I think I ended my last update talking about the man whose name I can’t say...well, we went to meet him at the time he said, only to find he had gone out for the morning! ‘Welcome to working with government officials in South Africa’ said Debbie! After more phonecalls and another 2 visits to his office, we finally arranged some meetings through him.
Rob drove me around a number of settlements on Wednesday. I think 2 things really stuck with me from that. One was at the top of a hill, looking down into the valley. We were driving past big houses with swimming pools and security guards and stuff, then literally 10secs drive down the road was a mass of shack houses. It is really striking how juxtaposed wealth and poverty are here. It somehow makes it harder to deal with, which I guess makes me feel a bit uncomfortable that I am not so affected until it is mapped out in front of me so clearly.
At the top of another hill, up some seriously bad roads, I realised we had come to a graveyard. Rows and rows and rows of little wooden crosses and mounds of earth, as far as you could see, and further still. This is the reality of AIDS here, and up until a few years ago, when ARVs came in, Rob and Debbie (and people at CCP) were just going into house after house of dying people day after day. When it rains, lots of the graves get washed away. And Rob says it isn’t uncommon to be digging a grave and uncover other body remains.
On Thursday, I went into a local government hospital here. There is a no guns sign on the gate, and you have to go through security checks on the way in and out (mainly so people don’t steal from the hospital). The guy I went with explained to me that children in hospital hardly get any visitors – most get none, even if they’re in hospital for months. They are either orphans, or their parents can’t afford to come often/at all, or their parents just don’t care. Add to that, there is no education in hospitals, and no toys or anything on wards (staff would just steal them).
So the little organisation I was visiting, plays with the kids and does craft and basic education stuff, and just shows them love. They go into wards in the mornings for kids who are immobile, and they have a little room where they take the mobile kids in the afternoon. This is seriously the only stimulation at all that these kids get. They have made a little playground area, but when we arrived, it was strewn with rubbish – people had just emptied rubbish bins onto it. Broken glass etc – that just shows how lots of people here value children. Very sad.
We had a time of prayer for the kids, then went to get them from the Paed. Wards. I guess I was expecting this to be hard – even in UK, seeing sick kids isn’t easy to deal with. But to be honest, what I saw broke my heart. Cot after cot of ill kids all alone. One of the ladies I was with was explaining how one child’s mum had died of AIDS, when the kid in the next cot started fitting. It was probably about a minute before a nurse casually wandered over. One cot had a scrap of paper on the end saying ‘No mum. Please feed and care for me’. One little girl had awful sores inside her mouth and was just lying motionless, staring. We said hello, and she just stared, her eyes burning into me. I hesitated as we turned away, only to see a single tear falling from her eye. That sounds kind of dramatic or cheesy or whatever, but that’s what happened and I can’t think how else to describe it or how to describe how that made me feel. One little boy we went to pick up was lying in his own urine. 2 nurses stood literally next to his bed, just chatting, ignoring him. As we were sorting out a dry gown for him, another nurse came over to say he couldn’t go with us as he was just off to theatre. This kid looked so scared – he must’ve only been about 6, and he was being sent off to surgery all alone.
Another little boy we had collected started throwing up bile as we walked back to the room, so had to go back. His little face was so disappointed – not being able to come play today, and having to go back to his ward being all sick.
Had about 20 kids in the end, aged from toddlers in nappies to about 8 or 9 years old. Nearly all are likely to be HIV+. Sang some songs, had an interactive story, and learnt about different animals from some amazing photos, before playing on the playground. I had brought a pack of balloons, which they were dead excited about. The younger ones just clutched them and the older ones had great fun rubbing them on their hair and making them stick to the walls. At this point, one kids’ cannula fell out of his hand, so he was spurting blood onto the floor. I shuffled the other kids away, and was quite relieved that one of the ladies mopped him up instead of me – cut on my hand not quite healed over! Kids were v. excited by my camera too, so that provided more entertainment until they had to go back to their wards, clutching their balloons and chattering away.
Massive respect to the people who are doing that day after day. I honestly admire them so much and am so grateful for what they are doing for these kids.
