Until We Meet Again

When Holly, my coordinator, asked if I would write 100 words to describe my experience as a volunteer on the medical project, I didn't know if I'd ever get it down to a reasonable size and adequate explanation. By the time I left South Africa I knew exactly what I wanted to tell everyone but now that I've had a chance to separate myself physically, I've also had time to reflect on it and I'd like to elaborate on my experience.

I never thought I would be so lucky as to have an opportunity as great as my time in South Africa.

The first day I drove into Masiphumelele with Brian and Remi, I saw the impoverished conditions and was completely doubt stricken. What had I gotten myself into? It was entirely my own decision to leave the creature comforts of home and try something new but was it a case of 'too much, too soon'? Flash forward to two weeks later, poetically driving out of Masi with Brian and Remi for the last time and I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the thought of not getting to go back.

It may seem cliché to describe my experience as life changing, but when the shoe fits... I'll have to call it what it was, and that was nothing short of life changing. In Fish Hoek I lived with volunteers from around the world, and met many other volunteers in Gordon's Bay. All of the people I met were once called volunteers, or coordinators, or managers, or drivers, or housekeepers or whatever other labels there may have been, but now there is only one label that will need to be remembered. Having once very briefly considered them strangers, I can now proudly call these people my friends. We all started this journey at different times and all for our own reasons but now we have a shared experience that can never be taken away.

Although I was the only medical project volunteer at the time, and there had only been one previously, I got to help shape the program. I never expected for this to be the case when I started. Day after day Holly asked what GVI could do to improve the programming and I felt I could only offer minor changes. If anyone, Shirley, the principal at Masi, shaped that program more than I did. I'm so thankful to have met someone so eager to learn, and to share that knowledge. Having the chance to work with Shirley and have her guide the topics, taught me about their needs, just as much as I imagine we helped her. Yet knowing that the information is sustainable long after I'm gone is every bit as important to me as the time I actually got to spend with everyone.

Teaching children how to wash their hands is so invaluable.
Teaching children how to cough into their sleeve is so practical.
Teaching women why they should wash their fruit before eating it is so simple.
Teaching women enough to feel empowered is extraordinary.

But teaching myself that I have the confidence to try something new, so far beyond my comfort zone, and still be successful, changed me.

There will never be a day that goes by from now on where I don't think about the children and carers at Masi. I can still hear their accents as I recall the way they pronounced the colours they'd memorized in order on the colour chart. Rrrred, yellllow, bllue...

The country itself is something I will cherish, too. The sense of community in the townships and the beautiful landscapes are just as important to me as the people themselves. I've had many experiences I could never do at home, like seeing a severed sheep head before people ate them or going on a safari. Since seeing The Lion King for the first time, I knew going on a safari was something I needed to do in life. Getting to go on a safari with five new friends was just an added bonus. I probably could have done without the sheep heads, though.

Every time I learn a new language, one of the first things I try to remember is how to say thank you. Fittingly, the first word I learned in Xhosa was the translation of thank you, 'enkosi'. This word is endlessly powerful and will never be enough, but to GVI, to Masi and to the people of South Africa, I would like to say enkosi.

Ironically, I never learned the word for goodbye in Xhosa, so I'll just have to say, until we meet again.

Empowering a Community Towards Better Health

[The following summary is the post I was asked to write for GVI's community programs blog to reflect on the two weeks I spent at Masi.]

From studying global health and social medicine, I learned about social injustices relating to healthcare. I joined GVI to gain insight into the real-world applicability of those teachings in order to reverse their effects. The biggest injustice I would see at the Masiphumelele Educare was that these individuals would not have otherwise had the opportunity to learn about their health.

GVI provided a curriculum and the carers guided the lecture topics, choosing ones most valuable for the children they clearly love. At the end of one lesson, the principal, Shirley, offhandedly remarked that she couldn't wait for it to be her turn at her women's group. She wants to spread the newly acquired knowledge she painstakingly jotted down every day. When I started, the sense of bewilderment on this middle-aged woman's face when she learned there were actual hand-washing techniques was humbling.  In the end, the lessons learned by the children and carers went beyond what was taught about healthcare each day, it extended to an empowering confidence they gained in themselves.

