Ok not gonna lie, my heart is racing. It feels great to be online again!!!!!!! Haha. I have a half hour, so I'm copy-pasting all my stuff from this week. If I have time I will upload a few pix! I'm doing great and loving Africa! I am posting several entries.... so make sure to scroll all the way down to Sat Feb 21 :) Sorry, small novel. Maybe I'll publish a book when I get home.
This morning we got to drive through Kruger National Park. It was awesome! We saw two of the big 5- elephant and cape buffalo. Lots of baboons, impala, zebra, giraffe, and even a mongoose. ha. Anyway, tomorrow we are headed to KosiVay in KwaZulu-Natal. We will be there for the next 3 weeks. It is close to the Indian Ocean, although we are not sure if we will go all the way to the coast. Apparently we will be star guests at an Afrikaans 21st bday when we get there... should be interesting. Tonight we have our first authentic Afrikaans meal. Clean plates are a must, like it or not.
Miss you all! Lots of love~ Renee :)
Friday, February 27, 2009
Poverty Runs Deep {Thursday, Feb 26}
Today we visited homes again. The volunteers from one of Rev. Tevey’s 5 orphanages went around showing us the places where their orphans are staying. There are roughly 100 homes at that particular care center site that need visited. Today we only got to 15 of them. Within those 15 there are an overwhelming amount of needs. I have learned that the question, “Do you have food here?” is actually relative. Every person says no. We have to look deeper into things…. Are they growing crops on their property? Is there any evidence of food in their home or scraps in the yard? We visited a pre-school today where 2 teachers were watching 40-50 children. We were told their parents were spending the day at the Hazyview dumps looking for food, furniture, and other things they could put to use. Part of me gets frustrated with the people we meet asking for handouts because we are white or American. Don’t get me wrong, I have compassion for these people and my heart breaks for each situation I hear. I want to give them bread. I want to give them a mat to sleep on. I want to give them all of the things that are so second nature to me. But there’s also a deeper problem here. HIV is winding out of control. There are no jobs for the children graduating from Metric. I cannot tell you how many educated people I meet that are my age and cannot find work. There is corruption in the political structure and the leaders. South Africa has an upcoming election and the ANC candidate (Mandela’s party), who pretty much has the win in the bag, is totally corrupt. My brain is all over the place, but those are some of the issues I’m trying to sort through.
Tevey’s Got Connections {Wednesday, Feb 25}
Rev. Tevey is a really cool guy. In my opinion, he looks like an interesting mix of George Bush and my Grandpa Blake. Haha. Grandpa, he reminds me of you! Anyway, his son happens to be a white water rafting guide…. And got us some pretty sweet connections for our day off today. Yes Mom, we went white water rafting. It was awesome. I went with one of the guys in a two person kayak deal. Basically, if I wasn’t screaming I was hysterically laughing. My raft probably struggled the most (shocking, I know). We were frequently going into the rapids backwards or sideways… and by some miracle never flipped the entire day. Half way through we pulled our rafts up on shore…. and were given a juice box and a bag of chips. It seemed pretty random to me, but hey I took the break! After that, we each got to jump into the river and swim down a small drop. They had the guides all around us, it was very safe and so fun! After we finished rafting, we did a little zip-lining. It was pretty intense. Truth be told, I was freaking out. The zip line went over half African mountain bush, half lemon orchards. We had to climb this tower at the top of a mountain where our guide would clip you onto the line and scream 3…2….1…ZERO! When I got to the top of the tower I made our guide triple check my belts and had a death grip on his shoulder. From the bottom of the mountain they heard … Renee laughing…. Guide yelling 3 …. Renee screaming….. 2 and 1 covered with the scream… and there I went. I decided up front I was doing “no hands” and everyone says it was Peter Pan slash bird the whole way down. They’re still laughing at me. Anyway, my favorite part of the day was getting a caffé latte at the end. I felt totally spoiled.