Yesterday was a pretty quiet day – some more research work at CCP, then a bit of a leaving do for a lovely lady there. After work I went to the shop to get a few food bits, and was rather excited to get a chocolate mousse profiterole dessert thing reduced…however, back at the house, it took me a couple of mouthfuls of thinking ‘this actually isn’t that nice’ before I realised that the mousse stuff was totally off. Eww.
Talked to Em on Skype for a long time in the evening, which was good!
Then today I had a nice relaxing morning while the others were out (Rob off to ‘catch a wave’, and the kids and Debbie at sport matches). Then we went to a school fundraiser day for a bit, which included a bit of a paintball session! (African style – absolute minimum protective gear!), before going to the park for the boys’ football match. Then Debbie, the girls and I went to a thing called ‘Art in the Park’ which was just lots of different artists displaying and selling their work. I enjoyed that - some very talented artists.
Tomorrow will be Church, then going to Benson and Beatrice's house for lunch. Benson and Bea are the Ghanaian couple who met me at the airport, and cofounded CCP with Rob and Debbie. I'm sure their hospitality is going to be great - bring on the yummy food!!
xx
Saturday 30 May 2009
Tuesday 26 May 2009
Mammoth post
So cooking for the family went fine on Friday. People going for 2nds and 3rds has got to be a good sign, and everyone is still alive! I managed to slice my hand open a bit on a tin lid though. The cut isn’t big, but it’s deep and gaping quite a bit. Probably could’ve done with a few stitches, but we’ve been patching it up with steri-strips and plasters and iodine! It’s being a bit reluctant to close up and start healing, and I keep pressing it on things by mistake which hurts.
On Sat, I had a relaxing start to the day, reading in bed with cups of tea and breakfast. Then I went to pick lemons with the 2 girls, from a tree next door, and we made lemonade! Rob and Debbie and the boys were at soccer matches, so us girls made cheesecake. I think I would make a rather good 50’s housewife, don’t you think?!
I was pretty tired – the kids are lovely, but have much more energy than old lady me!
On Sunday we got up at 5am (*pause for impressedness*) to see off the runners on the Comrades marathon to Durban (they ran past the top of the road). I can’t believe how many people enter in for it. All mental in my opinion!
On Sat, I had a relaxing start to the day, reading in bed with cups of tea and breakfast. Then I went to pick lemons with the 2 girls, from a tree next door, and we made lemonade! Rob and Debbie and the boys were at soccer matches, so us girls made cheesecake. I think I would make a rather good 50’s housewife, don’t you think?!
I was pretty tired – the kids are lovely, but have much more energy than old lady me!
On Sunday we got up at 5am (*pause for impressedness*) to see off the runners on the Comrades marathon to Durban (they ran past the top of the road). I can’t believe how many people enter in for it. All mental in my opinion!
Got back as it was getting light and I grabbed a few hours sleep before Church. Went out for lunch at a nice place called ‘MacDonalds’…funnily enough, opposite an actual McDonalds haha! Then we went to the Royal Show which is on all this week. Similar to the Yorkshire Show or something, but with African twists, such as runaway cows! We’d only been in the place about 5minutes when I had to grab Caleb (5) and jump out the way of a massive bull that was running away from its handler! We saw a totally awesome FMX display – 3 guys on motorbikes, driving up ramps and doing stunts in the air. In one of the stunts they got off the bike and fully let go, before grabbing it again and landing! This photo gives a bit of an idea of how high they were!
We went around the stalls and stuff a bit, then went to the funfair bit. Rob and Debbie both get sick on rides, so I had to go on the rides with the kids – what a shame! Hehe. Great fun.
The Comrades runners only get a medal if they finish in under 12hours (got it wrong in previous post). The last guy to get through (11hrs, 59 mins, 58secs!) was interviewed on tv and gave his amazing story. 5 years ago he was addicted to heroin, but became a Christian, God healed his addiction and he got into running. It was his 1st Comrades marathon, but he said he prayed the whole time he was running and knew that God enabled him to finish as the last person in time so that he could share his testimony. I found it so amazing that even after such an incredible human feat, he still had his focus on God, not himself. Happy man.
