Handwashing 101

There were more children at Masi today but still only 12 in total. If all the children are here next week Lulu says there should be a total of 38. Having so many children around will be a shock. There has been hardly any structure to the days this week, despite there being a schedule. Because of all the holidays, the children and carers seem very relaxed.

Shirley was away today but a lady named Winnie, and affectionately called Mama Winnie, came to help Lulu and the other carers. Thankfully Mama Winnie is fluent in English and Xhosa making it just as easy as having Shirley around. Mama Winnie originally owned the building and land the educare is on, using it as her family home, but she turned it into an educare for the children in Masiphumelele township to have a safe place to learn.

After Morning Ring today, Holly and I lead exercises with the children. We did basic moves like jumping jacks, arm circles and hopping on each foot to help them with their balance. The children had lots of fun getting out their energy since it was raining outside and we couldn't use other rooms than the office because of all the painting.  The carers did the exercises too and they all said their arms were hurting after the arm circles. Guess it means we did something right!

Holly and I read English books to the children and then we helped them practice recognizing colours. I traced all the childrens' hands and they loved it. Each one only coloured in the fingers first and then asked permission to colour in the palms of their hands. When colouring time was over they were going to have a snack so I showed them how to properly wash their hands. I saw some of them washing their hands after toilet time and they were doing it properly so hopefully it will stick. The children went to sleep after they had their lunchtime snack. When they went down for a nap I gave the lesson for the day.

Mama Winnie was my translator for our lesson which was about food poisoning and the benefits of exercise. Today's lesson was relatively short and there weren't too many questions.

Remi picked up Holly and I at 1:00pm since Friday's are half days for schools and businesses in South Africa. On the radio in the van they were talking about William and Kate being on their way to Buckingham Palace because their wedding ceremony had just ended. Holly is from Manchester and she said hearing about the Royal Wedding made her miss home. I agree that it feels like we just missed a major event but I may never be volunteering in a township in South Africa again so teaching children how to wash their hands properly instead of watching the Wedding was a good way to spend that time. A little perspective never hurts.

The Criminals Are Here!

Holly was thankfully well enough to join me on project today so Remi picked up Holly from Erica and came to get me by 8:30am. Remi drove a different way through Masi since we didn't have to stop at Patricia's house first. The trip through Masi had nicer houses that were stucco on the outside and a little larger than the shacks with corrugated metal or plastic.

There were about 6 or 7 children at the centre today and some of them were different than those who were present on Tuesday. When Holly and I first arrived there were a couple of children in the front room with the cribs so she and I went in the other room, the office, to go over our material. We ran through the schedule for the first and second workshops while we could hear the children were doing their Morning Ring.

When the Morning Ring was over the children came into the office to each a snack before going to the back classroom for activity time. Holly and I were still in the front room and some other white people (the first I'd seen in Masi) arrived at the centre. The lady introduced help saying she was a teacher nearby and her students had to pick a shortterm and longterm project to help make the area better. The people who had come today had chosen to paint the Masiphumelele Educare Centre.

Holly and I went to join the children and carers in the back classroom. The carer, Lulu, who was in charge while Shirley was at the library came into the room saying, "the criminals are here, the criminals are here". I think this scared both Holly and I but she went with Lulu to see what was going on. Turned out the woman who had come with her students had left her BMW outside the barbed wire fence, unlocked, and people had gone in and stolen some diapers. No one was hurt and nothing had been broken so they called the security guard, Rasca, to come. When Rasca arrived, he called the police. The children had no idea this had all happened since I had stayed with them in the back classroom and read them a story.

One of the children, Abulele, was acting out so Holly sent him to the naughty corner. He screamed and cried the whole five minutes he spent there. All the other children wanted to watch.

Today it was warm enough to take the children outside to play. A bunch of the children like to hang about the neighbourhood, outside the fence but don't go to the educare. Today they came inside the fence and used the playground at the same time and Shirley didn't seem to mind at all.

The children went inside for lunch before taking their nap. Because the painting was taking place inside the front room, they were all in the office for the remainder of the time we spent inside.

