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Delft/Bridging Academy Update

Since I arrived in September, Edwin has been asking me to go with him to visit an area near a coloured township called Delft. As it always happens here your daily plans change constantly, everyday something else becomes a priority and things on your to do list keep going to the bottom. Two weeks ago I picked up a young woman who is from Minneapolis (such a small world) taking a 6 month course at a college here in Cape Town and brought her to the JL Zwane Centre. Her name is Laura Essenburg, she grew up in the Phillips neighborhood of Minneapolis where her mother, Joani Esssenburg, started a non-profit called The Banyan Community (www.BanyanCommunity.org). The Banyan Community is diverse in race, class, culture and creed. Their common purpose is to develop their youth, strengthen the neighborhood families and create a sense of community. The reason I am talking about Laura and Banyan is because meeting Laura here in South Africa is the first time I didn't have to explain cultural diversity to a visitor. Laura lives it everyday and her wanting to come to South Africa to learn more about diversity and the challenges faced after Apartheid really impressed me. On the way back to drop Laura off Edwin asked if we had time to visit the Delft township that he kept wanting to take me to. As we drove along the road I couldn't believe what I saw. I am so used to seeing township shacks lining the road built anywhere there is an open piece of land that when I saw these zinc shacks lined up so uniformly I could only think that they looked like a communist built community. Edwin explained that these shacks were put up by the government about seven years ago after they removed residents from a neighboring township. We actually went into the area called Symphony Way, yes, can you believe it, and drove around. From what we could tell there were four shacks to every port-a-potty and water tap. We went to the "information centre" to talk to the people there and were told that there were about 12,000 people living in Symphony Way. There were blacks, coloured and even a few white people. As we talked to Oudie, Fatima and Gerald, we found out that Oudie has been waiting for a government home for 23 years and and Fatima for 20 years. Next to the information centre we saw people giving out food, there was quite a line and we were told that the food was donated through a non-profit organization called HOPE (I mentioned HOPE in my 11/30/09 blog). Oudie, Fatima and Gerald are community leaders for Symphony Way and when we asked them what their biggest challenges were they said education, employment and violence. Due to the lack of employment and that many of the youth were not attending school, the youth turned to violence within the community and as community leaders they did not know how to control it and were becoming disillusioned. They said the police do not even want to come into the area. This is a common thread throughout the townships in South Africa and a ongoing point of controversy.

On to happier news. This past Saturday I went with Mel back to the Bridging Academy (12/15/09 blog) for the official grand opening of the building and grounds. We were so excited to go back to see the children and talk to them about their new life at Bridging. When Mel and I drove up they came running to the car with the biggest smiles on their faces, they were so excited to see Mel (Mel was their mentor from the Orphan Programme at the centre) and be able to tell her everything. The programme started with the founders, Dennis and Susan Wadley, talking about their dream for the academy and how wonderful it felt to see it become a reality, to the finale with the children singing and dancing. It was a heartwarming experience for me just to see the children and to know they have a safe place to live and at the same time are getting the education and the nutrition to help them learn and grow. They told us that they were so happy making new friends, that they loved their teachers and of course the food!

Photos:

1. and 2. Symphony Way

3. Volunteer, Fatima, Gerald and Oudie at Symphony Way

4. Bridging Academy Students

5. Mel and children from the JL Zwane Orphan Programme at Bridging

Bye for now...

Broadway in South Africa/Free Day

The JL Zwane Centre was once again the chosen venue for Broadway in South Africa's 2010 4 day workshop. I blogged about BSA last year when they visited the centre for the first time, working with 50 children who benefited from the very talented group from Broadway in NYC. This year they expanded their program to include 75 children from five townships around Cape Town. Many of the children were part of the program last year and were thrilled to be invited back to sing, dance, write, act and greet the friends they had made in 2009. They were mentored by nine members of BSA, five who had been here last year and were thrilled to have the opportunity to be with the children again. The children ranged in age from 7 to 14. Their big finale was on a Saturday when the parents, family members and friends could all congregate to watch the children perform. It was a wonderful performance full of laughter and energy! The JL Zwane Centre was honored to be chosen once again to be a part of Broadway in South Africa's tour and they hope to host them again in 2011.

