19 Nov. 2006 Blog
This week before American Thanksgiving was full of wet stormy weather, a little bit of cabin fever on those stormy days, some serious farming and a few successes in starting the men on appropriate craft projects. We are deep into the rainy season which means heavy LA style rainstorms accompanied by thunder and lightning. The air temperatures are warm but the heavy mist and moisture make a beach loving So Cal Gal feel chilly in the roost in the sky. The skies brightened one day so we took advantage and made furrows in the plowed field for cabbage and planted radishes, cucumbers, eggplant and carrots. What an indulgence to be limited only by one’s energy and the seeds that are available instead of the land! However, hoeing, pulling all the clods and grass is hard work and the limitlessness of the fabulous soil only reinforces the frailties of the body. Farming is a pleasure after minding the hospital business all day while hearing the beguiling birdcalls just outside the windows of the office.
The men were a little skeptical when they were given wire, fine copper, wire cutters and pliers to start some handwork on Monday. I gave them prototypes of crafts that had been purchased in gift shops in Vryheid made from wire and beads including darling butterflies, lizards, baskets fashioned from colored telephone wire, and star-shaped key chains. The men live 8 to a ward with four beds on each side and a nurse’s stand in the middle of the room that looks down the 1000 ft drop to the valley and the ancient Zulu head formation in the rocky cliff. Some of them never look up and are so thin they can barely hold up their pajamas. However, a few were slightly interested, including the tailor, a handsome man in his twenties from Durban and a young 14 year old boy. The young man looked at the materials, quizzically turned his head and asked if he could make autos out of the wire. With this request, I was ecstatic, since the homemade wire cars with infinite details and features are the one toy that you see everywhere in Africa. He rounded up the 14 year old and they got busy bending, twisting and then scrounging the hospital grounds for the requisite wheels, mirrors, Mercedes symbols and trailer hitches in miniature. The handwork is not a two hour session in occupational therapy but a compulsion for these men. As soon as the materials are distributed, the patients begin to work and are engrossed until the craft is complete, albeit in their own way. The darling and “way too precious” objects that were for sale in the fine arts stores had little appeal to the patients, but their own ideas were original and fun for them. Likewise, some pink knit fabric that had been purchased for hats for the women was a bust, but a 16 year old girl sewed buttons and fringe unto the hat and made a bustier that suited her to a T and gave everyone a good laugh. We are all learning what works and what doesn’t. However it is gratifying to see the women throughout the hospital and grounds knitting, crocheting, sewing and chattering. Next week’s agenda includes a collage with stuffed cloth butterflies, lizard and bugs, aprons to sew and pillows from assorted African fabrics. It is interesting to note how the Peace Corps draws on skills mainly learned before the age of 10! The women were clamoring for foam stuffing for their pillows so Brendon and I were certainly a site hiking the 2 km in to the hospital on the dirt road today (our regular taxi driver did not show up for our return from Vryheid) laden with 2 large bags of foam stuffing, one meter of batting, 10 meters of fabric, groceries, perishables, books, clothes for church, backpack and laptop. We weren’t fazed a bit except about halfway through the trek home, I noticed Brendon dribbling bits of colored foam scrap out of the bag just like Hansel and Gretel. He certainly has been good natured about all of the visits to the fabric stores which may have to be curtailed until Mr. Zulu returns to the taxi run down the 2 km drive into the hospital.
On a sadder note, we attended a funeral this week for an American women who served in the Peace Corps in Liberia in the 80’s and has since worked in social projects throughout the world, especially for vulnerable children and orphans. We had lunch with her last weekend in a serendipity moment as we saw her at a lovely outdoor restaurant near our bed and breakfast and joined her. She expressed some of her ideas for teaching lifeskills to the children taking care of younger children and discussed the African idea of keeping orphans in their village. The AIDS pandemic in Africa is hitting the breadwinners and parents, leaving the children behind to fend for themselves. This problem will continue for many years and is truly a handicap to this blossoming nation. The children of Africa deserve a great deal of respect as they manage to cut the wood, chase after the cattle and goats with a stick, cook the food, fetch water that may be several kilometers away, purchase kerosene for the cookstoves and take care of babies in the family. They are not coddled like American children, have no books or toys for their entertainment, but are courteous, respectful and well behaved. (at least in the rural environments that have been our experience). Their potential is as wide as their beautiful smiles. However, AIDS and lack of access to educational facilities has shrunk their opportunities for the life that utilizes their potential. Well, Goodbye Faye and Rest Assured that your hard work will continue to make amends to the children and open up opportunities for their future!
Happy Thanksgiving to our friends and family! We are thankful for the support from all of you and for this opportunity to learn and grow. God bless you all. We do not feel deprived in any way, especially since it is Spring here and Summer is rapidly approaching. The stores are beginning to stock the plum pudding, Christmas crackers, and holiday bling but they are absent the recorded music and frenetic consumer atmosphere. So it feels like March to us with June around the corner. See you at the Beach!
