A New Perspective

It has been a great three months of volunteering at the Missionvale Care Centre.  Last week was our last time and it was an emotional day.  Since I last blogged about Missionvale, a lot has happened and it has definitely been a roller coaster.  There were many times where we just did monotonous tasks in the kitchen or walked around with the caregivers all day doing nothing.  For some people, it did not feel like they were making a contribution.  There was also a great deal of frustration regarding communication with the staff.  I was the group’s key communicator and it was a challenge.  The staff is so extremely busy with very important things, but I really needed to talk to them, so it was an unfortunate situation.  

Luckily, I saw the positive aspects to what we were doing.  Observing and learning was the first step in beginning to make a difference, and unfortunately since we were the first St. Ben’s/St. John’s group to come, we would be doing a lot of that.  One of the students in my group even decided to leave and go to Pendla Primary School to switch volunteer cites.  It had been a struggle. However, we eventually found our project and began to feel like we were making a difference when we started working in the gardens.  Our group became much closer after overcoming these obstacles and we felt like we persevered.  

Citizens of Missionvale sign up to get a chance to work in the gardens at the care centre.  There are around 30 different plots and there is a waiting list to use them.  When a person is granted a lot, it stays in the family until they give it up.  Unfortunately, some of the lots were very visibly overgrown and not being used.  So, our project was to clear them out and get them ready for new families to come and use them.  We cleared a total of five plots – that is five families, probably 25 new people we helped feed.  

Gardening is also very sustainable, so it was something we felt good about contributing to.  Working in the gardens was also something that we enjoyed because we could see direct results of our hard work.  Looking at before and after pictures of some of the plots is just mind blowing.  In one plot in particular, the weeds had grown up to three feet high.  We put our blood, sweat and tears into those gardens.  It is something I am extremely proud of.  Just a week after our first plot, Bishop (the staff member in charge of the gardens) told us that someone was already using it.

 

Our group on the last day with caregiver Ronelle on left and Bishop in the middle.

All of us at 'tea time' in the staff room.

Along the way we also met the other gardeners and created friendships with them.  Our favorite was Ruben; he was always so nice and told us about what he was growing.  We found out later that he was born in 1932 and was 79 years old!  We could not believe it.  Whenever we went to recess and would take a quick break in the staff room, Ruben always yelled “tea time!”  It was touching.    

Ruben standing in front of the gardens at Missionvale.

Throughout the gardening process we purchased work gloves to use and then leave there and also bought a new rake and hoe with the money we fundraised.  Gardening was also a great time of bonding for us.  We made weekend plans, talked about Missionvale and had some good laughs with what we found in the gardens.  At one point we found enough random vegetables to make a salad, ran into some small snakes and enough garbage for two bins.  I really enjoyed using the hoe and hacking away at the weeds.  Raking through the debris was also a good challenge to get as much as we could.  Then we would wheelbarrow the weeds to a giant pile outside of the gardens.  It was a great project for us.  We only wish we would have known about it sooner and we could have done even more plots.

Another one of the projects that began at the beginning of the semester was working with the internet website and making improvements to their social networking.  We helped Linda (the marketing head) with a Missionvale Facebook page.  The website already had some improvements made after our first feedback meeting.  It looks much more up to date.  One thing in particular that we took charge of was interviewing and writing stories about different people at Missionvale.  These stories would go on the website and act as ‘Missionvale profiles’.  

Thelma, a caregiver

I got the chance to interview one of the caregivers named Thelma.  She had an amazing story.  Single mother of three daughters and after losing her job, she moved to Missionvale and joined the bread and soup line.  Then one day she met Sister Ethel who gave her a job in the Children’s Library.  Eventually she applied to be a caregiver and got the position.  She loves being a caregiver because she gets to listen to people and help them.  Being a caregiver is more than just taking care of physical health, but emotional as well.  Thelma wakes up at 5 am everyday to get her kids ready for school and comes to work.  Listening to Thelma tell her story was inspirational.  She spoke so softly, but so intelligently.  She had so much hope for the future and was grateful for what the care centre has given her.

Just goofing off with some of the caregivers!