Shirley had come back from her meeting at the Masi Library during play time but she had to leave early so we did a lesson one-on-one while the children finished their snack. Today's lessons were about the food pyramid, basic nutrition, and handwashing techniques. Holly was sitting in the room as I spoke to Shirley and she even interjected at times to ask questions because she hadn't even known some of the information I was passing on. She was just as interested for her own knowledge.

Shirley had known to wash their hands and when to do it but she didn't realize there was an actual proper way to wash hands. When I explained the food pyramid Shirley asked a lot of questions and said she wanted to use it with her own family as well. Knowing she was so eager to share the information is so gratifying. Shirley explained to the other carers that we want to work on handwashing with the kids tomorrow.

Holly and I offered to help the painters but they already had enough hands so we waited until the kids were awake and then watched them eat their afternoon snacks. Afterwards we went outside and read books and sang songs with the children until Remi picked us up.

The debrief was quick and Holly told Will, our regional manager, that I'd given a great lesson. It was nice to get positive feedback so soon into my time here.

Jodie and I made a quick trip to Spar in Valyland and then it was our turn to be on dinner duty. We had to heat up the meal our cook/housekeeper, Bolekwa, had prepared earlier in the day. I made the salad while Jodie heated the spaghetti Bolognese. When the meal was finished, Jodie and I cleared the table and did all of the dishes.

Tonight has been a quiet night, with a presentation from Will's wife, Catalina, on optional side trips- shark diving, sky diving, wine tours. Everyone has been doing some lesson planning for tomorrow and reading for the remainder of the evening.

Freedom Day

Since today was Freedom Day, there was no school and therefore no project. On April 27th, Freedom Day is celebrated as a national holiday in South Africa. This year marked the 17th anniversary of the first post-apartheid elections across the country. 

Because we didn't have project today, Brian organized for five of us to go on a township town at one of South Africa's largest townships, called Langa. Langa is about 45 minutes from Fish Hoek and not too far from the airport in Cape Town. Some of the other girls said they could see Langa from their planes on the way into Cape Town. 

Remi drove us to Langa for a tour that was booked at 2:30pm. On the drive over, Remi gave us a talk about the history of South Africa. When we got to Langa there was a group of locals who were dancing and singing while wearing traditional clothing. They were celebrating Freedom Day before going inside the community centre for a lively prayer service for the upcoming federal elections.

Our tour guide, MC, met us outside the arena where we started the tour. Remi drove us through the township while MC spoke about the history and pointed out notable buildings and areas around the township. 

Our first stop on the tour was at a building where local people/artisans make and sell their arts and crafts. There is also a computer lab with internet that was donated by Microsoft. We went to see a person making pottery and another person who frames pictures and mirrors. After we left the centre we drove to MC's house.  He said his house is pretty big in comparison to most and it was 6x7meters. MC said when it was at its most full, there were 27 people living in it; 19 kids on the floor with only 17 blankets to go around. MC said the house was built in 1927 and they got electricity in 1938. Ironically, the shack-like house had a flat screen TV with a satellite dish. We were told that not everyone lives in a township because they can't afford to live elsewhere, but because it is part of their culture to live in the family home. MC's family was the original owner of their house and four generations of their family have lived and been born there.

After leaving MC's house, we walked down to a little market and a bunch of kids ran up to us to play and have their picture taken. They just ran up and started posing without even having our cameras out. 

MC led us through the hostel area, which is where migrant workers use to stay when they came to South Africa from other countries looking for work. Now these hostels have been turned into family housing. The rooms are nothing more than a cement slab coming out from the wall to be used as a bed and an entire family can be living in there.

We walked over to where they cook sheep heads-- a local delicacy. The heads, once cooked, are called Smilies because skin and muscles all pull back tightly to reveal a somewhat menacing grin, akin to a smile. The smoke from burning the meat was so strong. We were told we could eat the meat but no one offered it to us once we got there. I don't know if I could have actually stomached eating this but it would have been all part of the experience. 

After looking at the Smilies we walked to a Shebeen. A Shebeen is like a bar inside a really dirty looking shack. Shebeens were an alternative to a traditional bar during the apartheid because black men we unable to enter bars which were designated for white men only. The men we met all sat around and drank homemade beer out of a communal metal container. Each of the GVI voluneers tried the beer and it tasted to me like beer, milk and metal with a terribly strong aftertaste. 

