Today has come too soon...

Friday September 17th, 2010

Created by: James

Some final day thoughts……

Saying goodbye is the hardest thing to do – only if it’s goodbye forever!

Today has come too soon. Just as we have started to get into the flow of things our short program has come to its conclusion. We have made many connections not only within our team, but also with the local people and children.

We are humbled to have been in this position, where we were able to share a little glimpse of our life and be immersed in two weeks of life in rural South Africa. A place that continues to struggle, with sickness and ‘mental slavery’. There are some success stories and there are some who continue to raise their hands to grasp the seeds that we sow. We leave Malungeni with the hope that there will be great yield from these seeds and that people will see some benefits from dreaming and see it within their reach to achieve these.

Malungeni – Enkosi Kakulu! Thank you for your friendships and hospitality. We wish you all well and prosperity and good standing for your people and children – The leaders of tomorrow.

Usale Kakuhle – Remain Well…..

Enjoying our last moments in SA

Thursday, September 16th 2010
Created by: Teresa Donovan

Our days are full and often exhausting, yet we aren’t ready for this experience to end. It seems each day brings more children to the classroom and to the community center, yet our volunteer numbers remain at four. How can we divide ourselves up to properly interact with and enjoy our precious moments with each child – not to mention the adults?

Teta’s class is now up to 42 children. Her teacher controls the children through physical punishment – hitting them on their hands with a stick if they are absent, late, or take too long to fetch the water. Teta and brood also coughed their way through today’s lesson as a field fire crept ever so closely to the school.

School was cancelled for Upper Mdumbi today so Dot, with James as her escort, took a stroll through the village. She found her walk to be a much better view of village life than her view from a car window. She was able to get photos of women washing laundry by the stream and was surprised by the rondevelds with satellite dishes. A highlight of the walk was meeting Obama and Zuma – well fed local pigs. James also enjoyed meeting up with some local lads (his words), using a photo op as a means to divert the boys’ attention away from harassing a dog.

Teresa and James met with Olga in the morning to brainstorm about capacity building projects – from training to beadwork to costing out bread production to motivating people to work. She book-ended her day by meeting with Bonke to discuss personal goals and budgeting and the challenges he may face in his marriage.

The highlight of the day was the community center which was filled inside and out with children of all ages. Outdoors, children squealed with delight as they attempted to fly a kite. Indoors, the cacophony of children’s voices was unending as some played tag, some hula-hooped, and others gathered in various corners to play games, read, color, or continue developing math and map skills. Even Olga and Beauty took a lesson or two from Teta and played a game of Dominoes.

Teresa was delightfully surprised by Oleni – a young boy who often hung outside the community center – finally came inside and sat next to her all afternoon. He was teased by the other children, but they soon stopped after it was clear to them he was welcome and given equal opportunity to share in the English lesson.

We all enjoyed having Bonke as our guest for dinner where the conversation focused on the use of corporal punishment in the schools – which, although forbidden, still occurs.

Teta and Dot spent the rest of the evening sorting through all the donations and teaching materials. They restocked the resource cabinet and organized the mounds of donated school supplies which Olga will distribute after our departure.

It is hard to believe that our two weeks of service is coming to an end. It is even harder to believe that we forged such strong friendships in such a short period of time. How does one say goodbye to people who have touched our hearts? How do we say farewell to friends whom we may never see again? Our one comfort is knowing that a part of us will remain in Malungeni and Malungeni will have our picture to prove it.

Addendum to previous day’s journal since Teresa did not give James a chance to speak:
James wants it on record that using a flush toilet and a running tap at Mike’s Kitchen the other night was a true “on top” moment for him!


Thought of the Day - Dot
Maybe,
Someday,
We will all join hands and live together . . .
Helping each other,
Loving each other.
Maybe,
Someday,
We will all make the world
A much better place . . .

Each day is a gift...

