How we Used the Lockdown to Radically Update our NGO:

Epicentre News • 18 May 2020

uring the lockdown Epicentre has launched itself into updating our business from the ground up. With a new website, new services and new staff; Epicentre is not the same company it was before lockdown began. By learning new skills and letting go of what wasn’t working, Epicentre is poised to bring private testing to homes and workplaces across the country!

When lockdown began, we suffered some serious losses; it forced us to close several projects we had poured our soul into, but we had to think about the future of our company. It was tough because our team believed in the good we were doing, our Voluntary medical male circumcision project was working with stakeholders to bring 60% protection from HIV infection to boys and men in vulnerable communities in the western cape like the Cape flats, and Pollsmoor Prison as well as across KwaZulu-Natal in both rural and urban areas.

However, when lockdown began, we had to re-evaluate the new danger we were sending our brave comrades into. In our most recent project, we have worked successfully with gang members and prisoners, but COVID is a unique and deadly threat. Pulling our teams out of the field was a hard choice, but we know it was the right one.

What Next?

South Africa and Epicentre as a company are in an interesting position. This is definitely not our first rodeo. We have experienced a deadly and seemly unstoppable virus before HIV has given us 20 years of experience. Leaving companies like Epicentre experts in the field. So, this time we have the upper hand. We know the steps we need to take to make our country safe again. Following the same steps HIV taught us, we need to test, quarantine and treat. That’s why at Epicentre we know that once we get tests onto the market, we know we can make an actual difference.

At Epicentre we are flexible and adaptable and that’s why we have pulled out all the stops. We are excited to announce that we will bring COVID testing to homes and offices around the country! We have built a brand-new website to make the process easier; we are hiring nurses and we are training them in the latest COVID guidelines provided by the WHO and CDC.

When even our office staff had been sent to work from home, we knew we were going to have to use this time wisely. One of the first things on the agenda – learning new skills. So, we got our media marking manager, to start updating our tired old website. Using an online based platform called ‘Udemy.com’ she watched and learnt how to harness the power of WordPress. We even found an external company (Epicdev.co.za) to help our marking manager with some training and support. After many hours of hard work, we are ecstatic to say we have our brand-new website up and running!

How Will we be Communicating?

We will be using our new website to sell medical equipment, make COVID bookings and keep our blog up to date on the latest issues affecting the health industry. If you want to follow our unique journey follow us on Facebook, where we will be announcing our new products as they become available. Take a look at our shop for our products or contact us at info@epicentre.org.za or call our offices at 087 072 5300 if you have any queries or workplace booking requests.