From our Co-ordinator of Projects in South Africa,

Busy visit with UK donors – lots to be positive about

2012-02-07T07:22:00.000-08:00

Last week I had an enjoyable day visiting some of the projects with visitors from the UK. I really enjoy showing the projects to people who have been working towards supporting them but who may be seeing some of them for the first time

We visited Gael and the children at the First Step Rite Preschool, and the children there arereally happy and friendly whenever I go there. Gael has a lot of children in Grade R (Reception year), Grade 1 and now even Grade 2, because the school has such a good reputation in the local community. Very much the result of Gael’s dedication and hard work! Many of the little ones wear school uniforms and they are really too cute for words!

Gael is starting many new activities with her children, including nap time on their new mattresses, and sport in the afternoons with Funo, who is now working at the school.

Pupils at 'First Step Right'

We also popped in to see Dawn at 1000 Hills Community Helpers, where the number of little ones in the crèche and preschool has risen dramatically, to over 100. Possibly because parents and grannies are now seeing the importance of starting children at school as early as possible, so that when they go to Grade 1 they have had the grounding they need.

Sister Dlamini, who runs the clinic showed us around, and introduced us to one of their patents, an elderly man who has been coming to the clinic every second day to have ulcerated wounds on his leg dressed – for the past 8 years! In spite of having a skin graft which the clinic arranged at one of the hospitals in Pietermaritzburg, this poor man has had a very large open wound on his leg for years, and he walks to the clinic with the aid of a walking stick. Sister Dlamini is trying to convince him that amputation of part of his leg would improve the quality of his life dramatically, but he is very resistant because in Zulu culture it is important that the whole body be buried in the same place. I think he probably also likes the company at the clinic and the attention of the staff who are kind and endlessly patient with everyone who comes to them for help.

Rudley awoken at '1000 Hills Community Helpers'

We visited Ithembalihle last, because it takes all of my courage to take my poor car on the road there, which has completely disintegrated thanks to the rains in December. When I take visitors on that road they tend to end up laughing hysterically because they can’t believe we actually made it (and I’m not exaggerating). The dormitory is looking really good – the painting is finally finished, although I would still like them to put a third coat of paint on the floors. The boys chose to paint their room in yellow, and the girls have done theirs in pink, and the outside is white with the blue stripe around the bottom to match the other buildings. The doors and window frames have been given a final coat of blue. I have noticed the last few times that I have been there that they are getting so much hot water from the solar water heaters that they are not making a fire to heat water any more, which is a bonus to not only the children and Thandiwe who had to find firewood before, but also to our environment.

The beds were delivered on Friday, and although I did warn the truck driver that the road was going to be bad, I don’t think he believed me. Now I just have to get the new bed linen, duvets and blankets there and we will be just about done!

Looking very smart at 'Ithembalihle'

Where does the time go?

2012-01-25T08:05:00.000-08:00

Well December and January are always hectic months and I really have neglected this blog – bit daft when I have actually had plenty to talk about.

Christmas was lovely for all of the organisations, and the Ithembalihle children really enjoyed getting their presents, although in the photos they are all really serious and well-behaved - even when they were encouraged to pose with cake icing on their faces they did it very seriously. They really are lovely children who take nothing for granted.

I bumped into Thandiwe at the local supermarket on Christmas Eve, where she was buying a “Spar cake”- a big flat iced cake which sells so well at Christmas and New Yearthat people pay in advance and are given a ticket to collect. The children had begged her for a cake for Christmas, so we used some of their treat money for the cake. It’s wonderful that we had the money for the cake, but quite sad in a way that something that wouldn’t even register as a treat for our own children is such a big thing to these children.

GAGA also raised money for new school uniforms for the children at Ithembalihle, and I saw their new uniforms for the first time yesterday, as they weren’t home from school last week when I visited. They are so proud and couldn’t wait to tell me how their teachers complimented them for being so smart in their new uniforms. They were dying to pose for pictures to send back to the funders so they could admire them as well.

As soon as we finished with pictures the uniforms were removed though, as the girls were ready to paint the pink on their bedroom walls. They had done the white base coat, and were just dying t5o put the pink on. Thandiwe’s husband Sipho was also starting the paint on the floors, so that the new furniture can finally be moved in.

Hopefully by this time next week everything will be in and they can finally sleep on their new beds.

Christmas in South Africa

2012-01-03T02:35:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas is upon us – and for South Africans a nice long weekend. In South Africa the 26^th Dec is a Public Holiday (Bank Holiday), and this year, in true South African style we are getting the 27^th Dec as well (not sure why).

Unfortunately it won’t be Christmas around the braai and in the swimming pool, because although we did have sweltering heat for a few days this week, the rain is back and is predicted to run into next week.

The month has been eventful, because in South Africa the end of the year is also the end of our school year. Kwa Ximba Preschool (No 9) has their graduation for those who are leaving to start Grade 1 next year. This is a huge event for rural preschools which includes the hiring of little caps and gowns, and it is unbelievably cute. I unfortunately couldn’t be there, and I don’t have the photos yet but I’ll post them as soon as I have them.

Sithembakuye had a special Christmas Luncheon for their Gogos Luncheon Club, and this was very much enjoyed y all of the grannies (and grandpa’s) who attend the club, which helps provide support to granny-headed households with their weekly lunch and get-together.

Ithembalihle Dormitory has been painted, and the children are really looking forward to Christmas. It has unfortunately been a difficult time for Thandiwe, as she had to travel to Dundee this week, as her sister was critically injured in a road accident. Over 800 people have already died this holiday season on our roads (since the end of November!), the majority in truck, bus and mini-bus taxi accidents.

Thandiwe will return today, and they have a funeral this evening and tomorrow at Ithembalihle. Hopefully by Sunday morning they will be able to focus on the joy of Christmas.

I have had a busy week making up 26 parcels for all of the children – I tried to get shoeboxes to make the task a bit easier but couldn’t collect enough, so I made my homemade gift bags. Shannon was unfortunately away so I had to do all of the shopping, arranging of little piles on my dining-room table, and wrapping, by myself! It didn’t seem like a lot until I actually started, but it was, and although my back is still aching I must admit I loved doing it.