Yesterday we had staff devotions, as every morning. I then had to phone a guy I’m meeting with later in the week…his name has Zulu clicks in it, so me trying to say his name was pretty amusing! Then I went out to the community with Rob to see a lady I am going to interview later in the week. The township we went to is pretty rough and the community is quite displaced still from a big flood there years ago. Houses very basic, and lots of shack-type houses. Their school got burnt down the other week, either by teachers or pupils…both had stuff they were unhappy about. So that’s a bit of scene-setting! The lady we went to see runs a project that CCP partners with and supported her to set up. It’s called a crèche, but not like a crèche that we’d think of. She basically cares for about 30 kids whose parents have either died of AIDS, or are too sick from HIV to care for them. They’re getting a new building with some sponsorship money, but for now they are in 2 tiny ramshackle rooms, with about 5 toys and acouple of handwritten posters on the walls. Some cute toddlers, all intrigued by my skin and hair and trying to chat to me in Zulu! I played with them a bit while Rob chatted with the lady about some stuff, and then we prayed for an older girl in the other room who was very sick. Heartbreaking to be honest. I find it very hard to see stuff like that and not be able to change it. It’s an ongoing thing in me and I’m not sure whether I want to lose it or not! I do feel like I need some time and space to reflect on some stuff I’ve seen/heard/thought about, so I hope I get the chance to do that soon.
Chatted with Rob a bit about the legacies of apartheid in
Back at CCP, I did a bit of work, then headed back to Social Welfare dept. for another interview.
Today Debbie and I went to Greytown – a rural area about an hour’s drive away, to an AIDS NGO there. HIV prevalence in Greytown is about 70-80% (probably due to factors like presence of migrant workers, and lack of HIV education) and unemployment is 70%. Debbie and I chatted with staff there about the situation and all the things they do at the NGO. Then we went out with some community workers in a 4x4, to a town a bit of a drive away. We were soon on a dusty track road, at which point, they told Debbie and I that the town councillor was shot dead on that road yesterday! Apparently this councillor guy had hired gangster hitmen to kill 5 men, so people didn’t like him and hijacked his car, shot him dead, and shot the 15 other people in the vehicle! (killing nearly all of them too). Yikes!
We went down a grassy track to see an old lady who is looking after her 7 grandchildren, all primary school age, after her 4 children died (1 of gunshot wound, 2 of TB [probably HIV+ too, although she says not] and one from an accident with sand or something). She was so so poor. She welcomed us into her shack house though, and apologised that she didn’t have anything for us to sit on. This is her, and one of her grandchildren.
I asked if I could take her picture, which she was happy about, particularly when I showed her the photo!
I talked with her a bit (through one of the staff translating), about her experiences caring for her grandchildren, and HIV issues. Meeting this amazing lady, and finally seeing ‘real
My research ethics continued to go out the window, as I informally interviewed 3 more people about their experiences caring for orphans in their family! 2 more ‘Gogo’(granny) families, and a 21 year old, caring for her younger siblings and her own child.
This is one of the other grannies and some kids she cares for.
We delivered some food parcels, including one to a young boy we picked up from his school and drove to his house at the top of a mountain. He is just 12, is an orphan, and looks after his little brother – a ‘child-headed household’. He was such a beautiful child – he looks much younger than 12, and has a really beautiful face. This is his house:
As you can see, it is a fair size, but it is barely standing, isn't weatherproof, and it isn’t safe, as monkeys can get in. The conditions inside are really bad too.
When we had dropped off the food and been shown his house, he climbed a tree outside to pick some avocados. I found it a really poignant moment, as he did such a child-like act of climbing a tree, knowing his situation.
Back at the NGO, Debbie and I chatted with some staff some more, and I interviewed some home-based care workers, before we headed back to PMB.
I’m v. tired now – a very draining day. I’m really glad I experienced these things though – it’s a big reason that I came here, and even though it’s hard and can be quite upsetting, I think it’s really important and really valuable.
More interviews tomorrow – including the one with the guy whose name I can’t say! Busybusy!
Love to everyone xx
Friday 22 May 2009
Some more news
I thought I'd give a bit of an update on the week...
It has been a good week - I've felt more settled at CCP (the NGO I'm linked with here, for those a bit confused) and have been getting on with my research. I've been interviewing some staff at CCP, and went to the Dept. of Social Welfare yesterday to interview a lady there who is in charge of foster care of children with special needs (HIV is considered a special need). It has been interesting to talk with people about issues around HIV and extended family OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) care. There are so many influencing factors - social status, poverty, financial issues, healthcare access, stigma, gender etc. Going to be lots to write about!
