Rural Community Empowerment and Youth Speaks!

So, last night I experienced "load shedding", I was sitting in bed reading when, thriller movie style, there was a clunk and pitch black! All power was disconnected.  Wow, now I know the meaning of pitch black!  Luckily my phone had a full charge and I was able to use the torch to get ready for bed!  I think the power was off for two hours... but within minutes of the darkness I was fast asleep (but I did remember to turn the lamp off so it didn't wake me when power was restored!)

This morning I headed north of Pietermaritzburg, past Howick (where the Mandela Capture Site is) and on towards Lidgetton where a fabulous project called ACAT is based.  ACAT is not in our portfolio of projects but it is one of the projects supported by our friends, Helwel Trust and as I was in KZN it was too good an opportunity to miss going to see what they do at ACAT and, potentially, how there might be some synergies we could achieve through a collaboration.
My immediate impression, turning off the main road into a gravel track was to hope the map, saying I only had 600 meters to my destination was correct!  Indeed it was and soon a secure compound and electric gates came into view!  As you might be able to tell from the photo, we had a beautiful day today, the temperature was nudging 30 degrees C when I arrived shortly before 10 am and it was several degrees higher by the time we did our walk around.  KZN has had a dry winter and there have been several bush fires already.  As it now moves into the summer, the risk of bush fires heightens and the lack of water over the winter months may cause some significant problems for irrigation and water supply.  The saving grace is that in this part of KZN the cool, fresh drinking water comes from deep springs, thanks to the Drakensberg, the eastern part of the Great Escarpment which encloses the central Southern African plateau.
ACAT have been working in this area for nearly 25 years and they started with a vision and macro plan which is evident in the layout of the centre.  They do not use all of the land but have added buildings on a needs basis, meaning that there is now an administration block, a learning centre, some additional classroom / break out rooms and two accommodation blocks, one of which is youth hostel style bunk beds and the other, more private twin rooms with en suite.  They have a variety of courses running throughout the year and they are mostly residential, their usual cohort of trainees is between 20 and 30 individuals, which represents 100 to 150 people within each intake.  This is because the model is to encourage people to organise themselves into a group of 5, of the five, one person will attend the training and then they will pass their newly acquired knowledge onto the group of five.  In this way the impact of one training place has the potential to positively influence 5 families, or up to 25 or 30 people! The areas of operation are divided into areas of 30km radius, with up to a total of 150 zones or communities, which are set up to be within a reasonable walking distance for each group of five, so they can access support and training on an ongoing basis.  This model means that ACAT have a presence in 2/3 of the whole KwaZulu Natal province.  Their ethos is to reinforce the importance of family and to demonstrate how co-operative working can benefit the whole community, through strong family groups and strong role models.  The ACAT programme has four phases, it starts with what is called a "Survivalist Garden".  This shows people how, with their hard work, they can cultivate a moisture trench garden (gardeners dig into the ground to create an east to west trench into which they place organic materials and moisture retaining layers before planting crops.  Only a small amount of topsoil lies above ground level) which will provide sufficient produce to supplement the household food requirements and may even allow for excess crops to be sold or bartered.  This is usually in the first year.

Phase two takes two or three years and it creates what is known as a food secure  homestead.  This expands the size of the production and adds livestock, chickens, goats etc which provide dairy and protein in addition to the veggies and carbohydrates.  The measure of food security is a well known gauge to assess the well being of a community - you can find out more here - Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS).  The ACAT programme has demonstrated an 87% improved food security score from a 2011 baseline!  Phase 3 is in year 4 and this is where each family is operating a sustainable homestead, they have enough food to eat and additional to sell which provides income so they can improve their housing, send children to school and access healthcare.

Phase 4 follows, which moves into a more commercial enterprise, whereby they may extend their land, start employing others and sell on a more wholesale basis.
All this is achieved through the initial training, supplementary training, mentoring and support.  The group of five is the bottom rung of this model, culminating in a zone committee which oversees the support of the participants in the zone and also runs the savings and loans scheme; which encourages financial responsibility and future planning.

