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...