CCP has been busy these last couple of days, rearranging the office spaces and putting in new desks and office dividers (total bargains by Rob earlier in the week, bought from a guy who took him to a dodgy warehouse! haha). One of the things they are organising is for a specific VCT room (voluntary counselling and testing....basically HIV testing) out in the prefab in the yard. Currently people coming to CCP for tests are sort of shoved into a corner in one of the offices...in fact the other day I was working on a computer and had to leave for a while so they could do some HIV tests in that office! Slight inconvenience for me, but crazy to think of the huge, potentially life-changing moment happening in the room. The future VCT room is pretty shabby at the moment, so I've offered to paint it next week. I'm quite excited at that! I helped move the medical equipment and supplies today...including a rather full sharps bin (non-medics: this is the bright yellow plastic tub that you put used needles etc in. It then gets taken away and incinerated). I held it up to point out that it was quite full, and pretty much on the verge of being a hazard, at which point Beatrice said 'ooo, be careful with that'. I was like 'well, yes!' It is a tub full of needles used for HIV tests, in an area with the highest prevalence of HIV in the world! Needle-stick injuries aren't exactly a major source of HIV infection, but it would be an understatement to say that I was being careful!
Next week I am meeting with some other social workers for research interviews, including travelling out to a more rural area, which will be interesting.
Tonight I have offered to cook for the family, which could be interesting! Went to the shop earlier to get ingredients and afew bits and bobs for me. Got some bargains (of course!), including a big tub of fresh pineapple chunks for 2Rand (about 15p)! My excitement was slightly doused by the pineapple opening in the bag on the way home and making quite a bit of stuff sticky! Ah well, tastes good!
I'm enjoying getting to know Rob and Debbie, the couple I'm staying with. Their kids love me (who can blame them, eh? haha), but seem to think I love playing games constantly as much as they do! Rob and Debbie are so cool, and we've had some great chats. They're really open and honest and full of amazing stories.
There is a big marathon happening tomorrow here in KZN (Kwa-zulu-Natal, this province). It is an annual thing, where runners go between Durban and PMB (Pietermaritzburg, here. They alternate which direction each year)...this is a DOUBLE marathon in the heat here! People have to do it in under 9 hours or something mental to get a medal. And I thought the great north run was bad...
Here are a couple of amusing things to share with you:
- jam here comes in a tin! (ok, that's not really funny, but it's kind of odd)
- ghekkos tails fall off when they are scared! (I found this pretty amusing. The cat caught a ghekko the other day, and yes, it's tail did fall off!!)
- i got asked by a guy at CCP last week, in all seriousness, if we have black people in England! I couldn't help laughing!
I'm sure there is lots more to tell, but I can't think what now!
Thanks for all your emails and messages.
Lots of love! xx
It has been a good week - I've felt more settled at CCP (the NGO I'm linked with here, for those a bit confused) and have been getting on with my research. I've been interviewing some staff at CCP, and went to the Dept. of Social Welfare yesterday to interview a lady there who is in charge of foster care of children with special needs (HIV is considered a special need). It has been interesting to talk with people about issues around HIV and extended family OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) care. There are so many influencing factors - social status, poverty, financial issues, healthcare access, stigma, gender etc. Going to be lots to write about!
CCP has been busy these last couple of days, rearranging the office spaces and putting in new desks and office dividers (total bargains by Rob earlier in the week, bought from a guy who took him to a dodgy warehouse! haha). One of the things they are organising is for a specific VCT room (voluntary counselling and testing....basically HIV testing) out in the prefab in the yard. Currently people coming to CCP for tests are sort of shoved into a corner in one of the offices...in fact the other day I was working on a computer and had to leave for a while so they could do some HIV tests in that office! Slight inconvenience for me, but crazy to think of the huge, potentially life-changing moment happening in the room. The future VCT room is pretty shabby at the moment, so I've offered to paint it next week. I'm quite excited at that! I helped move the medical equipment and supplies today...including a rather full sharps bin (non-medics: this is the bright yellow plastic tub that you put used needles etc in. It then gets taken away and incinerated). I held it up to point out that it was quite full, and pretty much on the verge of being a hazard, at which point Beatrice said 'ooo, be careful with that'. I was like 'well, yes!' It is a tub full of needles used for HIV tests, in an area with the highest prevalence of HIV in the world! Needle-stick injuries aren't exactly a major source of HIV infection, but it would be an understatement to say that I was being careful!
