Festive Season

Here in Cape Town the term Festive Season is used frequently due to the many different ethnic and religious groups that live here. In the US you hear Christmas Carols starting November 1st, by the time Christmas rolls around you want to pop Rudolph. Here, you might hear a Christmas Carol here and there but quite frankly I walk around not even realizing that Christmas is in less than 2 weeks. Haven't heard of or been invited to any Christmas parties, I haven't seen eggnog in the refrigerator section or Christmas cookies in the bakery department. No one is on the street corner ringing a bell by a red kettle but there are college students dressed in shorts and t-shirts standing in the major road intersections asking for money for a certain charity that the University of Stellenbosch is supporting this year.

Last Monday I was invited to a friends house for lunch. I met Mareldia a few years ago at a cafe at the V&A (the waterfront mall) where Kevin and I would go for coffee. She always recognized us and always knew what we ordered. I should say she knows what Kevin orders. I normally mix it up since I am really not a coffee drinker. Last year we invited her to help on parcel day. Mareldia is 24 years old, coloured and has never been to a township. It was quite an experience for her. She must have enjoyed it because we have remained friends ever since. It was because of Mareldia that I learned to text. Texting is very inexpensive compared to making a phone call here in South Africa. I was told to be at her home at 2:00 PM, seemed late for lunch but for food I didn't have to prepare I wasn't going to question it. I arrived at 2:00 and was told it was Eid Day, al Adha begins at sundown. A holy time in the Muslim religion. Her father had just returned from Mosque, which is why it was at 2:00, they always wait for him to come home. The women did not go to Mosque, they said they could but usually the men just go because the women stay at home to do the cooking and baking. And cooking they did. We sat down to a meal that was incredible. There was shrimp curry, marinated chicken, rice, cole slaw, potato salad, a Greek salad, chutneys and spices to put on your rice and in your curry. They said they usually cook more but it was just too hot that day. It was delicious. After lunch we sat for about an hour while neighbors came to say hi as they made their way to visit other neighbors. Most of their neighbors are actually relatives. The families tend to live near each other. It was very festive and they were most welcoming to me. After the visitors it was time for dessert. The dessert table was packed with cookies, puddings, pastries, cakes, dried fruit and nuts, it was overwhelming. I really couldn't choose what to try but I tried the mint pudding because one of her sisters made it especially because I was coming. I needn't have worried about what to try, they sent me home with a food parcel full of desserts! It was my first Eid and I really hope it won't be my last. I felt so honored to be invited to share their holy day and discuss their beliefs and religion.

As you probably noticed I haven't blogged in a week. Due to the festive season it has been really quiet around the centre. Many people in the townships are from the rural area known as the Transkai. For many people, they leave their rural villages to come to the city to look for work. Many wives and children are left behind. During the festive season, for most of December and January, they return back to the rural areas to be with their families. Most businesses shut down from the second week of December until the second week of January. School starts back the third week in January. The centre is closing this Friday, Dec. 19th and won't reopen until January 12th. John arrives this Thursday and we have a 5 day road trip planned into the Karoo, the desert, and then on the Garden Route which is along the Indian Ocean and than into wine country, back in Cape Town on Christmas day. We have Christmas dinner planned with Mel, the minister from the centre, who will not be going back home either. As I said, I don't feel very Christmasy (I know that is not a word but it works) but I did put out some beaded reindeer that I bought earlier in October. At least they make my flat feel a bit more festive.

I would like to introduce you to the rest of the employees at the centre. You met Nqko and Eureka, the cooks at the centre in an earlier blog along with the Rainbow After School program and the HIV/AIDS Support Group. Now you will meet the office staff.

In the first picture the first person is Manelisi Jack. He has been a paid administrative assistant for over a year now, prior to that he was a volunteer at the centre. Edwin Loew is in the middle. Edwin has been at the centre for 3 years, he is the manager of the JL Zwane Centre. He is who I work with on most projects. He is Rev. Spiwo's right hand man! He is actually an ordained Presbyterian Minister but does not preach or actively work in the ministry of the church. The third one is Mel. I think you recognize her from other pictures and blogs. She arrived the same time I did. She is to be here for approximately 3 years. I think I mentioned she is Army and this experience is part of her preparation to be an Army Chaplin.

