Sabulani

I decided it was about time I explored Norwood a bit more…after all I have been living here for 2 months now and have only really taken the same couple of roads into town. Before I came, I was told Norwood (the area of Mthatha I’m living in) is the most dangerous area and to be fair, my project partner and I have already been attacked in broad daylight whilst walking home with our shopping. But I decided it was about time to get more involved in the community and see what lies beyond Thembelihle…it gets pretty lonely at times and I’ve decided I need to make some friends out here, haha!

So. Sabulani. Located next door – yes just over that wall there to the left, Maya…well done!

I had been invited over a couple of times by Thomas who works there, but have never really found the time to go over and introduce myself properly! Sabulani is a project for boys (well actually more like young men) who cannot afford to go to mainstream schools. Father Guy runs the project and is a very generous man who often gives donations to the Thembelihle children! He takes on young men who have the potential to go far in their studies but who have been denied the opportunity to be stretched to their full potential for one reason or another. The home where approximately 13 boys live provides a ‘studying environment’ suitable for them to work and revise for their exams, whilst at the same time giving them a place to live and paying for them to attend local schools. The project also stretches further, to benefit the local community by inviting boys of all ages from the surrounding area to play soccer and escape the streets of Norwood. I was shocked to see a plaque on one of the walls in memory of a boy who was stabbed in the local area a few years ago, so the community side of the project is really inspiring. The project also owns the building in the field across the road where children go for extra maths classes and a teeny tiny room holds a preschool for about 15 children. In the evenings there are aerobics/fitness classes run by Thomas which are much cheaper than any other ones in the town and which give everyone and anyone the opportunity to get fit without giving up on them (something which apparently happens a lot in the professional gyms in town). After going along to one session to see what it’s all about, I was inspired by one old lady who has had a hip replacement, but who still drives the 2 hours to get here for the session and then 2 hours back home again most evenings! I think I might sign up for the sessions…for a laugh, for something to do in the evenings, to get more involved in the community, to make friends and to get rid of this pap/samp & beans/high carby food belly which seems to be forming around my waist!

What I did take away from my little visit is something very interesting. Talking to Thomas I found out that most (but not all) children in South Africa don’t really start school until they are 12 years old, compared to just 5 years back in England. Which may explain why many of the children in my group 1 class couldn’t do 1+1 without using their fingers? It has helped me in some ways with planning lessons and being proud of what I and the children can achieve. If a lesson goes bad I still look at what good things have happened, even if it is just one child understanding a concept or being able to work out a sum!

Some of the men at Sabulani are 26 years old and are in grade 12…a grade which most 16 year olds have reached in normal schools. I am now becoming more aware of the smaller charities around the area and hope to visit Sabulani more often to see what I can do to help! Thomas is keen for me to share some of my Karate skills…it seems this is the new Norwood craze!

Charity

I love the way charity is done in South Africa. Most of the time people see charity as giving money to a good cause and that’s it (don’t get me wrong, giving money is great and appreciated by the people who receive it), but here it is different. Today we received a donation from one of the Baptist Churches in Mthatha. Although we often get donations from people…food, toiletries, clothes etc. this was different as the donors actually came and spent time with the children too. They donated some meat for their dinner and cooked a Braai (South African BBQ) for them whilst keeping them entertained with games and singing and dancing. So. The children not only got dinner, but also had a chance to meet some other children – something which I think benefits them more than anything. Being stuck in the cramped Thembelihle grounds 24/7 isn’t fun, particularly with the same people around you all the time.

If you see an opportunity to help someone in some way, make the most of it. Feel good about what you’ve done, not because you think it has done good, but because you can see the difference it has made J

General News

My Karate classes have been going down a treat in the evenings and strangely enough it feels good to be punched in the stomach again after such a long break from the sport…the only thing is the puncher has no hand pads and I’m always on the receiving end so I come in afterwards with rather large red splodges across my stomach! Ho hum…she’s happy and it’s great to see her escaping her worries!

Lessons are going well…end of year exams are fast approaching (late Nov), so I’ve been busy revising with the children and re-teaching lessons taught by past volunteers (although this is tricky as I only have a vague idea as to what was taught)! A lady now comes in during the afternoons to teach the children beadwork which they are getting quite good at!

Mthatha is as crazy as ever. I have now been the witness of a man standing in the middle of the road, draped in blankets with his trousers down to his ankles, peeing into his hands and washing himself with it…strange. Also, a man putting his hand break on at the front of a queue at a crossroads before jumping out of his car and running down the hill after a man who had stolen something from his trailer. He’s braver than me! Ohh and the funniest thing ever – I was walking back from town and crossed the single bridge over the Mthatha river, where no one ever obeys the traffic lights (or ‘robots’ as they are called here) on either side. I approached the middle of the bridge after walking past a growing traffic jam to see two cars facing each other, bonnet-to-bonnet. Not too unusual. Normally one will reverse backwards to let the other one through and finally decide to follow the robot rules. But after a closer look I discovered neither car had a driver in it. Both of whom were sitting on the handrail on opposite sides of the bridge, facing different directions and stubbornly ignoring each other. I wonder who it was that gave in, in the end. Apartheid still seems to be an issue here. One driver was black, the other white.

Church has become a bit surreal lately. The children have been taken to Sunday school to practice Christmas carols, whilst I have stayed in the main church with the older girls. Being an atheist I still don’t really understand what is going on and half the service is in Xhosa making me even more confused. On Sunday I was left a little embarrassed as everyone around me collapsed to the floor before wailing, crying, screamed and shouting, whilst I sat in my chair clueless as to what to do, as I didn’t feel his ‘presence’. Oh well, another experience to add to this year’s growing list, at least!

My ears are still ringing from the ‘Away in a Manger’ and ‘Silent Night’ practise we had in the classroom today! The children have been invited to take part in the Christmas service which I’m secretly looking forward to, but strange hearing Christmas songs in late October with the sun beaming down outside!

I hope people are enjoying reading my blogs. If there’s anything people want to hear about, let me know as I love sharing both my good and bad experiences of this year with you all. I'm trying to keep them varied and honest so if there’s anything people want to know, just get in touch J Hope everything’s OK where you are!