Next week I am meeting with some other social workers for research interviews, including travelling out to a more rural area, which will be interesting.
Tonight I have offered to cook for the family, which could be interesting! Went to the shop earlier to get ingredients and afew bits and bobs for me. Got some bargains (of course!), including a big tub of fresh pineapple chunks for 2Rand (about 15p)! My excitement was slightly doused by the pineapple opening in the bag on the way home and making quite a bit of stuff sticky! Ah well, tastes good!
I'm enjoying getting to know Rob and Debbie, the couple I'm staying with. Their kids love me (who can blame them, eh? haha), but seem to think I love playing games constantly as much as they do! Rob and Debbie are so cool, and we've had some great chats. They're really open and honest and full of amazing stories.
There is a big marathon happening tomorrow here in KZN (Kwa-zulu-Natal, this province). It is an annual thing, where runners go between Durban and PMB (Pietermaritzburg, here. They alternate which direction each year)...this is a DOUBLE marathon in the heat here! People have to do it in under 9 hours or something mental to get a medal. And I thought the great north run was bad...
Here are a couple of amusing things to share with you:
- jam here comes in a tin! (ok, that's not really funny, but it's kind of odd)
- ghekkos tails fall off when they are scared! (I found this pretty amusing. The cat caught a ghekko the other day, and yes, it's tail did fall off!!)
- i got asked by a guy at CCP last week, in all seriousness, if we have black people in England! I couldn't help laughing!
I'm sure there is lots more to tell, but I can't think what now!
Thanks for all your emails and messages.
Lots of love! xx
Monday 18 May 2009
some photos
thought i would load up a few pictures for you guys.
1st one is the lounge/kitchen bit of my little flat. Gives a bit of an idea of where im staying. On the floor is a game of junior monopoly i was playing with Caleb (5)!
Next is the beach in Durban we went to on Saturday! Alright place for a 21st eh?
This is where we sat when we were having lunch (a yummy salad with feta cheese).
These are the (huge!) yummy cocktails we had at a beachfront bar as the sun set.
Last is the view from outside a Church that i went to today for a meeting of community support workers. It's a pretty typical view of the area - in the township bits anyway.
Next is the beach in Durban we went to on Saturday! Alright place for a 21st eh?
This is where we sat when we were having lunch (a yummy salad with feta cheese).
These are the (huge!) yummy cocktails we had at a beachfront bar as the sun set.
Last is the view from outside a Church that i went to today for a meeting of community support workers. It's a pretty typical view of the area - in the township bits anyway.
Sunday 17 May 2009
number 2!
ok, a little update on the last couple of days!
on friday at CCP i went to an HIV training session for community workers, looking at the importance of testing and knowing your status. That was cool, and I actually saw an HIV test being done, which i hadn't seen before. Went to an HIV support group in a township in the afternoon...to be honest i have been in quite a few situations before where i knew that some people in the room were HIV+, but this was probably the first time i have been in a room where every single person was +. Looking at people and actually knowing that HIV is a reality for them is pretty humbling. I've read and studied and talked about HIV so much, but ultimately, it comes down to individual people, and it is so important to remember that. It's not just statistics - it's real people. The meeting was in Zulu, so i didn't understand much (i understand 'mlungo' (white person) when i was being introduced! haha). They were talking about ARVs though, and the importance of taking them. At one point I was asked my medical opinion on a rash that a lady had (!). Some people there looked really really sick. There were some cute babies there too, but of course that means these HIV+ people are having unprotected sex!
I was talking with a staff member afterwards about ARVs, and how they are obviously great, but they also mean people are alive and well for longer, but still infectious. So unless there is behaviour change, ARVs actually lead to increased transmission. So many issues - it's quite overwhelming at times.
Back at CCP I did some work on some forms from OVC home visits - looking at what was reported and their needs, and putting what support to give them (food parcel, clothes, crop aid, school fees etc etc).