The second picture is of Mawakhe Williams, she is a part of the cleaning staff and has been at the centre for over 2 years. TO is in the middle, not sure what his real name is, he just goes by TO, he is security and helps maintain the grounds, he has been at the centre less than a year. The third person is Nomzano Mdekazi, she is also the other part of the cleaning staff. She has also been here over 2 years. I have to say, they make the place sparkle.

Our Festive Party is this Wednesday. We are having a braai. Yes, a BBQ for Christmas! South Africans love their braai's and there is always so much meat! Due to the fact that I am now a vegetarian at the centre they are going to make salads for Mel and me!

I couldn't finish this blog without letting you know that it was Teach's birthday yesterday, he was 83. We had a party for him a the CPOA Senior Centre today. Here is another picture to add to his photo album.

I wish all of you a very happy Festive Season and the best to you in the New Year!

Bye for now...

Food Parcel Day

Two blogs in a row!

Tuesday, December 2nd, was Open Arms's Food Parcel Day. It was a huge success due to the generous donations made by so many people. We were able to put together 350 food parcels, that is quite a feat! Thank you everyone for your support, due to your generosity we were able to help so many people. As a reminder, the parcel contains staples for a family of 7 that should last a month. We usually choose World AIDS Day to deliver the food parcels but this year we chose December 2nd because it was a Tuesday and Tuesday is the day the HIV/AIDS support group meets. We felt it was the perfect day for them to receive their food parcels. We started unloading the truck at 10:30 AM. We had members of Siyaya and staff assisting in forming a fire line to make the process go quicker. By 1:30, 350 buckets were all assembled and it was time for lunch! By 3:00, members of the support group started coming to the centre to eat the meal that Open Arms supports Monday through Friday and to get in line to receive their parcels. Along with the HIV/AIDS Support Group, patients of St. Luke's Hospice and their caregivers, a designated group of senior citizens and two zones (neighborhoods) of the JL Zwane Church, orphans and staff received the parcels.

Today at service a senior citizen went up on stage and started speaking in Xhosa, just as I was asking my neighbor what she was saying I heard my name! Spiwo wanted me to make sure I told everyone at home that this woman was up on stage wanting to thank Open Arms for the wonderful food parcel that meant so much to her and her family and thanked us for not forgetting the people of Guguletu. She also hoped we would continue to support them and sends her love and blessings to all of you!

Today was a special day at the JL Zwane Church. Mel, our assistant minister from Pensacola, (that I have blogged about), preached her first service at JL Zwane. This sermon was in English so the congregation had to have an interpreter! Mel did an excellent job and the congregation really enjoyed hearing from her.

The photos above are of Food Parcel Day and of Mel on her first official day of preaching at the JL Zwane Church.

Bye for now...

World AIDS Day Celebration

As most of you know Monday, December 1st was World AIDS Day. Around the world people were remembering their loved ones that have died from this pandemic which has hit hardest in sub-Saharan Africa. The statistics are staggering. 25% of adults are believed to be infected with HIV/AIDS. There are 510,000 new infections annually. HIV kills 370,000 young people in South Africa a year. There are 2.5 million orphans in South Africa living with their Gogo's (grandma's), Aunties and in foster care.

On World AIDS Day, Kent, David, Mel and I were invited to attend a grand-opening of a community center in Khayelitsha established by an American based non-profit, Art AIDS Art, in conjunction with Monkeybiz. The centre will serve local residents with programs in family literacy, nutrition, gardening and AIDS prevention. The outside of the building is painted in a very bright blue and the inside walls are painted white with multi colored circles giving the space a fun and creative feel. Monkeybiz is an income generating program for women who have reinvented the ancient South African art of beading through their contemporary designs which have been exhibited at galleries and museums around the World. Open Arms and Monkeybiz began working together in 2003. Open Arms established their first World AIDS Day event in 2004 around the Monkeybiz product, it was a huge success and continues to be to this day! All the proceeds from the sale of Monkeybiz products go back to South Africa to sustain the many programs Open Arms supports here. Many of you may not know, but Open Arms supports a weekly soup kitchen for the beaders on Market Day. Monkeybiz employs over 450 beaders, many who are infected or affected by HIV/AIDS in Khaylelitsha. An estimated 35% of the residents of Khaylelisha (pop. of over 750,000) have HIV/AIDS, with women disproportionately affected. Because of the stigma and misinformation attached to the disease, many are resistant to getting tested or, if they test positive, hide their condition to avoid being ostracized. Women, already living in extreme poverty, face the additional hardship of taking in children of relatives lost to AIDS.