Wednesday September 15th, 2010


Wednesday turned out to be a different sort of day for all four of us. Teresa stayed at “home” to work with Olga on evaluating some of the proposed or past business ventures in Malungeni. In addition, she worked with one student who had left school early and had come to the Guest House to find her. James served cookies and tea to both of them.

Teta was impressed with how beautifully the children sang their national anthem. She taught them to play London Bridge as an antidote to the difficulty of the fractions the teacher was working on with them.

Dot finally got to teach the science lesson she had bought props for last week. The children seemed to enjoy tasting the sugar, salt, and fruit drink they had dissolved in water, and hopefully they understood the process of solution.

At Dorothy’s school, there was no classroom instruction after the long lunch break, which began at 10:40. After lunch, chairs were moved into a double classroom and all the students gathered for their weekly religious service, which was led completely by students. There were several prayers, brief “sermons” by students and one teacher, and a great deal of spirited singing. When the worship ended at 1:00 p.m., school was over the day.

The most exciting part of the day began when the team took Olga, Kwena and Sam, the Guest House caretaker, to Umtata for dinner and to do some other errands. Teta, Dot, Kwena and Sam enjoyed a visit to the Nelson Mandela Museum. James, Teresa and Olga visited a bakery where Olga was able to establish excellent contacts for guidance in getting the Malungeni bakery going. They also shopped for some items to give to the children at the farewell celebration and were delighted when the shop owner who gave them numerous items free.

Dinner at an Umtata restaurant was very good, and the three staff people seemed especially happy to be there as our guests. The evening was the high point of the day for all of us.

Thought of the Day – Teresa Hartman

‘None but ourselves can free our mind’
-Bob Marley

~Building relationships~

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

We started off another day with a wonderful breakfast care of Koena. Off to another day of school where we finished up with the word search/unscramble. James stopped by Teta’s school for a few pictures.

During the morning recess several of the older girls had asked the teacher I’m assisting if they could talk to me ALONE, they were curious about American slang…couch potato, having a cow….they told me what they wanted to be when they grew up. There was a teacher, doctor, psychologist, actress. I have neurofibromatosis (NF) which causes bumps on my skin and they asked about it. The most frequently asked question of the ladies is “do you have a husband?” “Do you have children?” they are surprised when I say I have neither. It was really great…very smart girls. We went back to guest house for prepare to tutoring at the C. C.

I mostly played a form of Domino’s with several of the older boys and one game was really incredible… 4- ones, 4-twos, 6-threes, 5-fours, 5-fives, 5-sixes…what a game. I had the boys add the numbers together – 3, 6, 9, 12 etc.

Koena prepared another dinner. Olga had gone to East London personal business and it was an extremely HOT day…39 degree in East London and because Olga is still in mourning she has to stay completely covered (and wear green). On the way back to the compound she was kind enough to share the car back to Mthatha with an extremely over weight woman and her two small children and infant. Olga developed heat stroke/exhaustion. Teresa #1 and I became instant nurses and applied cold compresses, we made her lie down, put her feet up. We found ice packs in a couple of the 1st Aid kits and we took turns checking on her until her son Daniel could come over and take her home.

Dot’s on top – making headway with the children at her school. My on top was the Domino’s game. Teresa’s on top was a four year old little girl asking/telling her she wanted to write. James’ on top working on math problems at the Community Center and seeing the light go on over the heads of the children he was tutoring as they caught on to the multiples of 10, 100 etc. Good Night.

Thought of the day – Teresa

‘I don’t believe in just ordering people to do things. You sort of have to grab an oar and row with them’
-Harold Geneen.

A day of special moments...

Monday 13 September 2010

Created by: Teresa

Today was a sharing of special moments which reflect the many types of experiences we have had since arriving in Malungeni. Blessed with a cohesive team, supported by a flexible team leader, we have found our sense of humor helps us address most situation.

