Brendon and I joined the Peace Corps to fulfill a lifetime dream, have some fun and maybe do some good!! Our remote location, 80 km to the nearest grocery store, seems an unlikely site for two middle-aged city people who love good restaurants and fine music. However, our dreams are fulfilled on a daily basis. This week topped the cake when a much loved Zulu princess came to visit the patient therapy sewing group and wanted to hear about our lives in the Peace Corps. She resides in Nongoma, the official headquarters for the Zulu Kingdom. The Zulu King traces directly back to Shaka, one of the history’s greatest strategists. The princess, however, won our hearts with her beauty and graciousness. She sat down on the wood bench with the patients in her lovely black gown and discussed Zulu culture. She did not announce her special status but walked in with a young boy and joined the group. Her bearing, clothing and impeccable English made me wonder who she was and how she found our sewing circle in the hospital chapel. She merely stated that she was from Nongoma. I, almost jokingly, asked if she was a princess and she said YES. I then charged back through my Peace Corps cultural training to find the proper response- Does one bow, curtsy, lower folded hands? Somehow the Peace Corps had overlooked this essential training in the cultural sessions and I drew a blank. The Princess saved the day by extending her hand for a western style handshake. She explained that she had business in the area and had been told about the women’s group and wanted to see the activities. By the way the Princess drives a silver KIA!
The Jabule therapy group this week was led by an African woman from Soweto who is an expert at Zulu beading and crafts. The director of the hospital had been praising this gifted woman since our arrival in Sept. and lo and behold she showed up Monday to teach the patients beading and sewing methods. In addition, she added exercises, group therapy, singing and dancing to the repertoire of the sewing circle; quitting time was kicked out to 4pm. The eight patients showed amazing stamina as they got the hang of the beading and picked up speed. On Monday she pulled out her wares-beaded necklaces, bracelets, dolls, aprons, purses, bags, white suede skirts, and traditional Zulu dance garb made out of impala skins. The first project tackled by the patients consisted of sewing a red glass bead border on a small cell phone bag. The beads form their own lace design as the needle is reinserted into a previously strung bead. The second project of the week was an elaborate six layer necklace that lies like a collar with colored bands of plastic bead extending to the shoulders. Some women were able to make two or three of these creations.
She told her life story that read like a tragedy; orphaned at four, mistreated by an uncle, hospitalized for 6 months with disc problems with four children to raise alone. Hers is also a life of faith with the church playing the stabilizing role in her life. This graceful woman also interwove art and creativity into every aspect of her life. On Friday she repeated her story to the patients in the Hospital’s AIDS Support Group who come together to try to find some meaning in their lives. Her T shirt and head scarf bore the telling message “Love Life”.
In conversation, it came up that the women would enjoy having a forum for their artistic endeavors to include all of the knitting/crochet and clothing they have hand sewn. Voila! Time for a fashion show. Thus the Mountain High Fashion Show will be held Thursday with patients and nurses modeling Zulu attire and jewelry, music, refreshments, boutique and a message about Beauty and Faith from our beading teacher Monki. This must be a first for a TB hospital in Africa! Of course most of the models will primarily be wearing hospital blue but it is a good background color for their creations. Hopefully, the parade of beauty will be able to make rounds through the hospital so that the bedridden patients can have a look at the Zulu art. They are bored with the sameness of the hospital bed 24 hours a day. This will be a busy week with the patients sewing and beading items for the boutique and practicing their fashion modeling. Step, step, step turn! Sure wish we had a makeup artist!
The Jabule therapy group this week was led by an African woman from Soweto who is an expert at Zulu beading and crafts. The director of the hospital had been praising this gifted woman since our arrival in Sept. and lo and behold she showed up Monday to teach the patients beading and sewing methods. In addition, she added exercises, group therapy, singing and dancing to the repertoire of the sewing circle; quitting time was kicked out to 4pm. The eight patients showed amazing stamina as they got the hang of the beading and picked up speed. On Monday she pulled out her wares-beaded necklaces, bracelets, dolls, aprons, purses, bags, white suede skirts, and traditional Zulu dance garb made out of impala skins. The first project tackled by the patients consisted of sewing a red glass bead border on a small cell phone bag. The beads form their own lace design as the needle is reinserted into a previously strung bead. The second project of the week was an elaborate six layer necklace that lies like a collar with colored bands of plastic bead extending to the shoulders. Some women were able to make two or three of these creations.
She told her life story that read like a tragedy; orphaned at four, mistreated by an uncle, hospitalized for 6 months with disc problems with four children to raise alone. Hers is also a life of faith with the church playing the stabilizing role in her life. This graceful woman also interwove art and creativity into every aspect of her life. On Friday she repeated her story to the patients in the Hospital’s AIDS Support Group who come together to try to find some meaning in their lives. Her T shirt and head scarf bore the telling message “Love Life”.
In conversation, it came up that the women would enjoy having a forum for their artistic endeavors to include all of the knitting/crochet and clothing they have hand sewn. Voila! Time for a fashion show. Thus the Mountain High Fashion Show will be held Thursday with patients and nurses modeling Zulu attire and jewelry, music, refreshments, boutique and a message about Beauty and Faith from our beading teacher Monki. This must be a first for a TB hospital in Africa! Of course most of the models will primarily be wearing hospital blue but it is a good background color for their creations. Hopefully, the parade of beauty will be able to make rounds through the hospital so that the bedridden patients can have a look at the Zulu art. They are bored with the sameness of the hospital bed 24 hours a day. This will be a busy week with the patients sewing and beading items for the boutique and practicing their fashion modeling. Step, step, step turn! Sure wish we had a makeup artist!
1 comment:
wow thats coool
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