Only 2 more weeks...

The rains continue...on and off, for the most part, but it's caused some problems for lots of people living in the informal settlements. The latest count I've heard is the dislocation of around 30,000 people from their homes and that's just in the Cape Peninsula... pretty crazy.

Friday night Becky and I had the opportunity to go check out some of the damage to homes in Heinz Park, one of the areas that we have fallen in love with. With Ricky, the director of the Y, we met up with Aunty Rosie, the unofficial mayor of Heinz Park. She runs a shelter/orphanage for kids she takes in from the streets... right now she has 7 children living with her (she is 66 years old...) and is absolutely amazing. She has the most incredible energy and spirit.

Aunty Rosie took us to a couple of "backyard dwellings" in the area that were affected by the rains. In Heinz Park alone (a small area) there are over 4000 families living in these dwellings, essentially shacks built in the backyards of the government homes that were built in the area. These are made of wood scraps, metal scraps, etc... and, needless to say, don't stand up well to heavy winds and rain. One house we went into had a massive pool of water covering the entire floor, they had to put boards down to create a little bridge to walk on... 13 people live in this particular 2 room shack. 7 adults and 6 kids. Standing in there with all of the water in the cold air, it was pretty hard to imagine how they would all fit...

The group's consensus was that these people needed some blankets, to say the least... and so we got some. My dad, the amazing Mike McGlamery, and his students at the Gengras Center raised $1500 for the Cape Flats YMCA... pretty awesome. We decided to use some of this money to buy blankets and tarps for some of the families in Heinz Park who are in desperate need... there was no doubt in my mind that the Gengras kids would feel great about this contribution. So, Becky and I went to find a deal... after a little bit of searching, we found a really nice assistant manager at a store called "Game" (kind of like Kmart) who was willing to give us a 60% discount when we told him about our mission... we bought all 64 blankets they had in stock. Ricky went to the hardware store for the tarps and we met back at Aunty Rosie's place around dinner time.

We were able to get the blankets/tarps out before we went home for the evening... it was a great feeling and nice to put smiles on the faces of some incredibly nice people... a great way to start the weekend!

Also I fell in love with one of the boys at Aunty Rosie's... he's a 1 and 1/2 year old named Ciyabonga... gorgeous!!!

Friday was also our friend Mwaka (Mo) 's 21st birthday... so on Saturday we went out on the town to celebrate!! Sonia and Mo (both from the Y) and Becky and I got a room at a backpacker's lodge in downtown Cape Town for the night and went out on Long Street which is a fun area of town... very cool. We had a great time and it was awesome to be able to celebrate with Mo. The only bummer of the night was that my bag got snatched! They were kind enough to leave it but only after taking my camera, phone, and umbrella... the good news is, they didn't snatch me or Becky or anyone else...just some replaceable, material items. They even left me my bank card!! So, it was an un-traumatic robbery.... and we are all fine. (my camera got stolen the last time i was in south africa, too... i'm starting to think i'm not meant to have a camera here!)The only piece that wasn't replaceable were the pictures we took in Heinz Park while giving out the blankets... but those pictures will be forever embedded in my memory...

We fly out 2 weeks from today... whoa! Time has flown by... and just as we are starting to really understand the dynamics and needs at the YMCA, we will have to leave to come home! In the meantime we will be doing sessions, visiting some more sites, and making the most of the next 2 weeks.

We always send love...but here is also a HUGE thank you to all of you who are faithfully reading this blog. It means a lot to us to know that friends and family at home are interested in the daily happenings of our lives on this exciting trip. Don't forget there will be an event happening on August 23rd to celebrate the relationship between Hartford and Cape Flats. Becky and I will be presenting our pictures, stories, etc... we hope you all can make it.

Much much love, Susannah and Becky

Finally some visual aids...

....and the rain continues. Winter is in full effect: heavy rains, high winds and no insulation or heat ANYWHERE! It's one thing to be cold, it's another thing not to be able to get relief from the cold... and that's the reality of millions of people in the Cape Town area. Yesterday, the rains were so heavy at times that the roads in Cape Flats became quickly flooded. Cars were stuck, people were wading in water up past their knees through intersections. At one point, I had to drive up on the sidewalk in an effort to get around a massive flood... this morning we heard that over 10,000 people were flooded out of their homes in one area of the peninsula.