If you have been reading my blog you might remember my posting introducing you to Mary Sili. In 2008 Mary started a soup kitchen for the school children in her neighborhood. Mary makes sandwiches and rolls and sells them for a nominal price to the children after school, trying to give them a healthy alternative to chips and candy. Christmas 2008 was a very sad and difficult time for Mary and her family. Her youngest son Nandile, had been killed in a car crash on Christmas morning. Mary was devastated by the loss of her son. Nandile had been helping Mary everyday with her soup kitchen. Mary was so saddened at the loss of Nandile that she did not have the heart to continue with the soup kitchen. She shut it down and went into a very sad state of being. When I returned in September of 2009 Mary kept saying that she still was not ready to start her soup kitchen but wanted me to be patient with her. (John and I had helped with the initial start up costs, refrigerator and supplies.) I think she felt she was letting us down. Christmas day brought many memories back to Mary and her family on the first anniversary of the death of Nandile. Instead of being sad, Mary decided that they should celebrate Nandile, she knew this is what he would have wanted, so they had a party. They brewed their own beer and invited all of Nandile's friends over to the house and they danced and partied celebrating the life of Nandile. The best part of this is that Mary realized that to honor Nandile she should reopen her soup kitchen and help the children in her neighborhood. One day last week I went to Mary's to see the soup kitchen in action and decided it was going to be a free day. You should have seen the look on their little faces as they realized they didn't have to pay for their treats. Word got out, they started coming in droves, we had a few try to get seconds but we recognized them and Mary would scold them in Xhosa. There were so many of them at times that they would push against the door making it quite chaotic. Somehow me talking to them in English that they needed to behave did nothing, but the moment Gogo Mary spoke they paid attention, quieted down and lined up quite orderly. It was a very fun and lively afternoon. Mary and I would just laugh as the children ran away smiling and giggling! Mary told me that many came the next day hoping I would be there to continue free day!

Photos:

1. Broadway in South Africa Members

2 and 3. BSA performers

4 and 5. Recipients of free day.

Bye for now...

Kevin was here, that's my excuse!

I am back to blogging, I am not really going to blame Kevin that it has been so long but it is a good excuse instead of just being a procrastinator. Kevin arrived the 19th of January with his sister Barb and niece Amy and were here until the 31st of January. The best thing about having visitors is that I get to revisit places that I haven't been to in awhile so it is nice to reconnect with people that I miss seeing on a regular basis.

In just one day we did the following:

Our first visit was to a school in Nyanga (a black township whose name means moon in Xhosa) called Mkhanyiseli, which means Light of the World (or something like that according to my Xhosa friends!). We visited the first grade class of Noxie, a member of the JL Zwane Church congregation. Noxie has been at the school since 1978. It is a government school meaning that the school is free for the students but they still have to pay for their uniforms and stationery. Noxie has one assistant to help with 34 students in her class, more boys than girls and she says her biggest challenge is with discipline. When I asked Noxie what her biggest challenge was for her besides the discipline problem she said that she has to purchase most of the items she uses in class herself. The government supplies the basics but nothing extra to help the children learn more. She wants to get the map of the world, a weather chart, a number chart and containers to store their supplies in. They always need crayons, writing utensils and of course more paper. I think this is the same struggle in schools back home in the United States, am I right?