The grand-opening was enjoyed by all the Monkeybiz beaders, the founders of both Monkeybiz and Art AIDS Art, staff and many guests. We were entertained with music, traditional dancing, a tour of the new facility and artwork created by American artists.

The pictures represent the excitement and happiness felt by all who attended the event. Art AIDS Art co-founder Dorothy Garcia insisted "Education provides understanding of how AIDS is transmitted, and financial independence allows women to avoid trading their bodies for food and shelter. They are able to make decisions on their own terms."

(We felt very special when we saw the woman wearing the Open Arms T-shirt, how appropriate!)


Bye for now...

A Typical Day

I know that I just posted yesterday but I received an email from a friend who asked if I would blog about a typical day for me at the centre. I can tell you that the only consistent thing each day is getting up and going running. That is if I am going to be at the centre at 8:30. Once I get to the centre my day varies. I think this is what I love about being here. Each day brings a new experience for me. I may not even get the computer turned on and someone wants to see me. These visits can be young people wanting to share their dreams about furthering their education but do not have the funds. Like so many in the townships, they want to break out of their cycle of poverty. The next visit might be a young man or woman struggling with their sexuality and they know that the JL Zwane Centre is a safe haven to be able to talk about who they are. The townships are not a place where people can live openly gay. Like a person diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, they are stigmatized and can be ostracized from their families and friends, that is why there are so many that are not open about their sexuality or their HIV/AIDS status. Johanna, the social worker at the centre, will come and ask me if I can drive her to visit a person dying of cancer, or visit a woman who has had both legs amputated from having HIV/AIDS and whose wheelchair doesn't work, to visiting a school to find out how a young boy of 18, who has been living alone after losing both his parents to HIV/AIDS over a year ago is doing, and finding out he is not passing. He is lucky though, one of the teachers took an interest in him and he will be starting a new school in January where he will learn life skills, ie., how to manage money, a bank account, a checking account, how to shop for food and make his own meals and learn a skill that hopefully will help him earn an income. He was given a new home from the government after his parents passed away, it still does not have electricity or running water, but he is hopeful.

I also have many experiences of hope and joy. We visit the local creche (daycare) where the children sing songs and dance, they are all smiles, just wanting some love and affection even for a little while. Visiting the senior centre and sharing lunch and a conversation. Getting a visit from a young man who just completed his college exams after being given a scholarship from the centre to study for an accounting degree. Taking an orphan shopping for a new school uniform after a donation was made to the Zwane Centre, watching her face light up as she twirls around in the mirror admiring her new look!

What I struggle with most is that at times I think I am becoming desensitized to what I see but what I realize is that I have limitations at what I can do. I struggle deciding what situation needs the most attention. Who am I to decide who to buy food for, how come this person and not that person. Is this little child more deserving of a school uniform than the other one? Which young man or woman will be the one chosen to attend college so they can break out of the cycle of poverty they are living in? I work closely with the staff at the centre because they are the ones I look to for making the difficult decisions. They live it daily, I am just a visitor living in their world for 6 months.

I received a text last week from Mandla Majola who runs the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in Khayelitsha. I blogged about TAC in my entry on xenophobia. He was desperate. Over 100 shacks in Khayelitsha had burned down. Four of those shacks belonged to comrades (volunteers) of TAC. "Comrade (he calls me) is there anyway you can help in this situation, they have lost everything! Please, I need your help." I immediately SMSed him that I would help. The ironic thing is that these people are volunteers with TAC, they live in shacks, they have no income, no money and pretty much own nothing, the fire completely decimated their lives. What they owned before the fire was probably similar to when you left college, you had your clothes, mementos of your fun college days, possibly a peach crate filled with your albums (for those of you my age!) and maybe a small piece of furniture. We had support from our families and a future with a college degree and the opportunity to find employment and actually earn money to buy a house, a car, more clothes and CD'S!. They have no support and no future. On Friday I went with Mandla and Kent and David from Open Arms to survey the area and meet the people from TAC who lost their homes. It was overwhelming. One person perished in the fire, it is incredible that there was only one death due to the fact that there are no fire hydrants, sprinkler systems or the infrastructure to get a fire truck into the settlement, everything was destroyed. (The first photo is before we visited the site, note the smiles, the second photo is of Angie (a comrade) and her daughter, they lost their shack, the next 3 are of what we saw as we walked.) Most of the people we met are now living with relatives, so instead of 5 to 6 people in a shack there are now 8 to 9 people. We visited one woman and her son who had a new zinc shack but it had no windows. They couldn't afford that luxury. The weather has been in the 70's and 80's and will continue to get warmer, their shack was already stifling and it will only get worse. School starts mid January and the children lost their uniforms in the fire. TAC is working with the government to see what subsidies are available to the people of the fire. As I drove home from Khayelitsha into Cape Town towards my flat on the ocean, it struck me that it could have been me living in a township which lead to the deep question of who decided it would be them and not me?

