We Did It!

Hello Themba Supporters,

This will be my last message this year as I prepare to depart for South Africa on December 30th. This is the beginning of a very exciting time of year as I prepare to live in Thembalethu for the next seven months while working to transform Zone 4 into a food secure community. Thank you to everyone who has supported both myself, my work and the community of Thembalethu over the past year. I leave you with four exciting announcements:

1.1 Tonight, Free Immigration question and answer session with Immigration Lawyer, Lee Cohen
1.2 Year end is quickly approaching, be sure to make your 2009 charitable donations in time to receive a tax-receipt
1.3 A Chance to Win $5000, please take a moment to vote
1.4 Departure information and what you could do to help

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1.1 Immigration Information Session

How often do you have an opportunity to meet with a lawyer for free? Never, until now! Bring all of your Immigration questions with you to the Maritime Conservatory of Performing Art on Chebucto, near Windsor, from 7-9pm tonight (December 17), and Halifax Immigration/Refugee lawyer Lee Cohen will help you with the answers.

Remember to bring a small donation for The Themba Development Project which helps a community in South Africa with food and education.

Want more info? Email me at thembaproject@gmail.com
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1.2 Tax Deductible Charitable Donations

Get cash back when you file your taxes this year, did you know that when you make a donation to the Themba Development Project you will receive a tax-receipt? Make your donations easily with one of these options:

a. Donate with a credit card. Go to Canadahelps.org and type "Themba" in the search bar. Donate with your credit card and print off an instant tax receipt (Preferred by Themba)
b. Donate using PayPal or Email Money Transfer using thembaproject@gmail.com as the recipient name
c. Donate with a check to:
The Themba Development Project
161 Glenforest Drive
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3M 1J2
d. Donating Cash? email thembaproject@gmail.com to find out how
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1.3 A Chance to Win $5000!

Here is an easy way to help the families of Thembalethu and it will only take a second. Voting deadline is December 30 2009.

1.Go to http://www.care2.com/hero-next-door/nominate.html and nominate Catherine Robar, Founding Director of the Themba Development Project.

2. Sit back and watch as your actions could result in a 35,000 South Africa Rand ($5000) donation which will go to help little boys and girls by putting food on their plates, school supplies in their back packs and hope for a better future!

****Catherine Robar created a registered charity which now provides food, education, resources and hope to 600 South African people who before her were only eating every 3-5 days. Located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, www.thembaproject,org Your vote is greatly appreciated!
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1.4 Departure Information and what you can do to help!

Catherine Robar, Founder of The Themba Development Project, departs Halifax on December 30, 2009 for Thembalethu, South Africa. Estimated time in Thembalethu will be 7 months as Catherine works with the people of Thembalethu-Zone 4 to redevelop the land, plant trees and created a sustainable agriculture system for all families. The end result will be an environment in which each family has access to food, education resources and the ability to grow crops.

What can you do to help?
1. Donate first aid supplies such as bandaids, polysporin etc or provide a gift certificate so that we can purchase these items
2. Share this email with your friends, this work started out with one person, today due to people spreading the word we have hundreds of supporters around the world!
3. Donate any un-opened vegetable seed packages that you have not used
4. Share your aeroplan or frequent flier points, this is a volunteer operated charity and your generosity will allow us to be more effective in our work!

If you would like to follow the work taking place in Thembalethu please check out the blog. Here you will find pictures of the work taking place, funny stories about life in Thembalethu and videos of the community. http://thembaproject.blogspot.com/ If you would like to mail parcels or letters please email me for the address.
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On behalf of the The Themba Development Project, Catherine Robar and the families of Thembalethu I would like to say a big thank you. Although I am the person leading the project, all of you are the people fueling the work. If nothing else were to result from our action, we have already made a profound difference in the lives of the families living in this struggling community. We have given them a voice, and the power to know that we are all here watching, and rooting for their success. Without all of you none of this would have been possible. To all of the people who have made donations big and small, the people who organized events and chose Themba as the recipient, and to all of you who have taken the time to hug and encourage me, I thank you.

Catherine Robar
Founding Director
The Themba Development Project
www.thembaproject.org

Donate today, it all adds up to ending chronic poverty! http://www.canadahelps.org/

One person, One community CAN change the world, we have already begun!

Announcing the launch of the 2009 Christmas Card Campaign!