There is so much more to say about fabulous ACAT and you can find more information here

Following this visit I hit the road and headed back to Hillcrest Library where I was due to attend the Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust (HACT) Peer Educators annual debating contest!  This is a programme in secondary schools where individuals are trained and mentored to be peer educators and they lead events and discussions in their school to raise awareness of issues from HIV Aids prevention, gender based violence, bullying and many others.  Each year, in conjunction with Gold Youth there is a debating contest at the end of the school year (South African schools run a January to December school year) and the subjects debated today included "Should the school leaving age be lowered to Year 9?" "Should secondary schools provide condoms in school bathrooms?" "Should knowingly transmitting HIV Aids be a criminal offence?" "Should smacking as a means of discipline in the home be banned?"
The debates were lively and passionate, considering some were arguing on the side that conflicted with their own personal belief, it was impressive.  The debates were judged by representatives from the University of KwaZulu Natal and there was much deliberation by the judges.

Whilst this was going on, a group of student nurses from Villanova University in Philadelphia conducted a session of "Fact or Nonsense" about all things HIV Aids related. The students were engaged and although initially some were a little reticent, they soon got involved and were able to debunk some myths about HIV Aids transmission and prevention.  That was followed by an increasingly complex game akin to "Simon Says" but conducted in a mix of isiZulu and English with a key word switching the game from doing what was said to doing the opposite!
Following the prize giving Candace, the CEO from Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust invited me up and kindly included me in the photos and introduced me to the group!  So an impromptu (and brief) GAGA pitch later... I headed back to the lodge for some much needed grub!
So there you have it GAGA friends, another day done in KZN and so much learned and experienced.  We are so fortunate to have these connections here and to be able to be the conduit to sharing knowledge and experience and connecting projects and people.  So much that ACAT has to offer can be utilised by our very own GOGO lunch club and the peer educators at HACT are so close to the CINDI project at 1000 Hills.  As GAGA we are so lucky to be able to visit each of these and share what we find, and of course, we wouldn't be able to do that if it were not for you, our awesome supporters, without which none of this would be possible!  Siyabonga (Thank You)!

Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust Visit

This morning I was delighted to visit the Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust (HACT), this is always such an inspiring project to visit as they really do think outside the box when it comes to supporting individuals and communities who are coping with the impact of HIV Aids.  GAGA is one of the sponsors of a bed in the 24 bed respite unit situated in the heart of Hillcrest in KwaZulu Natal in South Africa.

However, the work of HACT does not start and end with the respite unit.  Those of you who followed the blog in January may remember the home visits and the GOGO support initiative.  Well, you'll be pleased to know Mr Mshengu is still driving his patients every day to their hospital appointments in Durban and carrying out his home visits.  Remember Victor? 

Well he's doing so well, still living independently and has not had the need to be readmitted to the unit since January which is great news.  He is hoping for a place at a new elderly care home for 2020, we wish him the very best of luck in that move.

The GOGO support initiative continues and has moved into a family strengthening stage, whereby to Gogo's (Grandma's) and grandchildren come together to talk openly about subjects that concern them.  A marvellous example of this was when HACT visited a community deep in the Valley of 1000 Hills in KwaNyuswa.  A Gogo said that no projects had every visited there before and they were so cut off from support and facilities.  The HACT team set up under the shade of a tree and started to talk to people about family strengthening though conversation.  One of the subjects chosen was bullying and everybody discussed it.  Afterwards a 7 year old boy opened up to his Gogo to say he had been bullied at school for two years.  He'd never told anyone.  The Gogo said she knew his behaviour at home had become worse but she didn't know why.  Now, they have talked about it and the Gogo walks the boy to school and he can now talk about the day and be open if he has been bullied and the Gogo can support him.