When we left the Shebeen we got back in the van and drove through the richest part and then the poorest part of the township. We stopped to visit a traditional healer. This man was actually a witch doctor. The witch doctor put a racoon fur on his head while giving his talk about the different remedies he used. There were animal furs, flies and liquid potions all over the very small shack, creating a rather...unique...aroma. When we left the witch doctor, we drove around the township a little more and dropped MC off near the primary school by his home.

Remi drove us back to Kinrae via a different route we'd taken to Langa that morning but the same route Mary had taken Iris and I along to get to our house from the airport. There were fewer surfers at Muizenberg this time around but because it's nicknamed Surfer's Paradise, it's no wonder there were still some diehards out. 

When we got back to the house we ate dinner and had our first social night. We played a variety of games including pictionary, name that tune and a riddle competition. We were on teams and I played with Jane, Shelly and Kate on the winning team. Everyone celebrated with ice cream and we watched a movie to end a great and very busy day.

First Day on Project

Today was the first day on project. All of the volunteers in my house were picked up by Mary at Kinrae at 8:30am and Brian and I were dropped off at Erica to meet our driver, Remi. Holly was still too sick to join us so Brian got a final briefing from her and then we left for the township. The place where I'm working is called Masiphumelele, South Africa, but everyone calls it Masi.

Masi is not too far outside of Fish Hoek where we are staying but economically these places are miles apart. This is a genuine slum in a somewhat rural part of South Africa. It's like nothing I've ever seen before or ever could have imagined myself standing in. The houses are made of corrugated metal or plastic and stores are in old shipping/freight containers. There are stray dog and chickens everywhere and people walk around all day. If children or even toddlers don't have somewhere to go during the day then they just wander the streets.

Remi took Brian and I to the site that GVI has worked at before, Kiddies Corner. Here we met with Patricia, where she runs this educare out of her living room. Patricia came in the van with us to lead Remi to our site. Brian and I worked at the Masiphumelele Educare Centre which is in a really nice building compared to the rest of the township that I've seen so far. We met Shirley who is the principal and runs the centre. She also happens to be Patricia's neighbour. There were four female carers and only seven children because Monday and Wednesday are both holidays so most people stayed home on Tuesday as well. None of the people I've met so far in the township speak English other than Shirley. The children and other carers all speak in Xhosa. Shirley gave us a tour of Masi and showed us the outline for the day that they typically use for some structure while the children are attending the educare.

Each day the children arrive by 9am and then start what they call Morning Ring. For an hour every morning the carers that work at Masi lead the children through various songs. Some of the songs are in English and some of the songs are in Xhosa. After Morning Ring, at 10am the children have a snack. I was very impressed by how well the children eat, given that many of them have parents who are unemployed. Shirley tries to make sure that everyone who attends Masi gets adequate food while in her care.

At 10:30am the children are typically divided up by age and moved into different rooms to work on their education. Rather than calling it kindergarden, in South Africa the children start school in grade R. However, it is not uncommon for the schools to have admission into grade R based on the child already knowing their alphabet, numbers, colours and shapes in English. Families send their children to an educare like Masi in order for them to have a safe environment to learn and qualify for admission into grade R.

If the weather cooperates, at 11am, the children have the opportunity for outdoor play. If the weather isn't so kind, the children stay indoors and are read stories, play games, make puzzles or have some sort of alternative creative activity. At noon the children eat their lunches and go down for a two hour nap starting at 1pm. At 3pm, the children are all woken up and allowed to play, read books, etc. until someone comes to get them.

Today Brian and I helped lead their songs during Morning Ring. Then they ate their snack where I helped feed one girl who was eating spoiled milk, warmed up. It looked like cottage cheese and smelled horrific. A common meal for people where I work is called Masi (after the township) and it's a mixture of spoiled milk and bread crumbs.