Then Friday night i got a lift to Durban, where Caroline is staying. The journey was pretty mental - Jeff was driving at 140 km/h, about 2 metres from the car in front, eating sandwiches at one point with no hands on the wheel, with an 8-month pregnant lady in the car!! We arrived safely though (thank God) and I was pleased to see Caroline.
Seemed like we'd been apart longer than 3 days - lots to catch up on. We got pizza and watched Walk the Line, which a Dutch girl at the hostel had with her.
My birthday was great :) I woke up and opened some cards and little presents my sisters sent with me, which was lovely. Then we drove to the beach, which was beautiful and hot (got a bit burnt, oops). We walked along the beach, looked at some souvenir market stalls, had lunch in a beachside cafe, went to seaworld (including a dolphin show and penguin feeding! hehe), ate icecream (yumyum), then had amazing fruit cocktails by the sea as the sunset, before having a very yummy seafood dinner and cheesecake! I am very blessed!
Drove back - thought we were a bibt lost, but it was ok. Got caught in some traffic as there had been a rugby match at the stadium (Bulls won, if anyone follows S.A rugby!). The petrol dial was on empty, so that was a bit hairy! But we made it to the petrol station!
Today we set off for a Church a little way away. They shut the main road we wanted though, and there wasn't a diversion put out or anything! So we had to navigate a different route...which sounds not too bad, except that the map we have is a bit old....and they have changed most of the street names!! (they have changed them from things like 'Windemere road' and even a 'Woodford road'! to more zulu names). So some roads have the old names on signs, some have the new names, some have both and some have none! And our map just has old names!
We rather miraculously made it to Church in the end. A huge Church - mix of people in it. Quite Hillsong-esque! 2 hour service, and a nice coffee afterwards.
We are going to go to a local Church tonight too, which should be cool.
Must dash now - going to someone's house for lunch i believe.
Thanks for all your messages - especially yesterday.
Love to everyone xx
on friday at CCP i went to an HIV training session for community workers, looking at the importance of testing and knowing your status. That was cool, and I actually saw an HIV test being done, which i hadn't seen before. Went to an HIV support group in a township in the afternoon...to be honest i have been in quite a few situations before where i knew that some people in the room were HIV+, but this was probably the first time i have been in a room where every single person was +. Looking at people and actually knowing that HIV is a reality for them is pretty humbling. I've read and studied and talked about HIV so much, but ultimately, it comes down to individual people, and it is so important to remember that. It's not just statistics - it's real people. The meeting was in Zulu, so i didn't understand much (i understand 'mlungo' (white person) when i was being introduced! haha). They were talking about ARVs though, and the importance of taking them. At one point I was asked my medical opinion on a rash that a lady had (!). Some people there looked really really sick. There were some cute babies there too, but of course that means these HIV+ people are having unprotected sex!
I was talking with a staff member afterwards about ARVs, and how they are obviously great, but they also mean people are alive and well for longer, but still infectious. So unless there is behaviour change, ARVs actually lead to increased transmission. So many issues - it's quite overwhelming at times.
Back at CCP I did some work on some forms from OVC home visits - looking at what was reported and their needs, and putting what support to give them (food parcel, clothes, crop aid, school fees etc etc).
Then Friday night i got a lift to Durban, where Caroline is staying. The journey was pretty mental - Jeff was driving at 140 km/h, about 2 metres from the car in front, eating sandwiches at one point with no hands on the wheel, with an 8-month pregnant lady in the car!! We arrived safely though (thank God) and I was pleased to see Caroline.
Seemed like we'd been apart longer than 3 days - lots to catch up on. We got pizza and watched Walk the Line, which a Dutch girl at the hostel had with her.
My birthday was great :) I woke up and opened some cards and little presents my sisters sent with me, which was lovely. Then we drove to the beach, which was beautiful and hot (got a bit burnt, oops). We walked along the beach, looked at some souvenir market stalls, had lunch in a beachside cafe, went to seaworld (including a dolphin show and penguin feeding! hehe), ate icecream (yumyum), then had amazing fruit cocktails by the sea as the sunset, before having a very yummy seafood dinner and cheesecake! I am very blessed!
Drove back - thought we were a bibt lost, but it was ok. Got caught in some traffic as there had been a rugby match at the stadium (Bulls won, if anyone follows S.A rugby!). The petrol dial was on empty, so that was a bit hairy! But we made it to the petrol station!