After catching up on the news with Candace and Claire we went along to the Respite Unit and met some of the team there. This is Candance and Sister Sphe the Nursing manager in front of the artwork created by the staff and patients for Mandela's birthday this year.

I was also delighted to meet this gentleman who, after nearly six weeks in the Respite Unit had recovered sufficiently to be discharged today!  As a discharge gift, HACT likes to give something special that has been donated and what could be more special than this beautiful crochet blanket that I was privileged to bring out to SA with me on this trip. We get some fantastic donations at GAGA HQ but it is always very special when we learn a story behind a particular piece.

This is Vera, the lady who made the crochet blanket.  

Vera’s daughter Andrea was one of the founding members of the Click and Chatter club at Holy Trinity in Stratford upon Avon.  Holy Trinity is where Shakespeare is buried and it has a long association with the great and good of Stratford upon Avon!  It is also one of the places we yarnbomb in December (as well as the big tree in the Bancroft Gardens).  Andrea sadly passed away from breast cancer earlier this year, but she had already roped her mother into supporting GAGA, as she did, with crochet squares and beanie hats.  Whilst Andrea was ill, Vera was busy making her crochet squares for a blanket for GAGA.  Her granddaughter Abi (Andrea’s daughter) told me that it was a great comfort to Vera to have a focus whilst her daughter (Andrea) was so unwell and it was a great comfort to Andrea to know that her Mum was continuing to support a project and charity that she was so passionate about.  When Andrea passed the blanket was not complete, but Vera told her granddaughter that she was determined to finish it in honour of Andrea and wanted it to come to GAGA so we could pass it on to someone over here who needed the love and comfort that was in each stitch.  Well Vera, I am delighted to say, this gentleman was overwhelmed with his gift and everyone at HACT sends their sincere thanks to you for your kindness.  Rest assured that your blanket will be cherished and offer comfort for many years to come.

"There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return." Nelson Mandela

First visit to 1000 Hills Community Helpers

I was so happy to be visiting 1000 Hills Community Helpers today!  Wow, this is a remarkable project and it's always a joy to visit but I had no idea what was in store for me today!  As I drew up the guys were busy with the school buses, washing them after the morning school run.  As the parking area was so busy I left my keys and, taking my heavy bag I went into the campus.  As I walked through I could see that there were scores of people waiting for the baby clinic (Tuesday is always a great day to visit as you are guaranteed to see so many cute babies!). 
My first stop was the office to sign in and say hi to the team who work so hard behind the scenes!  Then I went in search of Dawn, the formidable founder of this whole project, she was busy in the back kitchen overseeing the distribution of the food parcels going out to the community this morning.  We went through to the office and had a good catch up about the latest news from GAGA UK and all that was happening at 1000 HCH. 

Zandi joined us to give some information about the newest project, Cindi (Children in Distress) that they have taken on.  https://www.cindi.org.za/
This project is in collaboration with USAID and it aims to focus on children who are affected by HIV AIDS.  1000 Hills are working with the CINDI programme to affect social and behavioural change, starting with groups aged 10 to 14 and 15 to 18 who are either HIV positive status or have family members who are.  The aim is to create awareness and a support network to ensure that families and friendship groups can openly discuss the impacts of their HIV status, understand the need for keeping up with their medication and understand how to manage their HIV status.  Some of the sessions are mixed and some are single sex to allow for open and frank discussion, without embarrassment or holding back.

Then Karin joined from the clinic and I was able to handover the bounty of dressings we had brought from the Bidford Pharmacy.  The clinic staff were so grateful for the dressings, they had just reached a critical low in their stock and our donation was so well timed.  It's quite something to see that items that we may just throw away or stick in the back of a cupboard have such immense value here.  More of this later in the visit.

I then had the joy of a tour of the grounds and saw the new classrooms that have been built since January.  The demand for quality, affordable early years education is unwavering in this province, and the quality of the provision at 1000 Hills Community Helpers is unmatched.  It is such a delight to meet the children and staff here!