At one point throughout the semester, I got the chance to sit down with Linda for a one-on-one.  As a group, we were in the process of debating what to do with our money and where to put it.  So I asked her questions about each unit and where money could possibly go.  I found out a lot about what was going on at Missionvale recently, both positives and negatives.  For one, the place where they need the money the most is the nutrition unit, because they are literally in a crisis right now.  If they do not receive anymore more money or food, they will run out in July.  At one point, they had to begin taking people off the food parcel list.  It is really devastating.  The reason that food is so important is because you need to take ARVs with food.  (ARVs = antiretroviral drugs used to fight HIV viral infections).  Missionvale has done some studies in the past that demonstrated a correlation between food intake and CD4 count, which is a number indicating your white blood cell level.

One great thing that has been happening within the school that I was super excited about, was the introduction of e’Pap.  A while ago, a couple from the UK came down and noticed that the kids at Missionvale were falling asleep in class and were hungry throughout the day.  They always ate their sandwiches at 10 a.m.  So, they did a trial run of e’Pap, which is a powdery substance that has 30 nutrients in it.  Every morning, the students at Missionvale had e’Pap for breakfast.  They saw amazing improvements.  Students were no longer falling asleep in class and they also wanted to wait till noon for their sandwiches.  So, the couple decided to donate enough money for e’Pap for a year.  These small things really can make big differences sometimes.  It was great to hear about it. 

Playing with the kids at recess!

Our last day at Missionvale was definitely one of the best.  Over the course of three months, I fell in love with each and every one of the kids that we played with at recess.  I established relationships with a number of them as well.  Learning their names was great too, especially trying to pronounce them.   The girls I spent the most time with them were named Jessamine, Boppi, Disa, Moresha, Goshal, Chamila, Rachelle, Sanita and Michelle. 

One of my favorite pictures from recess.

Even though we probably are not allowed to have favorites, Jessamine was for sure mine.  She was just 5-years-old, one of the smallest kids there, but definitely had one of the biggest personalities.  Every time I walked into recess she just ran up to me and jumped on me.  Jessamine was always smiling, loved being tickled and taught me some hand games.  Some days it was hard to handle all of the kids, because they would get jealous if one person was getting more attention than the others, so we tried to be as fair as possible.  Sometimes they would even fight each other to get to be lifted up or something, so I had to work those situations out. 

Jessamine on the left, Boppi on the right and Rachelle in the front.

I did a variety of things at recess with them, including singing Justin Bieber, dancing, playing games like follow the leader and tag.  They loved doing my hair.  This however sometimes got a little crazy, especially when there was more than one girl.  My favorite quote came from the last day.  I asked them what they wanted to do or play.  They just screamed “JUMPING!” so we just jumped up and down for a few minutes.  They thought it was an absolute blast.  It was wonderful to see that the simple things in life, like jumping up and down, were ways to make these kids happy.  I was glad I could be part of their day and make them smile. 

 

Playing ring-around-the-rosie with the kids.

On our last day we recorded the “Waka Waka” dance with them.  They knew it so well they did not even need to practice.  Then we rang the bell five minutes early and they lined up to go in.  One of the teachers made an announcement in Afrikaans telling them that it was our last day and we loved them very much – something along those lines.  Then we passed out cookies that we bought them as a going away present.  They each got three!  Some of them ate them right away, but others saved them for lunch later.  I am not quite sure if they really understood that we would never be coming back.  It is a hard concept to grasp for some kids.  I think it will be even harder at the other service sites where they spend majority of their time with the kids.  I left recess on the verge of tears.  Those kids left a mark on my heart and I pray that they find their way out of poverty.  It is sad to know that some of them might have HIV/AIDs or might not even graduate high school.  Hopefully our time together was meaningful to them as well.

The kids standing patiently and quietly in line waiting for their cookies!