Bye for now...

Food Parcel Day for Senior Citizens

When Kevin Winge was living in Cape Town in 2003, besides working with the JL Zwane Centre, he visited and quickly befriended a senior citizen centre, the Cape Peninsula Welfare Organization for the Aged (CPOA). The CPOA branch in Guguletu is the branch where our friend Mary Sili supervised until she retired last December at 67 years old and after 14 years of service. Mary is the woman I blogged about that is currently running a soup kitchen from her home. Mary remembers the day Kevin walked into the centre to find out what it was all about and introduce himself. Kevin's visit to the centre was around the holiday season and he asked Mary if she needed anything for the seniors and offered her some rand so she could buy some food for their Christmas party. Mary suggested that instead of just giving money for a meal that maybe Kevin could put a small food parcel together. He started the food parcels for the seniors that day and 5 years later the "old people" are still receiving food parcels from Open Arms. On Wednesday we had Food Parcel Day at the centre. Along with giving out 80 food parcels, we had a 20 member choral group made up of boys and girls from the neighboring townships perform for over an hour. The old people danced and swayed in their chairs to the music. Mel, the assistant minister from the centre came along with me to help put the parcels together and to say a prayer for the old people. We all shared a meal of chicken, rice, potatoes, pumpkin and peas that Mary and Singbongale prepared in the kitchen. Mary was working the last two weeks filling in for the current supervisor who is on vacation. Also at the centre is Skhumbuzo "Teach" Majokweni, he is a retired teacher that has been volunteering at the centre for 19 years, he receives an honorary salary of R150/month, which is about $20. Teach will be celebrating his 82nd birthday on December 14th. Each time I have visited the centre in the past I have had my picture taken with Teach and I always send him the photos. He carries around a little photo album that Mary gave him that consists of all the pictures I have sent to him over the years, it is so cute and I feel so honored. Mary and Teach gave me a Xhosa name a few years ago, it is Nolothando, which means "Lady of Love"! The pictures above are of the parcel bags, the choral group, the old people listening to the music, Mary and Teach dancing, Mary, Mel and Teach, and of course it wouldn't be complete without a picture of me and Teach!

Bye for now...

Ongx and A World AIDS Day Event

When I was in Cape Town last December, I met a young man named Ongx. Ongx is 23 years old, an unemployed blues musician from the township of Khayelitsha. Khayelitsha is the township I blogged about last time that has a very large geographical area with a population of almost 1 million people. Last year Ongx was the winner of an American Idol type amateur talent contest sponsored by Nedbank, a large commercial bank in South Africa. There were over 100 participants from all over South Africa with the final performance in Johannesburg. To be the winner is quite an accomplishment for a boy from a township. The prize, a Toyota SUV. Now, for Ongx, this was rather ironic because he doesn't have a drivers license, a place to park a car or the money to pay for petrol. Ongx decided that the smartest thing would be to sell the car and use the money to buy a home as an investment. Ongx currently resides in a shack on the beach in Khayelitsha. The funny thing is if this was in the US it would be prime property for beachfront condos near the ocean. Ongx's shack is one small room, no electricity, running water or bathroom facilities. The first picture is of Ongx in front of his shack. Ongx was finally able to sell the SUV and has purchased a home in the township of Phillipi. It does have electricity, running water and a bathroom. It even has room in the back to add another room or a shack for someone else to live in, known as rental property! Ongx is standing in front of his new home in the second picture. Ongx earns money by booking gigs as a solo performer or with a band in venues around the Cape Town area. Ongx has been having difficulty making a living as a musician and has decided that an education is the only way to get out of the vicious cycle of poverty that he currently lives in. With the help of some very wonderful people in Minneapolis, as of Friday, Ongx has registered at City College to pursue a career in sound engineering. With the stability of having a real home and a chance at an education, Ongx now has the opportunity of pursuing his dream in music and moving on up much like the Jefferson's!


