Sorry for the big gap between post's; it has been a long couple weeks
I just spent the last week in the children’s ward at the Temba Hospital. On Tuesday, I went to the Lula care center (a day orphanage for young children). In the afternoon, I, along with the other Forward Education staff run an after school study program for high school youth. One of the youth who has attended is a 16 year old named B. I got to know B last year. He was one of the youth leaders who taught the better choices program (a programmed aimed at helping youth make better choices; specifically surrounding HIV/AIDS transmission). B is a double orphan meaning both his parents are dead (most likely the result of AIDS). Since the age of 12, B has run a child headed house hold for his two brothers. This means that for the past 4 years, B and his two younger brothers have lived in their small brick house by themselves. And, B runs the house and is the primary care giver for his brothers. Remember, he has had this role since he was 12 and is currently only 16 years old.
As B and I were talking at the after school program, I asked him how is week went. He said it had gone well…..then a pause and he said “well, it went kind of good and kind of bad.” I asked him why it was bad. He responded by telling me his 11 year old brother M, the youngest, had been taken to an initiation camp and had been in the hospital since last Friday.
In some Southern African cultures, there has been a tradition were young boys and girls are taking through an initiation camp. These camps are designed to transform the kids into adulthood. Many different rituals and traditions take place. The biggest tradition that takes place in the boy’s camp is circumcision.
Back in the day, I believe these camps were a good thing and had a lot of positives. Back then, the children would go with children that they knew and would go through the camp with adults from their village. There was a sense of tradition and community that would take place. Times have changed and today these camps are extremely dangerous and have drawn countless controversy throughout South Africa. Please note that the information I am sharing comes only from conversations from people in the community and from stories. Therefore, not all of the information may be accurate. However, it is really all we have to go on.
Today, the camps are a business. Children are pressured to attend these camps and are sometimes even taken from their homes. Not much is known about what takes place at these camps because the men who run them warn the children that if they speak about the secrets of what takes place they will become mentally disturbed somehow. I know a couple of youth who have attended the camps and they are very fearful about telling me about what takes place. What we do know, or what is speculated, is that these children are exposed to all sorts of so-called tradition medications. They are also underfeed and the child to adult ration is ridiculously low. The children are taken to the wilderness for a period of time, usually one to three months (it is the same time every year and it just so happens to fall right in the middle of the school year so the children miss a huge amount of classes). It is also rumored and fairly widely thought that the children are involved in various sexual acts. Remember, M is 11 years old. Again, these camps are a business. One of the volunteers here, a woman who has become a friend of mine, told me the story of when here son went to the camp. She remembered seeing the leaders of the local camp waking up too her house. She said she fell to her knees because she knew he had gone to the camp. The leaders of the camp informed her that she must provide a blanket for her son and pay them one chicken and 80 kg of Mealimaze (the staple food in rural South Africa) as an entry fee for her son. When the camp was finished, she must pay them the same amount for them to release her son. The disturbing thing is that the children do not see any of this food. The men stock up so they have enough food to eat and sustain them for the year.
The biggest traditional aspect of the camp is circumcision. Males in this part of Africa are not seen as men until they have been circumcised. I know a couple of males who had yet to be circumcised and they were chastised by their community. The problem with the circumcisions that are done at the camp is that in many cases the men running the camp do not know how to perform the procedure appropriately and safely. Many times the same tools and instruments are used on all of the children and it is frequent mode of HIV/AIDS transmission.
So, that kinda sums up the initiation camp. Now back to the story.
B informed me that M had been taken to the camp last Friday. The leaders of the camp performed the circumcision procedure that day. Unfortunately, the bastards did not do it properly and M was horrifically damaged by the procedure. The leaders of the camp took him to the local clinic. The clinic then transported M to the hospital by ambulance. Again, this happened on Friday and I was talking to B on Tuesday. That means this 11 year old boy had been at the hospital by himself with no visitors for 5 days. B told me he wanted a ride to the hospital to see M. I told him I would definitely drive him. We made a plan to leave the next day to go see his brother.