Me and Heather with Dorothy, head of nutrition unit

Our last hour was spent with Paul and Linda in a meeting to discuss our experience.  We gave some feedback on things they could do to improve Missionvale.  How do we break the cycle of poverty?  I don’t know.  I don’t think anyone will ever truly know.  But in the meantime we can do our best to give our all to these people who were born into the terrible cycle.  We left the meeting and were greeted by the caregivers and staff members.  They waved goodbye to us as long as our bus windows would allow me to see.  I will be forever thankful for what the people of Missionvale shared with me, what I witnessed and what I learned.  It gave me entirely new perspective on life, one of which I hope to keep with me forever. 

A Little Taste of Durban

After our scheduled tour of Cape Town, all of us were given the opportunity to do whatever we would like for the next six days until school started up again on the following Tuesday.  While some people chose to stay in Cape Town, ten of us girls wanted to hop on a plane on go to Durban, a city in the KwaZulu Natal province located on the Eastern coast of South Africa.  Durban is known for their really warm beaches, big city and has the second largest Indian population, after the country of India itself.  The culture in Durban would be a lot different than in PE or Cape Town.

Woke up at 3 am on Wednesday.  I must have been really anxious to leave for Durban.  So I showered and got ready.  Good thing I did, because not everyone was awake yet.  We were leaving at 5 am, so I went around at 4:30 to make sure everyone was up.  It was a bit of a struggle, but we did leave by 5:15.  Luckily, our flight that was supposed to be at 6:30 was delayed until 7.  Immediately, all 10 of us tired and sleepy girls sat down at the local chain coffee shop called Mugg and Bean.  I ordered a delicious Rocky Road Mocha and Hannah and I split lemon poppy seed and blueberry muffins.  It was definitely what we all needed to wake ourselves up.

Our flight ended up going really fast.  All 10 of us slept the entire 90 minutes.  Great opportunity for a nap.  Our taxi ride was very long, but we got to drive past some of the main city in Durban.  I was excited to see where we would be staying for the next three nights.  Unfortunately, Banana Backpackers did not quite meet any of our expectations.  Our hostel was located in downtown central Durban, definitely not the cleanest or safest place for a bunch of American girls.  The place looked and felt like a very old run down hotel.  I believe they used paint as their way to ‘fix it up.’  Everywhere was painted with really fun colors.  For example, each room had a window with a colorful design around it.  We were Room 6.  I tried to give them credit for it, but the quality of everything else was just not up to par.  But, oh well, we decided to tough it out for a night and see if it got any better.  

The first thing we did in Durban was go to the Durban Botanic Gardens.  At first, it looked really small from the outside, but once inside I realized how big it was.  I even got lost a couple of times.  The trees were all so tall and beautiful.  Also, it was finally warm again!  Cape Town weather was just awful, but we were all wearing tank tops and shorts in Durban – it felt like South Africa again.  The plants and flowers were all so unique.  We saw some pretty crazy trees, too.  The flowers were all really colorful, vibrant and so pretty.  Visiting the botanic gardens was a nice way to relax and just enjoy the nature.  

One of the craziest trees I saw in the Durban Botanic Gardens.

Some of the art at the BAT Centre

Towards the afternoon, we went to this place called the BAT Centre.  It was an arts center, filled with local artists and their work, a place for musicians to practice and perform and there was a dance studio as well.  Unfortunately, when we went most of the centre was closed.  There were a couple of art studios open though.  They did a lot of lino-cut work.  We heard some jazz music going on somewhere, but they were just practicing.  Lastly, I found an old dance studio.  It was kind of cool to see something like that in the middle of downtown Durban.

One room dance studio I discovered in the BAT Centre.

It was about dinner time, so we headed back to Banana’s and got ready.  In the meantime, we went grocery shopping for some breakfast food like apples, bananas, peanut butter and bread to last us the rest of the week to save some money.  After asking around, we found out the best place to go eat is on Florida Road.  So we took a couple taxis and they dropped us off at a Mexican place called Tacozulu.  I was incredibly hungry by that point and was super excited for some Mexican food.  We got chips and guacamole for appetizers.  Then I ordered Dos Enchiladas.  It came with homemade pico de gallo, guacamole and amazing sour cream.  It was huge!  I couldn’t quite finish all of it, but it definitely made top ten meals in South Africa.

