Update from 23rd - 28th Feb

Hello again !!

This is quite a long post, haven't had any internet time to update before so I may have rambled on...

We all had a lovely weekend in Howick, staying with Sarah. The Saturday started off with a yummy breakfast at Chinwag's - this was definitely the most enjoyable food we had eaten all week! Nicola and I found it hard to believe how cheap everything was! - Having a full English breakfast and a delicious milkshake for about £3.50. We then piled in the back of the truck (on a mattress) and headed to Karkloof falls. After driving along some bumpy African dirt track roads we came across the falls, they were absolutely beautiful! We all stood at the edge on the top of the falls near some rocks, which was a good place to sit down and enjoy the view. Nicola, Eli and I decided to swim up the river against the current to some larger rocks, (this took us about an hour!) then we floated all the way back down the rapids, getting a few bumps and bruises! Reaching the rest of our team and still in a slightly crazy and wild mood, Eli, Nicola and I then jumped off the top of the falls! (It was about 25metres high). This was incredible- so much fun! We had to do a run and jump off the top to miss the rocks on the lower ledges, but we all cleared it easily and the plunge pool must have been very deep as none of us touched the bottom! Exhausted, we went back to Sarah’s and flopped in front of the TV having a very relaxed evening. We attempted to have a Braie (South African BBQ) and watched a dvd.
Up and ready for Church by 9.15am the next day, we went to HCC (Howick community church) and enjoyed the service, it was funny as we had to get use to the congregation randomly shouting out questions at the preacher! (Must be acceptable in SA). We met a really nice couple Vernon and Jill, who invited us to their house that day. Spending the afternoon at there’s, sunbathing, swimming in their pool and playing table tennis/darts/football, we all agreed that we would have to go back in the coming weeks. We then went back to church that evening (6.15pm youth service), where we met some really nice people our age and had fun getting to know them.
Heading back to the township that evening, arriving at Dudu’s the children were really excited to see Nicola and I – they gave us the biggest hugs!

This week has been really hot, 35degrees each day!

Monday, After a slow start to the morning – as the boys picked us up an hour and a half late!!! We got down to the care centre about 10:20am, we helped out sorting out files and things, as well as getting to know the patients better. Unfortunately we found out one of the men staying there had passed away over the weekend, he was only 30years old and had suffered from HIV for a long time, it was sad hearing this and also finding out how young the other patients at the centre were. The afternoon consisted of planning English lessons, as the Zulu men and women who work for Ethembeni are all really keen to speak better English and have asked for our help. We are trying to organise 4 lessons a week, for the next 8 weeks. In the evening arriving back at Dudu’s house Nicola and I ventured about 50m down the road to take some pictures, on our way back we were swarmed with little children who came running out of their houses to come and see us, crowding us and touching us and trying to play with our hair!

Tuesday, the boys picked us up on time (finally!!) We worked at the care centre in the morning and helped sort and price clothes as they were having a jumble sale later on in the week. This was quite tiring in the heat, however we had the help of two student nurses from California who had come to SA for a few months and worked with Ethembeni twice a week. It was nice to chat with them and get to know them; we also learnt to take each other’s blood pressure which was amusing! After that I drove Nicola, Esther and I to the family centre where we had lunch and looked after the children. The HCC band then came to the family centre and sang songs with the children; the girls then became infatuated with our long hair and began trying to braid it like there’s, this was quite painful! We also chatted to some of the girls at the centre (14/15/16years old) and asked them how they felt about their friends having children at such a young age, it was nice to hear that most of them wanted to study, live their dreams, then get married and have children.

Wednesday, 35degrees again! We went to the classroom which is in the other Ethembeni centre and Nicola and I helped out in the anti-natal class. This was mainly trying to encourage the women to love their babies and teach them how precious they are, which was strange for us to comprehend. After lunch we managed to get the keys to one of the trucks and snuck to the petrol station to get some fruit as we realised how little we had eaten since we had been here! In the afternoon we went over our English lesson plans then headed back to Dudu’s. Once again there were loads of children all excited wanting to play with us! - We just about managed to settle them down and teach them how to star gaze as it was a beautiful night, then we attempted to have an early night.