Because the children are little people to me there was no mass production – each child is getting a different t-shirt and underwear, a different toy, and then toiletries, sweets, chips, biscuits and a fizzy drink in their parcel. Thandiwe has extra money to prepare them a special treat for lunch, which will probably be chicken stew, rice, pumpkin and trifle for pudding.

I will be popping up to Ithembalihle tomorrow to drop off the gifts, and although I’m not going there on Christmas Day, I will get photos so we can all see the looks on their faces when they get their gifts!

One Joy - One Sorrow

2011-11-24T04:15:00.000-08:00

November and December are normally happy months in South Africa – it’s our summer, and also the end of the school year. This year is different though. The children are busy writing exams now, and it is rainy, grey and cold (in fact Winter temperatures). Everyone is struggling to manage financially – food and transport are becoming ever more expensive, and all we hear are stories of terrible sadness.

A case in the media right now is about a small rural village called Verdwaal (which actually means “lost” in Afrikaans). This little town is in the middle of nowhere, and is in desperate poverty, so bad in fact, that 4 children, aged between 2 and 9 left to go and try to find food. They were found dead - they had died of starvation! As a South African when we hear stories like this do we weep or scream? At least the media attention has brought in the Department of Social Development to help the people in Verdwaal with Identity Documents and food parcels, until their government grants are processed.

Well for our children at Ithembalihle we all need to make this a special Christmas. Last week we registered Senzo, one of the older boys, at a Technical College to study Chemical Engineering for 2 years. I really believe that supporting clever boys like Senzo to give them the chance at finding jobs that will actually support them and their families is the way forward in South Africa. We’ve also been collecting donations wherever we can for presents for Ithembalihle, and would love to be able to make sure the children all have gifts for Christmas.

And a last bit of news – mama bunny was pregnant, and gave birth to 5 babies yesterday! Finally a start of the rabbit breeding programme at Ithembalihle!

New baby bunnies (kindlings) at Ithembalihle

Some what, back to normality,

2011-11-08T07:28:00.000-08:00

Back to blogging again – I now have Facebook and LinkedIn, and I am finding it hard to imagine how other people manage to keep up with social networking because it really is a lot of work.

Our building group has probably all settled back into their routine of normal life now, after their hard work on the Ithembalihle dormitory. It really looks wonderful, the doors are on, windows are in, plumbing is installed – I am just waiting for the paint. My Dad is really taken with the project, and was thrilled the other day when he popped up there to check on a few things, and found the children washing their clothes in warm water from the solar water heaters. This was on a completely overcast day. Their showers are probably the biggest novelty in the new building, running hot water is something we all take for granted but for a the Ithembalihle children it’s like magic.

New solar water heaters. Each feeds a shower and warm water tap.

The extra work that Helen, Moira, Barry, Liz, Mark, Alan and Charlie took on while they were there has made a difference already and is being valued and cared for. The chickens just love their nesting boxes and they seem to be breeding extremely fast. Some of the hens are trotting around with chicks in a variety of sizes, and Thandiwe says that when they are closed into their coop at night they have now started fighting over which babies belong to who.

The rabbit programme is hopefully going to take off now after some extra help from KwaCare, and I had a look at the female who is hopefully pregnant, and felt her belly, but really couldn’t tell.

The trees have been watered daily, and seem to have sprouted very fast, because we have also had a fair bit of Spring rain (with Winter temperatures, thanks global warming), and even though it will be a few years until they give fruit, it won’t be long before they give shade.

Lemon tree planted by the GAGA volunteers.

I also visited No9 Preschool this week, and spent some time with Promise, who runs the school. Promise is starting to prepare for the preschool graduation at the end of November, and what a huge event this is. This year the school has 15 graduates who will leave to start Primary School next year, and they will all be wearing hired graduation caps and gowns, and will receive certificates. It really is the cutest thing to see, and the excitement of the proud parents is really a lesson in how to value education.

Building team gets nearer!!

2011-09-27T08:08:00.000-07:00

Well it’s less than 2 weeks until our building group arrives to build the dormitory at Ithembalihle, and everything is a mad rush. It seems like no matter how far in advance you start preparing things, they never run on schedule.

The accommodation for the building groups has been under way for 6 weeks, but we’re still madly painting walls and trying to make it comfortable. I am really very lucky to have a supportive family who all pitch in when there is a job to do. In spite of all of the work, we had a lovely sunny weekend, so the group will be coming at the right time of the year.

Thandiwe and the children are jumping up and down with excitement at the thought that in less than a month they will have their new dormitory, and I have been busy organising the furniture to go inside. The bunk beds are in the process of being made up, mattresses have been ordered, and now I am buying bed linen.

It really is exciting to phone Thandiwe to say “I’ve just found duvet covers for the boys’ room on a sale, will they like blue stripes?”, or to find pillows on a special and go in and buy 18! It really is exciting to go out and buy things for the children that I know will bring them so much pleasure.

The children are also looking forward to the group visiting – they love the attention from overseas visitors because it makes them feel really special. For children who have been marginalised in just about everything in their lives, the attention they get from visitors is a boost to their self-esteem, and a memory that stays with them for the rest of their lives, and changes who they.

All smiles, despite the weather!

2011-08-23T02:12:00.000-07:00

This week we had another cold spell, but not as bad as the last spell. Some of the roads were closed because of snow, and vehicles were trapped, but only for a day.

I went with some visitors to Sithembakuye and Ithembalihle, to show them some of the projects GAGA is funding. At Sithembakuye, Russell was away, so Steve showed the visitors around. Steve originally came to

South Africa

in early 2010, with Lions Raw, an organisation which works in disadvantaged communities in the country in which the upcoming World Cup Soccer is to be held. Steve enjoyed working at Sithembakuye so much that he has come back and is staying there.

One thing about showing people around rural projects when the weather is bad is that they don’t look their best. When it rains everything is muddy and dirty, including the children. I want to keep saying, “It really is much cleaner and neater than this normally”. The fact is though, that this is life in these organisations, and I really have to admire Russell, Thandiwe and numerous others, who manage to cope somehow in rainy weather, with the mud tramped into the house by 16 or 18 children, and the muddy washing for all of these children, to be done by hand and hung wherever possible to dry.