Dot decided to ignore her teacher’s established protocol and thrust herself into the classroom setting. Garnering momentum from this, she then interacted with the children during recess rather then join the teachers in the staff room. She found more pleasure today than in all the days combined. She took on a large student in a game of tug-of-war and another guided her to the shade of tress because she was “white.” What touched her most was when a child selected her to be in the middle of a ring of students singing “I love my Teddy Bear.”

Teta continued to improvise with the children in her classroom. Although the teacher was more present today, Teta managed to communicate well with minimal Xhosa. The children who know even less English still flock to her to receive encouragement for their work. Teta is definitely achieving her goal of making children smile, laugh, and learn. She was quite moved though when a teacher informed her that some older girls would like to meet with her alone. We await the topic of this conversation. Stay tuned . . . . . .

Teresa recorded the presentations of the 9th grade class and enjoyed sharing positive remarks as well as areas for improvement. At the end of the school day she had a chance to sing many interactive songs with all the children. The girls played with her hair and she ended up with cornrows for the rest of the day. Teresa’s special moment was at the community center when a young girl she taught last year ran up to her and jumped in her arms, giving her a huge hug around neck.

James is just glad he did not go over budget with our team. But we hope he is pleased that we are happy to be here and with our accomplishments. We feel we are meeting our goals for the most part and only wish we had more time in the Malungeni community.

We were off to bed early once again to rest up for the next day’s special moments of which we are sure there will be many.


Thought of the day – WE SEEK….. ‘A world free of war and threat of war…
A society with equity and justice for all…
A community where every person’s potential
may be fulfilled…
An earth restored.

End of week one, off to the coast!

Friday September 10th - Sunday September 12th, 2010

Morning dawned with alternating sun and clouds. The breakfast treat which Kwena greeted us with was chocolate chip muffins to go with our eggs.

Friday at our village schools is only a half day, but there were lessons for us to teach. Teta was left without the teacher to teach fractions. Since the younger students do not speak English, this was “fractions by pantomime.” Dorothy taught classes in English, math and reading with varying degrees of success. Teresa had a new group who needed practice in English conversation. She successfully did this using her photo album as a means of getting the students to share information about families, foods, and sports.

At the school where Dorothy and Teresa are posted, the last hour was free time when the teachers sat and talked in the staff room and the children just hung out outside. Dorothy and Teresa joined the children, and Teresa organized some games. Soon the children were organizing their own games.

James spent the morning doing paperwork and working with Olga on planning.

After a quick lunch at the Guest House, Dorothy, Teresa and Teta left with a driver for a three hour drive to the coast for a weekend at Port St. Johns. James stayed at Malungeni for the weekend to catch up on paper work and planning, and, hopefully, to rest.

Thought of the day ‘Your dreams need YOU to make them real’

Learning as we go...

Thursday, September 9th 2010

As I awoke in the morning, I gave thanks for the day and was reminded through the peaceful silence of the many influencing events that have lead me to be blessed with this opportunity of service. It is such a humbling experience to work along side like minded people and be immersed in a paradigm that is sometimes hard to comprehend. It is also awe inspiring to know that there are people willing and eager to act as agents of change-prepared to think outside the square and look to other means and assistance of developing a life style that sometimes seems intangible for them.

Team 12s day started in the usual manner with a breakfast of oatmeal, fruit, toast and French toast. Oatmeal, which was the popular choice, was a good way to start the day as it seemed a bit cooler than usual. When breakfast was done we quickly cleared up and headed back to the meeting room for the morning meeting as Dot and Teresa were supposed to be picked up before 8.00am – Mr Momoza the principal of the Upper Mtumbe school was running a bit late and collected them at 8.30. Tetas ride was there just after 8.00 and she was whisked off to her work site. I felt like a parent again seeing the children off on their first day at school. I could sense their apprehensiveness but was buoyed by their quiet excitement.