Every year we spend countless time and dollars purchasing Christmas presents that we do not really need. This year, give your friends and family something unique and meaningful. By purchasing a Christmas Card from The Themba Development Project not only will you avoid the line-up at the mall, you will be giving a family the dignity to feed their children, the resources to grow their own food and the tools to go to school.

Make a donation of your choice and you will receive a hand-made personalized card for your loved one. This card will contain a picture of a community member and a description of how your donation is helping this community rise above chronic poverty.

*Tax-receipts will be given for all donations over $10!

For more information click here:
http://www.freewebs.com/thembaproject/christmascardcampaign.htm

Stumo returns to school

Let me first say that I am really quite in love with indigenous people due to their strong sense of culture. I suppose as an 8th generation German descent Canadian who's family came to Canada is 1752, I feel a strong sense of admiration for people who still practice their cultures. As you may have noticed for example I do not speak German and do not own, or can even spell, Laderhosen.

I particularily love the various cultures of the Black South African tribes. It really amazes me that they have managed to keep such strong roots to their history and ancestors despite the Apartheid regeim.

My friend, and Gcinsize's younger brother is called Stumo and he is such a glorious person. Stumo just turned 20 years old and I really do love him like a brother. I was speaking with him on the phone a few days ago and asked him about the bush. Stumo has been asking to go to the bush for 2 years but Gcinsizwe and others have told him that he is too young and that he must wait a few years.

Now for those of you who do not know what I am talking about, Stumo is Xhosa and in his culture a man must go to the bush in order to become a man. It is really quite an incredible ceremony where a boy is circumsized by a traditional doctor and then goes and lives and survives in the bush (the woods) for between one and three months. I have just skimmed over the custom, there is much more to it. It's pretty amazing though.

So in talking to Stumo the other day I asked if he was going to the bush this year and he said very excitedly yes! He is going in December, sadly though I am going to miss it, I am arriving in Thembalethu in late December and he goes to the bush at the beginning of the month. I begged him to wait till I get there but he said "Catherine I wish I could but I cannot wait, I have to be back in time to go to school in January".

Say what?? Yes you heard it right, Stumo, a beautiful incredible strong Xhosa man fell victim to the intensity of his surroundings and as a result dropped out of school in grade six. He lost hope for the future, lost his way and had no respect for his abilities. He was born before the fall of Apartheid and grew up being told by outsiders that he was not worthy of anything good. After decades of this, as well as living in chronic poverty, he dropped out.

Until now, and do you know why? Stumo is on the Youth Leadership Football Team that I started with the Themba Development Project, after months of the community asking me to do so. The people of Thembalethu never ask me for anything so when they do I know that it is essential, well through out and effective. I didn't have the money to start such a team but after Drum, Dance, Celebrate! I finally had the $250 necessary to start the team and supply them with proper uniforms. In order to be on the team the guys must volunteer in the community focusing on the elders and other at-risk people in the community. As well, everyone on this team must return back to school. These guys amaze me, they are beautiful, strong young men and I know they can accomplish anything they want to in life, with help. I will go down fighting so that these boys have a good future. As of today all the boys on this team have re-enrolled in school, including Stumo!

Although I am terribly sad to miss this life changing event in Stumo's life, I am so pleased to know that it is because he will return back to school. Thanks to the school supply program he will even have the dignity of having both food and school supplies so that he can focus on school and not on poverty.

$250, amazing what you can accomplish with so little!!!!

Catherine

Recent Submission to the Atlantic Council for International Cooperation Newsletter

In March of 2008 I departed for South Africa to volunteer my time with a community in need. At the time I was not sure where I would end up but I knew that my desire would overcome any obstacle set in front of me. It was when I discovered the community of Thembalethu that I knew that I had found what I was looking for. Thembalethu is located in the Western Cape of South Africa and is populated by people who left their tiny villages in hopes of finding a better life for themselves and their children. Despite being told that this was a dangerous area I trusted my gut instinct and ventured into the community made up of tiny roads that resembled a poorly planned maze, concrete block houses and shacks made of materials collected from the landfill sites.

I met a man similar in age to me while in the neighboring city of George. After many lunch time conversations under a tree I asked if I could visit his area of Thembalethu, Zone 4 (of 9). This man's name was Gcinsizwe Noyakaza and although I didn't know it then, he would become one of the most influential people of my lifetime. I also didn't know that I was about to become the first outside person to visit Zone 4. When I arrived at his mothers tiny shack the entire room was filled with happy faces, all of which had come to see if this lady from Canada would really show. I was happy that I trusted my instincts, I had learned in the past that although poverty does not look nice from the outside, on the inside it is filled with real people just like you and I who are happy to share anything they have with you.