On Saturday I was invited to participate in my first South African World AIDS Day program at a grade school in Gugs. The program was organized by Lydia who has been HIV positive for 14 years and who is a member of the HIV/AIDS Support Group at the JL Zwane Centre. Besides being HIV positive, Lydia was diagnosed this summer with breast cancer. On Dec. 10th Lydia will have surgery to remove one breast. Lydia has a son Neo, he is 6 years old, he is also HIV positive and also suffers from epileptic seizures. Neo did not respond positively to his first round of Antiretroviral (ARV's) treatments so he is on a second course that doesn't look very promising either. You would think with all this happening in her life that Lydia would be at home, but no, she has been volunteering at the Lehlohonolo Primary School for 3 years educating the young students on HIV/AIDS. Along with the principal and a few teachers, Lydia planned this event. It was wonderful. To be among so many children who sang, read poems and performed plays which focused around HIV/AIDS education and how it affected their lives made me think of the 5.6 million people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa and the 370,000 young people that die annually. We had a candle lighting ceremony and Mel, the assistant pastor at JL Zwane, said a prayer and we remembered all of those who have perished from this awful pandemic and prayed for the young children who hopefully will learn from the World AIDS Day Program that through education and the love from their community they have the ability to control their destiny.

Kent from Open Arms arrives tomorrow with his partner David to participate in the food parcel program that Open Arms supports on World AIDS Day. I am so looking forward to seeing them and hearing news from home! It will be a busy week but I hope to find the time to blog so I can keep you updated on what is happening here in Cape Town and Gugs. The weather is wonderful, sorry for all of you back in Minnesota and the northern states. Kent, David, Mel and I will actually be having a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings at a restaurant here in Cape Town. I wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving celebration with family and friends. After almost 2 months being in Cape Town I realize how much I have to be thankful for! Thank you family and friends for your love and support and for reading my blog!

Bye for now...

Christmas and A New Church

I am having a very difficult time realizing that Christmas is getting closer, but here in Cape Town it is everywhere. They started putting up decorations in early Oct. It just seems so wrong especially when it is sunny and warm and people are laying out at the beaches. I went to my first Christmas party on Saturday at the centre. It was a Christmas lunch for the "Old People". Yes, you read that right, old people. They don't call them senior citizens like we do and I am too afraid to ask what constitutes "old". There were about 40 women and only 2 men! They had little Santa's on a table with candles and a little decorated tree. They passed around little candies and chips. Christmas music was playing and after a prayer was said the women started to get up and walked with their canes and walkers to the front and started to dance, boy can they dance. They can hardly walk but once the music started to play they started to move. Lunch was ready to be served and they slowly moved to the next room, all smiles on their walkers and canes. I thought it would be nice to share a happy story and photos so that the next time someone calls you "old" just think of the Old People in Gugs.

My weekend was spent in Gugs, first the party on Saturday and then on Sunday I was back at the centre for the Adult Leadership Group. It starts at 8:00 AM and in case I forgot to tell you it is in Xhosa, so you can understand how difficult it can be to stay focused. I sit there and smile and laugh when they all laugh. They probably think my Xhosa is getting better or they are saying something funny about me and I don't know it.

After the leadership group I was invited to attend a Presbyterian church in Khayelitsha. Khayelitsha is the next township after Gugs. Khayelitsha means "hope" in Xhosa. There are almost 1 million people living there. Many are living in shacks that are not government sanctioned. Some areas are very dangerous and if you read my blog on xenophobia, Khayelitsha is where the incidents occurred. Khayelitsha is very large geographically and therefore it is difficult for many to attend church service. The interesting thing about attending church in the townships is that when you drive up to the church there are no cars and you think wow, no one is here, you walk in and the church is filled, it is because everyone walks, it is the opposite in the US.

