of the POOR: the average household in Mbekweni survives on less than R 5 000 pm. Almost six times lower than the average household income in Paarl.

The result is 4 social causes that drive our TB pandemic in P-O-O-R areas like Mbekweni:

P-rotein deficiency. Proteins are our most expensive macronutrient, and often a luxury for the poor who rely on energy-dense starches as their staple. The malnourished poor also lack Vitamins A and D, making them vulnerable to TB.

O-vercrowding. Mbekweni has a population density of 15 000 residents / sq km, 4 times the Paarl average. Shacks, backyard dwellers, informal settlements and over-full houses all make the spread of TB that much easier.

O-ut of work. Almost ½ of Mbekweni’s people are unemployed. Lack of work and income spells poverty, which causes TB. And TB often causes people to lose their work, and become poorer.

R-educed access to Healthcare. Mbekweni has a variety of public, private and NGO facilities that serve the health needs of the community.
But, unlike affluent communities who can access private care, the limited public healthcare resources of Mbekweni will always be stretched, causing long waits and delayed treatment.

These 4 factors are the main reason the POOR are more vulnerable to TB.
So, what can we do?

Be Part’s humble response?
1. After Hours Clinic. This award-winning free service to the community has tested almost 16 000 clients to date, and managed over 800 people who have tested HIV-positive.
2. Yoluntu Youth Centre. Led by Ms Meleza Mangena, the centre empowers the youth of Mbekweni by providing upskilling programs that better prepare them for the marketplace.
3. TB vaccine trials. Vaccines are one of the most effective tools for improving health and reducing poverty. Less TB should improve the health and holistic wellbeing of Mbekweni. Here the work of Gates Foundation and IAVI are to be commended.

But an injection was never intended to be the cure for the underlying structural pains of poverty. And the misery it causes.

That is OUR job.
Read www.bepart.co.za

Mbekweni was meant to be a place of respect ...But its history was once a story of DIS-respect. 😢 1950s: Black People we...
30/03/2026

Mbekweni was meant to be a place of respect ...

But its history was once a story of DIS-respect.

😢 1950s: Black People were forced out of their homes in Paarl due to the Group Areas Act. And relocated to Mbekweni.
Hostels for men only. A segregated suburb for Black people only. Designated for migrants from Eastern Cape and white Paarl suburbs. Marginalized people.
Mbekweni, a place of indignity and disrespect.

🌍 2000s: Large Influx of migrants. But this time from African countries like Zimbabwe, Malawi, Burundi, DRC and Somalia. This introduced cultural tensions – even resulting in xenophobic conflict in 2008 – which has necessitated bridge-building of reconciliation and mutual respect.
Mbekweni, a place of tolerance and acceptance.

✅ 2026: Mbekweni still endures scars from its history: poverty, unemployment, high-density living, TB and crime.
But despite this, Mbekweni is living up to the Xhosa meaning of its name: a “place of respect”.
A place where mutual respect is woven into the Xhosa fabric of addressing elders, of greeting and speaking. Where hospitality is cherished. A place where high value is placed on the well-being of the community (“ubuntu”). Where celebrations and bereavement are shared.
Mbekweni, a place of Respect.

At Be Part, we are grateful to our participant community of Mbekweni. A place of respect.
www.bepart.co.za

23/03/2026

South Africa has an Illiteracy crisis.

In a country where almost 100% of our young children are attending school, why are 81% of grade 4 learners unable to read meaningfully?

Why do two-thirds of homes with children under age ten, not have a single children's book?

Be Part Yoluntu Centre commends the work done by agencies trying to address this crisis: Funda Wande, Nalibali, Read to Rise and the WCED.

We are proud to share a WCED video of one our trial participants, Athandwa Mgedesi, a learner from Mbekweni Primary School.

At Be Part, we appreciate that literacy is THE key that unlocks the door to bio-psycho-socio-economic flourishing of children in vulnerable communities.

How can we change the narrative of pregnant women in vulnerable communities?In communities where:📔 85% of the children ...
13/03/2026

How can we change the narrative of pregnant women in vulnerable communities?

In communities where:

📔 85% of the children were born from unplanned pregnancies;
🍞 69% of the mothers reported severe food insecurity (based on HFIAS score);
💰 62% of them received a Child Support Grant as their main income;
😭 74.8% of the mothers had depression!

These were some of the alarming findings from a study undertaken by Adri Holm. Her Master’s thesis project in 2019 was supervised by Global Health Nutrition expert, Lisanne M du Plessis.

