The State of Education

from Elliott

A job posting that I saw at the Post Office made me wonder whether this High School in the Eastern Cape would have me as a teacher. It is seeking 'Qualified, Underqualified or Unqualified' applicants for current openings.Certainly that includes me!

Sadly though, this does not speak well of the state of education in our ministry area of the Eastern Cape. Class size here is high and it seems that the students are often lacking the opportunity they deserve. I have read recently that there are 65,000 teaching positions in the province with as many as 10,000 unfilled. Certainly, with so many without work in this country, they can find someone to fill the positions. Is it another example of short sighted leadership or the pervasive corruption or both?

Unfortunately, regardless of the cause, the students lose out. Life is already tough here for the learners but then to add overcrowding, inadequate facilities and limited opportunity for graduates, hope is already in short supply.    

Green Eggs and Ham

from Katherine

I read each week at several schools, but the Sirhasheni Pre-School tugs at my heart. As you can tell from the photo there are a lot of kids and very little room. They do set up an outdoor class room when the weather is nice.

Anyway, I was reading 'Green Eggs And Ham' by Dr. Suess. I asked the kids if they would eat green eggs and ham and most said that they would not. If you don’t remember 'Sam I Am' wants the other furry guy to try green eggs and ham. The furry guy will not eat them here there of anywhere!! Sam I Am keeps trying until finally the furry guy gives in, tastes green eggs and ham and LOVES them. Well the kids started clapping and cheering because the furry guy tried the food! I have never gotten a reaction like this! I thought it was the cutest thing. I asked the kids again if they would eat green eggs and ham and they said they would.

If you have never eaten green eggs and ham, grab the book, a kid or two, and some green food coloring. You will have a ball!!

p.s. this was my kids favorite meal when they were little.

A Very Long and Blessed Life!

from Elliott
Many of the retail shops around here have security officers that check your purchases against your receipt as you exit the store. We seem to spend a good deal of time at the local hardware and every time when we walk in Katherine greets the older gentleman that works security there. The last time we were there, he very excitedly said to her, "You will live a very long and blessed life!"

"Most people walk right past me never saying anything or even acting like I am here. You instead always greet me with a smile"

I guess ministry does include a 'simple greeting' if it conveys a sense of worth to a disadvantaged person.

Learning to Walk...Again

from Elliott

I have found that I have needed to learn to walk again. I was following Thezelwa from the garden back to the Pre School the other day and I noticed her jump in the air and pick up the pace for another 20 feet. I figured out why when she exclaimed, “inyoka!” She had walked past the chicken coop and a snake (inyoka) was sunning itself on a rock. It scurried away before I could get a look but the next day the familiar grayish brown of the Black Mamba was slithering by in the same spot. 

There are many places where we walk through tall grass or amongst the rocks. In the warm weather the snakes are more active and could be anywhere. The species vary – not all are poisonous and even some of the poisonous ones are not very aggressive. But then there are those that are poisonous and very aggressive and they can be found in exactly the same places as those that are not.

A couple of weeks ago we hosted a mobile medical clinic and a patient waiting to be seen noticed that about 100 feet from our Training Center there was a Guava tree with ripe fruit just in front of two large rocks. It was surrounded by tall grass and most of our staff had heard stories that a very large Mamba lived in the rocks but no one had told the visitor. The temptation of the ripe guava was too great and he went into the grass. Once there, he noticed just in time a very large Black Mamba just at the base of the tree. Out he came as fast as his legs would take him! Sounds almost Biblical doesn’t it – a fruit tree and a snake and impending doom?

Some of the worst are the Black Mamba, Cobra and the Puff Adders. All are found in our area with the Mamba most prevalent. It can get quite large ranging from 2.4 to 4 meters or about 7-14 feet and is very aggressive moving as fast as 20 km/hour or 12 mph.

When we were at our rural homestay a couple of weeks ago we were on a trail above the village in the mountains and our guide quickly motioned me around a large rock. We looked back from a safe distance was a Puff Adder sunning just by the rock. They tend to stand their ground and are named for the ‘hissing and puffing’ sound of their warning. We got the point real fast!

You walk differently here than you would back home where there are sidewalks and low cut grass. You are always looking out of the corner of your eye and at your feet and on the ground ahead of you for the slightest movement. And you are always ready to move fast…out of the way!

Becoming a Part of the Family

from Katherine

During the recent school break we traveled 9 hours from our home deep into the Eastern Cape to a rural farming community called Cata.