By now, it was lunch time and I got stuck in serving up lunch to the children from the nearby Primary school who came across for a nutritious hot meal, today it was rice with pilchard stew followed by apples.  The team in the kitchen work so hard, they are all volunteers from the community (only the head chef is on the staff) and in return for their labour they can send their children to the creche or preschool and have a breakfast and lunch at the centre.  This is the winning formula of 1000 Hills Community Helpers, it is exactly that, the community helping each other. 

A prime example of this is their garden.  The produce from the garden supplements the kitchen, and, like the kitchen staff the gardeners are volunteers.  I met Christian who told me his story.  He had been unsure what to do leaving school but was interested in agriculture.  He was able to join a municipality agriculture scheme and complete the training but at the end there was no money to take it forward and get a plot of land.  So he went to 1000 Hills Community Helpers and spoke to Dawn, she said he could volunteer to develop their veggie patch.  So Christian took charge of the volunteer gardeners and put his knowledge to use.  Well, the results speak for themselves....

Spinach and cauliflower ready to pick, not to mention carrots and a potato crop coming along.  Everything is organic, the gauze covering the growing area protects from bugs and birds, and the irrigation comes from the small dam nearby.  The kitchen waste is composted to enrich the soil and the only problem is the snails.... Christian has become an important member of the 1000 Hills team and he is now having training as part of the Cindi project to become one of the facilitators.

I can't let you go without showing that GAGA really does get stuck in when we are over here.... because after lunch, as we all know, is the inevitable washing up...

Catch up tomorrow!

A visit to Number 9 Creche

Monday dawned rather overcast and chilly but that soon changed as the morning progressed.  My first job was to run a few errands in Hillcrest to pickup some stationery items for First Step Right and get some posters printed to advertise admissions for next year.  The team are very excited about the plans for 2020 when they will offer a creche and preschool, with "wrap around" care for the morning and afternoons.  Many people find it hard to place young children in a safe and stimulating environment to fit in with their shift working patterns and the plan for 2020 is to focus on the age six and under for early learning (ECD - Early Childhood Development) and then offer an after school homework club for primary aged children.  There is no doubt this will be challenging for the team but they are determined to make a success of the new model.

On arrival at the school I found the creche children lined up for some running races.  Nicole had them balancing with pigeon steps, hopping, hop-scotch and balancing bean bags on badminton rackets!

Once that lesson was over, Nicole and I went to visit Number 9, the creche in Msunduzi.  This is a lovely creche, beautifully run by Promise and originally set up by fabulous people from Northern Ireland, who continue to take an active interest in their well being through their strong association with GAGA. We enjoyed playing with the parachute with the children, who were learning their primary colours by calling out which segment the ball was on, before shaking the parachute to get the ball through the hole in the middle!  Truly learning through play in action.  Thanks to our lovely supporter in Northern Ireland we had two new balls and a bat and ball game, so we set up the over and under game for the children to play.  Trying to get them to stand in two lines and pass the ball alternately over their heads and between their legs was a mission! Quite a funny sight to see!
The children then went in for singing before their lunch and we showed them a beautiful quilt another one of our lovely supporters had made.  The children were delighted to see the pictures of the farm yard animals and there was soon a cacophony of animal noises as they explored the beautiful quilt and recognised the animals depicted there! 

Going back to First Step Right the afternoon session was in full swing. Year one were doing reading comprehension with two familiar stories, the Three Little Pigs and How the Zebra Got his Stripes.  Meanwhile, it was Grade R's turn to be out in the playground doing some games and Grade 4 and Grade 5 were busy with a craft activity, making cards with a flower pattern crafted out of scraps of wool.  There was much hilarity when, in answer to my question of "who are you making the card for?" one lad said his girlfriend.... the whole class burst into laughter! 

After the children left for the day, the team and I sat down to discuss plans for the upcoming Graduation, as the Grade R classes graduate from preschool to Primary education and for other plans for 2020.

Still having problems transferring photos from my phone to the laptop, so will publish without pictures but will try to add some at a later date!