For me it was a paper work day and after having a meeting with Olga and Koena, went for a walk to visit the Bakery. The bakery was one of the capacity building projects that isn’t operating any longer. I could feel Olgas sadness as she showed me the Bakery which is fully equipped including new equipment sponsored and installed in 2004. There are a couple of finishing touches needed for the bakery but another frustrating thing for her is that she wishes that there was a willing workforce who are prepared to give some time to help and move this Cooperative venture forward.

The team had varying days in their schools. Dot was happy that she wasn’t kept in the resource room for a long stretch and actually managed to teach one of the lessons she had prepared. She was a bit bemused though when she was asked if she was going to teach another planned lesson that was supposed to be taught on Friday. Teresa also started at Upper Mtumbe in Mr Momozas class. She was happy with her day which was high-lighted by students singing a song of encouragement meant to cheer a peer on when they struggled with a response in class. She felt positive about the discussions she had with her students and only needed to use her ‘mum’ look once when a student was going to use a cell phone in class! Teta’s day was also positive as she wasn’t left in sole charge except for the teacher having to go and use the copier. She was even able to take individual photos of her students with their name tags and was also happy that she had gotten to do a Wordfind puzzle in the Xhosa language-sadly for her though, an opportunity didn’t present itself for her to dance to Michael Jackson.

After school Olga organized a taxi for the team to head into Mthatha to do some shopping and also to use the internet. Dot was able to get some resources for her Science lesson on ‘dissolving things’ and Teresa and Teta had a ball @ the mall shopping and getting supplies. Olga and I did a food supply shop for Koena who had left us with a list for our final week. As we traveled back to Malungeni I pondered the stark contrast between the mall and the village from which we had come. The mall with affluence and busy employment seemed a world away from our humble home of Malungeni. I contemplate – What is the answer?

Dinner tonight was another hit with mash potato ‘made with butter, milk and aromat’, a lean type of sausage, a lettuce, cucumber and granny smith salad and a tomato, sugar and onion dish that could be used as a paste, a relish or a soup.

Our visitor for the evening was a cultural talk from Bonke. This young man shared a bit about his life and is one of the success stories of Malungeni - living proof of someone who has followed their dream and overcome adversity to live it. He talked about the roles of Xhosa men and woman, some cultural practices such as weddings and circumcision. Particularly interesting for me is the dowry that he needs to get together so his wife can be released to go and live with him (this ranged from money to alcohol and finally cows. A reported total of R50,000 paid off in 3 instalments!!!Thank goodness too that there is no interest on that!). Bonke was also a previous global volunteers host coordinator and is committed to coming and sharing whenever there is a team - May it long continue…….

Ulale kakuhle…Good night!

Thought of the day – Teresa Donovan
‘If I’d never have picked up the first person, I’d never have picked up the other 42,000 in Calcutta’ -Mother Teresa

Different experiences...

Wednesday, 8 September 2010

We rose early Wednesday because Dot and Teta, with James and Olga as their escorts, were leaving early to be delivered to their first day of school. Koena prepared us with a hearty breakfast before we left and packed us lunches with our standby, p.b. and j. sandwiches.

Teresa headed off for another morning of painting and conversations with painters from the community who occasionally serenaded her with song. She painted until the paint ran out again.

The two school experiences were different. Teta was placed in a second-third term class, and early on was deserted by the teacher and left to improvise with twenty-four children who were excited on their first day back after the three week teachers’ strike. She was up to the task with her repertoire of songs and dances as well as a little academic instruction.

Dot, at a different school, spent the day in a combination teachers’ lounge-meeting room-storage room where teachers carried on their conversations in Xhosa. She did, however, meet the teacher to whom she is assigned and received a big homework assignment for the lessons she is to teach on Thursday and Friday.

The afternoon tutoring at the Malungeni community center drew a large number of children again. All four of us were busy supervising coloring, math and map puzzles; and Teta still had the energy to lead dancing.

Our dinner experience was a treat. Koena prepared a large meal because we had as guests the Reverend Spiwo, who initiated the work of Global Volunteers in Malungeni and serves as our program host, and his friend the Reverend Vuyo. We enjoyed the conversation during and after dinner.

