Goodbye with Sitabogogo coincided with their Christmas Party at Castle Rock, a local campground with an expansive, free-standing covered patio. Possible rain must be planned for but, happily the weather was perfect. Musa organized the gogos into teams of six and they had good fun practicing their various sports skills. He announced there would be a Water Bottle Race and, eying four 5-litre jugs, I figured it would be some sort of relay as a team carried the jugs to and fro. But wait – this is Africa – the gogos balanced them on their heads and RAN. Several heats of four at a time. Awesome! Got it on video and some good still shots. Tremendous cheering and encouragement from the sidelines.

Lettie in the lead, bottle balanced and skirts a-flying!

Then they decided I should have a go. Let me tell you, those jugs are heavy. And although a few gogos occasionally put up a hand to adjust the bottle, my hand was glued on all the way. In the final 25 meters and trailing at dead last, I tucked the jug under my arm like a rugby ball and sprinted, amidst hoots of laughter and cries of “Cheat!”

The gogos eagerly received the 2012 calendars from Grannies à Gogo and flipped through with absorbed interest.

Sporting my SiSwati traditional garb, a gift from the gogos on my last trip

Myriam presented each with a treat of a box of fancy cookies.

We feasted on a hot meal of boerewors and chicken, stiff mealiepap, sauce, and coleslaw, and in the African custom, I ate the entire meal with my fingers.

In the end they asked what song I wanted for their goodbye. I asked for Siya Hamba because that’s the tune our Vernon Grannies have recently adopted as our own re-written ‘anthem’. The gogos obliged in spades, their voices wheeling in harmonies as each came forward in a rhythmic, shuffling line. Hugs, thank you’s, God blesses, a few tears – such a felt attachment pulsating in my chest! How I wish I could share this aspect of “my” Africa with more of the amazing Canadian women who work hard to fundraise and support this special group of gogos. Salani kahle! ~ Susan

 

“Salon & Barba” (Barber) roadside business

“Car Wash”

The two photos above have nothing to do with the Sitabogogogroup, or even Simile township. On the other hand, they are very representative of similar ‘businesses’ in Simile which I am too self-conscious to photograph. I would feel invasive. However, I was about an hour’s drive north of town and was stopped for ten minutes by road works, so snapped these photos out of the car window. These kinds of roadside businesses are not uncommon in rural areas and, while they speak to poverty, they also show the entrepreneurial spirit of many: a service / skill to offer with low overhead, to say the least.

Myriam & Vicky help with annual Life Certificate forms

In Blog #3 I referred to Social Services Assistance sharing the premises each Monday. Today Vicky, Myriam and I helped the gogos fill out the annual Life Certificate forms, a document which proves they are still living and entitled to their pension for another year. (I’m sure this country does death certificates, but somewhere in the inept morass of government and civil service bureaucracy, the twain do not meet). Each gogo had brought along a photocopy of her South African ID book, we filled in names, numbers, details, etc and the gogo then signed (with signature or thumbprint) while we witnessed.

Myriam witnesses gogo’s thumbprint signature

Meanwhile the fellow from Social Services had only a few people coming to him, while we had more and more mkhulus (grandfathers) and others from Simile swamp our table. Twice we ran out of forms (Social Services guy didn’t have extras) and I had to drive into Sabie to get more photocopies. Then all the paperwork was taken to the police station for lethargic rubber-stamping on about 75-100 applications. All in all it was time well spent, as in the past each of these pensioners had to get themselves to another city once a year for this bureaucratic hoop-jumping.

At the craft sessions the gogos have been making crosses. The base is a thin piece of cross-shaped plywood. Then they select “jewels” and broken mosaic tile to glue on in an attractive pattern of their choice. Next comes a generous slathering of grout, mixed up by Joy, followed by edge trimming and an overall sponging. I went around to write names on the back for some; others proudly showed me they had written their own names.