Thanks for following the blog!
Claire

Knots, cakes, windows and buying the moon in a shop!

Arriving at First Step Right this morning I saw that Nicole, the Indigo volunteer was busy with rope and tape on the jungle gym, the scramble net had worn through and was unusable so Nicole had decided to make some repairs.  Luckily she has done some rock climbing in the past and therefore knows a thing or two about ropes and knots, which combined with my rather hazy recollection of knots from scouts, we put to good use as we "wove" a new grid into the scramble net. As we were working the bell rang and it was break time, therefore we had an interested audience watching us!  Whilst we didn't have enough of the thicker rope to make good the mesh, we were pretty pleased with the out come, as we reinforced the joins with cable ties and, gingerly invited the children to try out our work!  All was good and now we have a fully functional scramble net at First Step Right!
You never really know what the school day is going to bring, we had a lovely time celebrating a birthday in Grade R with an amazing cake and the birthday girl looking fabulous in her party dress!  Whilst the smaller children enjoyed the birthday celebrations the older children did some quiet reading in their classes, I joined Grade 2 and just before the home time bell rang, we played a game of "Simon Says" and "I went to the shop and I bought..."  You'd be amazed to hear of some of the things this shop stocks... everything from ice creams to the moon!

It was good to have the opportunity to get to know some of the teachers better today, I spent a little time chatting to a few of them and it is always so inspiring to hear of their ambitions and hopes for the future.  After school finished one of the creche teachers, L was waiting for a taxi (that's what all the public transport is called, unlike a UK taxi, this is a minibus service which runs certain routes around the province) so I offered her a lift in the bakkie.  She wanted to go to the nearby town of Hammersdale to the hardware shop, as she is in the process of fixing up her house and has saved enough for two new windows.  So we set off on our adventure, the guys at the hardware store were a little taken aback at these two women asking for windows and lintels…. They brought the lintels on the forklift and I casually asked L whether there was going to be any help at the other end to off-load! The forklift driver didn't seem to keen to follow us along the way!  👷😂Luckily, she assured me her husband would be home and so off we went (slowly and with hazards flashing as the lintels were sticking out of the back of the bakkie!).  Sure enough the arrival of the GAGA bakkie laden with building supplies caused a little bit of a stir as we travelled to L's home, but we soon got off loaded with the help of said husband and her youngest son and L showed me the two rooms that would be getting new windows.  One being a new room that can be used for a Dining Room and also a place for the children to do their homework and the second being the kitchen (which currently doubles up as a living / dining space).

Now feeling much more familiar with the valley, and my visual memory from the January trip kicking in, I realised I was very close to Ithembalihle, the orphanage we often visit.  However, I didn't drop in on this occasion as it was a busy time with the older children coming home from school and having homework to complete.  Within 30 minutes I was back at the lodge, another reminder of just how physically close these two widely different communities are in South Africa.  As I reversed the bakkie into the carport I was entertained by the resident monkey troop performing an acrobatic display in the tree opposite.

Back with WiFi I was able to check my emails and … write this blog.  All in all a good couple of days for the start of my trip.  Now, as the crickets start chirruping and the sky darkens with the swiftly approaching sunset I say, "sala kahle" (stay well)

Making myself at home!

Hello GAGA friends,
Safely arrived in Durban, South Africa yesterday late afternoon after the 17+ hour flight.  All went well on the first leg of the journey, being a night flight it was pretty quiet in spite of being packed to capacity.  On the second flight I was (ironically considering I am five foot two) allocated a seat reserved for extra leg room!  On the plus side this meant I had plenty of room and could get up and about easily (unlike on the first leg where I was in a window seat and both the passengers between me and the aisle were sound sleepers...).  However, this also meant that the area was the congregation area for the queue for the toilet, so a steady stream (no pun intended) of temporary travelling companions, so little chance for any shut eye on that journey.
Arrived on time and despite a little delay at the baggage carousel, in which I was on the verge of having visions of my luggage having been sent on an adventure of it's own, I was through arrivals and greeted by Debbie, our SA based project co-ordinator.

