Temba1’s Blog

As we wrap up our last days at Bethany Home, we are full of mixed feelings.  Home is beckoning and we miss everyone, but  time is moving too quickly this week and we would like it to slow down a bit.

Tuesday we had a marvellous day when we took eleven  4, 5 and 6  year old children by taxi to Port St John, a lovely resort community 86 km away on the Indian Ocean.  Just piling in the taxi at 9:30 am with beach toys, towels and changes of clothing was enough to get the children all excited and eager for a seaside adventure.

Unfortunately, after several  warm sunny days, we awoke to clouds and rain, but we did not let that daunt us at all. The ride through the mountains was a little dicey at times when we encountered patches of rather dense fog, but our optimism paid off as the rain had ceased in Port St John and the temperature was much milder.   The children raced to the water, stripping off their clothes, yelling and screaming  and had a wonderful  time running and splashing in the waves and digging in the sand. 

This fun time was followed by lunch at the local KFC, another new experience.  Chicken and chips is always a favourite and they even devoured the coleslaw.  We were  then ready for the long drive home. We were hardly back on the highway when many of  the children  fell  asleep.   A great day with lots of  special memories for both children and adults.

On Saturday afternoon we celebrated the  September birthdays  with hot dogs,  chips, ice cream, cake and balloons.  This  was our  goodbye celebration  with all the children and staff before our departure Sunday morning.  It was a happy time for the children but a very emotional time for us.  We wish them all well and will hold them dear in our hearts forever.

End Notes:

The new Temba Home hospice was built with donations from Trivett Memorial Anglican Church in Exeter and the Wellness Fund from St. Paul’s Cathedral in London.

All names mentioned in our Temba Blog are fictitious.

CANADA DAY by Rose

Monday, September 7^th was Canada Day at Bethany Home.  It was a beautiful  sunny, warm day.  We spent the morning getting organized and setting up the various activities.  At noon we waited for the pizza delivery guy at the front gates.  He had to make 2 trips because his scooter could only carry 8 pizzas! TIA – this is Africa!!!  At 1:00 we marched the kids to the back playground, chanting CA-NA-DA!  They quickly stripped off their clothes and raced to the water activities. We had 4 pools, a water slide (which we soaped to make it go faster), tent, water balloons, huge punching balloons and bouncy balls to sit on.  It was complete bedlam but they loved it, especially trying to soak the adults!!!!  As the pools began to empty and the kids began to shake, we took them to the downstairs room to get dressed.  The carers had collected lots of red and white clothing for the children to put on in honour of Canada Day.  To warm them up we had  hula hoops, balls, red and white balloons, bubbles and music for dancing.  They were very proud to wear a Canada headband.  We served juice, then vanilla ice cream cones with red sprinkles, then pizza and finished off with red lollipops.  You’re probably wondering why ice cream and then pizza?  The ice cream was melting and the pizzas weren’t quite warmed up, so we had to improvise.  The kids didn’t even notice!  It was a fantastic day!!  The kids had a great afternoon and slept very soundly that night – as did WE!

Our Shopping Expedition to East London              by Jane

This morning we set off before sunup for the 2 ½ hour drive to East London with Joanne to shop for Bethany Home.  The children’s toys here are a sorry collection – either parts are missing or originally required batteries which have long since expired so we compiled our list, had 15,000 Rand in our pockets and off we went.

The drive was interesting and we enjoyed the varied landscape, from the rounded rather bare brown mountains of Mthatha to the steeper more angular mountains as we got closer to the River Kei, which is the boundary of the former Transkei homeland.  There are always villages of various sizes visible in the hills and mountains and can be seen for miles over the rough terrain.  As we got closer to East London, the surroundings became flatter and considerably greener with more trees and vegetation which is starting to come into spring bloom.  We saw many Flame trees with vibrant red flowers covering their branches even though the leaves are still only buds, along with various pink and white blossoms which reminded us of cherry or other fruit trees and many palm trees.