In Xhosa "Masiphumelele" means "we will succeed." I have no doubt in my mind that the individuals with which I had the pleasure of meeting will succeed through healthier lives and go on to make the difference which is at the core of GVI's mission.

Emily Hogan – Healthcare Workshops Volunteer

Lions and Giraffes and Elephants, oh my!

My last full day with GVI was spent on a safari. The one thing I wanted to do most as a tourist on the African continent was to go on a safari. I am happy to have gone today and now I can leave on Sunday having fulfilled this dream.

Remi picked up Iris, Jodie and I from Kinrae at 9:30am. We drove for about an hour from Fish Hoek to Gordon's Bay to pick up Claire, Katrina and another girl we hadn't met before named Sarah. We then drove for two more hours to get to the safari. Remi took us on the scenic route over the mountains and occasionally we stopped to take pictures. Wild baboons were along the roads, hanging out in packs. At one point, not too far outside of Paarl, we stopped to take pictures of the most vivid rainbow I've ever seen.

The safari was at Fairy Glen in Werchester at a place called The Cape Big 5 Safari. They served us a huge buffet meal after we signed our lives away on the waiver forms. The safari started at 2:00pm and lasted for two and a half hours. We saw so many animals, not just the South African Big 5.

When we got in the jeep there were the six of us from GVI and a family of three. We passed through the gates and immediately on the right we were welcomed by water buffalo. They're nicknamed Black Death because of their incredible horns which are said to easily spear other animals. We drove out farther and saw rhinos and springbok. The guide told us a rather longwinded explanation about a tree and how it relates to giraffes hiding nests of food. The entire thing was a joke but we all kept our guards up for the rest of his stories. When we continued, we first had to wait for some giraffes to cross the road. Never thought I'd utter those words. We came up to a clearing and saw a bunch of zebras and a lone donkey in the mix. We headed over to a lion pen where three lions were being kept. There was a fence around these lions but the guide walked right up and put his hands through the fence and jingled the keys until the male lion came over to visit.

After we left that lion pen we drove through the wildebeests, zebras and donkey until we found where the giraffes were hanging out. The giraffes willingly came up pretty close to us. We drove towards a different lion pen and actually got to go right in. We didn't get too close, and the lions didn't come up like the other ones had, but it was still very neat to be in there.

When we left the second set of lions we headed back to lodge and passed by a group of ostriches on the way. Just before we got to the gate we had to stop and wait for a zebra and a bunch of antelopes to cross the road. We got out of the jeep back at the lodge and then walked over to the elephants. Because elephants like to eat absolutely everything in sight, they had to keep them in a different section. We got to walk right up to the elephants which was pretty cool.

The weather was rainy and surprisingly cold inland, even thought Remi had told us it's always warmer the farther you get away from Fish Hoek. Fortunately for us the animals were all out and being active since they weren't hiding from the heat.

The drive back to Fish Hoek took about three hours and we started right after we all had some tea at the lodge to warm up. Remi drove us back through a tunnel in the mountain rather than going over them again. It was pretty dark by the time we got back so it was nice to have done the scenic tour on our way out there in the daylight. By the time we got back to Fish Hoek, Shelly and Jane had already had their dinner so Jodie, Iris and I went to Valyland and got pizza instead of starting to cook so late. We all watched a movie together and I finished my packing.

With mixed emotions I leave tomorrow morning to fly to Germany to visit my cousin for a week before heading home. I will miss all the people here, both those at Masi and those with GVI. I will also miss the sense of purpose everyday and the beautiful scenery this country has to offer. However, I can leave knowing that the children learned many valuable lessons related to their health like exercising, how and when to wash their hands, and to cough into their sleeves. The carers have told me they feel empowered and have the confidence to teach others. So really, my job here is done.

Goodbye White Men

Holly had an administrative day so Brian went with me to project. Shirley and Mama Winnie were both away today so any communication was done was through Lulu using a lot of hand gestures. The language barrier between English and Xhosa was still too great.