At Ithembalihle it was wet, muddy, and very cold. The children were dressed in the oddest assortment of dresses and jerseys, layered over each other, and were sitting quietly chatting amongst themselves in the corner... Outside it was very exciting to see that the foundations and slab, which the GAGA Group will be building the dormitory on, is complete and waiting for the end of September. I was chatting to two of the girls and telling them what their new house is going to look like, and when I said they would have bunk beds, the shining eyes and smiles were enough to warm any heart.

In spite of the weather, Thandiwe was also all smiles. She had two wonderful pieces of news in one day – firstly their NPO status is through, and they are now a registered non-profit organisation, and secondly she has received Certification as a Facilitator for the Services (SETA) for Contracting. This basically means that she can work facilitate training in block laying etc, and can start training the young people in skills which will help them become employable.

On another note the slab is now complete for the new dormitory at Ithembalihle. It has been completed in anticipation of the UK building teams arrival so that they can start building straight away.

A visit from the Professor

2011-08-08T06:43:00.000-07:00

Last week we had a visit from Professor Torkington (Pro as she likes to be known) and her sister Thoko, who came with me to visit some of our projects. We went to see Gael Lloyd at the First Step Right Preschool, which as usual is running really well. Gael has been struggling a bit with the rainy weather, as the roof is leaking badly, but nothing can be done about it until Gael can get a written commitment from the owners of the building to allow the preschool to continue working there. As she says, the important thing is the quality of education they are giving the children, and at Crafcor Preschool the children are really lucky because they are getting a very good grounding to prepare them for Primary school. Gael’s Grade 1 pupils are now wearing school uniforms, and they look really sweet.

Pro and Thoko have begun a skills development programme with 3 young girls in the rural area near Kokstad, and they are printing books for preschool learners, with a picture on each page, and the word for the object in both Zulu and English. These are really valuable, as it is difficult to get preschool books showing the Zulu words, and the little ones need to learn how to read in their mother tongue as well as in English. Gael already has some copies of the books, and is ordering more for the school.

(R - L) Professor Torkington, Dawn Leppan and Pro's sister Thoko

The preschool teacher at 1000 Hills Community Centre was also very keen to have copies of the books for the preschool classes there. When we arrived it was baby day at the clinic, and there really were an unbelievable number of mothers and babies there. Dawn has not been well, so I was very grateful to her for showing us around, and as usual, the visitors loved it there.

Baby Clinic 1000 Hills Community Helpers

We sat and chatted in the toddler’s room, which has been expanded because the number of children is constantly increasing. The toddler group is definitely the most unruly group at 1000 Hills Community Centre, but they are really cute and I always want to take photos. Every time I produce a camera in that group I am mobbed by little ones who are all grabbing at the camera, and they get told off by their caregivers, and I feel really guilty. This time I had to take pictures, because some of the little ones we used to visit in cots in the baby room are now running around and singing and performing the actions to the songs, and it was really wonderful to see how happy and well they all look.

Toddlers room 1000 Hills Community Helpers

Coldest Winter on Record. We even have Snow!

2011-07-29T03:53:00.000-07:00

I’m starting to wonder if sunny South Africa will have to be renamed thanks to global warming. It’s winter now, which usually means where I live we have cool days (for us) of around 22ºC, and nights of around 12ºC. Well we are having the worst spell of weather in about 70 years. It is really cold; areas which may on the odd year have a little snow on the edge of the roads are now completely snowed in. Our main highway from the port of Durban to Johannesburg was closed for 3 days, as the road was completely snowed in. Many truck drivers who travel this route were stopped, and spent three days with no access to food or extra blankets, other than the areas where the local community members managed to get to them with help.

A major problem is the number of families who have lost their houses, due to flooding. In one area alone 122 families have been left homeless. Many of these families are child-headed households, and they will not have the means to repair their homes, which means that they are now destitute and desperate for help.

Although the schools are still open, the attendance in rural schools is very low, because the children really can’t walk the long distances in icy, pouring rain. For many children it is not safe, because of flooding rivers and bridges which have washed away.

I visited Ithembalihle the other day during a heavy rainstorm, with Mr Mkhize, the builder who is clearing the land and preparing for the English group who will be building the new dormitory. With the icy rain and mud I can’t even begin to imagine how Thandiwe is coping with having 16 children in that tiny space. The weather makes the prospect of the new building even more exciting.

The worst thing about the weather for me though is the guilt. When I get home at the end of the day to my warm and cosy house, how can I enjoy it when I know how many South Africans are genuinely suffering in this terrible weather.

“Service is the rent we pay to live on this planet”.

2011-07-19T07:39:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I started my day with the best intentions, after making arrangements with Kim from the Robin Hood Foundation, to help them pack their monthly Gogo bags.

Unfortunately I was delayed with dropping Shannon and her friend off at the Coastal Horse Care Unit, where they have been volunteering in the holidays, working with horses. The girls have been riding, grooming, and sorting tack at the organisation, which works with rescued horses removed from their owners because of neglect or abuse, and ex-race horses which they school with the hopes of finding them homes.

I arrived at the storage facility where Robin Hood packs their bags too late to actually be of any help, as a flash storm meant they had to pack a lot faster than normal. Kim explained to me that the bags they pack are distributed on a monthly basis to gogos in different areas, to help them support themselves and the numerous children in their care. Their “Love the Babies” project involves distributing baby care packs to mothers of new babies, in government hospitals.

These bags are filled with second-hand baby outfits and blankets, as well as nappies and toiletries to help the mothers care for their babies when they leave the hospital. They have unfortunately had to cancel their deliveries this month, with the recession people are not managing to donate as much as they normally do, and they don’t have what they need to fill the bags.

Robin Hood also runs a “Bless a Granny Programme” at Christmas, and they will start collecting in September, to give presents to the elderly in various different areas and facilities. They find out from the recipients what they would like for Christmas, and Kim says it is really sad how little some of these elderly people ask for – a hairbrush, a toothbrush, a tie, or a chocolate bar are some of the examples.

One of the “mini projects” they are planning is a party at Ethembeni School for the disabled in August, and they are busy collecting blankets and other goodies to give the children at the school the things they need.

One of the mottos which Robin Hood uses that I really love is “Service is the rent we pay to live on this planet”. This is really relevant to South Africans this week, as yesterday we were all asked to do 67 minutes community service, to commemorate the birthday of our beloved Madiba!