Yesterday we had a really cool time visiting some of the other sites that the YMCA is involved with. First we went to the Mitchell's Plain courthouse (where we could not take pics, and Becky almost got thrown out of court b/c the bailiff thought she was a journalist!) and met with the YMCA volunteers who work as counselors for victims/witnesses. They prepare them for court, help them with witness protection, etc. We were able to sit in a court room (although it was all in Afrikaans!) and observe the process... guys in for drugs, assault, etc. And we took a tour of the cells below the courtrooms... yikes. Sister Moses (below right) was scared we were going to get trapped down there! Apparently some guys escaped from these same cells last weekend... but they appeared to be contained yesterday. The place was dismal and depressing.

We also visited the Y's ARV (Anti Retro Viral) Clinic and learned about the counseling they do with HIV patients who are receiving treatment. Amazing stuff... and then headed to the non-medical site and met with the crew below... these women work day in/day out bringing people in for on the spot HIV tests. They are actually present with people doing pre/post test counseling as they face a moment that may change their lives. They aim to test 20 people a day and usually reach their goal... this was a particularly great group of women to meet with... they are doing such intense work and maintain such a positive outlook.

Part of the process for qualifying for ARV includes meeting with a patient advocate~ someone who visits the home, assesses the situation, counsels the patient and advocates for the patient within various arenas... Amena, below in the white head scarf, is a patient advocate for the Y. She is a true dynamo and shared lots of stories about patients and the trials and tribulations of the job. Amena spoke with such passion about her work... it was AWESOME in the true sense of the word. She and Sister Moses took us to visit one of her patients... Lydia, 63 years old, who has been living with HIV since 1997 and just began taking ARVs 2 years ago. She is doing incredibly well and was so sweet, inviting us into her home to sit and talk with she and her best friend of over 30 years. It was a very cool afternoon of women hanging out!!

Here's the crew! Becky, Teran, Luzille, Amena, the nurse, and Sister Moses (who coordinates all of this great work for the YMCA... she is a sweetheart deluxe.)
And here is one of our all time favorite sweeties: Mwaka! Also known as Mo... she and Becky have become great friends and Mo (a Y peer facilitator) is someone neither of us will ever forget. She is hilarious, loving, spontaneous, and all-around wonderful. Mo is engaged to Andrew (a Y volunteer from England) and is awaiting her visa/passport so she can move to England and get married. Andrew is also great... and we hope to be invited to the wedding!!
In the last post, I wrote about some of the peer educators from Samora Machel... here are a few of the kids from the group at Zisukhanyo. They also worked as volunteer counselors during the holiday program a few weeks ago. In the front are Sidwell and Ziyanda (stay tuned for a poem written by Ziyanda..she's quite talented.)
This is the group at Heideveld High where Becky and I ran the session on gender roles. They were so into it... here the girls are brainstorming ideas about "the ideal woman". Today at the weekly peer education facilitators meeting, Sandile noted our session as a highlight for him. It was a highlight for us as well!

And last, but not least... here are Janna, Mayran and the fabulous Gabriel Spiro. These guys are my hosts and incredible friends. I have fallen in love with Gabriel, who is so sweet. Janna and May are pretty sweet too... don't get me wrong, but the baby takes the cake.

Much much love... and send some positive energy for sun/warm weather here!

Rain on a hot tin roof...

So...we have had the most brilliant weather here until...this week.
The rain in Cape Town is truly an experience in itself~ you can be on one side of town and it's sunny and 2 minutes away it's pouring.
And when I say pouring, I mean can't-see-while-you're-driving pouring. I am intrigued... and can only wonder what it is like in a place like Samora Machel~ where homes are made of corrugated metal and timber. Judging from the sound of the rain on the roof of the YMCA building, I'm guessing that trying to sleep in a home in Samora is close to impossible during a rain storm.

Yesterday Becky and I had a really cool day~ we went with Monique to the Hanover Park Clinic where the YMCA has staff that work as "Lay Counselors"... these are women who are trained to meet with patients who come to the clinic for all sorts of issues, including pre/post HIV testing. Fay, the counselor who we met with, was a wealth of information about the position~ she meets with patients (free of charge) without appointments for any type of concern or need they might have. Generally, the needs are intense and it seems like a potentially heartbreaking job.

Fay has an incredible outlook, she loves what she is doing and told us of a client who she has developed quite an awesome counseling relationship with. This young man had just been released from 3 years in jail and entered into a relationship with an older woman in the community. He suspected he may be infected and came into the clinic for testing and met with Fay...turns out he was HIV positive. Fay encouraged him to have his girlfriend come in and bring their new baby... it turns out they are all HIV positive and they are now all receiving services from the clinic. The mother hesitates, but the child is progressing thanks to the workers at the clinic and the local Red Cross. The young man stops in each day to see Fay~ for counseling or a bowl of soup or just a quick hello. She is a critical piece of his life...