One evening I took a moment to talk to Gcinsizwe about his community and the struggles facing them. During our conversation he looked at me with eyes of sincerity and said “Catherine, my community only knows struggle, we have lived our lives not knowing where our next meal will come from and it has become normal for us to be hungry for 3, 4, 5 days in a row. Your arrival is the first time that my community has felt a sense of hope.” I knew at this moment that I had to help this community, even when I returned home.

I returned home and created The Themba Development Project which is a volunteer-operated, Canadian Registered Charity. Together we work to improve access to food, minimize poverty, encourage education as well as to develop short and long term solutions to the food crisis facing many people in this country. The reason for our success is simple, we encourage education and community leadership, we operate with zero administrative costs and all funds donated go directly to assisting this community in need. Themba means “Hope” in the Xhosa language and Gcinsizwe Noyakaza is now the Director of Community Relations due to his natural leadership abilities, his ability to speak 8 languages and his tireless desire to help lift his community out of chronic poverty.

Recently I was nominated for a National Humanitarian Award called the “Me to We” award for my initiative in creating The Themba Development Project and my many programs that are helping to lift this community out of chronic poverty. These programs include monthly food shipments to address the short term need of securing food. The Food Security and Gardening Program which is helping to transform this community so that each family has access to a plot of land to grow their own food, as well as supplying the community with an abundant source of seeds to get started. We have created an educational assistance program which supplies children with school supplies so that they do not have to go days without food just to afford paper, pencils and other items. This year we will provide 80 children with school uniforms so that they can afford to attend school. We have supplied the youngest children with soccer balls and art classes so that they have time to be children and escape the hardships of daily life. We have created a leadership soccer team for the young men in this community to show them that we care about them and their future and to teach them to rise above the obstacles in their way and create a better future for themselves. All of the young men on this team have since re-enrolled in school and take part in weekly community building activities. We are currently fund raising so that we can plant 300 fruit and nut bearing trees so that there is an abundant source of free foods available as well as creating a program to teach the community how to collect rain water to use during times of drought.

Although I am only one person I believe that I have the power to make change. The people living in Thembalethu have the knowledge and capacity to live a better life, they just need someone to help them get started. The Themba Development Project has already given more hope to this community than they ever thought possible, together we will ensure that every family has the ability to feed their family, to go to school and to escape the cycle of poverty.
For more information or to make a donation please visit http://www.thembaproject.org/

Written by Catherine E. Robar
Founding Director of The Themba Development Project Association
thembaproject@gmail.com

The fight must continue.....

Last night I felt a deep sense of defeat, everything in fact is going very well, better then ever to be honest. But last night through the phone I heard a cough, one that I am familiar with, the deep cough of Tuberculosis (TB). This serious illness that effects many people in the community of Thembalethu. TB has been around for centuries, it used to be called consumption and it is an illness that attacks the lungs and other parts of the body such as the kidneys, bones and lymph nodes.

TB attacks regions where HIV/AIDS is rampant which is why it is no surprise that South Africa is ranked as having the 5th highest rate of TB in the world. This country also has the #1 highest rate of HIV/AIDS in the world. With a electricity, water and food crisis already affecting this country I fear for the future of the people already infected, their bodies are already lacking the nutrition possible to fight off these two illnesses.

TB has reached inside my protective bubble and effected someone close to me. I think that on top of fighting for food and education for this community I am also going to start researching into ways to prevent infection. I have already collected information on HIV/AIDS to pass along to the community, with this highest rate in the world I plan to educate this community on how the disease is spread, and how it is not. I think now I need to do the same for TB.

In the developed world we do not hear much about of this disease, we have an enormous access to medicine, perhaps too much access. In the developing world however people are dying because these same medicines such as antibiotics are not available to them.

I will keep fighting for this community, in all the joy that the people here bring to me, the life purpose that I have found within the dirt roads, I will not rest until the people living here can have a day of rest, just one, where HIV, TB, hunger, water and apartheid are over there in the distance, just one day where together we can laugh and sing and dance together and forget the problems of the past. I will continue to fight for that one day.

http://www.sahealthinfo.org/tb/tbburden.htm

http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/id/tuberculosis/countries/africa/safrica_profile.html

Finding Our Inner Strength-Together

Apartheid ended in 1995 which means that many of the children who were born just before that time are now turning 18. Many programs have been created for the young children in this community but the young adults have for the most part been neglected which has resulted in many 18+ young men in particular losing hope for the future. Throughout their life they have been subject to extreme racism, chronic poverty and taught by society that no matter what they do in life, no matter how hard they work they will still fail. This negative life experience has resulted in many of these young adults falling victim to dropping out of school, abusing drugs, disconnecting from the community and sadly even crime.