I will write part two of the story, the most important part, in a couple days. Sorry to keep you hanging.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
The Grave With the Green Bowl
Hello once again.
it has been a good few days. I am now in a coffee shop using wireless Internet in a large mall similar to that of Marketmall. I have said this many times before, and I'm sure I will say it again; this country is one of contradictions. I feel like I am at home in Calgary. However, when I leave I will drive for 25 minutes and be in a community of 250,000 black South Africans who are living in Poverty; in a lot of cases, extreme poverty.
Lynn and Jayme Chotowetz, the founders of Forward Education have just left for a holiday with some family and won't be back until mid August. Therefore, I, along with another Calgarian, Laura Pope, are running the show. Now the work begins. I am really excited to start this and get deep into the work. Laura is also leaving for Swaziland on Monday for a week so I will be running a lot of stuff on my own. This week will be interesting.
On Friday, I drove one of our students, Stanley, around the community to visit some other youth. We were going to inform them of a church service in Nelspruit (the nearest city) that we wanted them to attend that would also include a brie (bbq). As Stanley and I were walking away from the last visit, Stanley loosely informed my that the girl we had visited may not be able to attend because someone in her family had passed away and the funeral was on Saturday. I was a bit taken a back because there was sense from our visit that anything was wrong. Stanley said he would probably attend to show some support to the girl's family.
The next morning, Stanley and I got up early to go to the funeral. As it turned out, three more of our students wanted to attend as well. We were all running a little late, and as we were driving down the dirt road, the funeral procession past us. I quickly turned around and followed the cars to the cemetery. A bus full of people was also in front of us. When we arrived at the cemetery, everyone started singing. Everyone gathered around the grave site as the casket was lowered into the plot. The pastor said some prayers and everyone continued singing. I then thought it was time to go, however, everyone stayed as men started to fill in the grave. This took about 20 minutes and everyone stayed and continued to sing until this was complete. A couple men then put cinder blocks around the dirt to enclose the grave as an older women used some branches to sweep up the left over dirt. The pastor and women from the church then sung a song as they all dances around the grave site. Then, someone put a tree branch in the grave site. Stanley said that it was most likely a branch from the deceased favorite tree. People were then given the opportunity to speak about the person who had passed. To end, someone put a large green wash based and a cup into the top of the plot. Stanley had explained that those were belongings of the deceased. A final prayer was said, and then everyone left. People then went back to the families home for a meal, however we did not stay.
Later that evening I was chatting with Carolyn Snyman who said that her first African funeral lasted 11 hours; luckily I can hopefully ease my self into that experience.
As the youth and I drove away I asked on of the youth, Gugu, who had passed. She said it was the girls uncle and he was probably fairly old (what ever old means). I then thought about the lack of emotion displayed at the funeral and wondered why I had not noticed very many displays of grieving. As we were driving up the dusty road, I looked ahead and noticed another funeral taking place. It then hit me; death so prevalent here that I think it has almost become a Saturday event. Death is always around these people and perhaps, emotion has lost some meaning.
However, I will never forget the grave with the green bowl.
it has been a good few days. I am now in a coffee shop using wireless Internet in a large mall similar to that of Marketmall. I have said this many times before, and I'm sure I will say it again; this country is one of contradictions. I feel like I am at home in Calgary. However, when I leave I will drive for 25 minutes and be in a community of 250,000 black South Africans who are living in Poverty; in a lot of cases, extreme poverty.
Lynn and Jayme Chotowetz, the founders of Forward Education have just left for a holiday with some family and won't be back until mid August. Therefore, I, along with another Calgarian, Laura Pope, are running the show. Now the work begins. I am really excited to start this and get deep into the work. Laura is also leaving for Swaziland on Monday for a week so I will be running a lot of stuff on my own. This week will be interesting.