Hanover Park, where the clinic is located, is plagued with gang activity. The gangs in Cape Flats are incredibly toxic~ dealing and using "tik" (South African version of crystal meth, which is destroying the lives of many), stealing, mugging, abusing, raping, shooting, etc... it's not a peaceful area. However, the clinic and hospital workers (there is a hospital right across from the clinic) are highly respected in the area and are, in fact, escorted in and out of the area by gang members when the area is "at war." These are some seriously brave and dedicated people who are working in Hanover Park.

In the afternoon we accompanied Zandile, a YMCA Peer Education Facilitator, to one of his schools, Heideveld High. We were able to meet with the principal of the school in his office and learn that there are 1300 students in grades 8-12 and 41 teachers... That means that classes can have up to 60 students in them, depending on the subject. Imagine the challenge of managing the behavior of 60 teenagers (many of whom have children of their own) while trying to teach them literature when a large percentage of them cannot read... not much room for individualized attention here!! Not to mention that South Africa has a fully inclusive educational system, so no classes are divided on terms of ability. (anyone from Classical who is reading this should be feeling pretty lucky!!) Nonetheless, day in and day out, educators across the Cape Flats are making it happen...

The schools here are also quite different looking than ours~ from the outside they sort of look like 2 story motels~ long brick or concrete buildings with narrow porches running the length of the building and doors and windows evenly spaced along the length of the building. There is generally a common space (sometimes interior, sometimes not) in the middle of a complex of buildings like this... students wear uniforms at ALL schools, and pay fees to attend school (something like a tax, however we are still trying to figure this all out).

So... Zandile brought us to meet his group of peer educators and allowed Becky and I to conduct a session!!! We worked with about 20 students on a lesson about gender roles... the kids were awesome!!! They got so into the lesson and, I hope, took something away from it. We did some exercises about stereotypes/expectations/etc. of men and women in society (very interesting!) and then defined sex and gender. One of the activities centered around identifying specific roles of men and women... the students were very adamant about placing certain roles in the male column and others in the female column of our homemade chart... but then...could see that really, everything (except for "get pregnant") could go in either column. Becky and I were on fire... we were in our element... and had a lot of fun working with these guys.

Peer Education is a program that the South African government has started (under the Dept. of Health and the Dept. of Education) in an effort to prevent the further spread of HIV. The program is implemented in schools all over the country (particularly in areas of need) by non-profit organizations (including the Cape Flats Y!)... facilitators work with peer educators (students who are identified as potential leaders in their school) starting in grade 10. They go through the first level of the program basically learning about themselves and various issues related to HIV/AIDS, reproductive health, choice making, drug prevention, etc... (very much a combo of a health course and a guidance course!! right up my alley.) Then in their 2nd level they continue, but are responsible for conducting a certain amount of formal and informal sessions with their peers on these issues. In the 3rd level, this continues on a more intense level and they are responsible for mentoring new peer educators... (I hope I have all of this right!).

The Cape Flats YMCA has six peer education facilitators: Thabisa, Mwaka, Zandile, Judy, Fallon, and Alicia. They are actively running programs in ten schools in the Cape Flats. We will be visiting most of these schools (and conducting more sessions!) over the next few weeks.

On another note, I'm insanely jealous of everyone who is reading Harry Potter... I went to get the book and it was about $60 US... books are outrageously expensive here, so I opted against it. Am hoping Rayne will let me borrow her copy when I get home. PLEASE don't anyone tell me what happens!!!! Becky and I did go see the movie last night!! We loved it...

Today we spent time with Ayanda, visiting both of her schools in Samora Machel where we were last week. Samora Machel is one of my favorite places in the Cape Flats... I just really love the people that I have met there~ they are positive and full of life in the face of intense adversity. The schools that Ayanda works in are called Sophumelela (So-pu-may-lay-la), which means "we will succeed" and Zisukhanyo (Zee-su-khan-yo), which means "let us bring light to the people." Beautiful names for schools full of beautiful children...

Becky and I are both really interested in Xhosa~ one of the languages spoken here. It is gorgeous to listen to and incorporates clicks that are incredibly hard to master!!

Our experiences continue... we are really hoping that at least 2 folks from the Cape Flats Y will be able to come over to visit the Hartford Y at the end of this summer. Keep your fingers crossed... and anyone interested in helping to make that happen should get in touch with Hyacinth Douglas-Bailey at the Hartford YMCA.

Much much love from both of us (I have easier email access than Becky)... pictures coming soon!

What is the moon like this week at home??

So the moon has been this absolutely gorgeously bright smile this week, literally, a smile. Every night I look up and wonder if it looks the same at home...