The elders of this community have requested that this negative trend end today and I am very pleased to announce that we are now in the position to grant this community what they have long asked for, a special soccer team devoted to these neglected young men.

Soccer is much more than "just a sport", it is an opportunity to escape the harsh realities of life in Thembalethu, it is a chance to laugh, and have fun in a team environment, something these boys rarely get to do.

Becoming a member of this team has special privileges as well as expectations. Members of the team will also be required to return to school to finish their education. On a weekly basis the members of this team will also engage in community volunteerism and take on such activities as helping the youngest children with their reading, working in the gardens belonging the elders to ensure that they have adequate food, as well as one on one mentor-ship with well respected adults in the community.

The long term effects of this special team will make an incredible impact on these boys and the community. By learning to love and respect themselves and by helping the other community members these boys will become positive and respected members of this strong community.

Fund Raising is currently taking place, if you would like to contribute to this leadership opportunity please click the Donate button below. Your gift, big or small will make positive and lasting change in this community.

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Catherine Robar
Founding Director
The Themba Development Project
http://www.thembaproject.org/

Donate today, it all adds up to ending chronic poverty! http://www.paypal.com/

One person, One community CAN change the world, we have already begun!

Wow, now that's what I'm talking about!

It's always fun to plan an event, this one though was a big one! Drum, Dance, Celebrate! was more than just an event to raise money for a struggling community; It was an evening to celebrate Nova Scotian culture, including the huge talent we have in this city in terms of musical and artistic talent. It was also an opportunity to show off the incredible talent coming from the African-Nova Scotian community. It was a night to remember for sure as we grooved with soulful Joyce Saunders, jumped and danced with Sudanese-Nova Scotian band, Kojo. Mas Cencerro and the dancers from Jabulani wow'd everyone with their incredible moves and hip shaking rhythms. Afro-Musica, well what can you say, they had us up and dancing with their first beat!

Something happened that night that I was not expecting. As some of you know 2009 has been personally a very difficult year for me and one that forced me to use every last bit of strength I had just to survive. Drum, Dance, Celebrate! was an event to celebrate Thembalethu and all of the people who had helped me to help them. For me though the night took a very different turn and I found myself surrounded by hundreds of incredible people who came out to support me as well. A year ago I lost everything, but as I walked around that night and talked to almost everyone there I realized, I have gained a huge community, a new life and the happiness that my heart knew was just around the corner.

Thank you to everyone who came out to support me and the community of Thembalethu. In total we raised just over $4000 CAD which works out to more than 27,000 South African Rand, 8 years salary for the people who are lucky enough to find work.

May you all be blessed.

Catherine

Archs, wires and Televisions

Gcinsizwe is a very responsible, hard working and kind person. He does all he can to find work so that his family can scrape by just above the level of starvation. So when he asked me to help him buy a television I was baffled by the request. Here is a man who looks after his entire extended family in terms of work, food and money, yet as dedicated as he is to his family's well being they were still going days on end eating only water and when flour was available, bread. In my mind I questioned his request, how could an intelligent man such as him waste valuable money on something so stupid as a television? Now let me tell you, the television he wanted was something that you and I would find in the dump, it was decades old and it only worked after the family gathered around it's fragile exterior carefully playing with wires and jumping when sparks flew. He found this television and a third hand store, something we do not really have here in Canada. Basically, when every last bit of usefulness has been drained from the object it is taken to the third hand store and some poor soul buys it for a few dollars in hopes that by miracle it will work again.

So there they stood, hungry, exhausted, and gathered around this television trying to make it work while at the same time trying to avoid being electrocuted. Now let me paint a picture, we are not talking about electricians here, not even people who grew up watching their parents carefully dissect electrical appliances, no, they are the first people in their families to have power, and the power is only on a few days a week or even a month, if they can afford it. When I was there one day I walked into the room where Gcinsizwe's mother sleeps to find a group of men huddled around a radio that looked to be at least 40 years old. They found it in a dump and were trying their best to revive the retired radio so that they may listen to the news and perhaps some music. I realized very quickly that they had no idea what they were doing, first of all they were digging the inside while the darn thing was plugged in! When I saw an arch of electricity I jumped in to help, really, I just didn't want to have to take someone to the hospital to have their heart restarted! Even the power is crude, we are not talking about the work done by Nova Scotia Power, no, it was installed by someone who grew up in the bush, has never seen electricity before and had carefully roped together a few wires from one house to the next, most of it dangled precariously from roof "beams" which were in fact pieces of wood that you and I would throw in the dump.

