Marc Aguirre Featured in The Citizen Newspaper

A Higher Calling: Dr. Marc Aguirre's Mission to Serve the Marginalized and Vulnerable

It was a family tragedy that changed Dr Marc Aguirre’s life trajectory. Just as he was set for a career in neurosurgery, his sister was killed in a car accident in Cape Town. When he went to her funeral, he heard about a side of her life he was not fully aware of.

“I started hearing stories about how she would work in communities and how she cared for marginalized people by helping with food and clothing. I was amazed and wondered who is this person.

“It made me question my purpose, and I realized my focus was on my career. It made me realize I wanted to have a purpose greater than myself. It became quite spiritual, and I felt God’s calling on my life to imitate her life and use my medical training in a way that could really help those who either did not have access to healthcare or were marginalized or disadvantaged.

“After my internship, there was a job opening with HOPE worldwide in the Ivory Coast to run an HIV clinic for people with HIV who could not pay for their health care. So we went there to run the clinic.”

HOPE worldwide South Africa has operated for 15 years, footprinting seven provinces. It works closely with the Department of Basic Education, the Department of Social Development and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund.

Aguirre said that a child’s early years were the most critical in their development but that it was evident many young and vulnerable children in SA were neglected in terms of services and support.

According to recent research, nearly two-thirds of children three to five years old (3.3 million) do not have access to Early Learning Programs (ELPs). Of children who do have access to an ELP, six out of 10 are falling behind. The quality of existing ELPs is often poor, with unqualified teachers and insufficient resources. Also, millions of young children are malnourished, with 27% of children being stunted.

“A recent report said eight million children go hungry every day in this country. And right now, only about 20% of children can read for understanding by Grade four. We are facing a massive food insecurity and literacy crisis that must be addressed urgently,” Aguirre said. “There is very little support for parents and caregivers in the early years. All this puts these children at a massive disadvantage in terms of school readiness or being able to learn.”

HOPE worldwide SA’s ECD programs focus on supporting both preschools and caregivers. This includes a network of nearly 1,400 member preschools with almost 63,000 children benefiting. These schools receive a range of training and support services to enhance the quality of education they provide.

The nutrition program reaches 31,000 children monthly via support to preschools and households. Its National Parenting Program has a 10-session ECD parenting curriculum facilitated through parent support groups. It has shown improved ages and stages questionnaire scores.

Additionally, its caregiver learning through play program aims to equip 600,000 caregivers over three and a half years.

“As country director, I see my role in two main areas. Firstly, strategy – guiding the direction of the organization and finding ways to reach as many children as possible in impactful ways. This means engaging with the community in respectful and relational ways, listening to and learning from them,” Aguirre said. "This also means identifying the right partners to make that happen. Importantly, it also involves monitoring our work to see if we are making progress.

“Second is sustainability. That involves mobilizing human and financial resources and recruiting and retaining highly skilled staff that make the difference and finding the funding to ensure we reach our goals.”

With 170 staff countrywide, Aguirre said it was very encouraging that many of them were initially beneficiaries of the program.

“Spending time in community really impacts me, hearing the stories of transformation and being inspired by the tremendous resilience I see. This motivates me enormously to be a voice for those that often do not have a voice.”

Excerpts taken from this article: https://www.citizen.co.za/news/south-africa/special-features/dr-marc-aguirre-serves-marginalised-vulnerable/