Just checking in after a relaxing weekend... Becky and I went our separate ways this weekend, she stayed in Cape Flats to spend time with her host family and friends from the YMCA and I took off for Langebaan, a beautiful little beach town on the Western coast.

I am staying, for the duration of this trip, with my friends Janna and Mayran (and their amazing baby, Gabriel) who I met while studying at NYU. Janna is originally from Cape Town and was living and studying in New York for a few years to be with Mayran. My first trip to this incredible city was for their wedding back in January of 2004. They now live in Sea Point, which is just outside of downtown. This weekend was great for me b/c I actually had a chance to really catch up with Janna and spend some time with her family, all of whom are incredible people.

Janna's mom and stepdad, Irene and Ian, have built a gorgeous beach house in Langebaan where they retreat for weekends and holidays~ it's awesome! An earthy, beautifully decorated haven for family and friends... we just relaxed, ate, walked on the beach, ate, collected shells, ate, and last night went to this small casino that was quite interesting... a very diverse crowd gathered to dump their money into the slots and tables... myself included! I got sucked into the spirit of Club Mykonos and conjured up the spirit of my grandme and headed for the slot machines!! After a long run... I lost about $20. Oh well... I did manage to have a hilarious interaction with the guy at the slot next to me who spoke only Afrikaans. Talking with people who speak a different language than I do is one of my favorite things. It turns into a comedic charades episode which always ends up with me cracking up laughing.

I had a very interesting conversation with Irene's oldest friend, Ingrid, a South African who lived for a long time in Cincinnati and now lives with her family in Sydney, Australia. She shared her impressions about the changes that she notices here since she left 21 years ago... it was fascinating. We wound up talking about racism and classism in such an honest and refreshing way and, once again, I had that feeling of connection with a stranger... her impressions of a "new" South Africa provided me with some interesting insight.

The more time I spend here, the more I realize the many deeply embedded nuances that I will likely never understand about South African culture. Just when I think I understand something, I remember that I am still seeing it through my white, American eyes... that being said, I am learning more about the ever-changing political/social landscape of South Africa than I can possibly even process at this point~ all of this information also allows me to see the political and social landscape of America and Hartford, in particular, through a new lens.

Last week, Becky and I were supposed to go to the prison on Thursday but that had to be postponed... instead, we visited 2 high schools in Samora Machel (one of the townships that we visited during the holiday programmes). Ayanda, one of the Y staff, took us to the 2 schools where she runs groups with teenagers. At the second school, we met with her group and just had a question/answer session with them about why they were involved with the group, etc... I was blown away by one of the girls, a 14 year old, who responded that she was coming to the Y meetings because she wants to make a change in her community and she realizes that in order to do that, she has to start with herself. Each of these amazing young people identified exactly what they want to do when they are finished with school~ I couldn't help but think that American teenagers, when asked that same question, often answer with "I don't know"... these guys live in shacks with no running water and are envisioning themselves as mechanical engineers, pilots, social workers, doctors, etc... these are kids who choose to come to this extra meeting because they want to be better people. Inspiring... and Ayanda clearly serves as an incredible mentor for them.

Thursday night we went to see 2 plays at the University of the Western Cape, organized for us by Monique from the YMCA. The first was called "Reclaiming the P- Word", (P for pus... a South African term for vagina), which was reminiscent of "The Vagina Monologues"... it was an intense performance of monologues by about 10 women dedicated to reclaiming their bodies. The monologues were funny, painful, poignant, sad, inspirational and incredibly personal~ a very cool experience! The play won acclaim at the Grahamstown theater festival so I think we were quite lucky to have seen it.

Friday, Becky and I sat in on a meeting held in downtown Cape Town at the State Department of Health for the director's of the Peer Education program that is a state program implemented by NonProfit Organizations in the Western Cape... interesting procedural stuff. (I like stuff like that.) This week coming up we will be going to lots of different schools where the Cape Flats Y implements Peer Education and conducting some lessons!!! I am so pumped for that...right up my alley.

I am forever amazed by the optimism of South Africans who have very little in terms of material wealth... the spirit, pride and generosity of everyone we encounter is immeasurable.

Alright...if you've made it to the end of this entry, congrats... I am one wordy woman tonight!! We will try to post pics very soon...
Much love to all of you and thanks for your continued messages of love and support!!!

Happy #89

Just a quick Happy 89th Birthday to Nelson Mandela!!