The children got to have outdoor play time because the weather warmed up enough by 11:00am. I brought some sidewalk chalk with me this morning and some mini soccers balls. We put the chalk to good use when Brian and I each made a hopscotch for people to play on. No one at Masi had ever seen chalk before let alone knew what hopscotch was or how to play. I led the exercises and stretching in the middle of the yard and then we played some soccer and catch. We also played sharks (a game like tag) and then played a lot of Duck Duck Goose.

Since Shirley and Mama Winnie were both away I knew it was going to be difficult to do the lesson without our usual translators. When I asked Lulu after lunch if I could do the lesson then, Lulu and the other carers all agreed that they wanted to have their lunch first. Since it was a half day and the children weren't going to be taking their nap, one of the carers would have to supervise the children while I gave the lesson so we'd be down to two carers actually attending the lesson. Knowing that Shirley wasn't going to be at Masi today, I was planning a review for everyone but it ended up being more trouble than was maybe worth so we all decided together that we weren't going to do the review.

I made a Happy Mother's Day sign and brought it in to project to have the children hold up the sign to have their picture taken so I could send them home to my mom. Today was photo day so I was able to bring my camera and take pictures of what we've been doing at Masi for the past two weeks.

At the end of the day all the children were outside playing in the yard and all came running to the fence when it was time to leave for the last time. The children were speaking in Xhosa as they called to us when we were getting in the van. Remi was laughing at everyone and when we asked what they were saying he said they were calling to us saying, "bye white men".

After project we didn't have a meeting so I went with Jodie and Iris to the Internet cafe in Valyland. I went down to the post office as well to pick up stamps for the postcards I got at Boulder's Beach from our weekend trip in Cape Town.

At 7:00pm we all went over to Erica for the goodbye Braai in honour of Lindsey and I. Brian cooked the meat and Holly and Kim made a bunch of different types of salads. When dinner was finished, Lindsey and I went to Holly's room for our goodbye presentation. Hearing about how GVI felt thankful for our work was nice because I feel so blessed to have been able to do it. Having Holly deliver the presentation was especially genuine since we worked together on project nearly everyday. I didn't have a partner to work with on project like everyone else did at the sites in Westlake so Holly filled both roles of a coordinator and a partner to bounce ideas off of.

When our goodbye presentation was over all the volunteers and coordinators came in and we watched our goodbye slideshow. It was overwhelming to see evidence of how much we've actually accomplished in two short weeks.

After the braai and goodbye presentations we all went to Polana to celebrate our time together before Lindsey flies home tomorrow morning.

Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika

Holly picked me up this morning and Remi drove us to project. We were a couple minutes later than yesterday so the children were singing the South African National Anthem when we got there. The song is actually pretty long, and very beautiful, but the children only sang the first two verses in Xhosa and Zulu.

The weather was colder today than it had been yesterday so we didn't get to go outside for outdoor play and exercises. You could tell that the children had a lot of energy from being in the same room for almost the entire day.

I gave the lesson to Shirley and Lulu after lunch, while the children were napping. Today I talked about ringworm and oral hygiene, which were both subjects Shirley had requested. Shirley had lots of questions about oral hygiene and she said one of the children at Masi had ringworm once before. A lot of the stray animals that wander around the township had ringworm and since it's zoonotic, people can catch it much quicker than they might think. Holly interjected and said that some of the previous volunteers had caught ringworm from the children and then from each other since we're all living together.

When I got back to Kinrae after project I was locked out because of a perpetual key shortage. I walked down to the internet cafe in Valyland to pass the time and later Holly came to get me when she was done at Erica and we were able to get in because everyone else had gotten back from Westlake.

Jodie and I were on dinner duty tonight. We heated up the chicken curry and made the salad for everyone. Tonight we're going out to the Vic for drinks with all the coordinators, volunteers and some of the local guys we've been hanging out with.