After lunch Brian and I took turns reading books to the kids, played Duck Duck Goose, and then watched the children practice their colours, shapes and numbers in English. The librarian from the local township library came by before lunch and read the children a book in Xhosa. I think I was just as fascinated as they were by the story because I've never been so immersed in a foreign language like that before. The children then had their lunch and Brian and I ate ours outside when the children had finished and went down for a nap.

Brian and I started the first lesson which was given to the carers while the children slept. Shirley is the only person at the Educare who spoke English. Brian and I took turns leading the lesson and Shirley would translate to the other carers. Shirley seems so genuinely interested in learning, stopping us to ask a few questions, and took notes throughout the lesson. Today's lesson with the carers was about the basics of the immune system and germs.

The children started to wake up from their naps around 2:00pm and some parents, mostly other school-children around 8-10 years old, came to pick up the children. Although our day on project was supposed to last from 9:00am to 3:30pm, all of the kids and carers had left by 2:30pm so Brian called Remi to have him pick us up early. While waiting, Brian and I walked around the centre and visited the back garden. For safety reasons we are not allowed to walk around outside the barbed wire fence that separates the Educare from the rest of the township.

Once everyone else had returned back home from project, we had a debrief in the living room at Kinrae. Because everyone else works in a different township, called Westlake, it was great to hear how each of them had spent their day. In this meeting we elected Iris as the volunteer rep who will write a blog post and plan our weekly social night for next week.

We ate a really god vegetarian chili for dinner before going out to a bar called The Brass Bell in Kalk Bay. This bar is on a pier on the beach and the waves from the Atlantic Ocean crash right up against the windows. Unfortunately it has been on the rainy and cold side since we arrived and since the windows didn't reach the roof, water easily got inside. There was a fire pit inside the bar that we all gathered around while karaoke went on nearby. We met a bunch of Americans who were on exchange from a Christian University in California. Iris and I went home around 11:30pm and everyone else who'd gone out went to another bar nearby called Polana.

The Start of Something New

Friday night I left on a plane from Toronto to Frankfurt, Germany. I was sitting on the aisle in the second row of economy class. The man across the aisle was on a connection from Winnipeg and Air Canada had already managed to lose his family's dog!

I watched a couple movies and then we were served dinner around 11:30pm. Afterwards, it was late and I was tired enough to try to get some sleep. Sitting upright trying to fall asleep on a crowded plane was just as uncomfortable as anyone could imagine so I sat up again around 3:00am and went back to watching movies.

The plane landed in Frankfurt around 6:00am EST but 12:00pm local time. The airport seemed very large so I wanted to find my gate. Little did I know that I had to go through security again to get there so once I went through there, I couldn't go back to the busier part of the airport with all the shops. A flight left from the same gate I would eventually be at, leaving myself and a few employees as the only people in the area for the next couple hours.

I read the only English newspapers I could find which were USA Today and a British paper. After reading the papers I took a nap, using my backpack as a pillow. I slept for a while and then went for a walk around the gate area, looking in the duty free and taking a couple pictures as something to do to stay entertained. Out of complete boredom, around 5:00pm their time I took another nap for an hour. People started arriving for our flight by 7:00pm and after 10 hours of waiting alone, I boarded the plane  en route to Johannesburg.

The plane was a Lufthansa operated airbus 380-800 which is a huge double decker plane. My seat number was 90H so I thought I'd be stuck in the middle somewhere but it turned out that of the 550 seats onboard, there were only 220 passengers and I ended up surrounded by several empty seats. The whole back section of the bottom floor that I was sitting in was full of people from the Netherlands, save for me and one other Canadian. The four flight attendants assigned to our section were really fun and called the plane the party bus. Once the flight started, people all spread out and I ended up with three seats to myself.

We were first served dinner and the food on Lufthansa was nothing short of spectacular. Of all the flights I've been on, their foods is the best, bar none. After eating dinner while flying over Sarajevo, Bosnia, I got into my sleeping bag liner and made a bed with the pillows from each of the seats I occupied. I ended up with a pretty comfortable bed for the long haul. In the end, I got about seven hours of sleep, for which I was very grateful.