Becky and I made it safely back to Cape Town tonight~ the ride was gorgeous~ beautiful sunset!! Tomorrow we head to Pollsmoor (sp?) Prison, the humongous prison where Mandela was held after Robben Island before being released to freedom... the Cape Flats YMCA runs groups there with adolescent boys in the juvenile unit so we will be observing there. Should be incredibly interesting.

Garden Route adventures....

Yesterday we took a drive out past Knysna to the Tsitsikamma National Park~ a beautiful nature reserve of rainforest, mountains, and incredible ocean views. We became totally transfixed by the waves exploding on this rock, it was an awesome sight, photos can't quite capture just how huge the explosions were, but it was absolutely gorgeous.We also went to an Elephant Sanctuary to check out some African elephants... very cool! Below are a few of the ladies who have been saved by this sanctuary...

If you could see what was inside the mouth of this guy you'd gag...it's quite gross, but somehow incredibly intriguing! Believe it or not, his breath didn't stink!!
I'm trying to feed the baby-girl elephant (who was insanely cute) and the big one kept trying to steal it! Check out Becky with the double-elephant-feeding techniques...
Okay... come on, you don't see this everyday! Becky and I hanging out with an 8 year old elephant! We got quite intimate with this guy... checked out the inside of his mouth (bizarre!), felt the bottom of his foot, fed him, pet him... he was adorable!! (albeit a little bit stinky.)
Today was a great day of exploring the little shops along the way from Knysna to Plett, visting Graeme's flower farm, checking out amazing ocean views, walking on the beach, and hanging out with Sarah Jane. Here we are! The wind-blown look is in style here... chilling on the beach!
Ate lunch at a wonderful Italian restaurant at the top of this staircase... needless to say, the view was priceless! It was a great place to talk and relax~ looking out over the Indian Ocean at the waves crashing on the rocks.

This view is in Plettenberg Bay~ a gorgeous little beachy town on the Garden Route. We pulled in just as the sun was starting to go down and saw a whale (maybe 2?) frolicking in the bay!! What a great treat...


And, last but not least... our amazing hosts for the past few days, our friends Sarah Jane and Graeme. Such great people who have opened their home to us, fed us, engrossed us in deep and interesting conversation and definitely made us feel right at home. Ubuntu has been alive and well during our visit with them...These are friends for life (and we hope to see them again before we leave...)Tomorrow we head back to Cape Town to get back to work!! Vacation is over...
Love to all of you!!

Sidenote:
If you have not yet read "The Power of One" by Bruce Courtenay you need to run out to the bookstore right now and get it... Sarah Jane recommended it to me back in 2003 when we first met and it became my favorite book~ it's a wonderful story, set in South Africa~ all about ubuntu~ and the amazing ways people influence each other to become better people...

How to leave a comment...

Rumor has it that many of you have no clue how to post on this blog to leave us messages... so here's a very quick tutorial, b/c we LOVE getting little notes ~ they keep us going!

At the bottom of each posting that we leave there is a little line that says "0 comments"...click on this. The comments page will come up (if others left comments you can read them there) and on that same page you are asked to sign in. If you have a GMAIL account, you can sign in with that. If you don't, you can "create an account" using your current email address. Just enter that, create a password and then post a comment! Then the next time, just enter that entire email address and password... that should do it.

No pressure. But we are in Africa. 1/2 way across the world... and WE MISS YOU! :)

What a wonderful world....

Meet my new best friends: Below is Sadie (black lab) who is a sweet little girl who will melt you with her chocolate brown eyes and snuggle anything with a heartbeat...enter G-Ball, a soulful old man who was visiting for the weekend.
If those two haven't done it for you (however I know Ann is already in love with Sadie since she is basically Sarah's less neurotic twin) meet Rusty, a rambunctious adolescent boy with farts that will make your eyelashes curl! Don't be fooled however, this little heart breaker spent my first night in Knysna spooning with me in a twin sized bed.
Now for the serene getaway that is Sarah Jane and Graham's home. They live at the top of a hill overlooking a valley of Knysna. Their home (my dream home) is a perfect log cabin complete with a porcelains tub in the master bedroom. Let's just say that when Susannah and I arrived on Saturday night you would have thought we won the lottery. To get an idea of just how magical this haven is, look at their back yard....
and the beautiful architecture
and the view from their porch...
the living room and kitchen, sweetly decorated by Sarah


and lastly, where we are resting our heads until Wednesday....

Needless to say, we are in heaven.


I'll be back tomorrow morning to tell you all about our day with 40 foot waves and elephants!!!

Freaky Friday...

Howzit Everyone?? It's Friday the 13th... the end of a very interesting week here in Cape Flats!