It was really misty, apparently some long awaited rain had appeared in time for my arrival, and as we set off from the carpark the first swipe of the wipers stripped the rubber off the passenger side wiper blade!  After an otherwise uneventful journey to Hillcrest, Debbie jumped out at home and I made my way, in the dark and now pretty heavy rain, to the accommodation at PheZulu.  All was well on arrival, security were expecting me and arrived at the gate with keys and I quickly off loaded the luggage and thankfully found my room and a very welcome hot shower!

After unpacking I went into the lounge and there was a lovely couple from Israel who invited me to join them.  It was so good to chat and hear about their trip so far, they had arrived in Cape Town and were driving up through South Africa on a month long holiday!  Then a lady arrived in the lounge and introduced herself, it was Carol, one of the team from Spirit of Africa, a fellow UK charity who fund the orphanage Ithembalihle.  We were so fortunate that our trips overlapped by 24 hours and we were both able to put faces to names, having previously only communicated by email.  Carol had been visiting Ithembalihle for 10 days and was supporting them with some school entry activities for the older children as well as getting school shoes and other essentials.  She also showed me the Christmas gifts that the Spirit of Africa supporters had provided.... Thandiwe will need some good hiding places to keep those under wraps until Christmas!

This morning Carol and I had a final catch up before I headed off to First Step Right, the creche and low primary school in Cato Ridge.  It was lovely to see the jacaranda trees starting to blossom as I drove along the road, their beautiful lilac flowers providing a wonderful contrast to the evergreen trees all around.  The Cato Ridge area looks to be thriving, with more low impact factory units opened since I was here in January.  This bodes well for employment in the area but it has certainly increased traffic!  The children were just coming out for first break when I arrived and it was lovely to have a happy welcome from them and the teachers.  After visiting all of the classrooms and meeting Gael and a volunteer called Nicole who is with First Step Right for a month I sat down with Reception class to try to read them the Wide Mouthed Frog story... but they were so excited they couldn't sit down for long!

My next meeting was a little along the road in Kloof, so I said farewell to the children and headed off to my meeting.  One of the key objectives of this trip is to assess the plans for the creche and low primary school for 2020, but more of that later.  Suffice it to say there is a lot of work to be done on all sides but the vision is very exciting!

Late afternoon meant a return to Hillcrest to go to Pick & Pay for some shopping and to top up my pay as you go, SA mobile phone.  That done I had to track down somewhere to replace my wiper blades as by now the driver side blade was starting to come away and more rain is forecast!  Luckily the manager at the Esso station not only gave me directions to an auto spares store but even said if I brought them back to the filling station he would fit them for me!  What a star!  Job done, and seeing clearly through the windscreen, I headed back to the accommodation to prepare some supper.

Sitting here now in my room, with a chorus of crickets in the background I am so happy to be back in Africa and am looking forward to all that this trip has ahead.  Keep checking in on the blog to follow the adventure!

Night night, Claire 

Getting Ready for the Next Adventure

Just a few days to go now until the next monitoring trip to Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa.  I'm using the same blog as Sarah and I did for our January 2019 trip - no need to spend funds on a new blog URL when this one is still open!

This trip I will be flying solo for much of the time, but I will be joined in the school half term by my youngest son, Brett, who will be spending the week volunteering at the wonderful 1000 Hills Community Helpers.  A big adventure for him and for me!

We have so many beautiful crochet and knitted blankets and sweaters to take out with us, thank heavens for vacuum bags!  I'm really looking forward to catching up with the fantastic teams who run the projects we partner with, the Sangobeg scholars (including two new ones!) and of course, Debbie, our Project Co-Ordinator in South Africa.  I don't think the Royal Party will cross our path..... but who knows!

I hope you will look in on the blog and follow the adventures as we once again sleep under African skies!