Gogos enjoy social time while crafting crosses

Joy (top left) mixes grout for crosses

The Ubuntu Board of Directors, back row: Rev. Lynne, Sindiswa, Myriam, Vicky, Musa. Front: Rosemerry, Rev. Lawrence, Joy

The Ubuntu Centre Board of Directors met recently and I was pleased to be able to attend. The reports and discussions dealt with the year-to-date financial report, staff matters, distribution of donated toys and the like. Their sense of commitment and responsibility was evident, and once again I felt so fortunate to have these dedicated people volunteering on our behalf to enable this project.

Vicky presented the year-end report which noted the positive impact of the weekly visits of the physiotherapists and dietician. She has observed improvement in their sewing skills, and the beneficial effects of their sports activities on their physical well being. The combined effect of these activities over time has resulted in a tremendous boost to the gogos’ self-esteem.

Tshepiso Mashaba takes the blood pressure of gogo Emma Skosana. Diabetes blood sugar testing is also done regularly.

We were pleased to learn that the medical suppliers of the very expensive blood sugar testing strips have recently begun to donate a few boxes of these with each monthly visit.

There are challenges, too. The biggest is the loss of a major donor in Britain who has contributed 50% of the Ubuntu Centre budget over the past four years. The other 50% is from Grannies à Gogo. With this revenue shortfall some cost-cutting measures are in the works.

Milly explains to the gogos that changes are necessary in view of financial constraints

Other challenges include communication problems between English speaking volunteers and the gogos, and some undercurrents with a few gogos with self-centred expectations.

Ever positive, Vicky and Myriam plan to update the Vulnerable Families database with the help of the Home Based Care ladies, which has not been done in two years. When this information is in hand, they will look at restructuring in the new year, possibly to form smaller pods within Sitabogogo, each with it’s own leader. It’s great to see the Board providing new ideas and leadership opportunities amongst the gogos.

Thobiya, with her veggies to sell later, and Selina, avid gardener

Many of the gogos have been turned on to sports thanks in large part to the help of Musa Nkuna from the Department of Culture and Recreation. He organized a display for me of all the competitive games they play at the competitions for seniors. A picture reputedly being worth a thousand words, here is a photo essay:

Standing in a large circle around Musa, the gogos follow his lead in warm up exercises. He made sure that plenty of bottled water was set out on this 33ºC day.

Martina runs the ball forward from the back of her team in the Pass-the-Ball Relay

With a little help from Musa, Inah lines up to hit six tennis ball into a 30 cm cage about 10 feet away. This very spry, mid-80s gogo scored with three balls.

Ring-the-Stick was a quite a logistical challenge

One member tosses the ring to a partner who catches it (hopefully) by poking the stick through the ring. Then the thrower runs to the catcher and takes the stick, while the first catcher runs the ring to the next team member in line, and takes her place at the back of the line. They continue until all have had a chance at throwing and catching. Whew!

The next photo has a back story. Thembi is relatively new to Sitabogogo. She first came for soup when the soup kitchen started a year ago. Not only was she challenged physically and wheelchair bound, but had a challenge with alcohol and hygienic care. She was encouraged to join in with the gogos’ activities and slowly, very gradually, she became an eager part of the group. She’s now there every day, cleaned up and raring to go. A very heart-warming success story.

Thembi demonstrates her winning style in the Washing Pegs Race, for which she won a bronze medal at the National Golden Games in the wheelchair bound division.

Rose Maluka (bronze medal in Rapid Throw), Thembi Mafokeng and Victor Maphosa were selected as part of Mpumalanga’s provincial delegation to the National Golden Games in Bloemfontein in October.

October was designated Seniors month and the Department of Social Development organized a series of soccer and netball games in Thulamashe, about a two hour drive north of Sabie. The 22 members of Sitabogogo you are looking at here are wearing the medals of first place!

Other competitions for seniors were the Duck Walk, Dress-up Race, and Juskei, but my photos for those were dubious. When Musa’s well organized demonstrations were done I felt I’d had a workout, too, dashing between my note-taking, still camera and video camera. Lots to show when I get home.