East London is an attractive,  rather large city on the shores of the Indian Ocean and is a favoured resort area with loads of amenities.  The first mall we visited had a specialty toy shop that was a match for anything at home and we had a field day purchasing cars, trucks, road mats, blocks, black dolls, dress up clothes, shoes and jewellery, soccer balls and books in Xhosa for the carers to read to the children (we hope).  We also purchased lots of socks, warm jackets and cozy pj’s for the children.  After lunch we headed out to see what was available in other children’s’ stores and rounded out our purchases with a slide with a climbing house underneath, musical instruments, some play cooking utensils and little brooms for cleanup.  Then we headed to the beach to collect buckets and bags of soft, creamy beige sand for sandboxes – followed by dipping our feet in the cool blue Indian Ocean. We managed to spend most of the money with enough left to order several new gym mats for the toddlers in the Day Room to sleep on.

The long ride home was somewhat quieter as we were pretty well tired out and as darkness fell, it was necessary to concentrate very carefully on the road – thankfully we did not encounter any cattle or sheep on the highway but we did see a monkey scamper across the road one point. After unloading the bakkie, we made a brief visit to all the children to give them good night hugs and kisses and were ready to fall into our own beds with much further ado.

August 9, 2009 – Written by Wendy

Well, we’ve been here 1 month.  Time is flying by.    Today we had an amazing service at the Cathedral in Mthatha.  Terry Dance was the guest preacher.  There were probably 200 people in attendance.  People seem to come in at all times.  The 50 choir members sat in the front pews.   What can I tell you about the voices.  It made my toes curl.  No kidding, I shut my eyes and it heard the most beautiful music.  There were 9 clergy and lay readers and 10 altar people  with LOTS of smells and bells.  There was so much incense at one point we could not see Terry or most of the Altar people.  Pity those who were asthmatic.  Terry gave a great sermon.   He talked about when Philip met the Ethiopian eunuch.   It does not matter if you are black or white, male or female, rich or poor, tall or short.  Everyone is accepted, no questions asked.  Acceptance of diversity.  During the Peace everyone in the congregation joins hands and sings, it  is very moving.  Most of the service was in Xhosa and everyone brings their own hymn book and prayer book.  Some people have two sets one in English and one in Xhosa.  Virginia is a lovely lady who was sitting in front of us.  She will be 89 in September.   Her welcoming smile and grace made us feel  at home.   After the service we were invited back to their hall.  One of the choir members, Grace, had made all the food.  There was croissants (can you believe, homemade) two types of cakes with lots of yummy icing, scones, sandwiches, tea, coffee, juice.  What a wonderful day.  The 2 ½ hour service just flew by.  AMEN

Temba Home – by Jane

Among the various and far reaching services provided for the community surrounding Mthatha is Temba Home,  a facility for those who are suffering the terminal effects of AIDS.   Although not connected with Bethany, Ikwezi Lukosa or Itipini, they all work together to serve those who are so in need of compassionate care.

On Thursday past, we finally met Sister Mary Paul, an almost legendary figure in these parts who was instrumental in setting up Bethany Home.  Although officially retired, Sister is still very involved in these projects so near and dear to her heart.  We headed off on a very blustery, cold morning to visit the new  Temba Home on the outskirts of town.  This much expanded and modernized facility houses thirty one inpatients at the present time.  A few are seniors who are no longer able to manage on their own and have no family to care for them, but the majority are men and women suffering the ravages of full blown AIDS and no longer able to be alone.

The amazing thing about Temba is it is staffed totally by volunteer carers and overseers.  It grew from women in the community visiting the homes of terminally ill AIDS victims and providing home care and feeding.  Eventually, a small building was set aside to house people, but it continued to rely on volunteers for care.   The present building has been in use for about one year and was built in large part by donations from the Anglican Diocese of Toronto, and is able to serve many more patients as the need continues to increase.

We were warmly greeted by Thursday’s volunteer in charge who explained what all they do and took us on a tour.   The reception/sitting area has comfortable sofas and chairs for about ten people, a desk and medicine cabinet.  The first ward we saw had at least a dozen beds , a makeshift curtain down the middle of the room separating the men from the women patients.  The second ward consisted of a dozen more beds occupied by men, many very young looking; and the third ward was for women only.  Rows of beds lined each wall with a few more down the middle.  Again the women were of varying ages, but most seemed quite young to middle aged.  A couple were knitting, but most had no energy for any activity.  Because the buildings in Eastern Cape are all thick cement walled with no heating, they really hold the cold and everyone was in their beds that day, most fully dressed and all huddled under mounds of blankets and duvets trying desperately to keep warm.  On warm sunny days they can sit on the verandah   outside.  A group of four women carers were in the small kitchen preparing the days lunch in large kettles on portable propane burners because the wind was causing periodic electricity outages.   The two electric stoves were what we call apartment size, and a refrigerator occupied the third wall.  Down the hall was the bathroom (only one that we saw) a laundry room with automatic washer and dryer, a couple of storage rooms and a meeting room/office where we signed the guest book.