This church was started by Reverend Sokoyi who helps with the pastoral ministry at JL Zwane. As you can see by the photo it is very different from JL Zwane. The congregation had about 30 people attending. The choir was the Sunday school class who sang a beautiful rendition of "Rock of Ages". The reason I was invited was that at the same time I started at the centre a young, newly ordained Presbyterian minister from Pensacola, FL also started. Her name is Mel Baars, she is 24 and has made the commitment to spend 3 years at JL Zwane. Mel is Army, so before she can be a chaplain in the Army she has to spend 3 years being a minister in a Presbyterian church. She chose to come to JL Zwane as a volunteer and therefore she has to support herself while she is here. She was invited to give the sermon on Sunday and I was excited to hear her preach. As she spoke, Rev. Sokoyi translated, he even included her hand gestures. I stood in the back of the church and took photos so she would have memories of her first sermon in a township church. The congregation was so thankful to have her there and her sermon was well received. When I think back to the first time I met Rev. Spiwo Xapile in 2001 and saw the dilapidated church that was JL Zwane and the big hole in the ground that was to become the JL Zwane Centre I thought wow, this is some dream. Years later as I walk the halls and sit and listen to the church service I realize if there hadn't been a dream I wouldn't have this opportunity. So Rev. Sokoyi, dream on.

Bye for now...

JL Zwane Programmes

I realized as I was walking around the centre the other day that I haven't really told you about the programmes (sorry Muth) at the centre. I did go into full detail about the Orphan Programme so I don't need to talk about that one this time. I am going to tell you about 3 of the programmes in this blog.

The first programme is the Rainbow After-school Programme. It started in 1994 to provide homework assistance to children who were struggling in school and did not have the support and encouragement from their parents due to the fact that their parents themselves did not receive a very good education and therefore could not help their children at home with homework. There are 112 children in grades 1 - 10 with 8 teachers and a principal. They meet Monday through Thursday from 2:30 to 5:00 PM. The children receive a meal sponsored by Open Arms of MN, usually the only meal of the day. It usually consists of bread, samp and beans. (samp is a starch, mixed with the beans it has a taste similar to refried beans, I think it tastes great! I know you miss it Tony!). The pictures are of the students and their teachers during class time.

The second programme is the HIV/AIDS Support Group. This programme started in 2001 to help people affected by HIV/AIDS connect with others in the community. It is a place for them to discuss their issues, concerns and solutions in a safe environment. They also receive educational training on HIV/AIDS, TB and STD's. They meet every Tuesday from 4:00 to 5:00 PM. When I went to the first Support Group meeting in 2001 there were about 12 people, today there are over 100 people currently registered in the support group. The number of people attending the meetings vary due to job and health issues. Monday through Friday the Support Group, their families and care givers receive a hot meal sponsored by Open Arms of MN. Open Arms of MN also sponsors a food parcel to the Support Group twice a year, one is coming up on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1 and one around the Easter season. The photo above is of the Support Group this past Tuesday. The Support Group is headed by Zethu Xapile, who also heads the Brownsfarm Clinic and Nomazizi Pasiwe, who heads the Hospice Group. (more on those organizations later)

Open Arms has been sponsoring food parcels to the Support Group on World AIDS Day which is Dec. 1 and around the Easter holiday since 2002. The parcels contain enough food for a family of 7 for one month. The parcels contain staples such as maize, rice, sugar, flour, tea and biscuits. In South Africa, most organizations shut down from mid December to mid January to allow for the people who come from the rural areas to Cape Town to work to go back home to be with their families for the Christmas season. Due to this shut down many people do not have access to food and therefore the food parcels are vital for the families. The food parcels are $40 and can be purchased through Open Arms. (sorry about the plug!) The food parcels are distributed in a 5 gallon plastic bucket that the families can than use for hauling water. Remember, many homes in the townships do not have running water and they get their water from pumps located in their zones (neighborhoods). If you want to know more about the food parcels please visit Open Arms's website: openarmsmn.org. The picture above is of a day we were loading the flatbed truck with the food for the parcels, you can see there is quite a bit of food and very labor intensive.

The food for the Rainbow After-school Programme and the Support Group are prepared by two women in the kitchen at JL Zwane. This is the third programme, the Nutritional Programme. The two women are Nkqo Qinga and Mama Katony, whose first name is really Eureka, which I really like so that is what I call her. Katony actually means mother of Tony, Tony is her eldest son. Nkqo started out as a volunteer in the kitchen in 1997 and became a permanent staff member in 2003. Eureka started as a permanent staff member in 2004. They work very well together tirelessly chopping cabbage and cooking for over 173 people daily, this includes staff members, which of course includes me. They have decided I am a vegetarian and I am not sure why, but my plate is filled with a variety of vegetables which are really tasty, who knew I liked squash! In the photo Eureka is on the left and Nkqo is on the right.