We closed out the day with conversation among ourselves and a few work tasks in the guest house.

Thought of the day: ‘There is a good reason we are created with 2 eyes, 2 ears and 1 mouth… -Mark Twain

Are we really in South Africa?

Tuesday, 7 September 2010

Created by: Teresa

Breakfast – another treat from Koena – freshly baked muffins – Yum! Are we really in So. Africa?

Back to the community center for another morning of painting. We were joined by an actual painter – Sikoh, plus numerous other young men – who once again outnumbered the paint rollers. James and Olga head out for Mthatha to purchase more paint and rollers. Dot demonstrated her extreme stair-master skills by climbing solo up and down from her painting table.

Teta – still waiting for pre-school children – added Xhosa words to an English picture dictionary and then taught Michael Jackson moves to the lone child visiting the C.C. (Community Center). Dot, feeling quite limber from her morning exercise, joined the thriller dance line.

Teresa put her mother hat on as one of the younger men asked her about what struggles he can expect in a serious relationship. The conversation segued into the challenges a young man faces in the village: no employment opportunities and much peer pressure to do drugs. This “Teachable Moment” centered around being a force for good for other young men.

We were joined by Rev. Vuyo, a friend of Rev. Spiwo’s who shared with us that it is natural for men to need and have at least two wives; therefore, it is legal in So. Africa. He stressed that women do not have this need and are not allowed to marry more than one man.

After our break for lunch, we returned to the C.C. for an afternoon of tutoring. Olga and James finally returned from Mthatha joining us for an afternoon of teaching map and math skills, play, and much singing and dancing. Dot was quite impressed with the curiosity of some teenagers about economic development and marital relationships. But, Olga put things into perspective best – frustrated by traffic delays in Mthatha and overwhelmed by the chaotic frenzy of the city. She was grateful for the quiet of the village, laughter of the children, and the cooperative learning taking place in the C.C.

Our final activity for the day involved a visit to the village’s Sangoma, a traditional healer. She was called to this vocation by the ancestors when she was 12 years old and accepted her calling at the age of 25. She gave us a keen insight into the strong cultural traditions and beliefs which still exist in Africa.

Back home for another Koena creation – beef stew and rice – and I ask again, “Are we really in So. Africa?”

Thought for the Day (from Teta): Life is like developing a photograph. When you have a negative, you enter the dark room to process it and end up with a positive image and a beautiful photograph. –Reggie, the cab driver

Day two, always more to do!

Monday, 6 September 2010

Breakfast at 7 am and a quick morning meeting. Off to the community center where we started in on our first day of projects. The weather was very windy so none of the pre-schoolers showed up (That would never happen in Minnesota) several boys showed up to help with the painting but we had so many brushes/rollers). I brought my I-pod and speakers and I played music by Michael Jackson and the kids all went wild…painting to the music and Dot joined in the dancing (Teresa has a get video of us dancing to “Thriller” Back for a wonderful Koena lunch then back to the CC for tutoring.

I was working with several of the younger children who where coloring pictures from the Disney coloring book. I would say the animal name in Xhosa and they would say the name in English. One of the boys (Sthembele sp?) was very smart and I showed him some sign language signs and he mimicked me right back. He even used it correctly with the other children. James, Dot and Teresa # 1 worked on math with the older children. James even caught one of the older boys using his cell phone to do some of the math problems. Teresa #1 and James made paper airplanes that were a big hit as were the Frisbees and jump rope. I tried to show the girls how to do ‘crosses’, even the boys jump rope. We cleaned up and came back to some free time & planning for the next day. The teachers strike has been settled so the kids will be back in school on Wednesday.

We had a guest join us for dinner- Tobeka he is the Reception (kindergarten) teacher. Again Koena prepared us the most delicious meal: lots of chicken, Samp, spinach, potatoes, beets and fish ( I didn’t eat the fish as I didn’t want to risk an allergic reaction. Koena made me a PB & J. There were amazing dumplings, dessert, cucumbers/tomatoes.