The amazing thing is, everyone who works at Temba are still all volunteer, with some practical nursing assistance from Jennie McConnachie from  Itipini,  various support and food donations from the Sisters and others in the community.  Financial donations from  various churches and organizations both local and international hopefully cover any other necessary expenditures.   We learned one of the greatest unmet needs is compassionate volunteers who will visit with the patients and talk with them, but mainly listen to them as they try to come to grips with often painful spiritual and emotional issues before they die.  I am not an “if only” kind of person – but if only I could speak and understand Xhosa!!

Ikwezi Lokusa by Wendy

Where we are staying is called Ikwezi Lokusa.  The compound is a multi faceted complex.  When you drive through the “secure” gate the first building you encounter is Bethany Home.  As you go further down the hilly road you go left down a hill and there is convent/farm.  The Sisters grow vegetables to sell and rent out land for cash crops.  There are a lot of orange trees.   Further down the road still on your left is a  building for the Brothers.  As you keep going up the hill on your right you will pass the school and living area for the young children  and flats where volunteers stay.   Further up the hill you will pass small flats that are rented out to foreigners (professionals) who are working in Mthatha.  You now come to Ikwezi Lokusa area.   It is a Rehabilitation and Sheltered Employment Society.  It was founded in September 1972 by the Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood and a group of people who were also concerned about the future of pupils with mental disabilities who had completed their education at Ikwezi Lokusa Special School.  Those with physical disabilities are also accepted and assisted in achieving their potential.  On this property is a school for about 300 children from the ages 6 – 18.  They live, eat and are schooled here.  They go home for holidays.  A lot of these children come from all parts of Mthatha and the surrounding area.  We have found a shortcut from Bethany to where we are staying by working our way through the school.  All the kids want to come and say hello.  When we go for a walk and take the children it’s always interesting because they want to touch and kiss the children (like children anywhere).  After they reach the age of 18 they can continue at the training centre.  The aim of this program is to train them to prepare for life in their environment at home.  There are many different workshops and on-going assistance in learning to cope with daily life.  They can stay up to 5 years and then are encouraged and assisted to seek employment in the open market or start their own business. Their work is fabulous.  There is a leatherwork, shoemaking and repairs division.  Here they make leather handbags, leather jackets, sandals, cases for your cell phone, wallets, key chains, pillow covers, hats, belts.   They will also repair shoes.  When they leave they are given a complete set of leather tools.  The arts and crafts division teaches beadwork, printing and other handcrafts.  Some of the products are bead-jewellery, traditional bags, jug covers, wall hangers, cushions, t-shirts and also hand drawn cards.  All fabulous.  When these pupils leave they are given a set of beads – whatever needed to start their own business.  The potters workshop teaches coiling, clay throwing, slabbing, glazing and firing techniques.  They are taught how to build their own brick kiln.  There are beautiful vases, dishes, mugs, platters, planters.  When they leave they are given a potters wheel.  There is a sewing department.  They teach pattern making, sewing with and without a machine, skills to make non-traditional and traditional clothing, church vestments and how to mend clothes.  When they leave they are given a sewing machine.   We live in the boys’ residence at the top of the hill. It Is about a 10-15 minute walk for us down to Bethany Home. We pick our lunch up 5 days a week from Lena, who cooks for the workshop students. We’ve found some interesting things on our plate – cold, brown beans with sliced bananas!  The school for the young children houses about 200 handicapped children.  We’ll take lots of pictures so that we can  explain when we get home.  Love and kisses to all the children of the world.