The Gift of Electricity,

2011-07-08T06:35:00.000-07:00

This week really wasn’t fun. Keeping my car running and safe enough to travel on the farm and rural roads is really depressing. I no sooner fix one thing than something else goes wrong, and this week I had to replace the bearing in a wheel, but I still have another 3 wheels which will have to be done!

I went to Ridge City this week, on my newly repaired wheel, to see the electricity machine at Ridge Cafe. They have converted the machine for selling cell phone airtime, to sell prepaid electricity. The funds raised by the McBean family, who climbed Mount Nevis to raise the money, has given them the capital they needed to purchase the electricity, to the local community. This was a wonderful gift which is very much appreciated.

The sale of the electricity will have many benefits for the community of Marianridge. Of course it will be a lot easier for people to access electricity. People in this area live on very small budgets, so they will buy, for example R20.00 worth of electricity, because this is the amount of money they have in their purse. This amount will give them electricity for about 4 days, before they have to find money to buy more. If they travel to Pinetown to buy electricity, the minibus taxi fare eats up half of the money before they even get to the stores. The elderly have had to rely on other people to buy the electricity for them, and quite often didn’t get the electricity they had paid for.

The machine will also bring people into Ridge Café. In Marian Ridge there are many elderly people, young single mothers, and families damaged by the effects of alcohol, drug and domestic abuse, who are isolated in their apartments. People don’t have money to go into Ridge Café and buy a cup of coffee, and are embarrassed to go there without a reason. The café has started stocking small packets of sugar, beans, tomatoes, onions etc, and these combined with the electricity machine, give people a reason to leave their apartments, and to go out where they can be in a warm and social environment. And it is a warm and welcoming environment – I feel very cheered after I have spent time with the people there who are always friendly and full of life!

The children also benefit from being spending time in the café, and this week they have had a holiday programme running for them, as it is school holidays. The programme is run by the teenage children of the Ridge City staff, who do an amazing job organising and entertaining the children from the area, who love every minute of it!

A group effort because it's still new.

Time flies!

2011-06-27T06:13:00.000-07:00

Usually when I visit Thandiwe at Ithembalihle, I get to see a few of the children, but most of them are at school, or off playing with friends. Last week when I visited though, they were almost all there, and it struck me suddenly how much they’ve grown.

They are very different from the children I met on my first visit to the organisation; they’re friendly, outgoing, and a lot happier. Even little Malwande, a baby in her mother’s arms who hid her face when I talked to her, is chatting away to me (although I don’t understand a word of it), posing for the camera, and trotting around in her cute little sandaled feet.

Look how she's grown!

Not only have the children grown though, the chickens have finally decided to breed. Up to now the chickens have been laying eggs, a good source of protein, but none of them would sit on the eggs. Finally one of the hens made herself a little nest, outside of the enclosure, and has been sitting on 10 eggs. The eggs have since hatched and they have 5 baby chicks. Hopefully the little hen will keep it up and eventually there will be enough chickens to provide meat for the pot (my apologies to fellow vegetarians but the children really do need the meat).

One of the hens is sitting on 10 eggs.

Thandiwe and I had a look at how we are going to place the new building, which will be built by the GAGA building team coming out later this year. We need to have the building materials ready on the site, and the foundations laid, so that the team can put up the house for the children in their time here. I am very fortunate to have expert help. My father was a builder, and is always willing to help with drawing up the plans, laying out the building, getting quotations and a million other things that I really wouldn’t manage otherwise.

The site for the new children's house.

From Lows to Highs.

2011-06-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

Winter’s really quite depressing in South Africa when you work with non-profit organisations, because not only do we have the worry of keeping children fed, healthy and in school, but added to that we need to keep them warm.

Visiting Sithembakuye this week really lifted my spirits though, because not only was it warm enough to actually complain about the heat, but there was so much going on there that I left feeling quite cheerful.

Some of the members of Lion’s Club had just arrived to officially hand over the solar water heating panel which they have sponsored, and which had just been installed. Hot water on tap after heating pots on the stove to wash in would be exciting in any household, but in a household with 16 children it is extremely exciting!

At the same time some of the pupils and teachers from a local high school, Hillcrest High School, had arrived to practice with the children, for a performance they are doing together. The singing was lovely, but even better was seeing teachers and pupils from a more privileged area taking the time to come out to Sithembakuye to work together with the children.

This Sunday is Father’s Day, and Zama, one of the little girls living at Sithembakuye, showed me the gift she made at school for Russell. Zama’s pride and pleasure in the gift she has made for Russell is definitely a testament to the Russell and the home he and Precious have made for the 16 children living in their care.

Not to be outdone though, I also got to see the artwork of Thando, which is a testament to nothing but the power of a brand!

Winter Starts To Bite!

2011-06-01T03:19:00.000-07:00

Winter has arrived in South Africa with a vengeance, and over the last week it’s been really cold. A rainy spell caused temperatures to drop to freezing at night, and some parts of the country had snow – a novelty in South Africa because it is unpredictable, and only really falls in isolated areas. People living overseas are quite condescending when we say it’s cold here, and I know our low temperatures aren’t that extreme, but in South Africa heated homes and double glazing are things we only read about in books. For many South Africans windows don’t even have glass, and all that stands between families and the cold outside is a layer of cardboard. To keep warm at night people often bring a burning brazier into the house, and sadly in winter we will always hear of at least one family who have died in the night from lack of oxygen because they have had a fire in the room to try and keep warm.

I visited Ithembalihle to drop off some eggs from our farm, and I felt quite ridiculous complaining about the cold, when Thandiwe told me about the trouble they are having getting the children to school. The children from Ithembalihle walk to school and back, a few kilometres each way. In winter it is still quite dark in the morning, as sunrise is late and our schools start at around 7.30. Thandiwe was using her husband’s bakkie to take the children to school, and although it was giving trouble, it was running well enough to get the children to school and make the odd trip to shop for food. It was cold and exposed on the back of the bakkie, but still much better than walking.

The bakkie recently decided to give up, and is no longer roadworthy, so a neighbour with a bakkie has been taking the children (not out of neighbourly concern, but for a fee). His bakkie has now also stopped going, so the children are back to walking. Thandiwe is preparing some quotes on what it will cost to get the bakkie running again, but in the meantime every time I switch on my car heater I feel very guilty – although in my defence I must say that my car heater does not actually switch off, so in summer when the temperature is 40° C outside, I am driving a car with the heater on!