This week before American Thanksgiving was full of wet stormy weather, a little bit of cabin fever on those stormy days, some serious farming and a few successes in starting the men on appropriate craft projects. We are deep into the rainy season which means heavy LA style rainstorms accompanied by thunder and lightning. The air temperatures are warm but the heavy mist and moisture make a beach loving So Cal Gal feel chilly in the roost in the sky. The skies brightened one day so we took advantage and made furrows in the plowed field for cabbage and planted radishes, cucumbers, eggplant and carrots. What an indulgence to be limited only by one’s energy and the seeds that are available instead of the land! However, hoeing, pulling all the clods and grass is hard work and the limitlessness of the fabulous soil only reinforces the frailties of the body. Farming is a pleasure after minding the hospital business all day while hearing the beguiling birdcalls just outside the windows of the office.
The men were a little skeptical when they were given wire, fine copper, wire cutters and pliers to start some handwork on Monday. I gave them prototypes of crafts that had been purchased in gift shops in Vryheid made from wire and beads including darling butterflies, lizards, baskets fashioned from colored telephone wire, and star-shaped key chains. The men live 8 to a ward with four beds on each side and a nurse’s stand in the middle of the room that looks down the 1000 ft drop to the valley and the ancient Zulu head formation in the rocky cliff. Some of them never look up and are so thin they can barely hold up their pajamas. However, a few were slightly interested, including the tailor, a handsome man in his twenties from Durban and a young 14 year old boy. The young man looked at the materials, quizzically turned his head and asked if he could make autos out of the wire. With this request, I was ecstatic, since the homemade wire cars with infinite details and features are the one toy that you see everywhere in Africa. He rounded up the 14 year old and they got busy bending, twisting and then scrounging the hospital grounds for the requisite wheels, mirrors, Mercedes symbols and trailer hitches in miniature. The handwork is not a two hour session in occupational therapy but a compulsion for these men. As soon as the materials are distributed, the patients begin to work and are engrossed until the craft is complete, albeit in their own way. The darling and “way too precious” objects that were for sale in the fine arts stores had little appeal to the patients, but their own ideas were original and fun for them. Likewise, some pink knit fabric that had been purchased for hats for the women was a bust, but a 16 year old girl sewed buttons and fringe unto the hat and made a bustier that suited her to a T and gave everyone a good laugh. We are all learning what works and what doesn’t. However it is gratifying to see the women throughout the hospital and grounds knitting, crocheting, sewing and chattering. Next week’s agenda includes a collage with stuffed cloth butterflies, lizard and bugs, aprons to sew and pillows from assorted African fabrics. It is interesting to note how the Peace Corps draws on skills mainly learned before the age of 10! The women were clamoring for foam stuffing for their pillows so Brendon and I were certainly a site hiking the 2 km in to the hospital on the dirt road today (our regular taxi driver did not show up for our return from Vryheid) laden with 2 large bags of foam stuffing, one meter of batting, 10 meters of fabric, groceries, perishables, books, clothes for church, backpack and laptop. We weren’t fazed a bit except about halfway through the trek home, I noticed Brendon dribbling bits of colored foam scrap out of the bag just like Hansel and Gretel. He certainly has been good natured about all of the visits to the fabric stores which may have to be curtailed until Mr. Zulu returns to the taxi run down the 2 km drive into the hospital.
On a sadder note, we attended a funeral this week for an American women who served in the Peace Corps in Liberia in the 80’s and has since worked in social projects throughout the world, especially for vulnerable children and orphans. We had lunch with her last weekend in a serendipity moment as we saw her at a lovely outdoor restaurant near our bed and breakfast and joined her. She expressed some of her ideas for teaching lifeskills to the children taking care of younger children and discussed the African idea of keeping orphans in their village. The AIDS pandemic in Africa is hitting the breadwinners and parents, leaving the children behind to fend for themselves. This problem will continue for many years and is truly a handicap to this blossoming nation. The children of Africa deserve a great deal of respect as they manage to cut the wood, chase after the cattle and goats with a stick, cook the food, fetch water that may be several kilometers away, purchase kerosene for the cookstoves and take care of babies in the family. They are not coddled like American children, have no books or toys for their entertainment, but are courteous, respectful and well behaved. (at least in the rural environments that have been our experience). Their potential is as wide as their beautiful smiles. However, AIDS and lack of access to educational facilities has shrunk their opportunities for the life that utilizes their potential. Well, Goodbye Faye and Rest Assured that your hard work will continue to make amends to the children and open up opportunities for their future!
Happy Thanksgiving to our friends and family! We are thankful for the support from all of you and for this opportunity to learn and grow. God bless you all. We do not feel deprived in any way, especially since it is Spring here and Summer is rapidly approaching. The stores are beginning to stock the plum pudding, Christmas crackers, and holiday bling but they are absent the recorded music and frenetic consumer atmosphere. So it feels like March to us with June around the corner. See you at the Beach!
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