We came home to a not so nice surprise.  Our groceries that we bought attracted cockroaches into our room!  They were everywhere.  It was absolutely disgusting.  I was glad to be on the top bunk.  This was our cue – we were moving somewhere else tomorrow.  So we checked out on Thursday morning.  Five of the girls in our group left early in the morning for Drakensburg.  With all of our heavy backpacking bags, we took a taxi to Florida Road to decide what we wanted to do next.  We couldn’t check in at our new place until later, but it was close to Florida Road.  

This is when we found the African Art Centre.  I knew right away we would like it.  The tree right out front was covered with red cloth and had fun colored shapes.  It was very classy inside.  Thankfully the woman let us leave our bags in the front of the store.  The jewelry was very unique and beautiful.  There were beads everywhere.  I purchased two very colorful baskets made out of wire.  By the time we were done in there, we were able to check in.  We got directions and decided to walk.  Little did we know, the walk would be entirely uphill.  It was definitely a struggle for me.  Our backpacks were huge and heavy.  But when we finally got there, I couldn’t have been more happy. 

 

Surf N Dreams was the name of the place.  It was in a nice residential area, close to Florida Street and free of cockroaches.  A young couple owned the house and turned it into a backpackers.  It was beautiful inside.  The décor was modern, but young and fun at the same time.  We would be in the ‘sunset’ room, which had an American flag surfboard on the door.  Not only was the place invaded by Americans, but our roommate, Eric, was from Minnesota!  And get this - we found out he graduated from the University of St. Thomas – archrivals to St. Ben’s and St. John’s.  How in the world did that happen?  What a crazy coincidence!

Living room at Surf N Dreams.  Modern artwork was done by the owner herself.

After settling in, we decided to walk down to the beach.  It was a straight walk all the way down the hill, only about 45 minutes.  I didn’t mind the walk though, because the weather was amazing.  The view was also really cool too.  Starting from the suburbs, we could see the city and ended up at the beach.  We also got to walk past the Durban’s World Cup Stadium, Moses Mabhida Stadium.  This world cup stadium is pretty awesome.  It looks like a giant bowl, with an arch over the top.  You can even swing from the arch if you want to. 

Walking down the beach felt like I was in California or something.  People rollerblading and biking down the sidewalk, there was a skate park for kids, restaurants everywhere.  The beach was packed too.  Umbrellas up, kids playing in the sand, parents tanning and tons of surfers riding the waves.      

We grabbed some ice cream and went strolling along the markets.  Hannah and I wandered over to the beach and wiggled our toes in the sand.  It was incredibly soft, probably some of the softest sand I’ve ever seen.  Then we tested out this supposedly ‘warm water’.  They were not kidding, the water was amazingly warm.  So much better than PE.  If only I had been wearing my ‘costume’ (term for swimsuit).  We just stood there and soaked it all in.  

It was about time to go home.  We had three different options of getting back.  A) walk B) taxi C)combi.  We didn’t want to walk 45 minutes up hill, so choice A was out.  Combi would be cheaper than taxi, but we didn’t know exactly how their combi system worked.  It would, however, be an experience.  So we decided to give it a go.  The first ride ended up being only R3!  (compared to R7 in PE).  R3 is the equivalent to 43 cents in the US.  Then we had to get off in the middle of the city, surrounded by people and skyscrapers.  Cross the street and get in another combi.  This one was R4 this time.  By the time we got off at the right stop, it was dark out.  It was fun though, to see how their combi system compared to the one in PE.

Combis lined up waiting for people to pick up.

Since we were in Durban, it was only necessary that we try some curry, a staple food in India.  Florida Road had a place called the House of Curries, so we got ready and walked down.  Eric, our Tommie roommate accompanied us.  I ordered this curry dish called bunny chow, which is a loaf of bread, carved out with curry inside.  It was sooo delicious, I absolutely loved it!  However, curry is one of those foods that you can’t have too often, because the spice is so strong. 

 

Me eating bunny chow!