We had our last night of teen programme in Heinz Park tonight. We were supposed to have a dance party, however, we ended up without a soundsystem, so there was no music... as South Africans say: "Shame!" It was, in a way, a classic ending to a week filled with such mixups, glitches, etc. which are, apparently, par for the course around here when you are trying to do something big with very few resources.

We did have one day of intense rain this week. While that doesn't seem like much, it's quite hectic when you consider the structures that many people in Cape Flats live in. I cannot imagine what it is like when they have continuous storms here. It must completely debilitate the place. Just in terms of the basic life issues~ having to use the bathroom (which is outside) having to get water (which is outside) having major leaks in your roof, having drainage issues b/c there is no floor, etc..Not to mention, that it gets quite cold at night (it is winter here...) and no one has insulated houses. There are so many things that we take for granted living where and how we live...

Last night Monique took us to a launch party for a film that another non-profit created. The group is called P.O.V. (Point of View) and you can check them out online at www.povproject.com. The film is a 20minute piece around HIV/AIDS awareness~ very cool. All the crew was at the party and there were2 hip-hop duos from Guguletu (a huge township) that performed, as well as an amazing dance group. It was great to be out in Cape Town to see this different little slice of life. Also very cool to hear guys rapping in Xhosa!!!

Tomorrow we are headed towards Knysna on the Garden Route, to visit an old Woodstock friend, Sarah Jane Klempter. Sarah Jane came over from South Africa to work as a counselor at Camp Woodstock in 2003... although I didn't work with her, I got to know her while I was there visiting and we became good friends and have kept in touch over these past 4 years. I cannot wait to see her!! Becky and I will stay with her for a few days and explore that area a bit... we'll return to Cape Flats in the middle of next week.

While I'm sad to leave, it also seems a good time for us to step back and process through a lot of what we have experienced and learned to this point. Between the incredible cultural differences and the dynamics of working at the Y, we have a lot to talk about and understand!!! Needless to say, we are both learning a great deal, not only about South Africa, but about ourselves as well.

This is an adventure on so many levels...

Okay, hope you are all well!! It's so AMAZING to hear from you all(even people we don't know!) on the blog, so if you're reading and haven't sent a message, please do!! Hope you are all surviving the summer...rumor has it that there's a heatwave in Hartford.

Much much love to you!

The River of Life

Just completed our 2nd night of Teen Programme in Heinz Park... I can only say that I am blown away by all of the people we are connecting with. Tonight the Y team amazed me again with their ability to go with the flow and make great things happen. The community center that we used on the first night was unavailable tonight so Sonia had to scrape a space together at the last minute... about 5 minutes before our scheduled start time we got the community church: a tin building about the size of a onecar garage. We had an amazing session in that little building...

A bunch of kids (mostly girls) came back tonight to spend time in a positive space~ we played games (which were a huge success!) and then did an exercise called "River of Life" which is basically a drawing of the ups and downs of one's life... and then people shared their stories with the group~ what a powerful group... the kids had some reservations about sharing just yet, but lots of facilitators shared their incredible stories and moved the group... everyones river told a story and tonight all of those rivers intersected with one another. Powerful stuff.

I am so impressed with the spirit of the group we are working with... positive, reflective, real.
and they have this ability to make me feel like I've been here forever with them, after one week, Becky and I cannot imagine leaving!

Dad and Dubs~ just so you know Thabisa carries a picture of you guys on her cell phone! She sends her love...

Off to bed to get ready for another day at work tomorrow. I am so motivated and inspired~ this group proves that anything is possible... today I thought so much about my own students~ my Anytown crew in particular. They are such amazing people with their own stories, positive people making positive change in the world. I am so grateful to have these moments in my life.

Love to you all!!!

READ THIS POST FROM BOTTOM TO TOP!
(It will make more sense chronologically)


And here we are, the happy travelers, we truly coulnd't be more grateful.
Yeah, we drove on that road....

Here are the lovely ladies we met at Chapman's Peak. Amilia (Right) and Seingwaeng (Left). Check out the sunset!

Don't worry, we are doing some sight seeing as well! This is the very penguin that bit me just second before he did! Apparently, this penguin had seen the old "feed it a stick" trick...

Hey! Camp Woodstock frisbees!!! This was at Samora, notice the difference between facilities here and at Heinz Park. Believe it or not, this is in a squater camp which is a less economically advantaged area than Heinz Park.

These are boys at Hienz Park, you can see things got a bit crazy once I took out my camera. The green stickers are used to decifer who will get food at lunch time. This was a truelyheartbreaking task as I was told to only give stickers to those children who had been there since 10:00, however it was now lunch time and word had gotten out that food was being given out. Many children in Hienz Park are fending for themselves as their parents are drunk or high so you can imagine how hard it was to tell these children who had just come that they could not have a sticker.

