To top off the 60 mealies (corn plants), 30 tomato, 30 beet root, 10 spinach, 4 beans, pumpkin, cucumbers, radishes, lettuce, basil, thyme and parsley planted two weeks ago, Farmer Bond and his wife planted 80 cabbage seedlings this week. The pharmacist for the hospital arrived with a tray of 200 seedlings Monday that needed to be in dirt ASAP or their roots would die. We quickly dug holes in some poorly prepared furrows and went to work. After getting 80 plants into the ground before the roots died, we were done and it was time to hawk the rest of the beautiful cabbage newborns. So if you come to visit us at Mountain High you will see cabbage lurking everywhere. Cabbage and mealies are the two popular staples of the Zulu diet-they are delicious when prepared by the right Zulu cook and find their way into almost every meal.
The big event of the week was the chance to trek out the back roads to the annual “Quality Day” for the Health Department Hospitals in the Zulu region. This was my first experience with the government bureaucracy that runs the public hospitals. The event was held in the auditorium of a community college near the regional government center. Every hospital was invited to design a booth touting their quality accomplishments for the year. The day started out with 40 drum majorettes in yellow and blue satin uniforms and white fur hats marching in with drums and rock music blasting out the beat. Then a rousing choir sang a few Zulu four part harmony renditions. The two hundred attendees rose and sang and danced in rhythm. Not your typical government meeting in the US but a lot more fun. The director of Mountain High Hospital had been invited to open the meeting with a prayer and a welcome. So a few days before the big day he asked me to find a Bible verse appropriate for quality improvement-Every Day is Quality Day. Fortunately a verse in Philippians talks about not being perfect yet but striving. Coming up with words of welcome was easy as all those years working in quality systems finally paid off with many platitudes remaining on the hard drive. So don’t be surprised at the variety of tasks that you may be performing in the Peace Corps. The old cliché about reinventing the wheel should be restated that the “wheel just turns and the same old things just churn out.” We all had a great time at the event even though the awards presentations went on for hours and lunch wasn’t served until 3pm. Some of the hospitals are even more remote than Mountain High but their dedication and competitiveness was apparent as I observed one key person in each group taking charge and making their hospital come to life through the displays and interaction with passersby. South Africa is full of talented educated African professionals that are very capable. They certainly are challenged with drug resistant TB a major player in this area and at least 11 national languages to deal with.
The drive back from Quality Day was a pleasure as we took the extreme back roads that pass by the Zulu King’s compound. The Zulu King is a direct descendent of Shaka. With his Oxford education and stately bearing, he is well respected in the area. In Sept. dances are held at the compound where the public is invited. A topic of conversation in the car was whether one should take their daughters to participate as the king can select any young dancer to be his wife. Something to think about!
Today, Sunday, we were introduced to our church at the Christmas play. I brought two Zulu rag dolls and the ubuntu quilt made by Mountain High patients to show the children. The dolls are named Cindy and Cindewe, names used for twins by the Zulus. The dolls created quite a stir among the ladies and raised many offers of support for craft materials so maybe all the trips to the fabric stores with husband in tow are coming to an end. It is very gratifying to walk around the hospital and see the patients busy with their projects and wearing some of their creations. The tailor has been cutting out snappy T shirts, tank tops and clothes pin bags for hand sewing. The Quality Day event gave me more ideas for crafts including weaving pieces of colored yarn into discarded mealie bags for wall hangings with Zulu designs. A multitude of projects can be made from plastic bags which are woven into mats or baskets. The skies the limit!!
The big event of the week was the chance to trek out the back roads to the annual “Quality Day” for the Health Department Hospitals in the Zulu region. This was my first experience with the government bureaucracy that runs the public hospitals. The event was held in the auditorium of a community college near the regional government center. Every hospital was invited to design a booth touting their quality accomplishments for the year. The day started out with 40 drum majorettes in yellow and blue satin uniforms and white fur hats marching in with drums and rock music blasting out the beat. Then a rousing choir sang a few Zulu four part harmony renditions. The two hundred attendees rose and sang and danced in rhythm. Not your typical government meeting in the US but a lot more fun. The director of Mountain High Hospital had been invited to open the meeting with a prayer and a welcome. So a few days before the big day he asked me to find a Bible verse appropriate for quality improvement-Every Day is Quality Day. Fortunately a verse in Philippians talks about not being perfect yet but striving. Coming up with words of welcome was easy as all those years working in quality systems finally paid off with many platitudes remaining on the hard drive. So don’t be surprised at the variety of tasks that you may be performing in the Peace Corps. The old cliché about reinventing the wheel should be restated that the “wheel just turns and the same old things just churn out.” We all had a great time at the event even though the awards presentations went on for hours and lunch wasn’t served until 3pm. Some of the hospitals are even more remote than Mountain High but their dedication and competitiveness was apparent as I observed one key person in each group taking charge and making their hospital come to life through the displays and interaction with passersby. South Africa is full of talented educated African professionals that are very capable. They certainly are challenged with drug resistant TB a major player in this area and at least 11 national languages to deal with.
The drive back from Quality Day was a pleasure as we took the extreme back roads that pass by the Zulu King’s compound. The Zulu King is a direct descendent of Shaka. With his Oxford education and stately bearing, he is well respected in the area. In Sept. dances are held at the compound where the public is invited. A topic of conversation in the car was whether one should take their daughters to participate as the king can select any young dancer to be his wife. Something to think about!
Today, Sunday, we were introduced to our church at the Christmas play. I brought two Zulu rag dolls and the ubuntu quilt made by Mountain High patients to show the children. The dolls are named Cindy and Cindewe, names used for twins by the Zulus. The dolls created quite a stir among the ladies and raised many offers of support for craft materials so maybe all the trips to the fabric stores with husband in tow are coming to an end. It is very gratifying to walk around the hospital and see the patients busy with their projects and wearing some of their creations. The tailor has been cutting out snappy T shirts, tank tops and clothes pin bags for hand sewing. The Quality Day event gave me more ideas for crafts including weaving pieces of colored yarn into discarded mealie bags for wall hangings with Zulu designs. A multitude of projects can be made from plastic bags which are woven into mats or baskets. The skies the limit!!
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