On Friday, I drove one of our students, Stanley, around the community to visit some other youth. We were going to inform them of a church service in Nelspruit (the nearest city) that we wanted them to attend that would also include a brie (bbq). As Stanley and I were walking away from the last visit, Stanley loosely informed my that the girl we had visited may not be able to attend because someone in her family had passed away and the funeral was on Saturday. I was a bit taken a back because there was sense from our visit that anything was wrong. Stanley said he would probably attend to show some support to the girl's family.
The next morning, Stanley and I got up early to go to the funeral. As it turned out, three more of our students wanted to attend as well. We were all running a little late, and as we were driving down the dirt road, the funeral procession past us. I quickly turned around and followed the cars to the cemetery. A bus full of people was also in front of us. When we arrived at the cemetery, everyone started singing. Everyone gathered around the grave site as the casket was lowered into the plot. The pastor said some prayers and everyone continued singing. I then thought it was time to go, however, everyone stayed as men started to fill in the grave. This took about 20 minutes and everyone stayed and continued to sing until this was complete. A couple men then put cinder blocks around the dirt to enclose the grave as an older women used some branches to sweep up the left over dirt. The pastor and women from the church then sung a song as they all dances around the grave site. Then, someone put a tree branch in the grave site. Stanley said that it was most likely a branch from the deceased favorite tree. People were then given the opportunity to speak about the person who had passed. To end, someone put a large green wash based and a cup into the top of the plot. Stanley had explained that those were belongings of the deceased. A final prayer was said, and then everyone left. People then went back to the families home for a meal, however we did not stay.
Later that evening I was chatting with Carolyn Snyman who said that her first African funeral lasted 11 hours; luckily I can hopefully ease my self into that experience.
As the youth and I drove away I asked on of the youth, Gugu, who had passed. She said it was the girls uncle and he was probably fairly old (what ever old means). I then thought about the lack of emotion displayed at the funeral and wondered why I had not noticed very many displays of grieving. As we were driving up the dusty road, I looked ahead and noticed another funeral taking place. It then hit me; death so prevalent here that I think it has almost become a Saturday event. Death is always around these people and perhaps, emotion has lost some meaning.
However, I will never forget the grave with the green bowl.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
A Divine Transition
Well,
by now you must have assumed that I have arrived here safely. It has been a tough few days and I am still fairly home sick. It was a strange trip over here. I felt little excitement, anticipation, or wonder. I think this place has become normal to me which has made this trip that much harder; the days are very long.
My only saving grace has been reconnecting with the people. One person in particular; a young nine year old boy from Zimbabwe named Divine. I first met Divine two years ago when I first came to Africa. The first day I arrived in South Africa I met Divine and was surprised to find out it was his first day in South Africa as well. Divine had just been brought to South Africa by his Aunt Emily from Zimbabwe. Through our time together, we both became close and discovered this new country.
Last year when I returned to South Africa our friendship was even closer. However, Divine was very shy when we initially connected. Emily says he is always very shy when people return to greet him. When I arrived on Friday, Emily informed me that Divine had been counting down the days until I arrived and he had wanted to wait by the gate of our compound all day until I came. When I first saw Emily I gave her a big hug and before I knew it, I felt to small hands tapping me on the back I turned around and there was my friend Divine who quickly gave me a big hug. I was so amazed because I know what a shy little guy he is. We have been hanging out a lot over the past few days and through this time of darkness he has been my small amount of light.
He won't let go of my hand; and I will not let go of his.
At this point, if for no other reason, I am here for him
by now you must have assumed that I have arrived here safely. It has been a tough few days and I am still fairly home sick. It was a strange trip over here. I felt little excitement, anticipation, or wonder. I think this place has become normal to me which has made this trip that much harder; the days are very long.
My only saving grace has been reconnecting with the people. One person in particular; a young nine year old boy from Zimbabwe named Divine. I first met Divine two years ago when I first came to Africa. The first day I arrived in South Africa I met Divine and was surprised to find out it was his first day in South Africa as well. Divine had just been brought to South Africa by his Aunt Emily from Zimbabwe. Through our time together, we both became close and discovered this new country.