Fortunately on Sunday the weather warmed up slightly, as it was the Comrades Marathon, an event I love! The Comrades is an 86km run between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, and it really unites the country. It is run by people from all walks of life, so almost everyone knows someone who is running. Spectators line the road for most of the route to cheer the runners on,and I normally love to stand at the side of the road and support the runners, especially those who are running to raise funds for charity, but this year I had to watch on television, as Shannon had to study for her exams.

Our Sithembakuye Gogo run from last week also received great publicity, as the journalist from the local newspaper wrote a wonderful article with lots of pictures showing the spirit and enthusiasm of the participants. The article will hopefully stimulate awareness in the local communities of the work Sithembakuye is doing to improve the lives of these grannies and their families.

Comrades Marthon Runners 29/05/2011

Races for Elections

2011-05-23T04:08:00.000-07:00

Last week was a busy week! On Wednesday our elections went quite smoothly, considering there were almost 22 000 polling stations spread throughout the country, but it was sad to see people who were at their voting station at 2.00am still waiting at 9.30am for the station to open, because ballot papers hadn’t arrived as scheduled. Luckily these cases were the exception rather than the norm.

There was surprisingly little violence, although in some parts of the country protesters blocked roads to prevent people from voting, and one of the marquees set up as a voting station was burnt down the night before, but the general consensus is that South Africans are learning about the democratic process, and are keen to have a say the running of the country.

My daughter Shannon had to do a project this week for her Life Orientation class. I steered her away from the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), which is an organisation very close to her heart, and where she has previously helped with “kitten socialisation”, and instead we took some pockets of oranges and bags of apples to Kwa Ximba Preschool. The fruit makes a difference at this time of the year, when the change of the seasons leaves everyone with coughs and colds. I love Kwa Ximba preschool, because the little ones there are always happy at their school, and they are really precious to visit.

The most entertaining event this week though, had to be the Sithembakuye Gogo Run on Saturday. GAGA sponsored a trophy – which I split into 3 - for the Winner, the Oldest Participant, and the Most Enthusiastic Participant. I also had enough to give a small cash prize with the trophies, and I made certificates to be given to all of the participants, so that everyone had something to remember the day.

Around 35 of the grannies and grandpas from the Luncheon Club at Sithembakuye ran in the race – fewer than expected because some of them had to attend a funeral. I landed up driving at the rear with hazard lights on to prevent anyone from driving into them, so I got to see how the gogos at the back were struggling, and how they refused to give up. The race was run up quite a steep hill and was almost 2km long, but everyone completed it! They were rewarded with juice and fruit at Sithembakuye afterwards, and it was wonderful to see how finishing the race gave them a sense of pride in their accomplishment, and a sense of unity.

A journalist from one of the local community newspapers was at the race taking photos, and hopefully the coverage will benefit Sithembakuye and their various programmes.

Winner Baba Mthokozisi, Oldest Participant.

At the back but making a brave attempt to keep running.

The trouble with Elections...

2011-05-16T06:28:00.000-07:00

In South Africa our huge topic of the moment is the elections, which take place this Wednesday. Of course we get a public holiday for elections – although to be honest, for many people it is necessary, as at some voting stations people wait. In South Africa many people live far from their homes and would obviously like to have a say in local government where their home are located, so they need the time off to get home to vote. Some of the voting stations have extremely long queues and people can stand for many hours to cast their vote (many, many hours in some cases).

The two main political parties have been at each other constantly in the media about the issue of service delivery, a point about which almost every South African has a complaint. Some really sad stories as well as others which are so ludicrous you have to laugh have been aired in the media. One case is an extremely old lady who has been trying for something like 36 years to access her husband’s pension. She is frail and ill and wants to make sure the money is paid before she dies, so that she knows her family will be provided for. She was promised that the problem would be sorted out, not in 3 or 4 days, but within the next 3 weeks!

Other families have been complaining about the sanitation provided in the areas where they live. In areas where there is running water the government will build absolutely beautiful white porcelain, flushable toilet – standing completely open in the middle of the garden! The homeowner is supposed to be responsible for building the structure around the toilet, and in many cases they don’t have the money. Instead of being a bonus, the open toilets actually pose a risk to their small children!

The people who have it the hardest of course are those in rural areas. In a rural area the local councillor may be proactive and build toilets, but they are dry pit toilets which are fine to use if you are on holiday in a game park, but not much fun on a winter’s night, or during the summer heat, when the smell is really bad. Families with a tap in the garden are extremely fortunate, as others have to carry buckets of water for long distances for their household use, and the elderly who can’t, have to pay people to collect water for them. I have heard of cases of old people dehydrating because they didn’t have the R2 to pay someone to fetch them a bucket of water.

Public transport in rural areas is non-existent, so people rely on privately owned minibus taxis, responsible for many deaths on our roads, as they are often poorly maintained, and being privately owned, drive as fast as possible to increase their earnings.

Well we can only hope that the people in South Africa will begin holding those responsible accountable for the promises they make during election time and that perhaps after these elections meaningful change will take place in the service delivery in South Africa.

Traditional toilet next to new goverment toilet.

Housing in rural areas.

Gogo Race!!

2011-05-09T02:57:00.000-07:00

It really has been a disruptive few weeks, because in South Africa we have had not only the holidays relating to Easter, but also 2 Public Holidays – Freedom Day and Worker’s Day. Some of the schools closed over the whole period, but others had children back for 2 days then off again for four.

Unfortunately one of the days back was the day of the Royal Wedding, and even though we are so far away we were very excited because we all love a good fairytale. Being a working day I had to watch on YouTube, which wasn’t the best picture, but wasn’t it beautiful! Luckily we got to watch many, many reruns on TV, and my daughter Shannon read me every tiny detail published in the newspaper, including the history of the plants used in Kate’s bouquet.

Back to work I was really excited to visit Sithembakuye, and find out 2 exciting bits of news. The first is that they have been sponsored to build a borehole, on the property they want to develop into a vegetable garden. This will mean that their gogos (grannies) will be able to have a really big vegetable garden, as water is always the problem with vegetable gardens. The area that they are using doesn’t have any water, which would mean carrying the water really far, and with the borehole they will have water much closer, and much cheaper.

