A Year of Goodbyes

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Too bad I didn't realize this before I left the states...I really HATE saying Goodbye to people! Unfortunately for me, I just planned an entire year's trip around the fact that I would inevitably be saying goodbye to literally everyone I meet! (Not to say that I will never see them again, but I will have to say goodbye to everyone) I realized this when we were hanging out by our pool one night and Chappy, this cool South African friend was ranting about how much it sucks that I have to leave, and that it's the only thing about being friends with all of the American volunteers, is that they will have to leave eventually. I may never see some of these friends I've made in South Africa again. I would like to hope that I will come back here to visit the project where I'm volunteering, but by that time many of them may have moved away, or whatever.
So, I would like to pay homage to all of the wonderful people that I have met in my month in South Africa. There are surely some characters in my days here, and I never want to forget them. First, let me summarize what I'm doing here in Hibberdene, South Africa.
I am volunteering at an after school program in KwaZulu Natal South Africa. it is called the Thanda Project and was started by Angela, a South African who grew up in SA as well as the states. She has been wanting to start a program to give back to the community here. We just celebrated her 25th birthday, which is amazing considering how much she has already done. She and her boyfriend, Tyler, basically run the program, which is in a very rural area of KwaZulu Natal, called Umtwalume. (Please look up more of this, I can't go into detail, but there is a website, www.thanda.org. and also an awesome documentary that you can find online: Go to www.video.google.com and search for "The Thanda Project". The documentary is called "The Thanda Project: A Hand up in South Africa" My mom has watched it and will vouch that it will really reach you. And it explains a little more about the project.
While I'm here, I'm working with Lungelo, who is the coach for the basketball program in the high school. The way it works is that two days after school the kids do their club activity (art, computers, basketball, soccer, netball), and two days they have tutoring time where the teachers help kids with homework, or plan review lessons to help kids build their skills. So, I'm helping Lungelo with her coaching and teaching skills. I've never been so happy to work with someone and see someone's bright smile every morning. The first day I went to the site where we work, we picked up all of the local staff members in our Thanda truck. They just hop into the bed of the truck (or bucky, as South Africans call it) and ride that for about 10 minutes until we get there. (not so fun when it's raining). Anyway, the first day I went to work it was raining and muddy. We almost slid off the road a few times, as there's just dirt roads that turn into mud roads in the rain. I see this tiny woman (well young woman) in these tight skinny jeans and high heels, a cute hat and a purse, scoot down this muddy slope and climb into the back of the truck. I'm thinking, who wears heels in a mud storm?! Sure enough, when she introduces herself, it's Lungelo, the girl that I am supposed to turn into a basketball player and coach in 4 weeks. It didn't take me too long to realize her dedication to those kids though, (and to realize that she keeps a pair of sneakers at the site) and that everything I teach her she takes right to heart and practices until she gets it. Before the program started in February, she had never played basketball, and although there had been a few volunteers helping with the program, there had never been a girl to help her with her skills and coaching strategies, the other volunteers mostly worked with the kids, but didn't really teach her how to coach.
Every morning the staff begins the day with a song and a prayer. They sound like the best gospel choir I have ever listened to and almost bring me to tears each morning. And Lungelo, her tiny 5 foot self, is usually the one leading the song, with a HUGE voice that is so beautiful and powerful. Next comes the lip gloss application process, with me, her, and Nosipo, the netball coach, who also shares a desk with us. We finally settle into some work and plan our lessons for the day, reflect on previous lessons, and then we end up chatting about boys or clothes or New York for a bit, then wander back to our work. It's so cute and so much fun!
The three of us share an office (well a big room with some desks) with the other high school teachers. There's Raah, an 18 year old who graduated last year, but is the most brilliant math person I've met. He teaches the seniors to get them ready for their Matric exam, which is the big exam that all of the seniors have to take and pass in order to go on to anything substantial in the future. It's a big deal, and last year, at Kathi High School, only 20 out of 80 students passed the Matric exam. Without their Matric, the kids are basically destined to be sugar cane farmers and live a very rough life. The idea of Thanda is to get more kids passing this exam so they can at least have the opportunity to go to University, or at least be able to thing critically about the problems facing their community (like AIDS, crime, and poverty) and find creative ways to change the cycle. Education is the KEY! And Raah is doing a great job with the seniors, they really look up to him (even though some of them are actually older than he is) and he keeps them motivated for the future.
Then there's Lani, a flamboyant personality, who also works with the Matric students. He also has an amazing voice and an amazing character. He is always singing or smiling, or just being plain funny. He likes to jump into the "girl" conversations and always has something funny to say about us. He is such a pleasure. And the there is Hla (you pronounce it shla, but with a lisp like Sid the Sloth from Ice Age, get it Moop, Em, and Ash?) Their language (Zulu) has this lispy s thing when theres an HL together. It also has some clicks that are really hard to get used to. But the language is so beautiful, I've only picked up a bit, but the basics will get you respect among the locals so that's good. Hla is also working with Matric, and is a little quieter than the previously mentioned teachers, but is cool in her own right. She is constantly amused with our shananagans, and it's always good to have someone like that around! :-)