After visiting with Noxie we went to Nancy's Place. Nancy is the mother of a twelve year old girl Ntombi, who has cerebral palsy. Ntombi had been in day care at a centre called "Golden Girls" (yes, it was named for the show starring Bea Arthur and Betty White) that housed approximately 35 children living with physical and mental disabilities that had been discarded (a word constantly used at the home) by their parents who either didn't want them or couldn't afford to take care of them. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) Golden Girls was shut down in 2007 due to the care and cleanliness of the facility and mismanagement of funds. At the time of the closure Nancy didn't know how she was going to take care of Ntombi. Since she didn't have another centre to take Ntombi to she made the decision to quit her job and stay home with Ntombi and try to take care of some of the other children that also had no where to go, this is how Nancy's Place came to be. With help from the JL Zwane Centre, Nancy is able to care for Ntombi and 14 other children. Ten of the children live in Nancy's Place full time, the other five are day residents. JL Zwane supports Nancy's Place with food, nappies and helping to find funding from the US and internationally.

After Nancy's Place we proceeded to Khayelitsha, a black township with over 750,000 people. Khayelitsha has the highest HIV+ rate in the Cape Town area. Over 75% are unemployed, living in shacks without water and electricity and unable to attend school due to not having an income. Amidst all this tragedy is TAC - Treatment Action Campaign (I blogged about TAC last year) run by Mandla Majola. The JL Zwane Centre has been a friend and supporter of TAC for many years. When Kevin was here in 2003 he befriended Mandla and a friendship between Open Arms and TAC developed. There are over 3000 volunteers with TAC working in the township walking door to door educating the community on the prevention of HIV/AIDS and working in clinics to educate people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. Many of these volunteers themselves are HIV+, have no jobs and work tirelessly to be a voice for others. TAC wanted to help some of these volunteers who they felt were the neediest of the needy by providing food parcels to them. Open Arms helped raise enough funds (thank you Tony!) to provide 54 food parcels. We went to Khayelitsha to help distribute them, meet the recipients and to thank them for all they do for the people of Khayelitsha. The media was on hand to take pictures and interview Kevin and Mandla about the day and what TAC represents in the community. After we distributed the food parcels Mandla drove us to an area of Khayelitsha to visit a few of the people who received the food parcels. I have been in many shacks since 2001 but one of the ones we visited was the worst I had ever seen. A family consisting of a father, mother and a one year old little boy were living in this tiny, dark (no windows), mildewy wood/zinc/garbage shack. The father and mother were both unemployed. I remembered seeing the father and little boy at the distribution because the little boy was so cute and so well behaved, unlike some of the other children who ran around screaming and hitting each other, he just stood by his dad quietly. When we were in his shack talking to his father I picked up Ayabonga and as I was holding him I realized why he was so quiet and well behaved, he was sick. Ayabonga's skin was so hot and his breathing was irregular and raspy. I touched his little forehead and knew right away he had a temperature. It was very hard to leave him but as soon as I got home I called Mandla and asked him to please have someone go to his home and take him to the clinic. The next day Mandla emailed me to tell me that they did take him to the clinic and that he was very sick. Unfortunately, I do not have an update on Ayabonga. I have left a message for Mandla and I am waiting to hear. I can't stop thinking of him and probably now you can't either so I will keep you updated. Everyday I am still amazed and angered that human beings still have to live like that...

The day still isn't finished! After TAC we visited Lydia and Neo (I blogged about them last year and updated you this year). Kevin can not come to Cape Town and leave until a visit to Lydia is made! Lydia was one of the first persons he met in 2003 participating in the HIV/AIDS Support Group at JL Zwane (Open Arms supports the meal program at the centre). Kevin was able to see the new zinc home that Lydia was living in thanks to Arm In Arm In Africa (a non-profit based in Minneapolis)! They are still very happy, warm and dry. Neo is growing like a weed, his current course of ARV's seem to be working which is a positive thing.

The time with Kevin, Barb and Amy was wonderful. We experienced new things together and ended the trip with a two day safari at Inyati where I went in November with my sister Mary and her husband Ray. It was sad to say good-bye to them at the airport and not be going back home with them to Minnesota, a few tears did fall. One consolation though was when I thought about the snow and cold, returning to Cape Town didn't seem so bad!

Photos:

1. Students in Noxie's first grade class.

2. Kevin and Mandla with a food parcel recipient.

3. Little Ayabonga with his dad.

4. Kevin, Lydia and Neo.

5. Couldn't resist posting this safari picture!

Bye for now...