To stimulate awareness of the organisation, and raise funds, Sithembakuye is having a Gogo Race, on the 21^st of this month. About 45 gogos will be running, and so far about 16 visitors will be joining them – actually 17 because I have promised to join in. This time the race is only 2 kms, so I should definitely finish, but it’s up a really steep hill so it won’t be easy for some of the gogos.

Sithembakuye’s Gogo Programme is a lifesaver for some of these gogos, who have really hard lives supporting the children left in their care by deceased or ill family members. GAGA sponsors the food for the weekly Luncheon Club, at which they get together for a meal, a chat and a few activities.

After the race the gogos will be rewarded with a really good lunch, and the children from the feeding scheme will join in. It sounds like it will be great fun, and I’m sure it will be an exciting day for the community members taking part. Russell Chili, who runs Sithembakuye, is trying to raise funds to sponsor some trophies and prizes for the race, so that the winners will have lasting memory of the day.

Easter, Bank Holidays & Sighs of Relief

2011-04-27T03:01:00.000-07:00

Wishing everyone a Happy Easter, and hope all of the Bank holidays (Public holidays in South Africa, have left everyone rested. We still have a few more coming up – tomorrow is a holiday, and most of the schools have closed for Thursday and Friday too.

Last week I visited a centre in Swayimane, of an organisation called Umkhumbi gaNoah (Noah’s Ark). Swayimane is deeply rural, and has many families who are desperately poor. It is far to travel to work and expensive, so to support their families community members often work in town, and live in a rented room during the week.

Umkhumbi gaNoah is based in the community centre, and provides support to 80 children every afternoon. The children receive a cooked lunch, and spend their afternoon at the centre, using the tiny library, doing homework, and taking part in activities run by the staff and volunteers. The organisation also cares for 10 families who have no income, although their aim is to be able to support 35 families. They work in conjunction with the local Social Workers, who use the premises as a mobile office, and they support families during the period it takes to access government support. They also provide community members with medical supplies for home-based care, and have grown a huge and very impressive field of maize, to sell to support the project.

A very impressive crop!

Umkhumbi gaNoah approached me because although they are working from the community centre, they have a building of their own, which was unfortunately never completed because the builder absconded before finishing the job. The centre is in the process of being vandalised, which is a huge pity because it is a lovely building, which is gradually losing doors, plumbing and anything else removable. They are hoping desperately to find the funding to complete the building, or to at least fence it to prevent any further damage.

My week unfortunately ended badly, as I had a car accident which could have been shocking, but from which I ended up with nothing more than a sore neck and slightly lame right arm. I was hit from behind while travelling at 120km/h and the car spun and mounted a very steep bank backwards. In

South Africa

our traffic is bad, so when you have an accident and no one is hurt you count it as one of your inevitable accidents and heave a sigh of relief. The terrible thing is that it wasn’t my car, and I had only borrowed it for a few hours to take home a second-hand dishwasher I had just bought. The dishwasher is absolutely fine!

I'm very lucky!!!

School Holidays & WOW Factor!

2011-04-15T02:49:00.000-07:00

Last week I took some visitors, supporters of underprivileged children in South Africa for many years, to see some of the organisations we are working with. It is always interesting to get the perspective of different people from different countries when they see the organisations.

1000 Hills Community Helpers never fails to get a “Wow, what a well run organisation and what good work they are doing” from every visitor. When we visited on Thursday it was really busy because of the school holidays, as the children who are normally given lunch at school are hungry, and they come up to the centre for breakfast and lunch. The security of knowing they will not be going hungry in the holidays makes a huge difference in their little lives, and means that their health is not compromised during the holidays. Dawn Leppan was absolutely ecstatic because she had been told that GAGA UK had transferred the funding she so desperately needs to keep running the clinic, and it would be a matter of a few days before the funds were available.

I normally leave the centre leaving upbeat and enthusiastic, but I left feeling very sad. I met a little boy of 9 waiting in the clinic queue, with his 2 sisters of about 5 and 3. This little chap is the head of his little household, and they have no other family. Dawn makes sure they are cared for, and a neighbour is given food to cook for them, washes their clothes, and supervises them during the day. At night they return to their little mud house to sleep. The community workers from the centre keep a close eye on them, and I strongly believe that children should be kept in their communities if at all possible, but it’s really sad – no other word for it. Bless the neighbour though – how many of us would willingly take on the responsibility of 3 extra children and ask nothing in return?

Young Family at 1000 Hills Community Helpers Clinic

At Ridge City a holiday activity was organised at Ridge Café. Many of the families in the area share tiny flats with extended family, so the children are sent outside all day because there is no space for them inside. The activities at Ridge Café give them something to do and they are in a safe environment. They were really cute, and I was watching a group of tiny girls playing one game in particular. The idea of the game is that they line up, and take it in turns to pick up a piece of cardboard from the floor with their teeth, without using their hands or bending their knees! The area of cardboard that they touch with their mouth is cut off each time, so it gets smaller and smaller. Believe me it’s a game only for the very young!

She picked up the cardboard!

Building for the Future (2)

2011-04-06T07:29:00.000-07:00

We are having the most terrible weather this week! Sweltering temperatures of up to 39º are really taxing our energy levels, because we are supposed to be going into winter. The weekend, of course, was rainy and damp.

I had visitors from Johannesburg over the weekend, and visited some projects in damp and muddy weather, which is really depressing. Getting home I always feel guilty because my house is warm and dry.

My friends are very involved with horses, and have been working to re-home abused horses, and those rescued from the horse auctions, where they are sold by the kilogram for meat. It is quite depressing to think about so many areas of need in South Africa, but at the same time heart-warming to see that there are South Africans who are dedicated to doing something to make a difference.

The upside of my week has been continuing with the planning of the dormitory for Ithembalihle, which is really exciting. GAGA has all of the budgets now, except for the table, because I am trying to find a big table which will withstand being used by 18 children and not look terrible in a year’s time. We have found someone who makes metal bunk beds, and have designed the dormitory plan around fitting in enough beds for the children. The boy’s room will need to sleep 7, and there will be 11 in the girl’s room. We have placed the windows to allow air and light, as well as around the beds. Each room has a small washroom, which could eventually be converted into a shower, and the privacy of these rooms will be something very new to the children. I am investigating the possibility of small solar water heaters, which will save electricity which is very expensive in

South Africa

, and benefit the environment because they will not have to burn wood to heat water.