And the kids! Oh man, the kids! They are so wonderful. I love them all. Watch the video online and check Emmanuel. He is the coolest kid and he's part of the basketball program and I am so thankful that I get to see that kid's face every day! He works so hard on the basketball court, and also never gives up in class, even when things are difficult for him. We have so much fun together, whether we're playing basketball, or doing a math activity during homework days. The other day, it was raining so we couldn't play basketball outside, so we decided to play a "Review Basketball" game, to review our math stuff. I usually play it with my kids in the Bronx with a Nerf Hoop and ball, but we had to improvise. We used a cardboard box for a basketball hoop, and a bunch of plastic bread bags rolled up for a ball. The kids got a question, and the first team to get it right got to shoot the ball into the "basket" for points. The kids loved it! I loved it! We are doing our best to make it fun for them too, because I don't think learning has ever been remotely fun for them, EVER.

I meant to contrast these guys in the rural areas with all of the oakes (as they call them) out in Hibberdeen that we hang out with at night and on the weekends. Our house is in Hibberdene, a small town about 40 minutes outside of the rural area of Mtwalume where we work. It's not safe to stay in the rural area because of crime, so we stay in a safer town (although it's not so safe, everyone has a gate around their house and a few alarm systems, we've even had things stolen from the house before I got here). Anyway, there are a lot of local guys that come to hang out at the house after work, mostly because they all still live with their parents and there are no parents here (and we're cool, and basically a house full of girls, and there are no girls in Hibberdene). So we always have a good time hanging out with new friends in the town as well.

A brief synopsis of all these guys before I head to bed:
Leonard (or Lenny) is the greatest guy I know. He works in construction but his real passion is fishing. And let me tell you, from the dinners I've had with his catches, he's got the right hobby. We went fishing with him a few weeks ago, just on the beach, and in no more than 10 minutes, he had pulled in a pretty big fish, killed it, buried it in the sand to keep it cool, and less than 4 hours later we were eating it. AMAZING! Not only that, but the stories this kid tells about his life are HILARIOUS! I can't put it into words, because it's his skinny, lanky build, his accent, and his crazy sense of humor that make the stories so funny. He answers to everything with, "oh my soul" and loves a good adventure. Leonard is always at the house. He shows up right when we get home from work, sometimes he is even sitting by the pool with a beer in hand waiting for us to unlock the house, when we pull in the driveway. But if he's not here, and he's any later than usual, we always start wondering when he'll show up and greet him with lots of hugs (or for a while, the other girls were greeting him with a push in the pool, just to liven things up a bit!)

Then there's Damien and Chappy, two other staples in the mix. Chappy is a huge teddy bear. He is about 6'4 and 240 pounds. A true Rugby player. And he has the smallest car that makes him look like a giant. It's so funny. But, really, a truly nice guy. Damien as well.
I will have to write more about all of our times together, but for now I must go to bed. i will tie all of this together soon into something more substantial.

So, please watch the documentary on line and let me know what you think. Then, send it to your friends. And if any of them are rich, please have them donate some money to the project. We need more money to expand next year and reach out to more schools, and basically just keep the program running. Actually, as we speak, I am being buried in books because we just got a TON, well probably two tons of books donated to us for a library, but we do not have any space at the site for a library. So, we need funding for a library/community center, to house all of these wonderful books without a home. Well, actually, the books have a home, my bedroom, it's actually me that won't have a home soon after another shipment. Good thing I'm leaving soon I guess.
But for real, send the documentary around. Everyone should see it.

OK, Cheers from SA.
Love,
Marissa

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