Tuesday, September 17th Ixopo orphanage visit

We had a meeting today at the Chatsworth Youth Centre with the Director (Clive) of the Centre. We met him his daughter and some people from his office where we picked up a couple of women and followed his vehicle to a town named Ixopo which about two hours inland. When we had the concert at the centre, Clive asked us if the Church could help with the problems they have in this very poor city. We told him that perhaps we could provide water, but we would have to go and see it first, so Tuesday we found ourselves driving out there.

The drive involved winding roads in the mountains and was very scenic. We finally turned off onto a dirt road and drove quite a ways before we arrived. There off the main dirt road was Woza Moya, a community-based NGO located in the Ufafa Valley of rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Using a holistic approach, for dynamic HIV and AIDS community care and support, home-based care and support, child and youth care, water, sanitation and hygiene. They have created a wonderful place in this poor area where the children and women receive first rate care.
The children here are clean and their clothes nice and clean. The building is freshly painted and the outdoor play areas have nice grass with several types of play yards, with swings, etc. Everything is so organized. There are charts on the wall that give the schedule of activities for the day and the inside of the room is freshly painted with murals. Considering this is a very poor area, it was pretty amazing. Woza Moya has put in clean water systems that work through rain water and solar panels that help run everything. It is the best we've seen since we've been here, an NGO that is really doing not only a good job, but a great one. 
The toilets are very state of the art. They are like outdoor toilets, but look like a regular toilet, plus all  is contained, so there is no smell. They work by the liquid waste going through grates and the solid waste basically drying out. Because it is contained, there is no smell. The NGO works entirely on donations and Sue, the head person there has been doing this for 13 years and her husband helps install and maintain all the systems. It's very impressive. They keep this place running the right way and they are also dealing with aids' issues. Most of these children are parent-less due to the death of the parents by aids. Woza  Moya is trying to help the women who get this terrible disease deal with it and feel good about themselves. They are put to work helping out at the center and they make things there to earn money. I bought some embroidered aids squares while I was there to help them with their efforts. They also make pillows, women's bags, CDs, etc. They were having a meeting using cloth dolls that have a computer chip and talk about things like aids and try to teach the women self -esteem, not to be prejudice, cleanliness, etc.

I was beginning to wonder what we were doing there when Sue told us about the other creche where orphaned children go that is not too far away. She said there are several in Ixopo. They are doing one at a time. We got in the cars and drove over there with a young man as our guide. This place was not clean, the children were not clean and there was no place to play inside or out. There was no kitchen, no running water and very few toys. The children were very glad to see us and I felt terrible for not bringing them something, like apples to eat.


The women there didn't speak much English, but they warmed up to us as we played with the children and tried to get them to communicate with us. The inside of the building was unbelievable! There was mold all over the place, the roof leaked and every room was in dire need of paint and repair. There was one dirty rug  that covered 1/4 of the room with just a few toys on it. It was such a drastic change from the other place. I couldn't see how they could teach the children anything in this place.



The 'kitchen' consisted of a couple of children's plastic tables, a two-burner unit that could not possibly have been working even if the electricity worked, which I'm sure it didn't, but might if there was money to pay for it.










A table in the corner of the room held their plates and a bucket of water that didn't look all too clean. There was no water without lugging buckets from the community waterspout several meters away.

Some of the children were barefoot with snotty noses, but they were smiling and wanted to play with us. Elder Kyle taught them how to high five and they all wanted to 'high five' with us. They put up their dirty little hands and smiled broadly every time our hands touched.


They were also fascinated with my camera. I had to show them every photo I took and they giggled like it was the funniest thing they ever saw. I would say the camera was definitely a big hit. One little girl in pink kept calling me 'Miss'. It was so cute. They couldn't speak any English, only a few words, but they proved that words are not necessary when you can communicate by actions and expressions. One little girl, when she saw I was taking her picture, pulled up her shirt and exposed her fat tummy. She was pretty funny. I used to see chubby little kids and think they had plenty to eat, but I learned through this visit that their main staple is something they call 'pap' which is basically made with maize and water. There is little or no nutritional value, but it fills their bellies so they do not feel hungry, but their little bodies become bloated, especially their bellies.

The amazing ladies that run this orphanage

There were three women there watching the children. They are all volunteers and make do with whatever they have on hand which isn't much. One lady was wearing a hat, another had a baby on her back. Those women probably don't get much to eat either, but they give of their time during the day to watch these children and do activities with them.

Once the children realized that they could get their photos taken they all got into the act. They made faces, put their hands in the air and tried poses like these cute ones in this photo.


