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Published: November 24th 2008
So I was just looking at our last blog update and it was three months ago! It seriously seems like it was only a few weeks ago. I guess time flies when you are having fun. Well, let me fill you in on what has been going on over the past few weeks.
So You Think You Can Dance...
Two weeks ago we were invited to a friends Zulu wedding. What an experience! The invitation said that it started at 9am, so when we rolled up at 9:10am I figured that we would have to sneak in the back. Little did I know that I was just in time to help decorate and set up the sound system! Then the singing began. We sang and danced and sang and danced and sang and danced, for two hours. The groom showed up at about 9:30, but the bride didn't show up until 12:00! I think that the ladies call that "Fashionably Late". So they kicked off the ceremony. In Zulu weddings you don't walk down the aisle, you dance down the aisle! So the bridesmaids all danced down choreographed together. Then the groomsmen did the same. And boy, did they
Cutting the Cake
...for the third time....have groove!
The ceremony was quite different from what we are used to, partly because they spoke in Zulu and I only know a few words (hello, come here, go, always, goodbye, God). After the vows, we sang and danced and then the pastor preached a sermon. Then the bride's grandfather, who couldn't walk without a cane, was prayed for and was healed. We certainly sang and danced after that! Then another speaker preached. And we sang and danced some more. (And that was all before the actual reception started!)
The MC was a guy who looks just like Paul Kagame from Rwanda (does anyone know who I'm talking about?) Fantastic singer though. I was on the schedule to speak, which was kind of making me nervous because I hadn't heard a word of English in the past four hours, but I figured that we could play it by ear. Our friend Heather wrote the speech and I was just supposed to read it, embellish it, and "make it funny". It sounded like a good idea at the time, but I was starting to doubt myself with the whole 'language barrier' issue. Minor details though!
So we
And we Sang, and we Danced
...and we sang, and we danced some more... sang and danced some more and a few more people spoke. Then the bride cut the cake. Then the groom cut the cake. Then they came down to the parents and cut the cake one more time. Then we sang and danced.
Eventually the meal was brought out and was ready to be served, but Shauna and I had to ditch out because we had planned a "Boys Night" for the guys in the Live Out Loud program and it was starting at 4:30. I gave the speech back to Heather and wished her luck. So we sat there from 9:00am to 3:30pm (that's six and a half hours!) and not only did I not get to do my speech, but after smelling the food cooking all day, we didn't get to eat any of it!
My friend Musa had the right idea. He showed up just in time for the food (at about 3:15pm) and was planning on leaving shortly after. If we only knew.....
Anyway, it was an incredible experience that we really appreciated and won't soon forget!
Some things stand out in your mind...
Back in September, Shauna and I attended the
Minnie and Her Son
This is Minnie and her son Thabiso at her 19th Birthday. 19th Birthday party of Minnie, one of the girls in our youth program. Minnie (19), her 2 year old son, her Aunt, and her Grandma all live nearby in a two room brick house. I'm not sure how they all fit in that house, but that is the nature of things here. There aren't many other options. We brought our camera hoping to take some photos at the party that we would print off and put in an album as Minnie's birthday present.
We got some fabulous photos of the party, family, friends, and food. At one point, Shauna was taking photos and stopped to take a photo of Minnie's aunt, Queen. After taking the photo, Shauna turned the camera around to show her the photo. "Wow, I look beautiful!" Queen said with a twinkle in her eye. It's funny how some things stand out in your mind and you remember them vividly after the fact.
Last weekend, Shauna and I were sitting at Minnie's house staring at that same photo of Queen as it sat on top of her casket. She died of AIDS two weeks ago. It's interesting how statistics change their meaning when you can
"Ooh, I Look Pretty!"
Queen at Minnie's Birthday party. put a face to the number. AIDS has taken 28 million lives since 1981. In 2008, over 600, 000 people will die of AIDS just in the country of South Africa. Queen was one of them.
The negative stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS really hampers the progress that is being made against this disease. Many people do not get tested for HIV until they are extremely sick and sometimes by then it is too late. When we found out that Queen was sick, we immediately took her to an HIV Clinic, but due to her serious condition, they had to refer her to a hospital. She died a few days later.
It's a sad story, but thankfully the stories aren't all sad. Testing and treatment are becoming more available for people who have HIV and the results are absolutely amazing. We know quite a few people who have been skin and bones, on 'death's door', but after proper Anti-retroviral treatment (ARV) they are healthy, able to work, and are living lives full of promise and purpose. A change is coming, but sometimes change can't seem to come quick enough.
Live Out Loud
One of the many highlights of
Living Out Loud
This is the youth from our Live Out Loud program. our year here has been our work with a group of local teenagers. Five years ago, when the Seed of Hope first started running programs in this area, they began with a children's program called Simunye Time. Then an After School program for kids aged 11 to 15 was added. It is exciting to see that both programs are well attended and are highly sought after, but the Seed of Hope didn't have a program for High School age youth.
So, with the input of local youth, Shauna and I began planning a youth program for kids ages 15-19. We went to the local High School and spoke to the students, inviting them to give input and then join the program each Friday from 3:30-5:00. The program is called "Live Out Loud" and began at the end of July and has run each week since. There is 12-15 youth who attend each week. Although they all attend the local High School, they have various backgrounds (Boys/Girls, HIV+/HIV-, at least one has a baby, etc.)
We are focusing on building strong character and skills in the youth, who in turn will build strength into their communities. Each week we
Scrubbin' the Walls
Princess scrubbing the graffiti off of the bricks. focus on a different topic, many of which build on the previous lessons. So far we have discussed: Teamwork, Effective Communication, Goal Setting, Resume writing, Personalities and Community Heroes.