Holly has asked if I would write a blog post for GVI about my experience on the medical project. I'm not sure how to condense all of my thoughts into 100 words. And yet, truthfully, there are no words to describe what it feels like being here.

What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf?

When Bolekwa arrived at Kinrae this morning she told us about the fire at Masi. Turns out the fire started down by the water and quickly spread to the shacks. Since all of the shacks are so close to one another the domino effect is extra quick. This is the largest fire in Masi history. Unfortunately Bolekwa's house was destroyed by the fire but luckily she and her son weren't home. It's heartbreaking to hear how someone who had so little to begin with just lost everything. She was away yesterday because she had to stand in line all day to get a new uniform for her son to wear to school.

Today on project, Brian came with me instead of Holly. The children and carers did their Morning Ring, then we practiced their AEIOUs and they each drew a picture of themselves. Luckily the weather was great so Brian and I led the children with stretches and exercises outside in the yard. We also taught the kids how to play What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf? Although they didn't really understand the game because we gave the instructions in English, it helped them practice their counting in English. I do my best to incorporate learning English as best as I can into each of the exercises. The game got in some running time which they loved because they got to be chased.

For the lesson with the carers I talked about impetigo and chicken pox and how you can distinguish between the two types of skin conditions. Holly and Will came by for a visit this afternoon. They sat in on our lesson with Brian. They were all sitting on a bench on one side of the room, looking rather intimidating, but before they left Holly said I'd gone a great job with the lesson.

Shirley said at the end of the lesson that she can't wait for it to be her turn at her women's group because she wants to teach each other women in their community about everything I've taught so far. She also wants to tell her friends about neighbours about the information because she feels empowered. It was heartwarming to hear how she feels abut the lesson and how much she feels she has learned. I asked Shirley what she wanted to learn tomorrow and she asked that I teach the carers about oral hygiene.

Lindsay and I went to the Internet cafe after project so that I could look up information about oral hygiene to teach tomorrow since it wasn't a topic we were originally going to cover. The weather, as usual, changed in a the drop of a hat... or drop of water... when we were walking back. Anytime you want it to stop raining or hailing, just wait five minutes and it'll turn around.

Tonight was social night since it was Wednesday. Iris was going to plan another games night with different types of games than what we had last week but most people were really tired so we ended up watching another movie instead.

Siyahamba

Today we were back on project after what feels like the first time in a very long time. Instead of having so few children, there were 28 when Holly and I arrived this morning. We had to leave Kinrae a little later than usual today because Bolekwa hadn't shown up by the time we were supposed to have left.

There was a big fire in Masiphumelele on Sunday night and over 1500 shacks are said to have been destroyed. Because Bolekwa didn't show up, she must had been affected by the fire. Shirley, the principal at Masi, didn't make it to the educare and neither did a bunch of the children. Shirley was at the library organizing supplies for people who have lost belongings in the fire. The sense of community around here is so heartwarming and palpable.

With all of the children and with the help of Shirley's stand-in, Mama Winnie, the educare and the structure of the day worked out really well. After lunch I gave my lecture on coughs, colds, and meningitis. Mama Winnie translated to the other carers from English to Xhosa. Mama Winnie told us a story about a child that had been at the educare once who had meningitis. It's been nice to give lessons based on subjects that are so relevant to them. It seems as though each of the children always has some sort of cold symptom here and they just keep spreading it among themselves.

There was one new girl who joined the educare today. She came in sporting two black eyes, shyly standing behind her new foster mom. The little girl just moved to Masi from a safety home in Langa, called Nomzamo Place of Safety (coincidently, the name of one of the sites in Gordon's Bay is also called Nomzamo). The girl was very quiet in the morning but was laughing and playing with another girl by the end of the day. 

The children sang the English words to Siyahamba today and I was so surprised. I traveled half way around the world and heard the children sing a familiar song... except it was just another day to them because it is actually a South African hymn.

Since Bolekwa wasn't at Kinrae today, I did the dishes from the weekend since I got back first from project and cleaned up after Brian made our lunches.  Tonight Jane made us dinner and later we went to karaoke night at the Brass Bell.