Precious Children {Monday, Feb 23}
Today we did presentations at 3 schools. Every morning they start school with singing and clapping. It is so cool to watch. Classes start and end with what I think is the equivalent of Fort Wayne tornado sirens. It is a bit dramatic and overwhelming if you ask me. They are fascinated with white people. Groups of kids crowd around you just to touch your skin. Their faces light up when you smile and wave. As we were leaving the last school, we glanced behind us to see hundreds of children running down the hill chasing after our car. It was hilarious. They caught up to our car and only stopped when adults started yelling.
This afternoon we spent time at one of the orphan care centers. Sitting in the yard outside were 4 young orphans…. Here is a glimpse of the children I met.
Rhulisa is 4 years old. She is a beautiful little girl. Red turtleneck and a precious blue dress…even with the ridiculous heat, she is not hot. She stares blankly at me, with no expression. Her eyes are cloudy, and it is quite obvious she is sick. I look at her legs and see sores. Her head has scabs where flies are gathering. She looks…exhausted. I take her in my arms and sit in the shade. She is unusually small for a 4 year old. Within minutes, she is fast asleep snoring in my lap. Having gone to visit her home earlier that day I know she has a 20 year old brother looking after her. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that can care for a 4 year old sister with AIDS. There are at least 7 other brothers and sisters, and I wonder if she has a bed to sleep in at night.
I look over at two children sitting on the ground across from me. They look to be about 2 years old. At first glance I think they are boys. I later learn they are twins, one boy and one girl. I ask what their names are. The volunteers are unsure, it is their first day here. They explain that just two days ago their mother overdosed on poison because the suffering of her life was so great. No wonder these children do not smile. No wonder they are zombies consumed by a world I cannot see. I look down to see the start of sores on the little girl’s leg. Probably the first signs of HIV.
I sit silently lost in my own thoughts. These precious children, never knowing their own mother…already knowing what it feels like to be dying. I cradle Rhulisa in my arms wanting to take away the cruel virus in her little body. I imagine God looking down on this precious girl. I remember how much God mentions his love for orphans and widows in His Word. I think how much he loves her and how much it hurts Him to see her pain. Jesus loves this little girl.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27
This afternoon we spent time at one of the orphan care centers. Sitting in the yard outside were 4 young orphans…. Here is a glimpse of the children I met.
Rhulisa is 4 years old. She is a beautiful little girl. Red turtleneck and a precious blue dress…even with the ridiculous heat, she is not hot. She stares blankly at me, with no expression. Her eyes are cloudy, and it is quite obvious she is sick. I look at her legs and see sores. Her head has scabs where flies are gathering. She looks…exhausted. I take her in my arms and sit in the shade. She is unusually small for a 4 year old. Within minutes, she is fast asleep snoring in my lap. Having gone to visit her home earlier that day I know she has a 20 year old brother looking after her. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that can care for a 4 year old sister with AIDS. There are at least 7 other brothers and sisters, and I wonder if she has a bed to sleep in at night.
I look over at two children sitting on the ground across from me. They look to be about 2 years old. At first glance I think they are boys. I later learn they are twins, one boy and one girl. I ask what their names are. The volunteers are unsure, it is their first day here. They explain that just two days ago their mother overdosed on poison because the suffering of her life was so great. No wonder these children do not smile. No wonder they are zombies consumed by a world I cannot see. I look down to see the start of sores on the little girl’s leg. Probably the first signs of HIV.
I sit silently lost in my own thoughts. These precious children, never knowing their own mother…already knowing what it feels like to be dying. I cradle Rhulisa in my arms wanting to take away the cruel virus in her little body. I imagine God looking down on this precious girl. I remember how much God mentions his love for orphans and widows in His Word. I think how much he loves her and how much it hurts Him to see her pain. Jesus loves this little girl.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27
Beautiful People {Sunday, Feb 22}
Wow, what an incredible week. I never would have imagined getting an opportunity to experience this. I am fascinated by the stories and the people I am meeting. The weather is very hot. I would guess the temperature is in the 80’s and the sun is pretty intense. Today we visited 16 homes. Conditions were very rough, so we spent most of the day documenting.