University of St. Thomas/VISION Group

Happy New Year everyone! I am back in Cape Town and I realize I haven't blogged for awhile but I didn't have anything to blog about since the centre was closed but fortunately for me along came the VISION Group from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN.

VISION is an acronym for "Volunteers In Service Internationally or Nationally". Since 1987 thousands of students have traveled the globe trying to affect positive social change and to experience the diverse beauty of the world's cultures. There are six components to the VISION Program: Service, Simplicity, Community, Justice Issues, Spirituality and Cultural Exchange. This is the first time that VISION has been to South Africa. The focus of their program is AIDS, Apartheid and the Arts of Resistance coordinated by Kim Vrudney, Professor of Theology at the University of St. Thomas and Richard Cogill, an Anglican priest in the Western Cape Diocese. The VISION group consisted of one staff member and 9 students, all girls! The VISION group is here for 3 weeks, the first week they spent touring Cape Town and learning the history of Apartheid through lectures, films and books. I come into the picture because they spent 5 nights in the township, staying at the homes of members of the JL Zwane congregation. Edwin (manager of the JL Zwane Centre, I profiled Edwin last year) and I worked on their itinerary and housing arrangements. It was such a wonderful week for all of us. The students raised $8,000 for food parcels that they assembled and distributed one day to 130 people in the community of Guguletu. They visited clinics and hospitals, spent a morning going out with hospice carers into the homes of people who needed assistance, served lunch to seniors at the CPOA Senior Centre (the centre where Mary and Teach were at) and went to a clinic with Siyaya where Siyaya performed a play to educate the people in the clinic about HIV/AIDS, TB and STDS. In the evenings they all congregated at one of the homestay families home for dinner, music and dancing. I went along on the last night where there was much happiness but also sadness in the fact that the students would be leaving the host families the next day. They openly shared their feelings and experiences with their mamas and their new families, I have to say I teared up, the mamas also shared their feelings, it was one big love fest!

If you have been reading my blog you read about me being late to the mass when Archbishop Desmond Tutu was presiding. Well, thanks to the VISION Group I was able to redeem myself. Richard is a close, personal friend of the Archbishop and so the VISION Group was invited to attend mass and meet him after. They invited me along, I made sure that I was on time, in fact early so once again I had the pleasure of being in his presence. After mass we were able to greet him and get our photo taken. I made sure I was in that photo to prove I really did meet him. After mass we had coffee with him and some of the students were able to get their books and postcards autographed by him. I was taking pictures of him, trying not to be too obvious so I decided not to push the autograph thing realizing that I was just invited along, I was not a student!

After coffee we went and toured the Provincial Parliament Building. It was very educational. I learned so much more about the history of South Africa, Apartheid and their government. I still struggle with how their political system operates but I will continue to try and learn.

For their last few days VISION is staying at a retreat centre outside Cape Town where they will reflect on all they have seen, heard and participated in. I am sure they will have a lot to talk about and to share with each other. I thoroughly enjoyed this group of bright, energetic, lovely young woman and hope they took away as much from their visit as I did.

Kevin Winge arrived this week so everyone at the centre is over the moon. I know I will be busy but I will try to blog about all we encounter, always an exciting time when Kevin is here. Having spent 6 months here himself he has so many people that want to spend time with him. It is Kevin's birthday on Saturday and so we are having a party for him. So far there are almost 30 guests, who knew we had so many friends in South Africa!

Photos:

1. Homestay families (note the JL Zwane t-shirts).

2. Team effort putting food parcels together.

3. The seniors singing for the VISION Group.

4. VISION Group with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

5. VISION Group at the Provincial Parliament Building.

Bye for now...