Itipini by Rose

Yesterday Joanne took us for a visit to Itipini. It is a community of about 700 people who have built their homes on the original garbage dump. We drove in on a dusty, rocky dirt lane. Meandering beside the lane was a brown, sewage-filled river. The homes are rectangular shacks that have been constructed of anything and everything people could salvage. The largest are about 10×10. We didn’t get to see the interiors but they seemed to have no door or windows and the floor was just hard-packed dirt. How an entire family can find room to sleep is a mystery to me. The kitchen was located outside – a black cauldron over an open fire. Some families were trying to grow a few vegetables on their postage stamp piece of land. There is one water tap for the entire community. It was devastating to witness the poverty of this community! However, in the midst of all of this there was hope. We met Jenny McConacky, a nurse/saint who has worked in this community for over 20 years. She runs a health clinic in a structure that is lacking in strength but full of help and caring. We met a gentleman  - Mr. M, also an amazing, giving man – who took us on an unbelievable tour. In the midst of this devastation, there is a preschool – actually 2 of them – for younger and older children – filled with enthusiastic kids who are learning and thriving. They stopped their lessons to sing us a couple of songs that touched our hearts. There is a kitchen where they cook lunch for the preschoolers and another kitchen where they bake bread to sell. There is a library – with 2 shelves of books, where an after school program is run. There is a choir, that has performed in competitions and even made a CD, as well as a boys’ soccer team. There is a community garden, a gym (with a manual treadmill and some hand weights), a very new woodworking shop, a craft room where they make beaded crafts to sell and a hospital room with 3 beds for the very sick. All of these are housed in structures quite similar to the people’s homes and access to them is over and through dirt paths, which are also used by pigs, dogs and chickens. People were queued up for a half loaf of fresh bread, as well as bags of flour. There is a small storage shed with used clothing for those who have none. It was an experience that is hard to put into words. My heart was breaking to see the conditions of poverty. I felt guilty to think of all that we have. I was humbled by the resilience of the people – working to create a community that is trying to improve themselves. I hope I get an opportunity to go back!  

July 19, 2009 – Wendy and Rose

It’s hard to believe that we have already been here a week! We are gradually getting into a comfortable routine, finding our way around and, most importantly, getting to know the kids. We have learned how to take the taxi (mini bus) into town – a very cozy, crazy ride. No live animals yet! The taxi holds 14 people but there are usually about 18 passengers. You pay R4, which is passed up to the money guy. Change is passed back through many hands. Everyone is very honest. When you get close to your destination you are supposed to call out the name. We forgot, so we just yelled STOP. Everyone in the taxi cracked up. The kids are adorable. On meeting them for the first time, we were all overwhelmed by hugs, glasses being pulled off, fingers in ears, nose and mouth and everyone wanting to sit on our laps. They love zippers, buttons and watches. The kids were very grubby that first afternoon and we were quite concerned at the number of layers of clothing they wore. Although it is winter here, we find it quite comfortable during the day. It is their nature to bundle up their kids in layers. These clothes stay on all day. Mittens stay on while they are having snack. The children seem to be getting enough nutrition but liquid seems to be lacking.  All the children want to hold on to a finger or a pant leg anything for contact.  We are trying not to be judgemental but find some things very hard to accept.  Learning the children’s names is becoming quite a challenge.  Some have clicks.  We have devised a method that we hope will help us remember faces and names.  Over the past week we have taken pictures of all the children – had them developed – and have made charts for our flat with picture of child and name below.  We have hung these on the wall along with Xhosa words to help us communicate.  All these children speak Xhosa but some understand a little English.  What we are trying to do each day is take two children at a time out of Bethany Home for a walk or a bike ride, this is when we try to remove some layers of clothing so that the children can feel more comfortable.  We’ve each tried to see every child this week to learn names and get acquainted.  They are absolutely delightful.  We have also been trying to learn all the staff names and what they do – not an easy task.  We are posting pictures of Wendy holding Simphiwe, Rose under a tree with Lutho, Amanda, Enkhosi and Zilungile and Jane with Sibahle.  See what we mean about the names!!!

Yesterday was Nelson Mandella’s 91 birthday.  To celebrate people were encouraged to give 67 minutes of their time to community work.  67 signifies the number of years Mandella spent working for the cause.  At Bethany to our complete surprise about 30 prisoners (all in orange jumpsuits) descended on the property.  They were brushing the walls, sweeping the grass, playing and holding the children, it was chaos but a great time was had by all.  To add to the confusion a rather large bull wandered into the compound and the prisoners proceeded to throw stones at it which only encouraged it to come further into the compound.  Finally a prison guard hit it very hard on the head with a log, got it to turn around, the security guards opened the gate and got it to go home.  Only in Africa.