Here’s some quick observations…
-most orphans live with a “granny” some with an “auntie”
-usually at least one child in the home is “not well” (aka has HIV) -- a lot of the time you can see the sores on their arms, legs, or head
-most homes are brick with 2-3 small rooms (some covered with roof, some not)
-some take pride in a clean house and will joke with you about their home not being clean… although everything inside is polished inside and outside the dirt is raked; other homes are not well kept- they smell, have trash lying around, and clothes/dishes sitting in filthy water
-most families had small sections of crops growing on their property, a barbed fence enclosing their land and a creepy looking guard dog
-most families do not have enough mattresses- youngest children sleep on the cement floor
-none of the homes had regular access to clean water…water is dropped off once a week on Mondays
I usually am given the job of recording stories-- which I LOVE-- because I get to sit down next to the caregiver and hear their story. I love talking with these people. I love to listen to their needs and to show them someone who cares. I love making them smile. I work with the nationals for translation, which is cool. It is fun building relationships with our translators and telling them about my family and friends back home. I always say where I come from it is VERY VERY cold. In the winter, it snows! The land is very flat and we have lots and lots of corn. Their eyes smile and they say “yes…”. Haha I love them.
The story of one particular girl, Nonhlanhla, will always stay with me. She’s sixteen years old, in the 8th grade, and taking care of her 3 younger brothers. They live by themselves in a small one room brick house. They have nothing. I ask her my last question, “Is this a safe place for you?” She shakes her head. They need a new lock and the windows are shattered from a robbery not too long ago. We are led to believe she was raped during the robbery. The translator explains they often sleep across the street at their aunt’s house…. But the Aunt is “not good to them.” She abuses them and makes them sleep on the cement floor. She is taking the orphan grant money given by the government for these children and using it for herself. This 16 year old girl I am talking with has prostitution as her only option to provide for her brothers. It is widely known by the community this situation exists, but law enforcement is basically non-existent and social workers are few and far between. Four children, lost in a world of injustice.
This is just one story of many. It makes me angry and it breaks my heart. I am hopeful, however, that the work our team is doing sheds light. Every story is documented and turned into Rev. Tevey’s ministry to take action. It is not our job to go into these homes and give hand-outs. They need long-lasting solutions that need partnership from locals within the community. And they need our prayers. Please pray with me for these people.
As a sidenote, the nationals have been guiding us through the neighborhoods to ensure our safety. I have never felt threatened in any way in these communities, and we are always in groups.
I’m so thankful for my team. These people are awesome. It’s funny that only a few weeks ago we had never met, and now they’re like family. Everything is going very well. Even though our days are filled with some intense emotionally draining events, we still have pretty normal lives. We make our own dinners at home, have water fights doing the dishes, bake chocolate chip cookies (YAY!!), and play competitive games at night. Still healthy, safe, and thrilled about being here.
Here’s some quick observations…
-most orphans live with a “granny” some with an “auntie”
-usually at least one child in the home is “not well” (aka has HIV) -- a lot of the time you can see the sores on their arms, legs, or head
-most homes are brick with 2-3 small rooms (some covered with roof, some not)
-some take pride in a clean house and will joke with you about their home not being clean… although everything inside is polished inside and outside the dirt is raked; other homes are not well kept- they smell, have trash lying around, and clothes/dishes sitting in filthy water
-most families had small sections of crops growing on their property, a barbed fence enclosing their land and a creepy looking guard dog
-most families do not have enough mattresses- youngest children sleep on the cement floor
-none of the homes had regular access to clean water…water is dropped off once a week on Mondays
I usually am given the job of recording stories-- which I LOVE-- because I get to sit down next to the caregiver and hear their story. I love talking with these people. I love to listen to their needs and to show them someone who cares. I love making them smile. I work with the nationals for translation, which is cool. It is fun building relationships with our translators and telling them about my family and friends back home. I always say where I come from it is VERY VERY cold. In the winter, it snows! The land is very flat and we have lots and lots of corn. Their eyes smile and they say “yes…”. Haha I love them.