I hope you enjoyed meeting some of the staff and learning more about the programmes at Zwane.

Bye for now...

It's a small world!

I went to church service on Sunday at JL Zwane, once again it was upbeat and full of life. The congregation was buzzing and there seemed to be more people at church than usual. I realized after I saw police and security people starting to filter into the building that something was happening. Yes, we were going to have a visitor. Jacob Zuma, the ANC (African National Congress) party president of South Africa and presidential candidate for the next election, was coming to talk to a women's leadership group at the JL Zwane Centre. Nelson Mandela was the first president of the ANC. In the last year there has been discord in the party which lead to the eventual resignation of the last president, Thabo Mbeki. There is an interim president in place by the name of Kgalema Motlanthe. There are a few issues surrounding Zuma, it is alleged that he has four wives, has been accused of sexual harassment and he has gone to court on corruption charges. In other words, not really the people's choice. But here was an infamous public figure coming to the centre. We were all waiting just to get a glimpse of him. About 20 minutes before he was to speak we saw the entourage drive up, he walked in the front door and we immediately surrounded him. I was introduced to him as "Jane from America" as I shook his hand and had my picture taken with him (note photo!) He was quite charismatic and spent a lot of time getting his picture taken with many people from the congregation.

The next day I received an email from my friend Kiersten Chace in Minneapolis. She attached an article from the paper that showed a picture of Zuma at a coloured church in a township called Atlantis on the same day that he had been at the Zwane Centre. Kiersten is the person who introduced Kevin Winge to Rev. Spiwo of the JL Zwane Centre in 2000. The ironic thing is that Kiersten has been working with the pastor of the coloured church (Pastor Mike Adams) on a documentary film and developing a multipurpose centre in Atlantis. Last week I set up a meeting with Pastor Mike to go to Atlantis and visit his church and see the plans for the new centre. What a small world we live in!

After my visit to see Pastor Mike I will blog more about black and coloured. I hope you enjoyed this small world story!

Bye for now...

Orphan Program

I am finally blogging again! As you know, John was here visiting me for about two weeks. He left last night and unfortunately I felt much the same as when the Kevin's left Cape Town in October. Very sad and the tears did fall. My positive spin on the situation is that he will be back in December when the centre is closed and I won't have to work every day. The interesting thing about John's time here is how our roles were reversed. I was going to work everyday, I was driving the car and telling him what to do and what not to do! John was cleaning, grocery shopping and running errands, he did all this without a car! I think we learned a lot more about each other after this time together. It was fun!

Another reason I have been delinquent in writing is that I have been wanting to write about the Orphan Program here at the centre and the orphan situation in Guguletu and I have been procrastinating because I want to make sure I do it justice.

I just finished reading an article from the Cape Argus, the afternoon/evening paper in Cape Town, about the number of AIDS orphans rising. Currently there are 91,216 orphans, (reported by the Department of Social Development) including those who have lost parents to HIV/AIDS, in the Western Cape (the province that includes Cape Town). The number of orphans whose parents have died of HIV/AIDS is expected to increase in the next three years, while the figure for non-AIDS orphans is expected to fall.

Last count at the centre there were 70 orphans. These orphans either live with other family members, foster families or are a part of child-headed households, meaning a sibling is taking care of them, the sibling can be as young as 15 years of age. The growing number of orphans has over extended the available resources of the Orphan Program and there are now too many children and not enough spaces. The picture above is of Milly (on the right) with the Orphan Program children.

The Orphan Program was started in 2001 by Milly McQuade, a woman from a white Presbyterian church in an affluent suburb about 25 minutes from Gugs. She started the program after learning her domestic's daughter was dying of AIDS in the hospital after giving birth. The Orphan Program meets every Tuesday from 3:30 to 5:00 PM. The program breaks the children into 3 age groups, they are then taught school subjects that relate to their age and life skills. At the end of the program each child is given a food parcel to take home. The parcels are provided by church members who take home a bag each Sunday (specific items requested on the bag) and return it the following Sunday. These items and some fresh fruit and at least 2 loaves of bread (obtained via the Rotary) are packed into each child's bag. The youth group at the church also provides each teenager with a parcel of toiletries. Milly also organizes outings periodically to the beach, the zoo, to see a movie, etc. Milly's mission is for these children to experience life like any other child.

