Have you noticed the elasticity of time? How it squeezes in on you when there’s so much to fill it with, and stretches when you cram more and more into it than you thought possible? Those have been my experiences these last several days. This last blog is an assorted catch-all of items not squeezed into previous blogs.  

Some of our Vernon area Grannies are teamed with a Gogo writing partner, several of whom have sustained the partnership for eight years. I brought about 15 of their letters to hand deliver … a “red-letter” day that thrills them. They love to get mail, but it’s difficult for many to write as it involves having some one write in English for them. But about six of them have asked for partners, saying they have a grandchild who will translate for them.

Joy Burton is a regular volunteer twice a week and has been since Sitabogogo’s inception eight years ago. She helps where needed but is often found assisting the gogos with various handicrafts, finding the beads or needles or wool or whatever they require – keeping them sorted out.

 

Once a week the gogos have their blood pressure and their blood sugar tested and recorded. Most gogos have diabetes and high blood pressure due to their very starchy diets. This procedure is usually done by Cornelia Lukhele who is a retired nurse, but she is due to have cataract surgery next week – one of the very few who has a medical aid plan. On occasion when an unusually high test result is found, Myriam drives the gogo to the hospital and often they are admitted for further examination and observation. Our Grannies à Gogo funds at work.

 

 

 

 

Goodbyes … they really choke me up. The 50 kids of the Homework Program where I helped out every afternoon (see blog # 7), touched my heart with all their scribbled messages and drawings of love and thanks and please-come-backs. They seemed to appreciate my impromptu speech about striving for excellence, about staying ahead of the pack at their (sometimes dismal) schools. The goodbye poster I made of photos taken of them over the past four weeks was a hit – they love to find themselves in photos. Don’t we all!

The toughest goodbye was with the gogos. Their sense of ceremony – singing, dancing, speeches – pulls at my heart strings and seems designed to turn on my tears. I officially presented the photo album (see previous blog #8) into their keeping, and Jonathan spoke to them about taking inspiration from it to do fundraising projects of their own. 

This occasion was also used to start a new tradition for 2014 – to recognize each gogo’s birthday with the gift of a cloth shopping bag. The cost of plastic shopping bags is a frequent extra expense for them and a blight on the environment where bags litter and blow in the streets. They applauded the idea.

The gogos gave me various gifts and one in particular, an African candle, served as a springboard for my thanks for the light and love they have brought into our lives in Canada …that sense of connection across cultures and continents.

A Sabie friend told me, in a story that is iconic of African attitude and optimism, that she had quickly run to a store while preparing for a party and asked if they sold ice. “Yes, ma’am”, she was told. So my friend asked for a bag of ice. Imitating the African accent complete with rolling ‘r’s, she said the reply was, “Sorrry, ma’am, the ice, it is as yet unfrrrozen.“ And so it is – life is fluid, for Sitabogogo and for Grannies à Gogo. We are not frozen into patterns. We are flowing, growing, together.

“Salani kahle”! – Goodbye ~ Susan 

 

A venerable cliché – a picture is worth a thousand words. That is particularly apt when the words being spoken are of diverse languages not understood between two differing cultures. Grannies à Gogo decided to present a gift of a photo album to the members of Sitabogogo.  We are fortunate in having come to “know” our gogos through monthly reports sent to us by our volunteer administrators throughout our eight year history. We’ve also received a number of photos sprinkled throughout each year. 

 

However, the reverse has not been true. The gogos know that funds come from “the Grannies in Canada”, and seem to think we are all simply wealthy. They do not know the details about the countless fundraising projects we’ve done over the years, nor the fun we’ve had doing them. So our tireless Granny Anne C put together a 150-photo album that detailed all our projects.

Over three sessions I presented the pages of photos to them. With Jonathan animatedly translating, I told them I brought greetings from our group who feel a strong heart to heart connection with them, and detailed what the photos were about.

 

As Jonathan explained each page, they learned about the activities we’ve done on their behalf. About garage and trunk sales, pot luck suppers, auctions of under-loved items, an African workshop of drumming, pottery, gumboot dancing, and beading, about sock coin collectors, walkathons, photo contests and calendar sales, sales of many beautifully crafted items, recipe books and so, so much more.

 

 

 

The pages were passed around the circle and studied with interest, to the point where a few gogos scolded some others for holding on to the pages too long.

One gogo, Beauty, announced she recognized her letter-writing partner, Sherry. Another took particular interest in the Sock-It-Away coin collectors, wanting to know how that worked. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I told about a private initiative of a child’s first birthday where the parents requested no presents, but asked instead a small donation to Grannies à Gogo, the gogos spontaneously applauded.

The photo album will be left with them to peruse as they wish, and there are blank pages at the end where more photos can be added. It’s all about connections – growing stronger!

It’s 1:30 pm and half a dozen kids from a nearby school have arrived for soup and three slices of bread before rummaging in their heavily laden school bags and buckling down to their homework. Over the next hour a total of 30+ will arrive from more distant schools, taking public transportation. They will get their soup and bread at 4 pm.

I made passing reference to the after school Homework Program in blogs 3 and 4, and now I’d like to spell it out for you. This is Vicky Bryant’s “baby” and it falls under the umbrella of the Ubuntu Centre, as do our gogos, but is not supported by funds from Vernon’s Grannies à Gogo. However, a few of our gogos have grandkids attending the program.

Vicky’s background is as a former teacher and English Dept. head in Belgium. Throughout 2013 she volunteered at Memezile High School in the Simile township which can be best described as the lowest rung (poorest) of South Africa’s three-tiered school system. She found the lack of caring and any sense of follow-through there demoralizing. So she started the homework program last year on a small scale with a handful of children to start with, which grew to 25 by the end of the year. Last year’s good news was that a Memezile graduate, for the first time in all the school’s history, got a “distinction”, and another one came very close – both were students who Vicky had worked closely with throughout the year.

So when the new school year started in mid-Jan. this year, she put all her efforts into her homework program with about 20 students, or “learners” as they are called. I’ve been helping out every afternoon for the past three weeks and have seen parents show up each day to register more children. We are now up to 50 registrants spanning grades 1-12. Apparently word of the positive results has spread amongst the black community!

Vicky has gathered resource books, various encyclopedia sets and, most impressively, downloaded and printed copiously from educational websites – enough supplemental material to fill more than 50 binders. She draws from this material as enrichment as the kids finish their homework. In theory she charges R250 ($25)/month to cover supplies but to date only nine of the 50 registrants has paid. And she does not turn them away if they demonstrate their willingness to learn. Her goal is to enthuse the kids about learning their school work as well as values of respect for people and property.

I was able to talk a young man named Samuel Fenyane into coming out from Johannesburg to see this program. My history with Samuel goes back to 2003 when he needed help in registering for university. He now has his B.Ed, Masters, and works as a researcher for the South Africa Democratic Teachers Union, with a focus on rural schools. He met with Vicky in the morning, then spent the afternoon with the learners, and was thoroughly impressed. He made notes throughout and says he will make a presentation to his boss to see if there is some way to assist.

Vicky’s wish list includes:

• a larger building for her growing registrants. (They currently fill all the spaces indoors and spill outside around tables. When it rains, it’s chaotic.)

• more regular volunteers. (Currently only one regular twice a week, Benedicte for 5 months, and me for a month.)

• a few laptop computers for the high school learners. (note: Memezile High School has no computers)

• to build a media library of DVDs so the older ones can learn independently

As a former teacher I have immense admiration for what Vicky has taken on with a passion and accomplished in such a short time. She has plunged her fist into the gushing hole of rural education, in an effort to buoy up a few young learners who would likely be swamped.

It’s with the children that the future of South Africa lies.

 

 

 

Exercise day for the gogos happens once a week with the physio and occupational therapists from the hospital. As in every other year in January, these young ladies are new to Sabie – and to the gogos – because the medical system requires one year of practice in rural areas for graduates in all medically related fields. So they were prepared and pumped! 

Physiotherapist Kate had all the gogos who could, out of their chairs, bending and stretching and shaking their booties. I did note that the gogos were rather more adept at bootie-shaking than the skinny white chicks. Karen challenged them further by calling out different gogos to take the lead and change the exercise. The man in the photo is Lucky Maabane who helps out intermittently, and he was acting as translator for the therapists … when they would pause long enough in their eager instructions!

They also had brought along some props to add variation. A large green ball was thrown across the circle from gogo to gogo, which gave their arms a workout. The ball hit the ground more that the receiving hands, and would seem to indicate a skill that needs continued working on. Three-foot long rubber tubing was used between pairs of gogos for several strength and stretching exercises. Another exercise involved passing a heavy soccer-sized ball around the circle with a twisting back & forth movement. Then things were ramped up a bit by adding another ball going the opposite direction – they got quite a giggle out of it. Next time they say they will add more balls going around the circle.

In a new twist, occupational therapist Lizelle did an interesting exercise of esteem and inclusion. She held on to the tail of a ball of wool, tossed it across the circle to a gogo and paid that gogo a compliment – something personal. Then that gogo wrapped the wool around her wrist and tossed it across to another, and said something positive about her. Etc, etc. At first the gogos’ comments focused on their physical dress or appearance, but Lizelle guided them to speak about their qualities, and soon they were noting characteristics such as hard working, patience, friendliness, and so on. It was quite a complex and difficult concept for the gogos but, credit to Lizelle, she persisted through to the end. She summed up by asking how they felt about hearing someone else give a compliment, and also pointed out the web of wool that was connecting all of us together. The symbolism of Ubuntu was clear to them.

Just a short posting today since it has only been two days since the last blog. But I’m off to Kruger Park for the weekend, just an hour’s drive from Sabie, and am happy to let my laptop cool it’s heels. The only search engine will be the car’s … seeking out elephant, kudu, lion, giraffe, rhino, etc, etc. Given the massive amount of rain we’ve had (51 cm in one downpour the other night), I hope the etc-etc is not all I see.

And so, a few random photos of Sitabogogo … 

In my last blog there were a couple of photos referencing the monthly supplemental food parcels that each gogo receives. I suppose those photos put the (shopping) cart before the horse, because first there had to be quite a grocery shop for about fifty gogos. So I tagged along to help Myriam on what I thought was a rather mammoth shopping expedition, but which she does regularly without batting an eye.

Also tagging along was 18-month old Omphemetse, one of three little girls Myriam and Vicky have been fostering until their birth certificates can be secured (a very lengthy process in S. Africa). Omphey sat on my lap, seat belt securing the two of us, while Myriam drove us the hour to Nelspruit. Omphey learned to “high-5”, to clap “Patty Cake”, and finally dozed to my warbling of “Hush Little Baby” in her ear.

However, before getting groceries, there were a few stops to buy hangars for the Clothes Bank, three cans of varnish for new shelves, and a big plastic bin for food storage – the assortment of bugs in cupboards is quite extraordinary. Then we arrived at Macro, a Walmart type store where Vicky and Myriam have arranged a 10% discount on all purchases for the Ubuntu Centre, and the shopping began in earnest.

Well! I hadn’t quite imagined what 50 times every item on the list would look like. An hour and a half later, with four laden trolley loads and two shopping carts (one containing an increasingly irritable Omphey), we were done.

As we went through the cashier, everything was left unbagged on the trolleys and carts. The carry-out guys rolled it all out to the little bakkie (pick-up with a canopy) and I would have placed bets on not getting everything in.

But let me tell you, in their next career move these guys could be designing 3D cube puzzles. Fifteen minutes later, and a few re-arrangings,  it was all packed in. I skeptically snuck a peek at the tires and off we went to Sabie, uphill all the way over pot-holed roads. On arrival, the after-school Homework Program was still in session, and about 20 kids were pressed into service unloading everything. Apparently this will happen once or twice more throughout the month! Joy Comley, mentioned in the previous blog, has tentatively lined up a volunteer to take over some of the shopping – a Godsend. More news as it unfolds …

Cliché, but true – “Many hands make light work”. The Ubuntu Community Care volunteer administrators, Myriam and Vicky, have taken on a multitude of responsibilities which include overseeing the gogos (African grandmothers) of “Sitabogogo”, operating an after-school homework program for all grade levels, distributing soup from the tail gate of their “bakkie” (little truck) in the back streets, and attending to the needs of those who seek their help.

That last descriptor includes driving the sick to and from hospital at any hour, to battling red tape and bureaucratic bungling for those needing help with pension problems or birth certificates or the required South African ID booklets. But every day without fail there are many requests. On top of this, in their personal lives Vicky and Myriam have taken on the fostering of three preschool children when requested by Social Services for a “safe house”. Think: madly off in all directions! After a week I finally managed to catch the both of them at the centre at the same time for a photo.

The great news is that others are recognizing their valuable work and are offering a helping hand. Benedicte Scheen has arrived from Belgium to help during the five month gap between having finished her degree in sociology and anthropology, and returning home in September to start her Masters degree.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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As local awareness of Ubuntu Centre’s efforts increases, donations of clothes have been accumulating for the past year or two and, like some yeast-fed monster, have mushroomed to fill a room. This week long time Sabie citizen Joy Comley organized the building of shelves with donations of materials and labor. She lined up various friends to assist her each day to sort, launder, fold and hang the clothes. Her goal is to get the clothes out as soon as possible to those in need, so she can unpack donations for efficient turnaround. The plan is to soon have someone in place to operate the Clothes Bank for specified hours one day a week … build it and they will come.
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Volunteers are also being sought to help with the after school Homework Program, and with the massive grocery shopping expeditions. In fact, there are a number of ways to help out and support … Interested? Think about it – a working holiday!

Rain has been pounding down in the past few days but this is, after all, their rainy season. So it has somewhat curtailed the gogos’ regular activities such as their outdoor exercise session with the physiotherapist who comes once a week. They are content to crowd into a shelter and chat and work on handicrafts in their laps. When the weather breaks they spill outside. The progress of their beadwork has been impressive, from single strand pieces a few years ago to much more complicated traditional pieces. Some of the gogos now sell their work and are allowed to keep the net profit. To help support these activities, Grannies à Gogo in Vernon gathered together three large bags of wool and various needles for knitting, crochet and beading. One bag was brought over by Lynn Hadfield on her full day visit two weeks ago, and I delivered the other two on my arrival.

 

 

 

 

 

There’s been a valuable new presence for the past year amongst the gogos and his name is Jonathan Malele. Our volunteer administrators say he is indispensable! When we were introduced he said, “I remember you.” It was my turn to be surprised. Turns out he was a student at the township high school at the time I was living in Sabie (2001-05) and running an after-school drama program at the school.

He graduated in 2004, did some college and work. His turning point came during a peaceful protest against municipal corruption in 2009, a gathering which grew so large it frightened local police who fired shots. Jonathan’s leg got in the way of a bullet (it’s still in there) and he’s had several operations. The months of recovery motivated a change of direction – he studied to be a lay minister. He’s now serving a period with the gogos where he inspires them with his talks and is vital as a reliable translator for the administrators. Clear communication where two cultures meet is essential, and Jonathan is our gem until be continues his studies in the ministry.

It has been awhile since my last visit to Sabie, South Africa – just over two years. (To see those blogs go to Archives in the right margin on the home page and select Nov. 2011). During the four hour drive from Johannesburg I kept an eye out for things that are comfortingly familiar, like cars that pullover onto the shoulder to let a speeding car pass by, then the passing vehicle flashes hazard lights in a “thank you”. Very considerate, even at a hair raising 140 km/hr. And an eye out for things that have changed, like more toll booths along the major highway and higher toll rates. It helps that our Canadian dollar is currently strong against the local rand.  

 

But there’s one sign I always look for on the first day of each visit here and, though not always lucky, this time I was … a few little monkeys scampered across the street. I managed to capture a photo of mama monkey and babe who took to the trees. A sign – this is going to be a good four weeks!

 

At the Sitabogogo project in the township of Simile the gogos were sitting in plastic chairs under the shade of the big tree. As I went around the circle greeting each individually with “Sawubona” and the African handshake (and several who wanted hugs), it was moving to recognize old friends I remembered by name, and heartening to meet several who were new to the program. Many were leisurely working on various handicraft projects – knitting, crocheting, and some very intricate and colourful beadwork. Others chatted with friends and explained apologetically that their eyes or trembling hands could no longer do this work. In a future blog we’ll see more detail of their handiwork.

 

Our immensely capable volunteer administrators, Vicky and Myriam, were busy supervising the preparation of large vats of soup (for later distribution on the back streets) and a hot meal of chicken stew and mealie pap for the gogos. Myriam was also counselling one gogo who takes a vat of soup back to her township of Harmony Hill to distribute from her house to hungry children. But word has spread, and young men from surrounding communities are also demanding not only soup, but that she find them jobs. Seems there’s no end of problem solving to be handled.

 

My intention is to keep these blogs brief, so I will continue next time with news of a wonderful young man whose misfortune (a bullet still lodged in his leg) has lent him as an invaluable asset to this project. Tune in a few days from now …

 

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.

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

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