So back to the issue of the television! I asked Gcinsizwe one day, careful not to offend him with my clearly uneducated question, how is it possible that you are starving yet you are so excited to buy a television rather than food I asked. The answer hit me like a brick wall in the face and I felt embarrassed to have asked. I grew up in a middle class Canadian family where I have never once gone a day without food.....

Gcinsizwe said to me "Catherine, I live in a place where hunger is as common as the sun rising into the sky, it is my reality, but to have a television will give my family an opportunity where for at least a few minutes we can forget the sadness around us, the pains in our stomachs and the throbbing in our heads, and for just a few moments we will feel freedom from this place where survival does not always seem possible."

It was then that I gave him $10 to go buy a television so that on those very few days a month when they have power, at least those days they can experience freedom.

The Globe and Mail said it beautifully.....

You may recall my post about District 9, a new Blockbuster movie which uses a Black African township as it's background. Today in the Globe and Mail was a very articulate story written about the lives of the people who are living in Soweto, the community in which the movie was filmed. Take a moment to read this article, this is the reason why I was moved to create The Themba Development Project, this is what I am fighting to change.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/south-africas-district-mine/article1261781/

Have you all seen this? The trailer for a new huge movie called District 9. Part of the movie description is "An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions". This movie was filmed in South Africa and these "slum-like" conditions are in fact Xhosa townships. My question, why does the world think that it is ok for people, right now, right this minute, to be living this way?

Is anyone actually thinking about this? I am very upset that the western world turns a blind eye to the chronic poverty that people are forced to live in. If we are to be realistic we could in fact say that "We humans are forcing our fellow brothers and sisters to live in Slum like conditions". How do you feel about this, the movie, the whole thing?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSgLOvH_MMk

An ending to make you dance

Quay Quay (proper spelling unknown sorry) is a hard working 37 year old man with a wife, two small children and a baby. He was employed in the building industry in the near by city of George in South Africa. Quay Quay lives in zone 4 of Thembalethu and is one of the families that we help to support. Quay Quay makes less than $2 per day for all of his hard work and due to high unemployment rates has many mouths to feed including extended family.

On Friday August 7th this hard working man demanded that he be allowed to take a toilet break, he was tired of having to work for 9 hours a day without food or bathroom breaks. He was fired on the spot because he asked to be treated like a human being.

When I first heard his story my heart broke and I feared the worst for his family until I heard the last part of the story. See Quay Quay's family is one of the families that The Themba Development Project supports and as a result they have been receiving regular shipments of vegetable, bean and fruit seeds. This family would have been in a situation where they would have gone hungry for days on end if not weeks. There is a miracle at the end of this story because this family now has a full garden of vegetables, beans, and fruit to eat in addition to the monthly food supplies that we send.

This story really hit me like a brick wall, it made me realize what a gigantic difference that you and I have made in this community. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered their time, made financial donations, hugged me when I was feeling overwhelmed and supported me even when my ideas have seemed a little crazy. Look what we have done together, it is amazing.

You never really know what to expect when you phone!!

I called today to get an update on the community and ended up calling during the post Ukwalusa ceremony which means that a boy has completed his initiation into manhood and all of the men in Gcinsizwe's area are now having a two day celebration to welcome this "new man" into the coveted Xhosa community of men (as opposed to boys). The entire two days are spent singing/chanting and dancing, this takes place 24 hours a day which is remarkable, I am not sure how they find the energy! The boy who was just initiated spent 3 months in the bush (the forest) and is 20 years old. About 200 men were celebrating his return back to the community. Gcinsizwe was selected to lead the group in the singing of traditional Xhosa tribal songs. As I spoke to him I could hear the raspiness setting into to his vocal chords after hours and hours of singing. He was so happy, this is a time of great joy for the community. The Ukwalusa ceremony is a very important ritual that takes place in the Xhosa kingdom, I actually wrote a paper on it not too long ago. Below you will learn more about this really interesting and awe inspiring right of passage.

