kaleidoscope lane: March 2010

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

First Days in Cape Town, South Africa

Tuesday, March 30

Wellington, South Africa
Diemersfontein Wine & Country Estate

So sorry I haven't posted yet, but I've been trying to upload pictures and for days and for some reason it has not worked. Probably the internet speed here. Anyway, very disappointed, but will post pics as soon as I'm able (maybe on trip back). In the meantime, I will give you a brief overview of the trip to date.

South Africa is most definitely a beautiful country and the people we have encountered so friendly, happy and generous from what we have experienced and everyone has enjoyed Cape Town a great deal. We were fortunate enough to stay in a lovely hotel called the Hotel Graeme in Cape Town, run by Dominique Anderson's sister (Dominique is our one of the organization's founders who was born and bred in Cape Town, and is a dear person). The trip over was quite uneventful except for a slight issue with Jimi Cook's (another founder who lives in Columbia) passport...not enough pages left to travel to S.A. so he couldn't board the plane.! After jumping through a few hoops of fire and with the help of some very well-connected people, he was able to finally get it reissued and arrived 24 hours later. A near disaster diverted!

Spent the first day exploring Cape Town a bit...shopping at the local craft market... a trip to Table Mountain (wish I had pics to show you), where we had an amazing view of Cape Town and the harbor below...next day on to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 28 years...another former prisoner recounted his story and took us around the prison...quite a sobering experience. That evening was a glorious party and dinner given by Dominique's other sister and brother-in-law Mick and Jeff...unbelievably gracious and generous people...opened their home to all of us where we were served delectable food and wine and enjoyed the company of so many lovely people. Monday it was on to Wellington and the Diemersfontein Wine & Country Estate...words are not enough to portray the beauty of this property...lovely rolling vineyards surrounded by the Paarl Mountains (means Pearl)...a symphony of birds serenade us all day...Guinea fowl run through the fields...horses graze, flowers drroop from the trees and cover the grounds and everything is generally just lovely here! Some of us went on a morning horseback ride and then a wine-tasting (only the adults!)...and then yet another delicious meal. Seth, Amanda, Abbi and Katie (the teens) braved the cold water in the outdoor pool while the adults sat around the OUTSIDE of the pool, lounging and sunning (It's probably in the 80's!). The kids have been a delight to have around!

Tomorrow it is back to Cape Town where we will fly to Durban and then a road tripnon to Mthatha to start the hard work. Everyone is very excited to get there and begin...it has been a wonderfully restful several days to get us geared up for 10 days of building.

There may not be much access to internet once we leave here, but hopefully we can get into town a time or two to update! Hope all is well back home!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

No Child Should Have To Learn In This Environment

Thanks to Wally for sending these pics to me documenting the state of ruin and disrepair of the Fairview school in Mthatha. It brings tears to your eyes to see. I can't imagine our children in these dire conditions. These children are subjected to injury, discomfort and outright unsanitary conditions on a daily basis. The amount of suffering and hardships they have to withstand all in the name of education is commendable, yet terribly sad. Even more unbelievable is that this school serves 700 children!! Can you even imagine the number of children crammed into each classroom...certainly no environment for learning. The latrines are unacceptable for any human use, much less children. It is very exciting to know that the Fairview community will have a much nicer facility to learn and grow in very soon. I feel incredibly grateful for all the luxuries we enjoy in this country and the amazing school facilities our children are lucky enough to learn in.

Glimpse at the disrepair at the Fairview School:

Broken windows

Cracked floors

Latrines unsanitary

Latrines filthy, in horrid state

Floor boards broken

Chipping paint

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Team Mthatha

These are pics of the team who will travel and work together to rebuild/repair a 120 year old school for 700 Xhosa tribe children in rural South Africa, ranging from pre-K to grade 12. These children and teachers live and work under extremely grave circumstances...but have made a promise to each other to teach, learn and achieve the best they are able even though the school structure is deplorable and rundown. The funding they receive from the government for the school has been spent to feed the local AIDS orphaned children in the area, so the school has fallen into terrible disrepair. The spirit of these people is so strong and their devotion and dedication to the education of their children is so fierce, that it caught the attention and hearts of the Be The Change organization. I'm sure it will be a truly rewarding and life-changing experience for all involved.

I've had the pleasure of meeting the amazing students from Columbia Independent School who will be accompanying their teacher (my brother), Wally, on this trip. They are a special group of young people...we are lucky to have them with us.