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
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