The Ukwalusa: Male initiation into manhood
There is one custom that is the most important event in a man’s life. It is known as the Ukwalusa. Between the ages of 18-25, boys are initiated into adult life by means of circumcision, cultural exchange and isolation. Before Ukwalusa, the male is not eligible to participate as
leaders in community events. They are not able to be married, have a family, or inherit property from their fathers. When boys feel that they are ready, they will inform their elders, who then make a recommendation based on the maturity and readiness of the boy.

The Ukwalusa ceremony is held in very high regard, young boys will often ask to become a man before they have the mental capacity to endure the initiation and take on the responsibilities expected by the community. The beginning of the three-month initiation begins with the male having his head shaved by another man in the community; he is then given a necklace made of the hair from a cow’s tail, and a blanket for him to wear until the end of his isolation. The surgeon arrives at dawn to begin preparations for the day’s events. The surgeon is known as Incibi and is a culturally educated surgeon. Often times the surgeons have no formal education as a doctor. The Incibi makes his incision with a sharpened blade and one swift motion and when the circumcision is complete he yells, “You are a man”. These few moments after circumcision are the most important moments of a man’s life. Respect in the tribe is determined by the initiate’s ability to withstand the pain. The expectation is that a real man will keep a relaxed face and will not cry out or admit pain.

The group generally consists of 3-10 initiates, depending on the quantity of eligible boys. When all initiates have been circumcised, their bodies are then smeared with white clay from head to toe and their bodies wrapped in the blanket given to them during the head shaving. The initiates are then appointed a guide, who is a male member of the community who has completed this initiation. The guide is responsible for handing down cultural knowledge to the initiate, explaining the required duties and expectations he will now have placed on him, and is also there to ensure the general well being of the initiate.

The first seven days after circumcision are the most difficult and dangerous. After circumcision the initiate is marched to his new home, a grass hut built for this ceremony which is located in total isolation. For the next seven days he is forbidden to drink water as this will jeopardize the healing process and cause significant pain to his wound. The initiate is given a strict diet of dry maize, slightly boiled and eaten hard. During these first seven days the initiate stays in his hut, careful not to move and risk pain. Although this is a widely spread custom it does not come without risk, as there have been 300 infection related deaths since 1994

After three months in isolation, the initiates are now free to join the community however first they must leave behind their boyhood past. Everything associated with their past must now be destroyed, the hut is burned, their bodies washed clean of the white mud and their blanket discarded. At no point during the walk away from the burning hut may they look back as this is a sign of bad luck. These boys have now become men in the eyes of the community; they are now eligible for marriage, to have families and to be leaders in their communities.

I learned something new yesterday

It is really amazing to me how I keep learning new things about this community that I find shocking. I was on the phone with Gcinsizwe two days ago, he sounded very depressed and it was the first time I had heard this kind of sadness in his voice. Normally he is very upbeat and positive, even when you and I would be crying. He has the ability to keep his chin up in the most desperate of situations. But still, on this day, he sounded defeated.

For you and I the issue of electricity is simple, we work for a few hours to earn the $50 that we need to pay for a month's worth of power, easy peasy right?? On days where there is a power failure we head to our local diner to have lunch. Well today I learned that most people in this community have to work an entire day just to pay for 4 days of power......

Now I want to put this into perspective for you, we work a few hours so that for one month we can run two televisions, a computer, lights, heat, the stove, microwave, a stereo, a toaster and on and on.....in this community they work for one day just so that for four days they can turn on a two burner hotplate. Seems crazy doesn't it. They hardly use any power and it lasts 4 days. This goes to show how little money they are paid, and how little money they have. Most people in this community are earning less than $2 per day, for many it is less than a dollar a day.

Gcinsizwe had the sound of sadness in his voice because he had no money for power this week and last, his hours have been cut back and he is only working for one day a week. Without power his mother must cook over an open flame which consists of a campfire made outdoors. It has been raining non stop there which means that they cannot build a fire. As a result this family (and many others) have been surviving on water for the last three days.

Again, I really have to thank all of my supporters, because of your donations we have been able to send things like peanut butter, oranges etc, items which can be eaten without cooking. I try to balance healthy foods which can be cooked with healthy foods which can be eaten as is. Thank you to everyone though, I may be the one who is leading navigating the ship, but you are the wind in my sails.

Protests break out in South Africa

Courtesy of BBC News July 22 2009

Violence in South Africa's townships has spread as residents protest about what they say is a lack of basic services, such as water and housing.

Police have fired rubber bullets at demonstrators in Johannesburg, the Western Cape and the north-eastern region of Mpumalanga.