This is my favorite picture, it doesn't get any more adorable than this. This is at Heinz Park but earlier in this week during the Holiday Programme for 6-13 years old (which was actually 3-15 year olds!) These two girls loved to sing and dance, even when no one was watching.

This is at the teen programme. Some of you may recognize this team building activity as the "Human Knot." After getting completely tangled up, the team must untangle themself without letting go of eachother's hands. This night was so successful, we are hoping to make it a weekly club.

These next three shots are some of the pictures I took.

This was the best marketing I have ever done, we all drove around Heinz Park, hanging out of the kombie (Van) , blasting hip hop, and yelling out to the teens in the township. We were telling htem to come to the first ever teen programme that we are attempting to run this week. I held off on yelling and instead tooks lots of pictures. Driving through this township, really seeing it, was the best expirience I have had thus far.

This is our trusty leader, Sonia (Left) who oversees all of the Holiday Programme sites. In the middle is Ayanda who runs the site at Samora and of course, me dancin' self.

This is the play area in the back of the YMCA. It is a big sand pit which we thought was very clever! You can run without shoes and still be safe!

Here is the whole crew at the Cape Flats YMCA site. Actually this is only half the crew as alot of the children are Muslim and Friday was a holiday for them.

Oooooooo Kapseweg

So... it's now Sunday evening...we've spent a relaxing weekend in Cape Town, exploring and chilling out~ after all of this luxury relaxation, we are ready to get back to work in Cape Flats!!!

Today we spent the morning at the South African Jewish Museum, which is gorgeous... very interesting to learn about the history of Jews here and there was a phenomenal photography exhibit on the different types of faith and worship in southern Africa~ fascinating!! This is such a diverse place in terms of race, culture, religion, etc. There was supposed to be a movie showing there on Nelson Mandela (which was what enticed us originally...) but it wasn't on today so we may have to go back!

From there we drove to Fish Hoek and met up with Janna, Mayran and Gabriel for lunch and then Becky and I drove to Simon's Town (beautiful drive!!!) and Boulder's Beach to hang out with the penguins! Becky's finger got nipped by a feisty penguin... :) now that doesn't happen everyday!!

We drove home through Chapman's Peak which is an absolutely gorgeous, windy, cliff road... there are moments on this road where you actually feel like you are going to go over the edge!

We decided to stop off to watch the sunset over the ocean next to the mountains and made some new friends~ two amazing women from Botswana who were also enjoying the sunset. One of them, Amilia, is living here in Hout Bay. She is a lecturer at the University of Botswana and is here on sabbatical, working on her PhD. Her friend, Seingwaeng, is visiting for the week and will soon be in the BBC movie of "Ladies No.1 Detective Agency," one of my favorite books!!!! Apparently Jill Scott is playing the lead (cool!!) Anyways, these two women were so cool to talk with, so open and warm and we really hope to get together with them for dinner soon.

What happened today with Amilia and Seingwaeng is one of my all time favorite things in the world. Connection... here we are 1/2 way around the world from home and we happen to pull off and make this amazing connection. I love that.

We are headed back to Cape Flats tomorrow (can't wait!!!) to meet with Sonya to plan for the teen program that we will help facilitate this week. Both Becky and I are so excited about being back with our new friends and getting our hands dirty (so to speak)...We also hope to be able to post some photos tomorrow from the YMCA... we've got lots of great ones.

(Hi Carla!! so glad you made it to the Bloooooooooooooooooooooooooooog...)

Sidenote: Becky is amazing. She is so go-with-the-flow, taking it all in, fun, awesome to talk with, and an overall great traveling companion. So, all you Becky fans out there... don't worry, she is doing great and travels like someone who has been doing it forever!!!

So...much love to you all!! More soon...

Howzit?

Spent a BEAUTIFUL day driving around Clifton, Camps Bay into Hout Bay... windy gorgeous roads up and around the mountains with an ocean view~ stunning!! Ate lunch and chilled in Hout Bay after a walk on the beach... it didn't rain after all!!

We LOVE hearing from you guys!!! But, can you do us a favor?? Let us know who you are... for example~ who the heck is "Daddiosoxfan"??? I think it's Adam...but that's only b/c of "abiento"!!! Just tell us who's writing so we can have a moment of: yay! so and so wrote us... and not, who is this?? :)

Rainy Saturday...