The verandah area will give the children some extra living space, and will be a cool area for them to sit on those sweltering summer days. I am really looking forward to seeing how the lives of the children will change once this building is up!

Final Dormitory Plan.

Building for the Future...

2011-03-31T06:43:00.000-07:00

I am horribly disappointed. Saturday was the day of our Thomas More College Long Walk, and after 3 hours sleep we started walking at 2.00am in pitch darkness. I was doing well, although my feet were sore, and had walked 48km’s (almost 30 miles) before my blood pressure suddenly dropped, and I began fainting. The doctor on duty eventually sent me back to the medical tent in an ambulance and (I must admit to enjoying the dram, even though they didn’t use the siren and flashing lights). I had only 7 more km’s to go and I wanted that medal so badly I would have crawled on hands and knees to get it. I’ve spent my life being a sports underachiever, and this annual walk is my only chance to earn a medal, and now I have to wait until next year to try again.

I came down with flu that night which may have been the cause of the problem, but it’s not much of a consolation. Shannon, my 13 year old daughter finished the 55kms, and my niece actually walked the longer distance of 80km’s (50 miles).

I’m spending my time at a desk this week because of the flu, pricing the building of the new dormitory at Ithembalihle, later this year. GAGA has arranged for sponsorship, and for a volunteer building team, and I am making the preparations from this side. Fortunately for me my father is a builder, and very willingly helps with designs, plans and sourcing the materials.

Proposed dormitory plan

The new building will make a huge difference to the way the 18 children are living at Ithembalihle, because at the moment they eat, sleep, and do homework all in one tiny room. They sleep on mattresses laid together on the floor at night, and sit on the mattresses, which are piled up during the day, to eat.

The boys sleep in the church which is cold enough on a winter’s day, so I can only imagine it’s freezing in there at night. We are hoping to have enough money to buy bunk beds for the children, and a table and chairs so they have an organised space to sit and do homework, which is a huge priority for Thandiwe, who runs the organisation, and her husband Sipho, who supervises the homework every day. At the moment the children work by candlelight sitting on plastic chairs in the church, which makes it really difficult for them to concentrate.

Thandiwe is really excited about the building because she says sees constant reminders in the children of the deprivation and abuse they have lived through in their short lives, and desperately wants to make it up to them by giving them a loving, stable and ‘normal’ home.

GOGO (Grannie) Luncheon Club

2011-03-24T02:20:00.000-07:00

This week I thought I would spend a bit of time chatting about Sithembakuye a small organisation based in KwaNyuswa, an area which has a large number of granny-headed households. The grannies are sometimes caring for 10 to 15 grandchildren who have been orphaned or whose parents are too ill to care for them, and in most of the homes the only income is a state pension of under a thousand rand, which is really very little.

Sithembakuye is run by Russell and Precious Chili, who have taken 12 children into their home, which has recently expanded with a new building. They also have a crèche, with 58 children, which supports the granny –headed households by giving these little ones a safe place to spend their day while the grannies (gogos) are working or taking care of the many chores in their homes.

Wednesdays are grannies treat days, and Sithembakuye has a weekly luncheon club which is supported by GAGA UK who provide a budget for the food. They are given a really good meal and then they play netball or soccer, or if they can’t exercise, they are encouraged to knit or to sew. The time they spend together is time that they can chat about problems so they act as a support network for each other. The luncheon club is also an opportunity for Russell to check on the grannies (gogos), and make sure they are coping.

When I visited this week Russell was very excited about an event held on Friday by Hillcrest Aids Centre and Robin Good Foundation, when the grannies got together at the KwaNyuswa Sports field with others, and took part in a whole range of events, including netball, soccer and diski (which is like bowling). The event was televised and was on the Zulu news on Friday.

I also had a treat this week, because Monday was a Public Holiday – Human Rights Day, and I went to the Drakensberg for a long weekend. It’s been a year since I had a holiday, so I really enjoyed my relaxation in the sun, watching the beautiful mountains. I did train for my upcoming walk though, and I went for a 20km walk which was excruciating, on Saturday, and on Sunday I went down the icy and very rocky river on a tube. The tube trip was one of those things that seem like good idea at the time, but it took an hour and a half in really icy mountain water full of rocks before I got to the bottom, and I will never do it again!

Gogo Angeline with the creche children

On the School Bus.

2011-03-17T04:49:00.000-07:00

It’s been such a sad and shocking week with earthquakes, tsunamis, and nuclear explosions. Watching the devastation of whole villages on TV, it’s really hard to believe it’s not just another movie. What really touched my heart and made me aware of the personal grief and tragedy of so many people, was watching a group of kindergarten children being rescued, after they had miraculously been kept above the rising water by staff members. The confused little faces made my heart ache because they mirrored the little faces we so often see working with children who have been orphaned, abused and abandoned.

It might sound like a contradiction, but to make myself feel better, I visited Dawn at 1000Hills Community Centre. I love the atmosphere at the centre, because everything is organised, and the staff and volunteers are always positive and really caring. Community members attending the clinic are often desperately ill, and those in the skills training programme or the crèche and preschool are from homes where every day is a struggle, but they are always cheerful , because they are happy and grateful to be there.

Every girl loves a camera

I went for a trip with Brian the driver and the children who were being taken home in the new vehiclesponsored by GAGA, to see the trip the children would have to make by foot if they didn’t have the car. I am very familiar with the area around the centre, and I know how far people in rural areas have to walk, but I was shocked. The picture I had in my mind of the distance didn’t include the fact that the road they have to travel on is up the side of a mountain! I don’t know if I could make it, and definitely not if I was 4 or 5 years old.

The nearest home was a walk of 3km, and there we dropped little Siphiwe, as well as a gogo who works at the centre , with her granddaughter Nellie, and little Michael and his older brother who are staying with her because they have no family of their own. The longest distance the children on our trip had to travel was over 10km – Thank you GAGA UK for the car!