In Mpumalanga, there were reports of foreign-owned businesses being looted as foreigners sought police protection.

More than 100 people have been arrested during the past week.

The rising tensions in the townships have revived memories of xenophobic attacks on foreigners last year in which more than 60 people died.

The latest protests over service delivery come less than 100 days after Jacob Zuma took office as president, following a resounding election victory for the governing African National Congress (ANC).

They are a reminder of the impatience felt in the most deprived areas of the country, says BBC world affairs correspondent Peter Biles.

On Tuesday, police cars were stoned in Thokoza near Johannesburg during a demonstration about living conditions that turned violent.

Nearby township Diepsloot saw cars and houses being burnt last week in protest at plans to tear down makeshift shacks to make way for a sewage pipe.

Poverty pledge

President Jacob Zuma promised to improve service delivery when he came to power in May, and said fighting poverty was his priority, highlighting the huge economic and social challenges facing South Africa.

However, South Africa announced in June that it was facing its worst recession in 17 years.

Fifteen years after the ANC won its first election, more than one million South Africans still live in shacks, many without access to electricity or running water.

The gap between rich and poor is also wider than it was 15 years ago, our correspondent says.

The slow provision of replacement housing has long been controversial - nearly three million have been built, but the allocation has been prone to nepotism and corruption.

In addition, the global economic climate has banished any hope of South Africa maintaining record levels of economic growth, and reducing unemployment.

In the midst of this latest unrest, Mr Zuma is embarking upon a tour of the country to thank voters for returning the ANC to power in the elections last April.

Our correspondent says he will now be under even greater pressure to explain how the ANC is going to meet its plethora of election promises.

It is raining today, everyone remains inside trying to keep warm as best they can. It is a cold day today and to get wet means certain that they will also get sick so they stay indoors and huddle near the fire. Mama has built a good fire today and it is creating a lot of heat. Gcinsizwe, Stumo, Sizwe and Mama sit together, Mama is cooking maize while Stumo tries in vain to patch his shoe. Two weeks ago my package arrived in the post and Sizwe is yet again perched in front of the map looking at all of the countries. Gcinsizwe shows him Nova Scotia where I live, and Sudan and Congo where my friends are from. Each area has had a star placed on it so that they can find the places with ease. Sizwe asks his father in the Xhosa language, “Daddy where does Catherine live” and Gcinsizwe points to the other side of the map, very far away from South Africa.

Sizwe is a beautiful little boy who this year turns 6 years old. For his birthday I sent him stickers in the shape of the Canadian Flag, enough to share with his friends. I also sent glow in the dark stickers to stick on the walls of the shack he shares with his father Gcinsizwe. Sizwe switches between calling me Catherine and mama, a name I have grown fond of. His mother left the family when he was very young and since that time he has not had many women in his life to provide guidance. His grandmother, Mama, Gcinsizwe’s mother, treats Sizwe as if he were her on baby. She plays with him and teaches him about life and the lessons it has to share with them. Still though, in the Xhosa world Mama is getting old, she is in her late 50’s and after a long life of struggle her body is not as strong as it once was. Mama and Sizwe speak only Xhosa and a tiny bit of Afrikaans. We giggle a lot when we speak on the phone, Gcinsizwe translates as best as he can but when Mama and I get on the phone we spend far too much time giggling and laughing to get any sort of translation in! I find the Xhosa language fascinating, as she does English.

Mama and I have yet another “conversation” on the phone today. I say it this way because we don’t really say many things that the other person can understand but we sure do spend a lot of time laughing and giggling. She says something to me and then roars laughing, finding it so funny to hear me respond in this funny language called English. I try to imagine what English sounds like to Mama, an ever changing language filled with slang and exceptions. We must sound very harsh to her with our rough sounding RRRR’s and Tha’s found in so many of our words. Xhosa is a beautiful language indeed, with the sensual rolling R’s, the strange sound that reminds me of a rounded-cat hiss and of course the famous clicking sounds of which there are three distinct sounds. I have made attempts to learn Xhosa from books and cd’s but I cannot seem to grasp the ability to make a click sound while in middle of a word let alone a sentence. From time to time Gcinsizwe will take a pause from speaking with me to speak with a person asking him a question, I could sit and listen to him speak for hours, if only it didn’t cost me so much in long distance charges. While I listen to him speak Xhosa I take a moment to ponder how it is that such a beautiful group of people with a rich and interesting culture, incredible and complex language and so much kindness could have been persecuted so harshly during the Apartheid era.