On Friday we woke up early to get a lot done.  One of the main attractions in Durban is the Victoria Street Market, a huge two level building with markets up and down and all around.  The taxi dropped us off there, but first, we wanted to stop by the Juma Musjid mosque, the largest mosque is the southern hemisphere.  We walked along the streets of Durban to try and find it.  We didn’t think it would be too hard, seeing a mosque among industrial buildings.  It ended up being a wild goose chase though.  We went back and forth down one street a number of times, thought we saw it, false alarm, went under this sketchy bridge, and had to keep asking for directions.  Once we finally we found it, we had to cross he street again to sign up for a tour.  The tour was not bad.  We had to take off our shoes before you enter, as with any mosque.  We found out that this mosque can hold up to 7,000 people in its three levels.  The place was huge!

Walking up and down the streets in Durban.

After that, we went back to the Victoria Street Market.  It was really busy in there.  People, arts and crafts, food, spices – there was stuff everywhere.  The arts and crafts are all handmade.  Earrings, bracelets and necklaces are very popular.  They can be made from a wide range of things including beads made out of shells and paper, banana tree twigs and even cow bones.   I definitely got a couple of good souvenirs there – some earrings, a painting and my best find of the day – a potato print bag.  It was the only one of its kind too!  I definitely had to search for it though.  Also, every corner we turned I smelled a new spice, most of them begin curry. 

 

Selling spices in the street, including curry and more.

It was about lunch time, so we took a cab back to Florida Road.  Since one of the girls with us was a vegetarian, we decided to go to Injoy Vegetarian Café for lunch.  It was definitely the most vegetarian place I have ever been to eat.  There was not much to choose from, and each dish was very unique.  Some of the foods they put in it I had never even heard of.  I’m not the most adventurous when it comes to food, but I thought I would give it a go.  Plus, everything was extremely healthy and good for you.  We all ordered these yogurt granola smoothies – they were amazing.  Then I had salad with cucumbers, sun dried tomatoes, avocado, onions and a green pesto sauce.  The presentation was amazing – the cucumbers were tied in bows to wrap the salad up.  It ended up being really tasty – I was proud of myself for branching out.  Then some of us split their homemade banana and cashew ice cream.  The flavor was phenomenal, but the texture was really different – it was almost drinkable, but fun to eat.

We walked back to Surf N Dreams and chilled with all of the housemates until dinner.  By then, we had 2 more arrivals that would be staying for the night – a girl from Canada and one from Ohio.  We all got ready and went out to dinner together.  Eric was recommended to eat at Butcher Boys, a new restaurant on Florida Road that was said to have the best steak ever.  We tried it out, but it was pretty pricey.  I opted for fish, which ended up being the best fish I’d had in South Africa so far.  Yay Durban!

Everyone but Hannah and I left early in the morning to begin their long drive back to Port Elizabeth which was about 926 km or 575 miles.  We said no thank you to that, an opted out for flying instead.  We had a few hours in the morning before our 1:00 flight, so we wanted to enjoy them outside in the very nice weather.  Originally, we were going to walk to Florida Road and find a coffee shop or something like that.  But as we were about to turn, we saw an art shop across the street and opted for that instead.  The art gallery was very classy (and pricy) and dedicated to local artists.  Everything was very beautiful – jewelry, pottery and photography.  Hannah, being an art minor, was really loving it.  We kept going and passed three little coffee shops.  We were going to stop, but again were drawn to something across the street.  It looked like a park!  So we skipped on over and found our way in.  Walked around and smelled the flowers.  Found a bench and sat down to journal.  It was very peaceful and relaxing.  A great way to end our spring break.

The park Hannah and I went to.

Our plane ride was very interesting.  It was filled with a group of 34 American tourists, all retired to the looks of it.  But I ended up sitting next to a grandmother from New York.  She was in the process of going for her BA, had traveled the entire world it sounded like.  The flight went extremely fast.  We got curry for lunch and I talked to the New Yorker the whole time.  We landed in an hour or so.  Hannah and I were the first ones home in Langerry, around 3 pm on Saturday afternoon.  Everyone else would arrive on Sunday.  It was very strange being the only ones there – so incredibly quiet.  However, it was really nice to chill the whole evening.  I got the chance to upload pictures and work on homework with no one to distract us.  Home sweet home.