Today we set off for a Church a little way away. They shut the main road we wanted though, and there wasn't a diversion put out or anything! So we had to navigate a different route...which sounds not too bad, except that the map we have is a bit old....and they have changed most of the street names!! (they have changed them from things like 'Windemere road' and even a 'Woodford road'! to more zulu names). So some roads have the old names on signs, some have the new names, some have both and some have none! And our map just has old names!
We rather miraculously made it to Church in the end. A huge Church - mix of people in it. Quite Hillsong-esque! 2 hour service, and a nice coffee afterwards.
We are going to go to a local Church tonight too, which should be cool.
Must dash now - going to someone's house for lunch i believe.
Thanks for all your messages - especially yesterday.
Love to everyone xx
Thursday 14 May 2009
first post!
hello! i've finally got round to giving you all an update. i feel like i have lots to say so i apologise in advance for the slightly garbled message!
so....monday night, i set off to heathrow, probably the most scared i have ever been in my life! even when i first went to uni, i kind of knew what to expect, and knew i could just jump on a train home at any time. but this was another continent, for 7 weeks, with no idea what to expect! The journey went fine, although i don't think id recommend a 5 hour flight, immediately followed by an 8 hour flight, then another flight again...we got food on every flight, which i was excited by. No idea what happened with mealtimes, with all the different flights and time-zones and stuff! I ended up eating some kind of a pasty at about 3.30am, and having curry for breakfast a few hours later! :S We got free drinks on the plane, which led Caroline to wonder whether to get a glass of wine, just because she could, at 5am! haha. (she didn't)
Didn't sleep much on the flights....watched some House, a documentary, and the film 'Bride Wars' (i chose this as i am excited about my sister getting engaged [Em, by the way - i really like the dress anne hathaway wears when she gets married] anyway...i digress...basically it is a rubbish film, and i was fast-forwarding through quite a bit of it. also, the 2 main male characters looked the same, so i was pretty confused most of the time!) Also played tetris and so much 'Who wants to be a millionaire' that Caroline and i were recognising the questions, and did eventually win the million pounds on our 2nd flight....frankly a massive anticlimax!
Got some local sim cards at Jo'burg airport, in a crazy candy store (obviously), but mine didn't work in the phone i brought, which was a bit annoying! I've now borrowed a phone, so its working. Hooray! Our bags got to Durban ok, which was a relief, and I was met by a friendly couple at the airport. I thought I was going to be staying with them, but they arranged for me to stay with someone else more central to the project. They drove me to Pietermaritzburg (PMB henceforth), via a stop at their son who is at uni in Durban...
Arrived, knakcered in PMB, but my accomodation and host family are lovely! Rob and Debbie are from UK, and have 4 kids (11 year old twins boy and girl, 8 year old girl, and cute adopted 5 year old, complete with mini afro. amazing.) They have a sort of flat in their garden which I am staying in - own bathroom (including hot water!) and little kitchen/lounge area. Very comfortable! Tonight I discovered that Rob is the number 1 long-board surfing champion in the province or something! How bizarre.
Woke up at 6.30am next morning (not cool) and went to CCP - the charity I am linking up with. The day started in true African style with lots of singing! I think I have sung more in the last 2 days than the month before then! The charity basically works with churches and schools and communities doing HIV/AIDs education, and identifying OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children), who they then visit to assess their situations and how best to help them (eg. food parcels, helping with food growing, helping pay for schooling, helping with grant access etc). So the last 2 days I have been sort of getting to know what's going on...they had some training course things the last 2 days for their community support workers, which I have sat in on quite a bit of. Yesterday I was with the 'livelihoods' group, looking at crop choices, employment issues, gender roles, and today I was with the HIV group, looking at loads of issues around PLWHA (people living with HIV/AIDs, for those of you not doing international health! haha). It was interesting for me to get a bit of an idea of how communities are, and issues around HIV in this area (Kwa-zulu-Natal i believe has the highest levels of HIV anywhere in the world) and how CCP is responding.
Today I also went out into a couple of townships with people doing school and church visits, so I saw a bit of how many people live here. Will start actually doing my research project soon.
It is winter here in South Africa, but still pretty hot! I think it was about 27 degrees today. Apparently storms are forecast in the next few days, and they are apparently totally awesome!
