I must say that I normally try to keep my posts focused on things of importance but in the last week we have had two experiences that I just have to share. South Africa as you may know used to be ruled by the Apartheid regime which was the systematic separation of the ethnic groups, as a result there is still quite a bit of friction even today, being that Apartheid only "ended" 18 years ago (in some places it feels like it is still going).

In many places in South Africa things have improved but I must share with you two experiences we had this week so that people can understand that there is still changed needed. People in all countries can learn from this I hope.

Story one:
Picture this, a beautiful sunny Saturday morning, a couple (us) are nicely dressed, holding hands and walking through Cape Town. We stop at a tourist sign to read about the history of Cape Town. As we are reading I notice a (white) man crossing the street and approaching us. My radar went up, although he was nicely dressed I was wondering why he was approaching us. He comes over to us and asks me "did you just arrive in South Africa?" I said no. He leans across Gcinisizwe to speak with me directly and says "How long have you known this man for?". I said "This man is my husband". He begins to tell me how a girl he heard about from overseas came to South Africa and was raped by a local (ie: black) man because she got on a bus with him and la la la la la. Although I was quite sympathetic of this girl I began to feel anger inside. I thought "Is this man really coming over to us at 11am on a sunny Saturday morning to warn me that I am going to be raped by a man who I clearly love? (and whom are both wearing wedding rings!!!)" He proceeds to say numerous times to Gcinisizwe "No offense man, no offense" as he continually tells me about me being raped by this man who happens to be my husband. My favorite part of this story is how he says two times "This has nothing to do with race I swear, I am not a racist".

So let me get this clear, it is a lovely warm Saturday morning, you see a black man walking with a white woman, you decide to run across a highway to warn the woman about how the black man will rape her, ignoring the fact that she has already explained to you that he is her husband, and then you tell me that this has nothing to do with race??? I hardly doubt this would have happened to an all-white couple......I must also say that I am shocked to experience this in Cape Town where I would expect people to be more progressive. I must also admit however that we receive a lot of stares even here and it is still very uncommon to see other black-white couples.

Story 2:

Picture this one, so a couple days ago we are leaving Nqiningana, we depart Queenstown and are on our way to Thembalethu. We approach a small town called Paterson and being that we are both hungry we decide to stop for a bite to eat at the town's only diner, which happens to be attached to the town's only gas station. We go inside and place our order at the counter and then sit down at the tables. As I sit there I notice that the only other patrons, two men who ordered pretty much the same thing we did, well they are served by the woman who I would guess owns the place. She brings both of their meals at the same time on a tray and serves them both. Flash forward 6 minutes or so and it is our turn to be served. The same lady (who is white) approaches our table and serves me my food, 2 seconds later another woman (who is black) brings Gcinisizwe his food.

I am puzzled by this and ask Gcinisizwe "Why didn't the woman bring them both at once?" I must admit that my naivety shocks even me sometimes, I suppose that since I grew up in a family who sees only people and not color, and in an area with very little racism that I still feel shocked when I see it. At first I thought that maybe her second hand was full at the time she picked up my plate, or that maybe his food was not ready. But based on the look on his face, the look of embarrassment, shame and disappointment, it was clear to see that this woman refused to serve someone "of his kind". I could see the same look of shame in the black woman's face who served him as they exchanged glances of sadness when she placed the plate down in front of him. I will be sure to never visit this place again, and also to be more aware next time.

So, two stories which just serve to remind us that there is still a lot of work left to be done. Sometimes we get so caught up in our own world that we forget that others worlds exists not far from our front door steps. We must continue to fight for equality, fairness and a world without discrimination. Until that time Gcinisizwe and I continue to walk the streets with our heads held high and proud, knowing that one day people will no longer stare in amazement.

xoxoxo

Catherine

The Xhosa culture is extraordinarily beautiful.
Here two Sangoma's are dressed to impress
during their initiation ceremony. 

The day has been non stop, we woke up early to drive to another village to collect grass for our roof, we bought the grass from two ladies who were living without their husbands, they had many children and it was apparent that they were struggling, I am not sure where their husbands were, most likely in Johannesburg or another city, trying to find work. We somehow managed to stuff 2200 bundles of grass into our truck, it took us several trips of course, and also a friend who has a big truck to pick up the bulk of it.

We then returned to Nqiningana and spent the afternoon and evening at a very special cultural celebration to introduce new Sangomas (Witch Doctors) to the village. This is a very special time for me as well because it gives me a chance to get to know my neighbours a little more. I enjoy these occasions so much because women who are ordinarily busy are instead brought together to spend time together.

I love the kids here so much, they are always asking me to take their
picture. Here you can see they are all smiles. 