It's a rainy Saturday morning here after a beautiful, warm week~ winter in Cape Town! Becky has come to spend the weekend at my friend Janna's house in Sea Point~ a bit of a culture change from being out on Mitchell's Plain. Cape Town is a huge and interesting area~ still quite a stark contrast between the haves and the have-nots. Sea Point (as indicated by it's name) is right on the shore, with lots of shops and restaurants... quite posh. We will likely do some sight seeing today and will go out for dinner with friends tonight.

The week has been overwhelming. It is somewhat hard to explain the area of Mitchell's Plain~ it is a relatively small (maybe 5 square miles, i'm estimating) expanse of flat land which is inhabited by about a million people... the area is broken up into neighborhoods, many of which are defined by culture~ Samora Michel, for example, is overall a Khosa area~ it is also what is known as a squattercamp... so there are no proper houses~ it is a huge neighborhood of shacks made of tin and any other available material~ this is so hard to describe, I'll try to get a good photo of the area to post so you can at least try to imagine it... it's an unbelievable sight~ and then you meet the kids who live there and they are happy go lucky, well cared for children... the kids in the U.S. could learn a lot from these guys!! Other areas are made up of houses or buildings, simple concrete structures, many of which have shacks built on to them to accommodate family members. Some of these other areas are made up of what South Africans call "colored" people... mixed race people who mostly speak Afrikaans. The cultures are quite different from one another, and they speak different languages, so that adds another interesting element.

We have yet to see any other white people in Mitchell's Plain (except for 2 other volunteers from the YMCA who are from Australia and England)~ this is an area where people of color were forced to settle during the Apartheid area... and has since become home to millions... it's unreal. Still an incredibly segregated area where resources are minimal, at best.

The Cape Flats Y is in a nice little neighborhood called Portlands~ they have created a beautiful little slice of peace there. All the folks who work and volunteer with them are amazing~ Ricky, Sonya, Ayanda, Wendell, Norman, Chwayita, and all of the others we have met so far are so cool. Most of the people are volunteers, and when you consider that they are from this area themselves, that is even more incredible... b/c they could be working for money some place else.

The issues in Mitchell's Plain are extensive. Many of the same issues that exist in Hartford, however on an entirely different scale~ drug addiction, murder, gang violence (a major problem... some of the gang names are "The Sexy Boys" and "Americans".... hmmmmm... they don't sound too intimidating, but they are wreaking havoc on the community), lack of medical/dental care, profound poverty, HIV/AIDS, sexual violence, abuse, etc... however, amidst all of this, most of the children we have met so far have had a true sense of joy and hope about them. And I think the people at the Y are doing an incredible job of influencing people, one at a time, to make change in their communities~ a truly daunting task here.

There is so much to take in... I feel like my mind is overflowing. We have been welcomed with open arms, invited to people's homes, churches, parties, etc... and we've just been here a few days. I think we have a great deal ahead of us...

I hope you all are well and enjoying summer. It's great to get your little messages on this blog~ so keep them coming!!!!
Much much love to you all.

(hopefully posting more picture soon, need a computer with the capacity to do it...)

Holiday Program Photos!

Here is picture at "The Farm" dancing to a song that is just like "Aroostasha" for those Woodstockers out there!




This is a photo of a group at the farm who are making pencil holders out of cardboard and toilet paper rolls.



So, Becky and I have spent the past 4 days visiting the various programs that the Cape Flats YMCA runs for children during their school vacations. The sites are run in different parts of Cape Flats: Heinz Park, Samora Michel (which is a squatter camp), "The Farm" in Montrose Park, and the Cape Flats site in Portlands. The children at all of the sites were beautiful and thrilled to be involved in programming put on by the Y. Lots of fun games and talent contests... and Becky taught all of the kids the MOOSE song!! We taught them some camp games that we know and just really enjoyed the spirit at all of the sites... we have a lot to learn from how much can be accomplished with so little when spirit and heart are involved!! Headed towards a rainy weekend... will post soon! MUCH LOVE to you all.








(Sorry there are only two pictures, limited time on the computer, we will definitely be back for more!)

WE ARE HERE!!

Hello All! We are here, we arrived two days ago (Wednesday) at about 4:30 in the morning! Ricky (the director of the Y) was there to pick us up and from that moment on he has been nothing but wonderful! He is funny and caring and bends over backward for us! I (Becky) am settled into my host family, the Matthei's, and Susannah is out in Cape Town with her good friend Janna. We have been to three of the Holiday Programme sites which have been such an experience! We will check in soon and hopefully Susannah will be able to post some pictures. Also, check out the Cape Flats website as Andrew (a volunteer from the UK) will be posting some recent pictures he took on my camera!

Peace to all!