I took one little boy's photo and he motioned for me to take another with his hand under his chin. It was so funny. Then the little girl in pink wanted to do it to. It was hilarious. They are just children. They may not have parents and good food to eat, but they don't know their plight. They just want to laugh and have fun like all children.


We checked out a room that they hope to be able to use to store whatever items that are donated, such as food and toys, etc. so they can padlock it at night. I imagine things will be taken if easily accessible when others have nothing. A new roof obviously is the first thing they need, to get rid of all the mold and leaking. Then some paint and flooring would be good and a proper kitchen. The water issue also needs to be dealt with and this may be where humanitarian comes in.



The other care center had a unique method of rigging up a way for the children to wash their hands. They fill plastic containers with water and then rig the to a post, tie a string to a piece of wood and to the bottle and the children use their feet to tip the bottle and wash their hands. Very creative and cheap way to do it. I don't see why they could not do that here. They have a community water source for people to get water and take to their homes. Our heads were spinning with ideas for this place.









I had to take a photo of my friend that showed her tummy.








As we left the center, most of the children gathered around for a photo. We are humbled by this experience, especially knowing there are many more like this. We have seen a few, but this one so far is the worst. As we left they waved good bye and seemed very happy that we came.

I high-fived until my hand was numb and my camera had dirty fingerprints all over it, but I can't remember when we've had more fun. Children are the same regardless of skin color or how much they do or do not possess.

We left and headed back to the other center to pickup Sue and her husband, as they were taking us to lunch. We couldn't imagine where they would take us, as there was not a restaurant anywhere in this community of modest homes on the hillsides. And we had to drive a great distance from any town to get there, so we weren't sure what was in store. We got to the center and they got into their truck and said follow us, so we took off down the dirt roads trying to see through the dust of the vehicles in front of us.


Finally, we turned right where a sign said Buddhist retreat. 'This is interesting,' I thought. All of a sudden we went from a rather poor view of  the people of Ixopo into a calm green, but modest place where people of the Buddhist faith go to get away from it all, meditate and rejuvenate their bodies and their spirits. We got our of the vehicles and were led to a building where we were to eat lunch. It was already prepared, buffet style in a small room with just a few people.

Anyone can come and purchase lunch there and we did see thee white women who had come by just for lunch, but after that is was mostly our group. Lunch was vegetarian and though we didn't recognize what we were eating it was quite good. After lunch, Sue asked if she could take us on a tour of the retreat and she showed us the rooms where people stay, with the women on one side and the men on the other. She said there were nice buildings for married couples, but most of the time, even though married, they chose to use the single, separate rooms. In the lodging down each hall containing the small rooms made up of a single bed, closet and small table and chair, there is a separate community bathroom, one for the men and one for the women. She said that when you entered the lodging there was a strict code of silence there...no talking. She took us to a large room where people can talk as they gather around the fireplace, and beyond that up the stairs is a reading room with many books to choose from. That room is also used as a meditation room. We then went to an even larger room where you can meditate and I assume do yoga or other like activities. There was a woman in there with a guitar, that we heard was a somewhat famous performer, but we didn't recognize her and felt a little embarrassed that we interrupted her.

 We then walked around the property. Sue explained that they do not worship Buddha or the statue, but it is supposed to help them feel serene. We also didn't realize that this retreat is ranked one of the world's  ten best  meditation retreats. It is described as: "Just a 90-minute drive from Durban, the Buddhist Retreat Centre's remote location in Ixopo feels fully rural. Former President Nelson Mandela awarded the center National Heritage status for its environmentally friendly approach to using indigenous plants and helping to save the endangered Blue Swallow. Accordingly, walking and bird-watching on the extensive property are encouraged. In addition to scheduled meditation retreats, people in search of solitude are also welcome to come and get away from the modern world on their own. Located in a traditional Zulu tribal area, the community here does outreach work with the local population through Woza Moya (The organization funding the center run by Sue and her husband).


After our nice visit, we went back to the Woza Moya center and were shown all the things they are doing there to earn money. We saw the women sewing little bags for sale that have the embroidery design that was done by an aids victim. They also sold the squares with the design on it by itself and they made pillows incorporating the design. The women doing the sewing were in the garage and graciously talked to us and showed us what they were doing. We purchased a few things to support them in this effort and they gave us a couple of CDs. When we got home we listened to the CD and it has African songs and poetry all done very professionally by the people who work at the center, some of who have aids themselves. It is very moving, especially the poetry. We have seen a lot today, some great and some heart-breaking, but we are here to help and these are things we need to see. As we are made aware of these off the main path areas and their problems, we can bring this to the attention of the Church Humanitarian Services through the couple assigned to that mission. We will then recommend to them that the creche be made usable for the children who go there. One step at a time, Africa is slowly becoming what it was meant to be. How lucky are we to be a part of it.