Tonight a woman sat with me and told me her story. She and her husband once left the village to live in Cape Town, or to be precise, the squatter camp outside of Cape Town which I believe is the second largest slum in Africa behind Kibera in Kenya. After a very long time of not finding work they retreated back to Nqiningana, because at least here they have some dignity. In Cape Town they were crammed into a shack with neighbours all around them, no privacy, too much noise, crime etc. In Nqiningana at least there is peace. This woman was wearing no shoes, she told me that she only has one pair and she only wears them on the rare occasion that she goes to the nearest city, Queenstown. If she wears them in Nqiningana the mud will ruin them and she cannot afford to buy another pair. She, her husband and their 6 young children are really struggling. They survive on R1000 a month, which is about 100 Euro or $125. This amount is of course not even close to being enough to provide food etc. She told me that when the flour and rice run out that she cooks plain corn with tea leaves mixed in it. At least that makes them feel like they have eaten food. After that they do not eat, sadly, this happens often. This woman always smiles, she is so friendly to everyone, but I can see the worry behind that smile, and the stress of not knowing if her children will eat tomorrow. Her children will benefit from the Nqiningana Food Security Project taking place at the school, and she has volunteered to help us to tend to the garden.

I think that it is very important that we help this village by bringing job opportunities here, so that families like this do not have to move to squatter camps with terrible conditions, and so that they have the income needed to buy food and other essentials, like medicine. I looked my friend in the eyes and promised her that I would do everything in my power to help her. And through that promise I turn to you, to help me to help women, men and children just like her who are struggling. Together we can help families to become self sufficient and find the dignity that they have been searching for.

Speaking of smiles, this is one of my neighbours, she is an amazing woman.
Hard working, loving mother and a kind friend. 

The ladies always sit to one side, and the men to another side.
The sun sets on a traditional house while the grandmothers
bask in the last warm moments. 

Update from Nqiningana

I am writing to you from a tiny village in South Africa called Nqiningana. I am here working on the Nqiningana School Food Security Project which is led by the registered humanitarian-aid that I founded in 2008 called The Themba Development Project. This is a very exciting project because the idea has been led by the community and together we formulated a plan to complete the necessary work. What was once a field of grass is being transformed into a working vegetable garden which is the size of a football field! This school had zero trees when we arrived also so together we planted 420 trees, mostly fruit and nut bearing, and a few to help with wind erosion. Soon this school and the surrounding community will have access to an abundance of fresh fruit which will help improve their health, that is important because this country has the highest rate of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and the fastest growing rate of Diabetes in the world!

Some people have asked me how we plan on managing a project of this size, because of course, we can not always be in two places at once! I am very excited to tell you that we have formed the Nqiningana School Food Security Management Committee, a group of students, teachers and community members who have stood up to claim ownership of this project. We have also employed a local project manager who will ensure the sustainability of the project. It is nice to know that we can create jobs in a community where there is more than 80% unemployment. 

The most exciting part of this project has been to see the transformation of the community itself. We have been teaching the community about the power of volunteerism and slowly slowly we have seen the transformation with our own eyes. Now it is becoming common place for the community to come to us and ask to help, or to organize themselves to complete projects which help this project. Our local members cannot believe their eyes. 

Over the past 2 months we have been working very hard to complete this project that took us one year to finance. I would like to thank all of you for helping us to raise funds for this project, we could not have done it without you. That said the project continues so all of your tax-deductible donations are kindly accepted. Feel free to email me any time at thembaproject@gmail.com  or donate directly at www.canadahelps.org, paypal, cash, check or email money transfer

We are also launching a new campaign which will be a lot of fun for our students. Learning about the world through books alone is one thing, but imagine learning about a country from someone who actually lives there? We are inviting schools from around the Maritimes to help us with the 2011 Christmas Card Campaign. Students can make Christmas cards for us and the proceeds from the sales will go directly to projects which help the Nqiningana School. Students are also invited to write letters to the youth in South Africa, forming new friendships with kids just like them, half way around the world. Join us in this exciting campaign by emailing me atthembaproject@gmail.com

Thank you again everyone, I look forward to seeing you upon my return to Canada.

Introducing the Nqiningana Management Committee!

Today was a very productive day, we had a wonderful meeting with the school administrators and student council members. I am continually impressed with the organization and professionalism of the teachers and principal of this school, precisely why we felt that this would be a great location for our work to take place.

Together we discussed our visions for the school, our goals and desires for the upcoming food security project. We then identified areas of concern using the pair-wise ranking tool and we have determined that the most important issues facing the project are: water, fencing (goats eating our materials), gardening tools/supplies, theft, and community support. So one by one we will work to ensure that each area is addressed, based on the level of importance first. 

Meeting to discuss our vision for the Nqiningana School Food Security Project
We worked to ensure that we had equal representation from both men, women and youth.
In attendance were: Catherine Robar (aka Nosandise), Mrs. Matoti, Ms. