“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.

Vicky and Myriam distribute soup and bread in the far-reaches of Simile township

Soup – was there ever a more iconic comfort food, thick and rib-sticking? It’s a stereotype to think Africa is hot all the time. It’s not, especially in Sabie at 4000 feet elevation where the evenings have been cool to cold, even now as spring warms into summer. On Tuesday our volunteer administrator, Vicky Bryant, along with Myriam (see blog #2 – Catching Up) arrived well in advance of the gogos to chop onions, butternut, potatoes, leeks and tomatoes into a huge pot with a dried grain and bean mix, and simmer it all morning into a soup.

While the gogos had a hot meal of chicken stew, mealie porridge and veggies after their morning craft activities, Vicky and Myriam strong-armed the soup pot into the back of a bakkie (a small pick-up truck with canopy). I tagged along as they headed out into the underbelly of Simile township where “roads” are dirt tracks, wooden board shacks of 250 square feet accommodate extended families of six or more, and garbage waste is heaped along the roadside. From the tailgate they ladled soup into donated yogurt and cottage cheese containers, accompanied by bread slices. Over the next 15 minutes hungry people arrived, some with their own cups. I want to mention that this is not a Sitabogogo project, but something these two compassionate ladies have taken on of their own accord, and the soup costs are funded by Ubuntu Care Centre, the non-profit umbrella under which Sitabogogo operates.

These two enjoy a tiny make-shift pool as soup and bread is delivered to the family

They also delivered soup to one family where the mother recently delivered twins by Caesarian and was sent home from the hospital the next day to four other children at home (and no father – not an unusual circumstance). When complications set in and mother and babies were back in hospital, plus the malnourished two year old, Vicky and Myriam took the family under wing and fed them daily. When we arrived three of the children were au naturel, bathing/playing in two little plastic tubs. Delightful, and clearly healthier and more bright-eyed after three months of Vicky and Myriam’s care. Next goal – to help their mother become self-sufficient.

On Wednesdays the gogos have soup provided for them by members of the Methodist Church. They are joined by disadvantaged members of the community who also come to fill their cups. One of the local mills shut down a year ago, putting 400 Simile residents out of work, who likely fed about two thousand bellies, so the need is great. A soup-er idea.

Wednesday Soup Kitchen for the gogos and others in need

The sapphire/purple majesty of this immense Jacaranda tree

It has been good these past few days to have time to adjust again to this culture, and settle into former familiarities of place and people. I’ve had afternoon teas and dinners with various friends of old, and caught up on Sabie chitchat. Mid-November is the tail end of Jacaranda blooming season and I couldn’t resist stopping to photograph this magnificent old specimen in the centre of Sabie on my way to Simile township this morning.

Doris, in turquoise, is fully focused as she swings into the exercise session

As is their tradition, the gogos sang their welcome and individual greetings to me, and I responded with my good wishes of caring and sharing from the Vernon Grannies. Then I jumped into their activities with both feet … literally. It was exercise day for the first half hour and the weekly physiotherapist who leads them was held up at the hospital. So I did what any retired ballet teacher would do and led them in exercises until the physio arrived. She carried on, giving them a double dose.

Milly translates with gusto for the dietician

I suspect they were glad to sit down for the visiting dietician. She had a hand-out for each gogo, with pictures to accompany her talk on “Falls” – the danger of broken bones and of some medications that cause dizziness, and the need for regular exercise and calcium rich foods, with pictured examples of milk, cheese, sardines and spinach. I was pleased to see their interest and all the questions they directed to the dietician.

While this was going on another group of about 20 people sat under the smaller tree. Joy Burton explained that they were waiting their turn to see Social Services Assistance about pension problems, child allowances and so on. In the past people had to travel to Graskop (north of Sabie), but now the Anglican Church has given Social Services permission to use the old Home Based Care shack on the premises and their agents come here, making life less onerous all around.

There have apparently been a large number of funerals lately amongst the gogos’ friends and relatives, which typically occur on Saturdays. Many of the gogos are frequently involved in helping with funeral preparations on Fridays, and therefore not much happening at the Centre yesterday. So Joy Burton invited me to her home for a lovely lunch to bring me up to speed on all the goings-on with Sitabogogo. Bonus – I met Vicky and Myriam in person for the first time and the four of us spent a chin-wagging two and a half hours enjoying Joy’s scrumptious salad, breads, spreads and fruits.

Now, a word of explanation about these three ladies. For those who were not at the Grannies à Gogo Annual Open Meeting in September, there have been some significant changes within the administration of Sitabogogo. As mentioned in my previous blog, our highly-regarded volunteer administrator, Rev. Ginny Cormack, moved away in July. We were sad to see her go and, while this could have been worrisome news, the transition was remarkably smooth. There is a new Board of Directors which now spreads the workload more evenly amongst additional people.

Joy Burton has been involved all along as Ginny’s right hand. She is now secretary of the new Board and wife to Rev. Lawrence Burton, Chair of the Board. Vicky and Myriam moved to Sabie from Belgium eight months ago. Vicky, a retired English teacher, and Myriam, a librarian, are totally dedicated to working with the gogos and spending volunteer time with them each day. Vicky has taken on Ginny’s former role as volunteer administrator. There is a wonderful back-story to these two ladies and I will be writing an article for the Vernon Morning Star about them. It will also be posted later on our Personal Connections page of this website. And no doubt bits and pieces of it will emerge in the upcoming blogs.

In between bites I learned that there is some discord and more challenges than I was anticipating. We discussed a number of strategies for dealing with these various issues. There’s no cause to itemize these at this point as it’s just the start for me. I don’t really have my finger on the pulse yet and need to understand everything better. On Monday I meet with the gogos and look forward to their songs and activities and giving lots of hugs!

It has been almost two years since my last sojourn with Sitabogogo in Sabie, South Africa. In addition to my usual large suitcase, I am hauling along an extra two large duffle-type bags. There’s been about 40 hours of transition time in planes and airports between Vernon and Johannesburg. I value that time because it’s a kind of suspension, a limbo, in which I can ruminate. Wool-gathering thoughts of changes I might find with the gogos, and daydreamy thoughts about familiar faces and places.

Now, back to those bags. Steering Committee members Beverley and Sigrid-Ann have also been wool gathering in a very literal sense – one of those bags is packed to bursting with knitting wool for our gogo sisters who had asked for it for their handicraft projects. Thank you to all who donated wool! Buried in the middle of the wool is a box of 70 calendars as Christmas gifts to each our gogos, which can be seen on the Home page of this website. The 27 coloured photos of Grannies à Gogo and Sitabogogo tell the story of our deeply felt connection. The second bag is filled with clothes purged from my closet over the past two years and will give to the Ubuntu Care Centre for distribution, which is the umbrella organization under which Sitabogogo operates.

It will be an exciting time for the next three weeks. There’s been a change in our volunteer administration with Rev. Ginny Cormack moving away in July, a new Board of Directors has been put in place, and two new volunteers have come from Belgium. I’m looking forward to meeting new people and learning about what’s been happening. Tomorrow Ken and I rent a car and make the four hour drive to Sabie. Stay tuned!