I'm hopefully going to visit Caroline in Durban this weekend, which will be good. Even though people are very friendly here, it can be quite lonely being on my own, and I am very tired, so it will be good to see a familiar face, and spend my birthday with her in Durban.
So yes, there is a pretty comprehensive update for you of my trip so far! I've got internet access in the family's house, so am pretty contactable, and appreciate emails etc.
Lots of love to everyone...hopefully update soon!
xx
so....monday night, i set off to heathrow, probably the most scared i have ever been in my life! even when i first went to uni, i kind of knew what to expect, and knew i could just jump on a train home at any time. but this was another continent, for 7 weeks, with no idea what to expect! The journey went fine, although i don't think id recommend a 5 hour flight, immediately followed by an 8 hour flight, then another flight again...we got food on every flight, which i was excited by. No idea what happened with mealtimes, with all the different flights and time-zones and stuff! I ended up eating some kind of a pasty at about 3.30am, and having curry for breakfast a few hours later! :S We got free drinks on the plane, which led Caroline to wonder whether to get a glass of wine, just because she could, at 5am! haha. (she didn't)
Didn't sleep much on the flights....watched some House, a documentary, and the film 'Bride Wars' (i chose this as i am excited about my sister getting engaged [Em, by the way - i really like the dress anne hathaway wears when she gets married] anyway...i digress...basically it is a rubbish film, and i was fast-forwarding through quite a bit of it. also, the 2 main male characters looked the same, so i was pretty confused most of the time!) Also played tetris and so much 'Who wants to be a millionaire' that Caroline and i were recognising the questions, and did eventually win the million pounds on our 2nd flight....frankly a massive anticlimax!
Got some local sim cards at Jo'burg airport, in a crazy candy store (obviously), but mine didn't work in the phone i brought, which was a bit annoying! I've now borrowed a phone, so its working. Hooray! Our bags got to Durban ok, which was a relief, and I was met by a friendly couple at the airport. I thought I was going to be staying with them, but they arranged for me to stay with someone else more central to the project. They drove me to Pietermaritzburg (PMB henceforth), via a stop at their son who is at uni in Durban...
Arrived, knakcered in PMB, but my accomodation and host family are lovely! Rob and Debbie are from UK, and have 4 kids (11 year old twins boy and girl, 8 year old girl, and cute adopted 5 year old, complete with mini afro. amazing.) They have a sort of flat in their garden which I am staying in - own bathroom (including hot water!) and little kitchen/lounge area. Very comfortable! Tonight I discovered that Rob is the number 1 long-board surfing champion in the province or something! How bizarre.
Woke up at 6.30am next morning (not cool) and went to CCP - the charity I am linking up with. The day started in true African style with lots of singing! I think I have sung more in the last 2 days than the month before then! The charity basically works with churches and schools and communities doing HIV/AIDs education, and identifying OVCs (orphans and vulnerable children), who they then visit to assess their situations and how best to help them (eg. food parcels, helping with food growing, helping pay for schooling, helping with grant access etc). So the last 2 days I have been sort of getting to know what's going on...they had some training course things the last 2 days for their community support workers, which I have sat in on quite a bit of. Yesterday I was with the 'livelihoods' group, looking at crop choices, employment issues, gender roles, and today I was with the HIV group, looking at loads of issues around PLWHA (people living with HIV/AIDs, for those of you not doing international health! haha). It was interesting for me to get a bit of an idea of how communities are, and issues around HIV in this area (Kwa-zulu-Natal i believe has the highest levels of HIV anywhere in the world) and how CCP is responding.
Today I also went out into a couple of townships with people doing school and church visits, so I saw a bit of how many people live here. Will start actually doing my research project soon.
It is winter here in South Africa, but still pretty hot! I think it was about 27 degrees today. Apparently storms are forecast in the next few days, and they are apparently totally awesome!
I'm hopefully going to visit Caroline in Durban this weekend, which will be good. Even though people are very friendly here, it can be quite lonely being on my own, and I am very tired, so it will be good to see a familiar face, and spend my birthday with her in Durban.
So yes, there is a pretty comprehensive update for you of my trip so far! I've got internet access in the family's house, so am pretty contactable, and appreciate emails etc.
Lots of love to everyone...hopefully update soon!
xx
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