During the night I woke up once, looked out the window and saw nothing but darkness and stars so I checked the flight path tracker on the TV to see where in the world I was. Turns out, we were crossing the Nile River. When I woke up in the morning I checked again to see where we were and I ate my breakfast while flying over Harare, Zimbabwe.

The plane landed in Johannesburg around 9:00am. I had to pick up my boarding pass to get to Cape Town from a ticket counter. I had to go through customs since it was my first point of entry in the country. The customs officer didn't speak English to me, stamped my passport, asked no questions and let me go on through. A porter in an orange shirt, who I was told on the Lufthansa flight was "safe", harassed me to take my bags through the airport until he had both hands on it, pulling it away from me. He walked to the check-in counter and then demanded at least $20USD. I was angry to give him that much but relieved to get him away from me and the few belongings I'd brought for my trip. I was happy to get to my gate and board so soon thereafter because I didn't feel comfortable in the Johannesburg airport, even by the staff who were supposed to be there to help.

The afternoon flight to Cape Town was on South African Airways. I was sitting in the aisle of the last row beside an American girl who went to school in Germany and had been on the same Lufthansa flight.  The flight only took two hours which seemed particularly short after two long flights.

Upon arrival in Cape Town, I went on the bus from the tarmac to the terminal to pick up my backpack. I was supposed to meet a GVI driver but I was actually met by a coordinator, Jane from Ireland, and a fellow volunteer, Iris from Texas. The driver we had, Mary, is also from Ireland and took us from the airport to our new home in Fish Hoek, South Africa. The beach on the drive down looked so pretty and the mountains that surrounded this area are incredible. It was raining when I arrived in Cape Town but it had subsided by the time we arrived in Fish Hoek.

At the house on Kinrae Drive, Jane introduced us to the other volunteers and coordinator, Brian. Jane and Brian went over a risk assessment with Iris and I. Then, the coordinator, Holly, and volunteers from the other house in Fish Hoek on Erica Avenue came over and we all did introductions. For dinner we had salad, pasta and leftover meats from the braai they had the previous Friday night. Even though it was Easter, it certainly wasn't like any Easter I've ever experienced before. We all went for a walk down to a main road, which is literally one house away. We went to a grocery store, Spar, which seems small in comparison to ones at home but the store is comprehensive; you just get one version of each item rather than your choice of multiple brands. I noticed in the grocery store that they don't keep eggs in the fridge here; you can find them on the shelf in the same aisle as cereal. After dinner and the walk, we went to a bar called The Vic for our welcome drinks. I can't say I've been to a bar on Easter before. The walk there and back wasn't too far and the houses on the side of the mountain, when lit at night in the dark, look like houses in the Hollywood Hills. In the light of day, these houses look nothing alike.

At The Vic I ordered a Castle beer because I was told by Brian that it was the best beer around, and if I could find it again at home, I'd certainly have another one. We played a bunch of getting to know you type games and got back to the house around 11:30pm. Some housemates stayed up to watch a movie but after such a long day and having not seen a bed in a couple days, I was happy to sleep.

Today is a bank holiday here for Easter Monday so the volunteers didn't go to project. The weather has been raining on and off and it has been a little chilly but I've still been wearing shorts and flip flops. Iris, Jodie - the other new volunteer, from Wales - and I went to the Erica house with Brian to meet Holly for our orientation. Holly was really sick so Brian gave us the training then took us back to Kinrae for lunch and the rest of our training. We had some afternoon training with Jane and then project specific curriculum training with Kim, a teacher from New Hampshire. Kim actually lives in Paarl right now, tying up loose ends on a project that recently finished after meeting all their goals.

When the training was finished, we all went back to Erica for lesson planning, where I was supposed to work with Holly but because she was still sick, she briefed Brian and we walked back to Kinrae to go over the medical project and learn the ropes together. Brian ended up leaving to take Holly to the hospital so I worked and talked to Iris and Kate, a volunteer from England. Once all the other volunteers had returned to Kinrae, we made dinner together.

Tonight we had dinner late since it was supposed to be Brian's turn but he'd been gone with Holly and we made our own dinner for each other once we realized he'd be gone for a while. We are watching a movie after dinner and I'm anxiously awaiting my first day on project tomorrow.