Gogo, Michael, his brother and Nellie

Not enough hours in the day at Ithembalihle.

2011-03-11T03:24:00.000-08:00

It’s been a really hard week. I went up to Ithembalihle to Thandiwe twice, to get information for a funding proposal we are putting together. The first time wasn’t a good time because everyone needed something from her. With 18 children to take care of, ranging from tiny to teenagers, I’m surprised she sane. I have one 13 year old daughter and that is more than enough work for me.

One of the girls at Ithembalihle is 16 now, and her little girl is 2. She is at Ithembalihle because she was living with the family of her boyfriend, but when he died she was chased away by the family, who blamed her for his illness. She is a pretty and really lovely girl, who is reserved and quiet, and just gets on with helping with the many chores. It was really funny to see how her little girl has changed over the time I’ve known her. She’s always been a pretty little baby with big eyes, fat cheeks and pouty little rosebud lips, almost like a little bird. She is really cute, but now she has started having tantrums, just like any other 2 year old. I love to see children who have had a really tough time blossom when they are in a loving and caring environment, and the little tantrums are very funny (probably not as funny to her mother though!).

It has been unbelievably hot – the temperature last week was 38º (Celsius), and we desperately need rain to settle all of the dust. I have been training for a walk which is held by my daughter Shannon’s school every year – up to now I have walked 25km, but now she is in high school so it is 55. I have less than 3 weeks to get in some training, and in this heat I am finding it hard to be motivated enough to do anything. Never having been any good at sport when I was younger, this is my chance to earn a medal every year, so I plan to finish those 55km even if it kills me.

Empowering the community

2011-03-01T01:24:00.000-08:00

All eyes this week were on the budget speech by our Minister of Finance, with some people waiting to find out how much they would be paying in taxes for the next year, while others were waiting to find out whether the government grants and pensions would increase enough to keep up with our sharply rising food prices. Well for 10 million people raising children on childcare grants the R10 a month increase must have been very disappointing, barely enough in fact to buy a loaf of bread!

On a more positive note the focus of the speeches this month by both the President and the Finance Minister, have shown a commitment by our government to creating employment, and to training school leavers through a variety of interventions to make them employable, as well as subsidising employers to create positions for them.

This will hopefully bear fruit because for so many of our young people any tertiary education is completely beyond their means, and there are no jobs available for them. Apart from those few youngsters who are creative enough to think of some entrepreneurial opportunity, the available options are crime and pregnancy. Teen pregnancies have risen dramatically, and a news programme I watched this week showed a school in Kwa Zulu Natal which had 80 of their girls fall pregnant last year! Of course the HIV/Aids figures in the areas with many teen pregnancies also show a high rate of new infections amongst teenage girls.

I visited Ridge City this week, an organisation based in Marianhill, which is an area largely populated by a coloured community placed there during the apartheid era, when the Group Areas Act prevented different races from living together. Many generations of families have grown up in this area, but the area has never developed much infrastructure, and poverty and unemployment have resulted in the major issues being substance abuse,with the resulting domestic abuse and neglect and abuse of children. Many of the families in the area are headed by single mothers, and a large portion of the girls fall pregnant while still at school.

Ridge City aims to empower community members to take responsibility for their community, and to uplift them by creating small businesses to train them and make them self- sustainable. One of these businesses is Ridge Café, run by Aunty Lizzie and André, with guidance and support from Jake, Liz and Emily from Ridge City. The café is a central point for many schoolchildren and community members in the area, as they sell cooked food as well as a variety of cheap sweets and cooldrinks. When I visited on Thursday, they had just run their weekly soup kitchen, and there were children everywhere. The cutest little girls were playing jump rope in the area outside, and teenagers were sitting at the tables inside, chatting. Many of the elderly from the area were also passing through to the kitchen to get a container of soup and a loaf of bread.

According to Aunty Lizzie, many of the children are not from the immediate area, and have to take minibus taxis to their school and to the crèche. They have a long wait for the taxis in the afternoon, so they wait in the café where they are safe and can spend the time with their friends while watching over younger siblings.

Aunty Lizzie and my 2 new friends who wanted to be in a photo.

Ridge Cafe.

Inaugural blog - 1000 Hills Community Helpers and overseas visitors

2011-02-21T02:37:00.000-08:00

As co-ordinator for GAGA it’s been decided that I need a blog. Something new to me so please be tolerant until I get the hang of it – though to be honest I can talk the hind leg off a donkey.

This week was eventful, overseas funders were visiting, who have always worked really hard to support children affected by HIV/Aids in SA, and we visited some of the projects GAGA is supporting. It was a long, hot and dusty day, but I think they enjoyed seeing the work we are doing.

At 1000 Hills Community Helpers, Dawn Leppan showed us around and as expected they loved it. It is a clean, well organised project, and the atmosphere is so caring and warm, that once you get there it’s really hard to leave. The clinic was really busy – with a mixture of old and young, down to a tiny little newborn sleeping on her tummy in a cot against the wall. Dawn is very stressed about funding for the clinic. They make such a difference to so many people, with the excellent free medical care, the nourishing meals, and even just the access to a warm shower for the elderly.

We took photos of the beautiful new vehicle sponsored by GAGA, which will make huge difference to the little ones who have to walk so far to crèche and preschool in the mornings, and the elderly Gogos (grannies) who have to bring them.

The baby room has many new babies since last time I was there, and I was really delighted to see little Zama, who arrived as a newborn shortly before my first visit (after her mother passed away). The last time I visited Zama (pronounced zuh-muh) was sitting, but her little head was wobbling constantly because of a medical problem. New medication is controlling the problem now and she looks just beautiful!

Another very sad little boy, of about 18months old, had just arrived the evening before, badly neglected and with a little body is full of sores. He was bathed and fed, but was completely overwhelmed and just sat on the mat staring into space, and crying if anyone even looked at him. I know in a few weeks he will be responding to the love and care he’s getting now, but it really broke my heart to see him so sad. The reality in South Africa unfortunately is that for every child who finds help, there are so many others who don’t.

Not to end on a depressing note, there are so many stories of hope, and at 1000 Hills Community Helpers thousands of people find help every week and I really enjoyed introducing our overseas visitors to the organisation because I knew they would love it just as much as I do!

little Zama.