Week 8

Hello all! I'm so behind I don't know where to start! How about about with a review in numbers for old time's sake?

(1) Number of Giraffe's spotted while WALKING in Ithala National Park
(2) Days spent surfing in the Indian Ocean in Durban
(3) Visitors who joined me in the last few weeks (Richard, Beth and Kevin)
(countless) Number of snowflakes - that's right, SNOWFLAKES, that fell on my last day in Nkandla.

If you don't believe me, see the attached pictures. I almost don't believe it myself! I should also mention, the day before it snowed it was 90+ degrees - easily the hottest day since I'd arrived in South Africa. I'm going to paste below the update I started before I left Nkandla to meet up with Richard, Beth and Kevin - and I'll send more recent news in a few days so I don't overwhelm you!

May 13, 2007


The past few days are a bit of a blur, but they haven't necessarily been rushed. I've been trying to visit with as many people as possible, not spend too much time on my to-do list and make as much time for the kids as possible. I haven't always succeeded in this but I am feeling as prepared as I can to depart for Durban and then return to Nkandla for my last few days.



Last week I had the majority of my final meetings with my Sonke Outreach team. It's been a bit of a challenge to manage a group of new staff, navigate the terms of an MOU with a relatively new organization (Sonke is less than a year old) and get to know the ways of Sizanani and how we operate at the same time. Last week I really enjoyed having a full group of eight trainers, four men and four women, who I can tell have bonded and know how to run these trainings start to finish. I also received the final report from an American student who visited Nkandla a few weeks ago as part of an independent study project looking at the Men As Partners training we've been conducting (see attached – pages 21 and 37 reference Nkandla specifically) which was neat to read and see how significant this work is in the greater cultural context.



Friday day was a whirlwind with multiple trips to town – the first of which took me to the pharmacy. I fear I must be gaining a bit of a reputation as I keep buying female condoms at the pharmacy for my trainers to use in their workshops. Later in the day I returned to town to mail a box of souvenirs and gifts home, and marveled at the consistent friendliness of the people around me. A group of three young women walked with me, carried one of my bags and chatted with the little English they had all the way to the post office where they departed with a "Go well" (hamba kahle – tradiational Zulu form of saying goodbye). Later as I walked back down the hill and slipped I received the token "sorry, sorry" from an older gentleman I hadn't even had a chance to greet.



I also had some interesting run ins the day before – the first with a very intoxicated Gogo (granny) who was on her way to see Sr. Sola for some food (which I am sure Sr. Sola denied unless the Gogo took some work to do with her – she's very strict about only helping people interested in helping themselves). The Gogo talked to me the entire way up the hill, in Zulu of course, until a gentleman interrupted and started to ask me about where I'm from and what I think of Nkandla. This led to a really interesting conversation about what the challenges here are, and he offered some very insightful comments about the lack of job opportunities, and most importantly, the lack of land available to native people. His words echoed a quote I read, I think it was in 'Cry the Beloved Country,' – "When the Europeans came they had the Bible and we had the land. Now, we have the Bible and they have the land." I am paraphrasing, but the point is made. This gentleman, Sam, shared that he does have a piece of land that has been in the family for ages, but he has no title papers or deed that would let him use it to his advantage in gaining a personal or business loan.



There are so many things like this that make looking at the big picture here challenging. How can we expect people's health to improve, when people have no incomes? How can we expect people to seek work when there are no jobs? How can we expect job production when people can't get loans to start businesses?



A few nights ago I marveled as I went to bed at the fact that the hillside adjoining the center where I stay was on fire, and yet no one seemed particularly concerned (was this because we'd acclimated to life as locals, or were we just being stupid?). In the following days we spotted fires on every side of the valley, and there are now great expanses of charred fields in each direction. A fire near the convent on Friday refused to go out and Benjamin, the Dutch Doctors, a number of my Sonke trainers and some of the Center and Convent staff were cutting down thin-trunked trees and clearing the area of burnable material. I honestly don't know how these fires start – we haven't had any lightning but somehow or other at this time of year they become a frequent occurrence. (I now know this has to do with certain seeds requiring fire to help them germinate - so they're set on purpose, and only sometimes get out of hand...)



Last night we stayed late a the convent practicing songs for Mother's Day with Sr. Rose. There was a fair amount of hilarity as I tried to teach a popular praise song and sing the harmony at the same time, and as we all encouraged Ryan to play a percussion shaker-type instrument which he attempted with great gusto, but little by way of results. Still, this morning our "special music" was well received, and it was nice to be able to participate in Mass with songs I know from home. After mass the church hosted a huge gathering to celebrate local moms and we celebrated with the sisters, for whom mother's day has a special meaning.



Tonight after dinner we looked at one of the candidate's photo albums from home, and giggled as she showed us pictures of herself in traditional Zulu dress – which means a beaded skirt, and little else. I told Ryan and Benjamin that they must be amongst a small percentage of men in the world who have seen a future sister with her top off. Of course this is just yet another reminder of how different cultural norms can be, and I was actually quite touched by her willingness to share such a special part of her cultural ceremonies with us (she's relatively new to the convent and still quite homesick).



Unfortunately, though I have three+ weeks of travel left to go, real life (or my real life, at least) is starting to creep back in. I received notification today that my application for health insurance was denied – a development I'm not thrilled about given the prevalence of such diseases as TB (which is said to travel at 900 kilometers a minute) in my surrounding community. This is the kind of thing that in the past has kept me taking the safe route – and I have to remind myself that some risks are worth the reward – in this case, finding a path I will be able to commit to and work I feel best utilizes my abilities and interests.



Per usual though, when I need a dose of true reality I only have to look around me. We have another child in the hospital – she seems to be doing well with a dose of antibioitics but if you look at her diagnosis (HIV+, Pneumonia and signs of a return of TB which has already caused chronic lung issues) it's a bleak prospect. I think she'll be fine for now – but it's heartbreaking to think of what the future holds.



For now, I continue to thank my lucky stars for my own health and the opportunity to be here.



Love to all,



Megan