Thursday, we got to the care centre early and teamed up with other volunteers from the Ethembeni and HCC who had arrived, to go on home visits, this was similar to the previous Thursday, (delivering food, chatting, reading scripture and praying) however we went to different houses. We then got back to the family centre to have some team time and make Lasagne (the Zulu woman Esther is staying with has begged her to make it!) which was hilarious.

This weekend we will be in and out of Howick and have been invited to a Zulu wedding in Pops (Mpophomeni township) on Saturday which will be interesting and we’re all really looking forward to!

Hope everyone's well,

Lot's of love xxx

Friday 22nd Feb

Sawabona ! (This means 'hello/ we see you' in Zulu)

Over the past 4/5 days we have all been doing various things to help out in the community of Mpophomeni through the Ethembeni charity. Each of us have been given an individual mentor, (or a mother as they call themselves!) who we will be with most mornings doing different things, mine is called muma Tutu and she is lovely!
Living with Dudu and her family (and Nicola!) has been great, she's very generous.The foods a bit odd and hard to finish but apart from that it's all fine :) Her grandchildren are brilliant and although they don't speak any English we've managed to play with them in the evenings and teach them card games like snap, 5's and rummy. 

I have spent most of my afternoons in the family centre looking after the young children who are in there all day and everyday, they love playing with us and teaching us Zulu. Some mornings I have been at the care centre, this is where there are two large rooms with patients in who are very ill and unable to look after themselves due to their condition of HIV. 
The anti-natal visit we went to near Howick falls on Tuesday was quite a shock, after being in Mpophomeni for a couple of days I thought that was a very poor area and as bad as it got, however I was proved wrong. The houses here in Shizayali shanty town were made out of wood/cardboard any metal scraps that could be found, with no space at all separating each house and no electricity either. Not many children here went to school as it was too far to travel or they were needed to help out at home, as we arrived we saw lots of young children and toddlers gathered together sheltering from the heat in the smallest bit of shade! During the day there, we encouraged the pregnant women to sign up for anti-natal classes and taught them how to prevent HIV/AIDS and how to also prevent it spreading through childbirth and breast feeding. It was quite difficult seeing the conditions these people lived in, but I also found a sense of hope in the Ethembeni ladies living in Mpophomeni township, going and helping others, the poor helping the poorer. 

Wednesday, Nicola and I went with Tutu to a similar anti-natal class however this was in Mpophomeni. It was very informative as many ladies there barley knew anything about pregnancy.. how the baby's formed, what to eat, and all about giving birth etc.  - has put us off having children slightly!! 
Yesterday, we each got paired up with some other Ethembeni workers and went round doing home visits. This is where we went door to door delivering food rations for the weeks coming. Then we chatted to them about there health and asked them about there relationship with Jesus and if there's anything they wanted to pray about, we then read scripture and prayed with them. in the afternoon we had lunch at the family centre and played with the little children that are left there everyday, there's so many teenagers that come to the centre and sing and dance and praise God after school (lovely but loud!)

This weekend we are staying with Sarah, in Howick the nearest town to Mpophomeni. Sarah came to South Africa and did this trip last year, and has now flown out to live here! 
The weather's been lovely between 34 and 27 degrees, on Tuesday night there was a huge storm which was very noisy on our tin roof and had to put a few buckets down for the leaks! Amazing lightening though! 

Lot's and lot's of African lovin'
xxx

Day 2 Tuesday 19th Feb

Hey everyonee !!

Team arrived here safely about two days ago, its super hot today 34 degrees!

I'm with Nicola (one of the girls on my team), we are living in the township called Mpophomeni with a lovely lady called Du du Zulu, her mother and her grandchildren. Her house is really simple only a couple of rooms however she's been so generous to us and given up almost half her house so we can stay!

Eli, Nicola and I went to the other side of the Howick falls today to do some antinatal visits in a shanty town with some of the Ethembeni ladies, this was very interesting but saw such a difference in the way of living there.

Have no idea what tomorrow will bring but we will see! ..

Lots of love Chloe xxx