Hey lovely people!
Since it looks like I’m only getting around to updating once a month nowadays… here’s the February update! Hope you all have been well 
February started out busy, as a major initiative for 2011 is two pilot programs, one of them in Bushbuckridge. The pilot program is a set of new services that will be instituted in one of our villages, to serve as a kind of “best practice” model for the rest of Hands in South Africa. By pouring into one community-based organization (CBO), we hope to produce a successful model that we can then replicate with the other CBOs and also use to motivate and encourage them. For the pilot program, we’ve chosen the village of Belfast, which was the very first village I was introduced to, and where I did my homestay experience in September as part of orientation. So I’m very excited that I’ll be spending more time in Belfast for the last couple months of my service here!
Superbowl Sunday in South Africa was quite an adventure. I didn’t think I’d be able to watch the game, so I thought, at least let me go to SOME kind of sporting event! So I went with a bunch of coworkers to watch the Orlando Pirates (a really popular South African soccer/“football” team) play Mpumalanga Black Aces, and it was so much fun! The game was sold out so it was PACKED and all you could hear were vuvuzelas humming the whole time! It was awesome. Oh, except for the guy who, granted, did help me buy a coke at half-time by fighting through the crowd for me (yeah… nice, orderly lines weren’t really happening)… but he thought that because he helped me, he could follow me back to my seat and chat me up the whole rest of the game! It was actually hilarious though; he was sitting between me and a really sweet new volunteer (I felt SO bad for her) and the amount of times he asked me for my number was actually appalling. He was so determined that at one point he gave me his phone and said, “Fine! Just give me any number, a wrong one, it’s fine!” But then of course, he proceeded to call the wrong number and was surprised when it went straight to voicemail. Anyway, just another hilarious story of dudes trynna holla at the mlungu (white person) in South Africa. And it made the game, which became 1-0 right at the end, a bit more interesting! THEN, we finally got home and… I stayed up the whole night watching the superbowl!! Hands’ founder has satellite TV at his house so I watched it on ESPN Africa… and although I couldn’t “whoop whoop” like I wanted to, as it was from 1:30am-5am and everyone in the house was asleep, it was SUCH a joy to watch the Packers win!!! So worth the sleep deprivation the following day at work – LOL!
That following week, we went out to Belfast twice for meetings about the pilot program. The second meeting was particularly interesting, number one because much of it was in English so I could actually understand, and number two, because one of the ladies on the CBO’s board of directors was so passionate about combating teenage pregnancy and starting a prevention program, and it was just nice to see the fire and passion inside of her to help these girls stay on the right path. It truly reminded me of why I am here, doing this work. In addition to the teen moms/pregnancy prevention program, we’ll be helping Belfast CBO to start a formalized after-school program focused on making “better choices,” as well as a preschool for the youngest orphaned and vulnerable children. We’ll also be training the grannies and other family members who look after the orphans in how they can best respond to the unique needs of the children under their care, including dealing with the trauma and grief that these children carry with them. The last element of the pilot program is an income-generating activity, in which Hands provides a bit of start-up money for the careworkers, who are volunteering their time to cook for and visit the orphans, to start their own small businesses as some kind of compensation for their time. I’m really looking forward to seeing how all of this develops over the next couple of months!
In the second week of February, I also finished with the youth camp curriculum/manual that I had been compiling for those past few weeks. I was able to sit down with the lovely lady who is in charge of the youth camps, and really come to a deep understanding of how she runs each session, and what strategies work most effectively in reaching out to orphaned and vulnerable children who feel as though they have no opportunities in life, and no way out. It was truly inspiring to hear about the success stories of children whose lives have been turned around as a result of the camp’s focus on making good decisions and planning for a bright future.
That same week, we had a wedding shower for one of my coworkers, who’s marrying another Hands volunteer in April. How exciting!! It was so much fun to laugh and joke with all the Hands ladies, and we even went out and watched the Notebook on the big screen at a cute private theatre in town. It was a lovely day, and so refreshing in the midst of so much going on at work. That weekend, we also took another coworker out for her birthday at my favourite restaurant – Spur! It’s always nice to go out and bond with the Hands family, so it was a great time.
Last week, I took a bit of a break from work and went to visit some friends in Johannesburg! But first, we had a big meeting on Monday to plan a conference/”family gathering” for all the CBOs in South Africa for next month. Once that was done, I rushed out to get to Joburg! (What I am leaving out is that at 4 am on Monday – yes, Valentine’s Day – we got broken into!) To cut a long story short, the whole bag I had packed for Joburg with all my cutest clothes in it was GONE, along with my handbag with all my debit cards, my ID, etc. But PRAISE GOD my laptop and passport were salvaged, probably the most important couple of things in my room. And the REAL most important things – me and my roommate – were completely safe. So things are fine. And God really showed me that He is still in charge, because in a matter of hours, my coworkers pulled together so much money for me to still be able to go on my trip, and to buy new clothes to replace what was stolen. So God is great and I am still smiling!! And Joburg was wonderful – I got to celebrate the birthday of one of my best friends, and there was another great surprise in store that you will have to email me to find out about! So all in all it was an awesome visit.
This week, I’m not out in Bushbuckridge, but rather at the Hands at Work Hub helping to plan for the conference/”family gathering” and having some other meetings. But starting from now, I’ll be spending a lot more time in Belfast particularly, helping with the pilot project and specifically supporting them with the after-school program. This was really an answer to prayer, as I was struggling earlier in the month with my purpose here at Hands, and what impact I am actually making. Several friends came around me and reassured me that the relationships I am building are indeed having an impact, and then the very next day I was approached to play a major role in starting up the after-school program, which is such a great fit for me and something I’m excited to help out with! So things are looking up on all fronts. And the weather is gorgeous, which is always nice! (Hope y’all back in the U.S. aren’t suffering too badly in the snow!)
Love you all, and talk to you again soon!
0 Responses to “Why do all my titles end in a :)? LOL”