Last year when I returned to South Africa our friendship was even closer. However, Divine was very shy when we initially connected. Emily says he is always very shy when people return to greet him. When I arrived on Friday, Emily informed me that Divine had been counting down the days until I arrived and he had wanted to wait by the gate of our compound all day until I came. When I first saw Emily I gave her a big hug and before I knew it, I felt to small hands tapping me on the back I turned around and there was my friend Divine who quickly gave me a big hug. I was so amazed because I know what a shy little guy he is. We have been hanging out a lot over the past few days and through this time of darkness he has been my small amount of light.
He won't let go of my hand; and I will not let go of his.
At this point, if for no other reason, I am here for him
Thursday, July 5, 2007
The Beginning of the End
This may officially be the worst day of my life. 8:22 pm July 4th, 2007. Sitting in one of the comfy chairs in terminal D at the Calgary Airport where I can see people outside of the security area through the glass. I can’t help but look back to see where my family has gone. Every two minutes I catch myself looking back to see if they have waited for me; Waiting for me to bail out of this so called “adventure.” “This may have been the worst decision of my life;” A common statement that I can’t erase from my mind. At least the conversations have ended. I am so tired; tired of talking, of conversing about this trip; this…….thing. It has become its own entity. And through this transition, the purpose of “this thing” has become lost. I get so distracted that I don’t see my own faults for what they are. My faults surrounding this mission are selfish. This trip has become about me; and I hate that. “Forward education” has become words. Why does the purpose, the grace, the love, and the passion for what’s those words mean become completely ignored.
Selfishness has become a tool that has enabled me to ignore God through this time. God has becoming nothing through this process. I am so frustrated, scared, upset, and angry that I have selfishly decided that God is the root of these issues. Therefore, I feel he won’t be there to help me through these anxieties. It’s time to end the selfishness; it’s time to come to God. Now is the time for action; now is the time for God to work through me. I keep telling people that I am so upset because I am uprooting my life. What I need to understand is that I’m not uprooting it; I’m just putting it on hold. No. Wait……… that doesn’t make sense either. This trip is my life; I’m just transitioning to another part of it. And yet, I’m still so scared. That emotion will be here for a while. The tears are still coming.
To conclude, I want to let you know that you will all become familiar with the lyrics of a man by the name of Dallas Green; A musician who I can’t stop listening too. As a few of my friends are aware, one of his lines has captured my feelings about this trip perfectly and I continue to bring it up time and time again in a variety of situations.
“Behind this emotion is a sensible heart”
As my writing’s of this journey continue, there will undoubtedly be many stories full of anger, hate, and frustration. Please remember Mr. Green’s words throughout those moments.
They have just announced the first few rows to board the plane. Here we go……………………
Selfishness has become a tool that has enabled me to ignore God through this time. God has becoming nothing through this process. I am so frustrated, scared, upset, and angry that I have selfishly decided that God is the root of these issues. Therefore, I feel he won’t be there to help me through these anxieties. It’s time to end the selfishness; it’s time to come to God. Now is the time for action; now is the time for God to work through me. I keep telling people that I am so upset because I am uprooting my life. What I need to understand is that I’m not uprooting it; I’m just putting it on hold. No. Wait……… that doesn’t make sense either. This trip is my life; I’m just transitioning to another part of it. And yet, I’m still so scared. That emotion will be here for a while. The tears are still coming.
To conclude, I want to let you know that you will all become familiar with the lyrics of a man by the name of Dallas Green; A musician who I can’t stop listening too. As a few of my friends are aware, one of his lines has captured my feelings about this trip perfectly and I continue to bring it up time and time again in a variety of situations.
“Behind this emotion is a sensible heart”
As my writing’s of this journey continue, there will undoubtedly be many stories full of anger, hate, and frustration. Please remember Mr. Green’s words throughout those moments.
They have just announced the first few rows to board the plane. Here we go……………………
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