We stayed with a family in Cata In a set up called a ‘homestay’ we stayed with a typical‘family’ in the village. In the home is the grandmother, uMama, her granddaughter – Tuli, 23, her daughter Sino 2, and another granddaughter – Buhle, 8. The grandfather is deceased, Tuli is not married and her parents live in Cape Town 12 hours away, Buhle’s parents or parent (I’m not sure if she has a mom and dad) are working in a city somewhere. This seems to be the norm in much of South Africa. Millions of grandmothers are the head of the household.

We were welcomed with hugs shown to our rooms and started life as ‘family members.’ They live in one rectangular room. The four of them sleep in 2 double beds at one end of the room, a refrigerator is next to the beds and there are two chairs for a sitting area at the end of the beds. On the other side is a small table where they wash dishes in a big plastic bowl and a cupboard and stove. On the family land there was another house which is where we stayed. It seems to have been built for visits from other family members. It has two small bedrooms and a tiny sitting area.

 

The main house has electricity for the fridge and stove. The other house has lights only at night. There is no running water but they have collection tanks from the rain water off the roof.  Water is delivered as you need it by Buhle as she is the youngest girl. Sino will soon be carrying water in small bottles so that she can learn. At bath time, one bucket of water is heated on the stove or on an open fire and you enjoy a ‘bucket bath’ on the front porch. And, the outhouse was down the hill next to the maize field.

Cata is an interesting village. During apartheid the Xhosa villagers were ordered off their ancestral land by the white government and consolidated on smaller plots in the valley below. Generally when this was done white farmers would move in and use the prime land. For some reason, this never happened in Cata.  After apartheid the villagers in Cata petitioned the new government to get their land back. They won the land as well as cash compensation. Some folks moved back into the hills but many stayed in the valley. 

Using half of the money from the settlement the community focused on creating economic development projects. One focuses on tourism and includes the homestays, horseback riding, trout fishing and hiking in the nearby mountains. Others are involved in community agriculture.

We were there for Xhosa lessons.  We had formal lessons each day and then we could practice on the villagers along the road or in the Tuck Shop. They were VERY kind!  One day we walked to the top of the hill to their ‘toposcope’ which is an outdoor map to learn where the original homesteads were located and how the families were organized. Other days, we went horseback riding into the forest, where we learned about their forestry program, and 4 wheeling to visit a magnificent waterfall. We used local guides on all of these trips which is one of the ways they make money for their family.

The trip was a wonderful experience for all of us. Our Xhosa language is a little bit better.  We so appreciate our hot and cold running water!! Electricity is nice, but candles are romantic (oh, Cason was with us). And, unconditional acceptance is amazing especially when our white skin gives the villagers reason to distrust us.     

Wet Clothes Serve as a Reminder

from Katherine

When I was little I loved to put on my rain boots grab my umbrella and sing and splash in the rain. I usually came home soaked to the skin, by choice! I had to run two errands today, with my car of course, and when I got home I was soaked to the skin, not by choice. 

This made me stop to think about some of my friends here in South Africa.

Grace lives in a rondavel, a small round house about 20 feet across. Ten people live in Grace’s house - not all family, but Grace has a big heart. Grace’s roof is corrugated tin and it leaks. Grace does not have a tank to collect water so someone must walk to the tap. On sunny days there will be children playing in the yard at Graces’. Today with the drenching rains they will all be inside. Except Grace, she had to walk to the taxi rank, ride to the stop where her weekend job is, walk to work, clean someone’s home, walk back to the taxi rank, ride the taxi, and walk home.  All in the pouring rain.

My friend Mafa also lives in a small rondavel with his wife and 2 sons.  Mafa has been building a bigger home on his land for more than a year. He is working hard now to save money to pay for the roofing materials. When he does have the money, he will put the roof on himself.

I think God has used all the wet clothing hanging around my house to remind me of how blessed I am.

A Lesson from Nqobile

from Katherine

When I walked into the preschool at our ministry site today I was receiving so many hugs that I had to sit down. Nqobile, the child in the green jacket, climbed right into my lap and stayed there. After a bit, most of the kids started to play again. Nqobile and I were left to talk on our own.  Nqobile speaks a 2 year old version of 'Xhosa baby talk.' I speak English to the children and some of the time, my limited Xhosa. 

The children often touch my face to get my attention and to see if the white will come off. Nqobile had my face in his little hands as well as something else, my cross necklace. When he was sure that he had my full attention, he began to tell me all about the cross (in Xhosa) and kept pointing to the sky. Over and over he would give the necklace a gentle pull and then point to the sky. I could not decipher his baby talk with my ears, but I am sure in my heart Nqobile was telling me about Jesus.