Siabulayla and Anna have a baby

Siabulayla and his wife Anna had a baby today, May 29 2009. This is their first child and they welcomed a beautiful and healthy little boy into the world. They have given their first born the name Siabonga which in Xhosa means “Many Thanks”. When I first met Siabulayla over a year ago he introduced himself to me as Kevin. This is very common with Xhosa men as they are forced to change their names so that they have an easier time finding work. We call these their “struggle names” as it is an indication that Apartheid is long from over. Gcinsizwe was known as Eric for the longest time, until I begin to realize that this was not in fact what his Xhosa people called him. Both Gcinsizwe and Siabonga have adopted “white” names which their bosses have given them, refusing to call them by their real names. To this day when I meet Xhosa people via telephone they introduce themselves as Michael, John, Peter at which point I remind them that I am a part of their community and that it is ok for them to introduce themselves using their birth name, in fact, I prefer it.

Today I am on my way to Fredericton to visit my dear friend Lisa. I am traveling by train to Moncton and as I sit here enjoying the comfort and luxury of the train I decide it is time to call Thembalethu to see how my friends are doing. Gcinsizwe hands the phone to Siabonga who wanted to thank me for sending diapers for his baby boy. I hear a sadness deep in Siabonga’s voice, I ask him how he is and he says, fine fine in which I say “Siabonga, I can hear sadness in your voice, what is going on in your world today?”. Siabonga, the sole bread winner in his extended family and new father of a baby boy has just lost his job. His company has closed due to the recession and laid off all of their employees. In Canada we are very much effected by the recession, people are losing their jobs at an alarming pace, we apply for employment insurance and hope to find something else soon. We are very fortunate in this country, we have food banks and other social services to help us when we hit rock bottom. It is hard for us to imagine the desperation that comes from losing a job in other countries. For Siabonga and his large extended family they now face an impossible battle due to the massive unemployment in this area. Finding a job is nearly impossible, he now joins tens of thousands of other men with equal skills who are also looking for work. When I met Siabonga and his wife Anna they were only eating proper food every third day or so. This meal would consist of maize, beans and if they were having a good month perhaps a few flecks of meat about the size of scattered dimes. Today they have no income, and no food. I ask him what he will do, he has his two parents, wife, baby and two sisters to feed, his response “Only God knows our destiny, I pray to him that I find work and soon”. I ask, How will you feed your family? Where will you find food? Siabonga pauses for a long while then says in a defeated voice, Catherine, I just don’t know.

Siabonga is one of the families who receives food from The Themba Development Project’s food delivery program. On July 7th his family received food rations to last them for one month. His story reflects most people living in Thembalethu. Due to YOUR donations Siabonga’s family has a changed destiny, once living in a world without hope, his future now includes food and the knowledge that people in Canada care about the future of his family.

Leesay

Ha ha, Leesay, I love this little boy, I try to have a phone conversation today and all I can hear is Leesay screaming and laughing in the background. Leesay is 7 years old this year, I met him a year ago and when I first saw him I felt worried. He was a very tiny boy for his age, somewhat quiet, his belly was very puffy and his teeth were rotting. How could this be? I asked Gcinsizwe why Leesay appeared this way and he said that Leesay’s family has struggled for many years, they have very little food. Leesay has been my inspiration ever since, when I feel lazy or am having a difficult day I pick up his picture and smile at his tiny little face. He gives me the motivation to move forward. Leesay is like many other little boys here in Canada, his favourite activity is playing “leg horsey” and piggy back. Ha ha, oh the sore muscles I would get from bobbing this little boy around on my leg. I would get so tired but he would look up at me with his big eyes and urge me to keep going. Children make me laugh, they have so much energy, how they tire us out ha ha. I could hardly walk a foot without him pulling at my shirt to indicate that he wanted a piggy back. You would swear that he was riding a real horsey, he would laugh and laugh and laugh while I spun him around on my back. Sometimes I would spin so much that I feared I would fall over in dizziness! His little laugh was worth it, I could listen to him laugh for hours. Leesay is not the same little boy I knew last year, for almost a year now he has been receiving food from The Themba Development Project Food Delivery program. Today his puffy belly has been replaced with bounds of energy and laughter. No longer needing to worry about his hungry belly, he now runs around the community laughing with the other boys, his mind filed with nothing but little boy thoughts of playing in the mud and helping his father do big boy jobs around the house and garden.