Happy Festive Season

I left Cape Town on December 20th, a warm, sunny day with a temperature of about 80 degrees to fly back to the US for the holidays. I managed to stay ahead of the snow but did get delayed in both Amsterdam and in Seattle. I arrived in Sun Valley, Idaho to snow and cold weather, about 10 degrees, a very large delta! I went from the sea to the mountains, I can't really complain about that, I am very fortunate to be able to live in both places. I will be in Idaho until January 3rd and will return to Cape Town on the 5th. The centre reopens on January 7th starting with a visit from the VISION Group from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN, Kevin Winge from Open Arms of Minnesota and Broadway in South Africa (from NYC, I blogged about them last year) will once again hold a 4 day workshop for the children living in the townships. Stay tuned for more stories from Cape Town!

Hoping you all had a very merry holiday season and here's to a very happy and healthy New Year for you, your family and loved ones!

(I had many people ask me what happened to the 10 orphans who were not accepted at the Bridging Academy. They will continue to be a part of the Orphan Programme at the JL Zwane Centre, continue their education at the schools they were enrolled in last year and continue to live with their current caregivers. Thank you for reading my blog and for asking me questions!)

Photos:

1. View from my flat of the sea (Atlantic Ocean, Capetonians call the ocean the sea).

2. View of the new soccor stadium for the 2010 World Cup from my flat.

3. Winter in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Bye for now...

Bridging Academy

Last Tuesday I went with the Rev. Mel Baars and 30 orphan children to wine country. Don't get the wrong idea, we didn't go to do wine tasting, we went to visit a school for orphaned and vulnerable children. Bridging Academy sits on a 12.5 acre farm about 45 minutes from Cape Town in the beautiful countryside of Franschoek. The area is surrounded by mountains, wine farms and olive groves. The Academy opened in January 2008 by an American couple from Santa Barbara, Dennis and Susan Wadley. Their goal was to be able to offer a safe place for orphaned and vulnerable children and to give them the opportunity to receive a good education along with a stable living environment. The school started with 30 children, in 2009 they grew to 40 and for 2010 are looking to enroll 50 - 60 orphaned and vulnerable children. Each year they intend to gradually increase the enrollment until they reach their capacity of 100 students from grades 5 - 12. Their staff consists of a Principal, 5 full-time teachers, 5 house parents, 3 part-time teachers, a counselor, a social worker and an administrator. Bridging Academy is a fully accredited school by the South African Education Department. Besides their required courses, the children participate in the maintenance of the farm, meal preparation and learning entrepreneurial skills by contributing to the Academy Gift Shop.

The cost for a child is as follows:

Room and Board: $100 per month

Books, Uniforms, Supplies, Transportation, Field Trips, Birthday, etc: $50 per month

Teachers, House Parents, Principal's salaries: $200 per month

The 30 children from the orphan program from the JL Zwane centre were invited to Bridging Academy for the day for assessment into the program. The children were first given a tour of the grounds, the rooms where they would sleep, the school area and the eating/kitchen area. (The buildings are beautiful, the architecture was Arts and Crafts, very comfortable and fit right in with the scenery.) After the tour they all assembled to hear the rules of the school, (I realized listening to some of the rules that many of these children have not been taught certain life skills that we take for granted, ie: proper use of a washroom, how to dispose of garbage, how to take care of the area in which they live.) and the itinerary for a typical school day. After the question and answer period was over it was time for the hard part, the assessment tests! The children broke up into their age groups and were handed the tests that would determine their acceptance into the program. They were very nervous but also very excited. I could tell that many of them were also very scared. After the alloted time for the assessment test they had lunch of chicken, rice and vegetables. After lunch each child had a one on one interview with the principal, the teachers and the social worker. It was a very long day but one filled with excitement and wonderment at what their future held.

That evening I received an email from Mel. The school had accepted 20 children, this was a very momentous occasion. A new relationship was being forged between the JL Zwane Centre and Bridging Academy for the future of many orphaned and vulnerable children from the townships!

Photos:

1. Ready to leave for Franschhoek!

2. Bridging Academy.

3. Girls bedroom.

4. Getting ready for the assessment test.

Bye for now...