The story of one particular girl, Nonhlanhla, will always stay with me. She’s sixteen years old, in the 8th grade, and taking care of her 3 younger brothers. They live by themselves in a small one room brick house. They have nothing. I ask her my last question, “Is this a safe place for you?” She shakes her head. They need a new lock and the windows are shattered from a robbery not too long ago. We are led to believe she was raped during the robbery. The translator explains they often sleep across the street at their aunt’s house…. But the Aunt is “not good to them.” She abuses them and makes them sleep on the cement floor. She is taking the orphan grant money given by the government for these children and using it for herself. This 16 year old girl I am talking with has prostitution as her only option to provide for her brothers. It is widely known by the community this situation exists, but law enforcement is basically non-existent and social workers are few and far between. Four children, lost in a world of injustice.
This is just one story of many. It makes me angry and it breaks my heart. I am hopeful, however, that the work our team is doing sheds light. Every story is documented and turned into Rev. Tevey’s ministry to take action. It is not our job to go into these homes and give hand-outs. They need long-lasting solutions that need partnership from locals within the community. And they need our prayers. Please pray with me for these people.
As a sidenote, the nationals have been guiding us through the neighborhoods to ensure our safety. I have never felt threatened in any way in these communities, and we are always in groups.
I’m so thankful for my team. These people are awesome. It’s funny that only a few weeks ago we had never met, and now they’re like family. Everything is going very well. Even though our days are filled with some intense emotionally draining events, we still have pretty normal lives. We make our own dinners at home, have water fights doing the dishes, bake chocolate chip cookies (YAY!!), and play competitive games at night. Still healthy, safe, and thrilled about being here.
Hazyview {Saturday, Feb 21}
Sanibonani! That’s hello from Hazyview, a small town in the Mpumulanga Province of SA. Here the language is Swahili. I’m amazed at the amount of languages in this country. So far I think we’ve heard some Zulu, Afrikaans, Swahili, Sotho, and English. Unless it’s English they all sound the same to me. I try to mimic and it makes the kids laugh.
It was a five hour drive in our Condor SUV… luggage behind us in a little trailor. Hazyview is a beautiful town bordering Kruger National Park. The drive here was gorgeous. We drove through small rural villages where women carried food and water on their heads with babies strapped to their backs with towels…. We drove through grassy plains with no civilization in sight…. And we drove through the mountains, which was my favorite. I tried to do some taping, but it just doesn’t do it justice. It was weird seeing elephant caution signs as we drove into town. I haven’t seen one yet, but I think it will happen here soon.
This week has been awesome!! Everyone is safe and healthy. We are staying in someone’s vacation home in a gated community. It is the nicest missionary accommodation I’ve ever seen. We are working with Reverend “Tevey” and his orphan care ministry. Friday morning we got to visit 2 schools and do presentations. Each school had probably 200-300 learners. At the second school about one-fourth of the kids raised their hands when the headmaster introduced the Reverend’s work with orphans and asked how many did not have parents. It was heart-wrenching. Rev. Tevey supplies 5 (going on 6) central care giving centers with food and water for orphans in the community. Each care center usually feeds at least 100 children. These orphans are usually taken in by a grandmother or neighbors. The black culture here does not embrace the idea of orphanages.
Today was one of the most impactful days yet. One of our responsibilities this week is to assist Rev. Tevey in assessing living conditions of the orphans he’s helping. Our group split up into a leader, national, a guy team member, and a girl member and visited the homes where these children are living. Wow, heart-wrenching stuff. It’s what you hear about, but can never quite imagine. We walked through grassy brush…on dirt roads…climbing mountainside… passing communities of wooden shacks or small brick buildings with tin roofs (sometimes). It was one big third world neighborhood. One thing we did recognize though was the Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé blaring from random houses. Gio and I made a game of naming the American hip hop as we walked through. That much was entertaining for sure.