We have also had a couple of great guest speakers. One woman, a lawyer and professor at the University of KwaZulu Natal, talked about the struggles in her life growing up and how she has worked through many of them to reach her goals. It was incredible to hear how she grew up, the daughter of a prostitute, moving from house to house, never sure of where she would spend the night. Her story was inspirational and moving as she described how her faith in God and the encouragement of her grandfather gave her the determination to overcome the struggles in her life and to achieve her goals. The youth really responded to her story and a few have been keeping in touch with her since that day.
In the past few weeks we have been discussing Leadership, Community, making a difference in our own lives, in the lives of our friends, in our community and in the world. So we had the kids do some activities to determine
Goodbye Graffiti!
Proudly painting over the graffiti in one of the classrooms. what the needs are in the community. We looked at issues that affect the youth in this community, like violence, crime, HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, drug and alcohol abuse, etc. The youth brainstormed some community activities that they thought could have a positive impact on their community and then they began planning a specific activity. The goal was to see the youth use the skills and confidence that they have learned to plan and run an event that will build into their community.
The kids decided to clean up the local High School. So we had them write letters and go to businesses looking for donations and supplies to work on the school. We got a whole bunch of really nice paint donated, along with some other supplies. On Friday we all met at the school and we 'transformed' a whole block of classrooms. They swept them, scrubbed the walls, and then we painted five classrooms. Then at the end of the day we did a clean up of the school yard. It made such a difference! It was great to see their excitement as they saw the change they were able to make in their own community.
The
A Job Well Done
The Live Out Loud group after a long day of painting and cleaning. school is an interesting place. There is not enough water pressure for the toilets to work, so they have had to close and lock the bathrooms. So the boys just pee on the grass. The girls have to either hold it all day (which is impossible for most girls) or find a place to squat. Most of the classrooms that we painted had a corner behind the door where the girls just peed on the floor. Can you imagine having to find an empty classroom to go to the bathroom on the floor?! The Live Out Loud teens are now determined to do something about that issue as well.
Our goal has been to show the students some of their possibilities, empower them with skills to succeed, and then encourage each student to use their skills and abilities to become strong individuals and to help build their community. It is so fulfilling to see them strive for and reach their potential. And we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg of what they are capable of!
Some Welcome Visitors!
We have been busy working on many other projects as well. Shauna's dad, Dan, and my dad,
Gogo and Her House
Gogo buillt this house with her own hands. It is made out of sticks and mud. She has live here since 1986. Rolly, both came over for a visit in October. They spent two weeks with us and we had a great time together. We got lots of projects done around the Seed of Hope and in the community.
One of our biggest achievements was the work that was completed on Gogo's house. Gogo is a grandma who takes care of her orphaned grand daughter and volunteers at the Seed of Hope every day. She lives in a small mud house, near the Centre, that she built herself. Her place is a bit of a refuge in the area. She always has tonnes of kids hanging out at her place. She's always taking in kids and other folks that need a hand. But and because of her age and the quality of her house, she is prone to break ins and robbery. All of her windows have been smashed out and boarded up after numerous robberies.
Her place was pretty dark after the last window was boarded up a few months ago. Our dads were able to put in new windows with burglar bars, repair and replace sections of her leaky rook and wire in new lights and light switches.
Gogo Doing The Work
Gogo couldn't stand back and watch us put in new windows, so she got right in there and cemented them in herself! Projects like that make you feel like you really are making a difference in peoples lives.
Gogo has Tuberculosis (TB) and was sick in bed for the last two and a half weeks. What a difference it made to have a solid roof over her head and windows in her room, since she had to stay in bed each day, all day. She is now on the mend and is almost back to her regular self.
Among other things, Shauna has been working on administering our Child Sponsorship program through the Church of the Nazarene. She also has been meeting with other local agencies and learning and sharing information on how we can all work together to meet the needs of the community. Shauna and I are also planning the annual kids Christmas party on December 6th. We are expecting 300 kids who will all get a present (donated by local church congregations) as well as play games, dance and sing songs, hear the Christmas story, and eat lunch together. It is a lot of work to plan, but we know it will be worth it!
It's Almost Time To Come Home
We are slowly getting
Gogo and the Dads
Dan, Rolly and Gogo after a job well done. ready to return to Canada right before Christmas. First, we are going to Zimbabwe to see Victoria Falls right before we come home (Dec 16-19). It is one of the 7 Wonders of the World. We will be on the Zimbabwe side of the falls, so technically I'll be a billionaire for a few days. How that country has plummeted into ruin should be the 8th wonder of the world. We're trying to figure out what supplies we can bring across the border for the people in Zimbabwe (without getting busted by the border patrol). Times are desperate there. Many people are surviving off of wild fruit because there is no food in the stores to buy.
Hopefully we can do some good and, at the same time, enjoy some of the beauty of the place. It will be a nice break. Then we officially leave South Africa on December 21 and return home to Canada on the 22. It will be great to see our friends and family again, but it will be difficult to leave. We have had such a positive experience here and we both feel like we have grown a lot, both personally and as
Gogo's Posse
Everyone loves to hang out at Gogo's house! a couple. God has truly blessed up with fantastic friends and wonderful experiences over here and we will miss it all very much.
We will also miss the warm weather as we will be leaving the middle of the African summer and landing in the middle of the Canadian winter. We didn't plan that very well! Hopefully Calgary gets a few weeks of mild weather so we have time to adjust!
For those of you that are interested, you can check out some of our videos on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/ShaunaandScott
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Nancee
non-member comment
Hey! Thank you so much for the update!! I think about you guys a lot and wondered how you were doing as you start preparing to go back home...I know that'll be tough! That's so amazing that your dads got to come and visit! It's great that they got a little snapshot of what you experienced this year.