We finished the day with a team meeting and free time. Teresa #1 made balloon figures and more paper airplanes. James played music from his computer…GLEE!!!

Now, bedtime….ahhhh zzzzzzz.

A wonderful first day!

Sunday, September 5th, 2010

Created by: Theresa

What a wonderful first full day in the village of Malungeni. We filled the day with so many things! We’ve decided on what our goals for our theam 12th mission: To form lasting friendships through learning the Xhosa culture and language; we want to help the community prosper by improving the community center, and give the children hope for their future by teaching them English through play, stories and tutoring.

We met with the new local chief “Dahlislonga”(sp?) and Mama Chief, and as is custom, we were served something to eat (chicken) and the other women of the community were present. We came back to the guest house for our Xhosa language lesson that I’m sure tested Olga’s ears with our attempts at the clicking sounds used in the Xhosa language.

We were welcomed to the community through prayer, song and dance by the children and women of Malungeni. The harmonizing and vocalizations were amazing. The children swarmed Teresa D. as she passed out the photographs she had taken her last trip here in July 2009. All the children loved having their picture taken and would jump in front of each other to make sure they were in the picture. We gathered for more team building and had dinner and then organized all the supplies the team had brought from home. WOW what a load of donations we have for the children.

Thought of the day (provided by James) Flexible people are hard to bend out of shape!

Molweni! Wamkelekile!

Saturday, September 4th, 2010

Created by: James

Our mission started at 5.00 am for me, Olga and Ayanda our driver – It was probably earlier for the others in the team making their way to East London!

As we drove to meet and pick up the other 3 members of ‘Team 12 Malungeni’, we were treated to a clear but chilly and brisk morning but the promise of a new and beautiful day!

I was able to take in the sights on the trip to East London. Even though it was early morning and I would be otherwise engaged in a blissful slumber, there was a myriad of activity happening from shuffling people on roadsides and town streets to domesticated animals, all busily hustling and bustling to see what this promising day had to offer. We were visually impaired at times by a wispy mist blanketing the roads and landscape-this Olga articulated was a sign of a sunny day. Nelson Mandelas old homestead stood humbly on a distant hill while his present residence, within eye sight of old, was testament to the telling journey of this South African icon.

Four and a bit hours later and we arrived at East London airport. Teresa a former South African Volunteer’s plane had landed and the passengers had already come through baggage collection. There was a joyous reunion of Teresa and Olga but for me a nice realization to meet and know that our mission was one third complete! We decided that we would ring Theresa 2 and find out whether she had in fact made it to East London the night before and that she would be joining us at 11.30 when Dot as she is known by friends arrived. By 11.45 we were all together and mission was complete. Our next mission that we chose to accept was to spend the next few hours making our way back for the return journey to our home for the next two weeks, The Guesthouse @ Malungeni. However the mission wasn’t so much the trip back but was the 5 tired and weary travelers staying awake.

The 4-5 hours spent traveling for me was a time of connection. It was great for the team bonding process to be initiated and for everyone to compare traveling and family stories. Although each and every person comes from diverse backgrounds, we are similarly entwined through actions, thought, consequence and mind – We really are quite alike!
Arrival at the guesthouse bought us more treats; while it was nice to be off the dusty, rickety gravel road that leads into the Malungeni village, we were greeted by the Global Volunteers Community Committee (which was a warm, friendly and inviting gesture), the wonderful thought of a place and pillow to lay our weary bodies and also a beautifully sumptuous home cooked meal by Koena.

The final formalities after dinner were a couple of orientation activities. We went through and introduced ourselves again but we also got to hear a little about two of our hosts – Olga and Koena. Olga also provided us with a run down of the program context in which we were giving service and talked to us about the projects where support is needed.

Thought of the day: James Puati
The seeds we sow become the crop for the future – The more we sow the greater the yield!