It studied the nutritional effects of unintended pregnancies among women in two vulnerable peri-urban communities in the Western Cape: Mbekweni (a Black community) and Dalvale (a Coloured community).

The take home?

Improving the mental wellbeing and nutrition of ALL women (especially the vulnerable), before and during pregnancy, could result in:

1. Better outcomes for the mother
2. A healthier child
3. A unique opportunity to impact the health and wealth of future generations.

Be Part has, over its almost 20 year history, been at the forefront of several landmark research studies involving TB, HIV and Cholesterol.

Thanks to Adri Holm, Dietician and Be Part’s Chief Clinical Operations Officer, we aim to expand our research efforts in the field of Nutrition, specifically maternal nutrition.

In what area of Nutrition would you like to see change? For the good of your community?

The biggest disease killer of all time has killed 1 billion people so far. Smallpox is the second biggest disease killer...
04/03/2026

The biggest disease killer of all time has killed 1 billion people so far.

Smallpox is the second biggest disease killer. It killed “only” a half- billion people ...

South Africa’s Cape Town was also affected by Smallpox:

🚢 Epidemics were imported to the Cape by Colonialists from Europe.

⚰️ In 1713 Smallpox wiped out 90% of our Cape Khoi population!

🌊 Picturesque Sea Point was so named as it was the refuge “point” at the “sea” that locals from Cape Town fled to, to escape the smallpox epidemics.

In 1796 Edward Jenner noticed milkmaids with Cowpox seemed to be immune to Smallpox, and made a successful “vaccine” against Smallpox. It was the first ever vaccine (“vacca” is Latin for “cow”) given, and at least 30 more vaccines would follow over the next 230 years.

Dr Edward Jenner has saved more lives than any other person in history!

Smallpox was eradicated in 1980, the only disease so far. The last Smallpox vaccine was given in 1982. A success story indeed.

But the biggest disease killer of all time is TB. With no major success story yet.

5 facts about TB:

1. Someone dies from TB every 10 minutes ...
2. ... more than from HIV, Malaria and Measles COMBINED.
3. Untreated TB has a death rate of 50%: MUCH higher than most cancers;
4. TB is still our planet’s biggest infectious disease killer;
5. TB has killed a total of 1 billion people so far.

Be Part is participating in two clinical trials which could provide hope of a TB-free planet for the first time ever. The end to a disease that has affected our people for more than 4 400 years now?

Why is it taking so long to eradicate TB?

Pay us a visit and be greeted warmly by receptionist Ms Sinelizwi Dyasi.
Or read about our TB clinical trials at https://www.bepart.co.za/

Outsiders often see townships as just a place of crime, poverty and litter.Not so with Mbekweni, isiXhosa for a “place o...
25/02/2026

Outsiders often see townships as just a place of crime, poverty and litter.

Not so with Mbekweni, isiXhosa for a “place of respect”.

This little known township on the outskirts of Paarl, deserves respect for many reasons:

1. Mbekweni is a place of BEAUTY.

Mbekweni is cuddled by the borders of 4 “parents”:
🏘️ 2 historic towns: Paarl (south) and Wellington (north)
⛰️ 2 natural borders: the Berg River (west) that waters the local vineyards and the majestic Klein Drakenstein mountains (east).

2. Mbekweni is a place of PEOPLE.

Lots of them. Squeezed into shacks, houses, RDP houses, hostels, backyards, wendy houses, squatter camps, blocks, projects.
People who were once “migrants”:
* Black workers who were forced from cities under apartheid laws of the 1950s
* Xhosa-speaking people “migrating” from the Eastern Cape
* Foreigners migrating from Zimbabwe, DRC, Somalia and other parts of Africa.

3. Mbekweni is a place of CHANGE.

Community icon, Siyabonga Stengana, has championed initiatives to transform illegal dumpsites into recreational green spaces that create jobs and beautify his beloved township.
But the central feature of his projects is repurposed tyres. Once a township symbol of protest and violence, the tyre has now become a symbol of beauty.
A symbol of peace. A symbol of change.

At Be Part Yoluntu Centre, we are indebted to our participant community,
the people of Mbekweni.
A place of beauty, of change, and of very special people.
People who are aware that Mbekweni is a place of respect.

There is a town in South Africa that has it all.PAARL – a fusion of majestic mountains, historic vineyards and beautiful...
17/02/2026

There is a town in South Africa that has it all.

PAARL – a fusion of majestic mountains, historic vineyards and beautiful people originating from Africa, Europe and Asia.

Paarl is a beautiful tapestry of Pearls, People and Pinotage.

