Midlands EMS paramedics showcase their skills as they deliver a baby girl in an ambulance, celebrating the Day of Reconciliation with a new life. | Midlands EMS
Durban — A woman gave birth to a baby girl in a Midlands EMS ambulance on the Day of Reconciliation in Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal on Monday.
Midlands EMS spokesperson Roland Robertson said that at 4am on December 16, Midlands EMS crews, accompanied by advanced life support paramedics were dispatched to the Greytown area.
Robertson said that upon arrival, the team found the patient in active, full-term labour. Quickly and carefully, the team transferred the woman into the ambulance and started transporting her to the hospital while treatment and observations were being done.
“However, it soon became evident en route that the little one was ready to make her debut. With the skill and calm professionalism of our team, a healthy baby girl was safely delivered in the ambulance,” Robertson said.
“We are so proud of our team for their quick thinking, ability, and commitment in welcoming this new life into the world.”
Meanwhile, according to the South African government, two historical events occurred on December 16.
The first event, in apartheid South Africa, December 16 was known as Day of the Vow, as the Voortrekkers in preparation for the Battle of Blood River on December 16, 1838, against the Zulus took a Vow before God that they would build a church and that they and their descendants would observe the day as a day of thanksgiving should they be granted victory.
The second historical event on December 16 was in 1961, when uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK), the ANC’s military wing was formed. Before its formation, the ANC had largely approached the fight against apartheid through passive resistance. After the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960, passive resistance was no longer seen as an effective approach in bringing apartheid to an end. The MK mostly performed acts of sabotage, but its effectiveness was hampered by organisational problems and the arrest of its leaders in 1963. Despite this, its formation has been commemorated yearly since 1961.
With the dawn of democracy, December 16 retained its status as a public holiday. South Africa’s first non-racial and democratic government was tasked with promoting reconciliation and national unity. One way in which it aimed to do this symbolically was to acknowledge the significance of December 16 in both the Afrikaner and liberation struggle traditions and to rename this day as the Day of Reconciliation.
On December 16, 1995, the Day of Reconciliation was celebrated as a public holiday for the first time in South Africa.
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