Our goal was to document living conditions (we had an observation chart) but also to have fun!! It was depressing seeing living conditions like this… homes that had no access to clean water, people literally devoid of emotion from the poverty, homes with one outfit for every family member (with huge holes all over the place), one mattress for 8 people (aka children sleeping on dirt floors), a boy with a large protrusion from his belly button (probably a parasite or hernia), and children with sores (most likely from HIV/AIDS). So yes, lots of depressing stuff. But it was our job to make those kids smile and laugh. To bring a little fun and a lot of love into their day. While one of us sat with the translator documenting conditions and speaking with the caregiver, others played games with the children. At one house we had about 8 African kids teaching us dance moves. At first, it was us teaching them like… oh, the shopping cart, or the lawn mower… Then one of the girls started break dancing and looked at us to repeat after her. Oh my gosh, it was a riot!!! They thought our dancing was funny and we loved theirs. There was a four year old boy getting DOWN. I so wish I could’ve videotaped this for you. It was hilarious. But for safety reasons we only carry our Nalgenes (water bottles) in these areas. So I’m trying extra-hard to imprint everything in my memory.
It was a five hour drive in our Condor SUV… luggage behind us in a little trailor. Hazyview is a beautiful town bordering Kruger National Park. The drive here was gorgeous. We drove through small rural villages where women carried food and water on their heads with babies strapped to their backs with towels…. We drove through grassy plains with no civilization in sight…. And we drove through the mountains, which was my favorite. I tried to do some taping, but it just doesn’t do it justice. It was weird seeing elephant caution signs as we drove into town. I haven’t seen one yet, but I think it will happen here soon.
This week has been awesome!! Everyone is safe and healthy. We are staying in someone’s vacation home in a gated community. It is the nicest missionary accommodation I’ve ever seen. We are working with Reverend “Tevey” and his orphan care ministry. Friday morning we got to visit 2 schools and do presentations. Each school had probably 200-300 learners. At the second school about one-fourth of the kids raised their hands when the headmaster introduced the Reverend’s work with orphans and asked how many did not have parents. It was heart-wrenching. Rev. Tevey supplies 5 (going on 6) central care giving centers with food and water for orphans in the community. Each care center usually feeds at least 100 children. These orphans are usually taken in by a grandmother or neighbors. The black culture here does not embrace the idea of orphanages.
Today was one of the most impactful days yet. One of our responsibilities this week is to assist Rev. Tevey in assessing living conditions of the orphans he’s helping. Our group split up into a leader, national, a guy team member, and a girl member and visited the homes where these children are living. Wow, heart-wrenching stuff. It’s what you hear about, but can never quite imagine. We walked through grassy brush…on dirt roads…climbing mountainside… passing communities of wooden shacks or small brick buildings with tin roofs (sometimes). It was one big third world neighborhood. One thing we did recognize though was the Justin Timberlake and Beyoncé blaring from random houses. Gio and I made a game of naming the American hip hop as we walked through. That much was entertaining for sure.
Our goal was to document living conditions (we had an observation chart) but also to have fun!! It was depressing seeing living conditions like this… homes that had no access to clean water, people literally devoid of emotion from the poverty, homes with one outfit for every family member (with huge holes all over the place), one mattress for 8 people (aka children sleeping on dirt floors), a boy with a large protrusion from his belly button (probably a parasite or hernia), and children with sores (most likely from HIV/AIDS). So yes, lots of depressing stuff. But it was our job to make those kids smile and laugh. To bring a little fun and a lot of love into their day. While one of us sat with the translator documenting conditions and speaking with the caregiver, others played games with the children. At one house we had about 8 African kids teaching us dance moves. At first, it was us teaching them like… oh, the shopping cart, or the lawn mower… Then one of the girls started break dancing and looked at us to repeat after her. Oh my gosh, it was a riot!!! They thought our dancing was funny and we loved theirs. There was a four year old boy getting DOWN. I so wish I could’ve videotaped this for you. It was hilarious. But for safety reasons we only carry our Nalgenes (water bottles) in these areas. So I’m trying extra-hard to imprint everything in my memory.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Apartheid Museum .... and a living legend
Yesterday we got to spend the day in Jo-Burg. (Okay, well outside the city in the safe parts.) It was the same 3 hr drive back into the area... but really cool to do the drive in the daylight. SA is crazy because it is so diverse. It is considered a 2nd world nation because it is full of both 1st world and 3rd world regions. The drive to Jo-Burg shows you pieces of both. We also drove along the "Danger! Lions Region" where double electric fences lined the interstate. Kind of creepy.