1. PEARLS. Paarl is named after the “pearl”-like glistening of its majestic granite rock mountains. These rocks produce the well-drained soils, perfect for growing its top-quality grapes for making wine.

2. PEOPLE. There are 3 ethnic groups of people in Paarl:
* “Coloureds” (70%) originated from the indigenous Khoi and from slaves of Southeast Asia (Malaysia and Indonesia).
* Whites (18%) came from Europe: the Dutch in 1657 who used the Cape as a halfway station between Holland and Southeast Asia. Then the Huguenots arrived from France, bringing their wine-making expertise.
* Blacks (12%) are mostly Xhosa-speaking African people, originating from the Eastern Cape.

3. PINOTAGE. Several platinum medal-award winning wines are produced in Paarl, thanks to the heat, soil and French Huguenot expertise. Our most famous product is Pinotage, a unique South African cultivar.

3 other things Paarl is famous for are:

👮‍ Its prison is the site where President Nelson Mandela ended his 27 years of imprisonment, starting a process that would lead to South Africa's first democratic elections in 1994.
🏉 It is the “birthplace” of Afrikaans, commemorated by the er****on of a large monument in 1975. Afrikaans, the most widely spoken language in Paarl, has been richly influenced by Dutch settlers, Malaysian slaves and local Khoi and African people.
🚸 Some of our country’s top schools are in Paarl.

Be Part Yoluntu Centre is a 19-year-old community-based clinical research centre based in the heart of Mbekweni, on the outskirts of Paarl.

Here we appreciate that the real pearls of Paarl are not the Pinotage, but the people. Our people of Mbekweni.

The Pearls of Paarl.

Read more at www.bepart.co.za

09/02/2026

January is a proud month in the life of a young man in Mbekweni, Paarl.

The “boy” just a month ago, has now graduated from a traditional Xhosa initiation school (Ulwaluko), to become a young man, an ikrwala.

But sadly around 1 000 initiates nationally have died from complications resulting from Ulwalako the past 30 years, with an estimated 2 000 pe**le amputations.

In an attempt to avert this tragedy, while simultaneously acknowledging the traditional importance of this rites of passage in our participant community, Be Part partnered with members of the community, to establish the “Gentle Man Project”.
We are very proud of this extremely successful Community-Private Partnership (CPP).

The Gentle Man Project is a 12-week initiation preparation program, led by Rev Gumenge and Thabiso Ralehoko.

Thabiso, a senior Research Assistant at Be Part, lost his younger brother in 2022 after an initiation ceremony.
As a result, Thabiso is the one man who passionately wants to prevent a similar tragedy caused by a tradition that is aimed at affirming manhood, not ending it.

Rev Gumenge’s team led 68 young men in 2025 through this Gentle Man Project, which integrates physical, mental and emotional resilience coaching, together with a comprehensive medical consultation at Be Part.

The good news?
All 68 enrolled initiates returned home safely!
This result is a clear reflection of the positive impact of this CPP.

This valuable partnership has not only saved lives, but has strengthened appreciation, trust, preparedness, and collective responsibility within the Mbekweni community.
This heartfelt appreciation from the community was recently articulated in a personal letter from the Mbekweni Xhosa Traditional Male Initiation Forum, in acknowledgment of Be Part’s invaluable role in this project.

Be Part Yoluntu Centre has been privileged to partner with the community of Mbekweni the past 19 years, and looks forward to continuing collaborating on the Gentle Man Project.

A project where boys are nurtured on a journey of manhood, to become “gentle men”. Men who can confidently and decisively take care for their families and their communities. But who can be gentle in their dealings with women, children and the vulnerable.

Gentle Men.

Learn more about our other empowerment initiatives that transform lives in the Mbekweni community, at www.bepart.co.za.

✨ Meet the Team – Wrap-Up ✨That brings us to the end of our Meet the Team series! 👏We’ve loved sharing a glimpse into th...
04/02/2026

✨ Meet the Team – Wrap-Up ✨

That brings us to the end of our Meet the Team series! 👏
We’ve loved sharing a glimpse into the amazing people who make Be Part what it is, and we hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know them a little better, too!

Not everyone was featured, as participation was optional, but every member of our team plays an important role in what we do. 🥳

If you’d like to learn more about Be Part and our wider team, visit our website:
👉 www.bepart.co.za

Thank you to everyone who took part, and keep an eye out for more stories in the future! 👀✨👏

Address

4 Madikane Street
Paarl
7626

Opening Hours

Monday 08:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 08:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 08:00 - 17:00
Thursday 08:00 - 17:00
Friday 08:00 - 16:00

Telephone

+27218683990

Website

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