Education is the main concern of the centre and Milly's program. She believes empowering these children by education will prevent HIV infection and move them away from crime and poverty. The saving grace of South Africa!?! Due to the cost of school fees, uniforms, stationery (books, etc) and transport costs it can be very difficult for the extended families to pay for schooling. The government will cover some costs of schooling for the orphans but only if there is a birth certificate for identification. Many times the birth certificates are lost which precludes receiving government support.

There are 3 types of schools in South Africa: Public (least expensive school), Model C (more expensive than Public, better overall education and teachers) and Private (very expensive, where a child will receive the best education).

Milly's church has been able to raise money to be able to send two students to Private schools. The JL Zwane Centre has a scholarship fund for the orphans, these children attend the Model C schools. Many of you who have visited Cape Town have asked me how you could sponsor a child. I talked to the principal of the Rainbow After School Program here at the centre (this program is for children who have parents but are having problems in school and so they come to the centre to work on subjects after regular school and they also receive a small meal thanks to Open Arms) about the cost of school tuition. She broke it down to the following:

Public Schools: Average R100 to R1000 annually (divide by 7 for the dollar cost)
Model C: Average R6000 to R8000 annually
Private: R20000 plus.
Difference: Model C and Private Schools have extra teachers, smaller classes and specialized tuition for sports, dancing, music, computers, etc.

Average cost of uniforms is R500-R1000, stationery R500-R2000 these are paid annually and are based on what level in school they are. The poorer public schools do not always have text books for the children and so the information is copied and put into plastic files, therefore the high stationery costs. Transport costs can be as much as R300 a month (they do not have school buses). Children attending schools outside their township make huge sacrifices but it has been proven that they matric (graduate) with higher scores than if they remained in the township schools where the teachers are not even coming to school to teach or have been given a poor education themselves.

I just returned from a two day conference in Johannesburg on HIV/AIDS in the business and public sectors. The sad and scary statistic was that there are approximately 2 1/2 MILLION orphans in South Africa. I question how these children will ever break the cycle they are living in without the help of others. If you would like more information on the Orphan Program or the scholarship fund please let me know, I would be happy to answer any questions!

Thank you for letting me write so long about this subject that just breaks your heart!

Bye for now...

Photoblog of Gugs

Hello everybody, I have been a bit remiss about updating my blog. John arrived on Wednesday night and it has been very busy and quite social since. It was a very busy week at the center (this is for you Muth) but I made the decision one day to take pictures of Gugletu to show you where I go everyday. Much like Minnesota, there are many potholes in the townships and unfortunately I hit one of them and ended up with a flat tyre (sorry Muth). We were close to the centre so I drove on the tire rim back to the centre where Edwin, the assistant pastor, changed the tire. I ended up back at Budget and instead of getting the tire fixed they gave me a new car. I am driving a silver Honda Jazz, 4 door automatic, it is rather sporty, not fast but fun.

Guguletu was established as a black township in 1958. Professional people such as doctors, teachers, lawyers etc. were given brick or stucco homes. As the years went on and people from the rural areas moved to Cape Town, different forms of homes were built. Men came down to work in the city and were put into homes called hostels. These are similar to townhomes that were built by the government. Years later, when more people came from the rural areas to find jobs, they would move in with family members or friends and would attach a room to the back of these homes. These shacks might be made of zinc or wood or any scrap of material they could find to build with. More and more zinc or scrap shacks were being built on any open piece of land. The government had a hard time controlling these buildings going up in the middle of the night and eventually they started to approve them as permanent dwellings and supplied them with portable toilets and water pumps in these areas. (Most shacks do not have running water, electricity or plumbing.) In the photoblog you will see each type of home. Habitat for Humanity is also putting up homes in the townships. Guguletu has it's first brick Habitat home where a woman and 5 orphans are living. In South Africa, the people who live in the Habitat homes are not required to pay for the homes, it is generally assisted through another organization. JL Zwane assisted in helping this home be built. I have also taken pictures of schools and hopefully other points of interest!

I forgot to mention some stats about Guguletu. Gugs has a population of about 350,000 people in a geographic area smaller than Richfield, MN (for those of you in Minneapolis), 50% unemployment and most people living well below the poverty line. Domestic abuse, alcohol and drug use and violent crime is rampant. The centre itself was established around 1992 with the new building being completed in 2004. Staff consists of about 10 key employees and many volunteers. (thank you Tony for the research)

Again, please let me know if you have any questions about what you see in Gugs.

Bye for now...