Our main stop was the Apartheid Museum. Some of you might know the history and some of you might not... Apartheid (separation of whites and blacks) ended here in 1994. There is still a ton of separation and racism that exists here, and it is very evident in the stories we hear from locals, personal interaction, driving through towns, etc. There's black areas and there's white areas. Black people are really surprised and excited when we are friendly and ask how they are doing.
The museum was huge. (It took us 2 and a half hours to go through the 60's-80's time period. We didn't even get to the end.) Very interesting stuff, and I'm not normally the captivated type at museums. ;) About a half hour into things, I noticed our group was slowly gathering in a circle of "oh my gosh. no way. get out. are you serious!!" So I'm thinking there's more than just a cool picture to look at. I walk over to find out someone has overheard Nelson Mandela is in the building. And he is. Actually, just around the corner in a golf cart with security guards. Turns out there was a hush-hush honorary dedication of a new exhibit at the museum. We started a small pauparazzi with the 10 others at the museum and I got video of him driving by in his cart. So yes, we got to see Nelson Mandela. How crazy is that!!!
Tonight is our last night here at the farm for a bit. Tomorrow is our first day "on the field" and the end of our training. We're driving a few hours to an orphanage where we will be spending the next week. I'm so excited to start interacting with the kids here. I will probably be out of internet for a week or two now, so I will send out an update after that! Thanks for your notes everyone, it is so great to hear from you!!
Two Sidenotes. A monkey went through our room during dinner tonight, it ate some pretzels and left a small present. Earlier today I was proposed to in Autozone (yes, they have those here too). It was very romantic. Our team found it quite humorous that the only thing I could think to say was "oh, um, maybe next time". We always stay in our groups, so no worries, it wasn't going anywhere beyond an innocent question. But it sounds like it is not uncommon for Americans to get marriage proposals here, so we are practicing our no thank you's.
Our main stop was the Apartheid Museum. Some of you might know the history and some of you might not... Apartheid (separation of whites and blacks) ended here in 1994. There is still a ton of separation and racism that exists here, and it is very evident in the stories we hear from locals, personal interaction, driving through towns, etc. There's black areas and there's white areas. Black people are really surprised and excited when we are friendly and ask how they are doing.
The museum was huge. (It took us 2 and a half hours to go through the 60's-80's time period. We didn't even get to the end.) Very interesting stuff, and I'm not normally the captivated type at museums. ;) About a half hour into things, I noticed our group was slowly gathering in a circle of "oh my gosh. no way. get out. are you serious!!" So I'm thinking there's more than just a cool picture to look at. I walk over to find out someone has overheard Nelson Mandela is in the building. And he is. Actually, just around the corner in a golf cart with security guards. Turns out there was a hush-hush honorary dedication of a new exhibit at the museum. We started a small pauparazzi with the 10 others at the museum and I got video of him driving by in his cart. So yes, we got to see Nelson Mandela. How crazy is that!!!
Tonight is our last night here at the farm for a bit. Tomorrow is our first day "on the field" and the end of our training. We're driving a few hours to an orphanage where we will be spending the next week. I'm so excited to start interacting with the kids here. I will probably be out of internet for a week or two now, so I will send out an update after that! Thanks for your notes everyone, it is so great to hear from you!!
Two Sidenotes. A monkey went through our room during dinner tonight, it ate some pretzels and left a small present. Earlier today I was proposed to in Autozone (yes, they have those here too). It was very romantic. Our team found it quite humorous that the only thing I could think to say was "oh, um, maybe next time". We always stay in our groups, so no worries, it wasn't going anywhere beyond an innocent question. But it sounds like it is not uncommon for Americans to get marriage proposals here, so we are practicing our no thank you's.
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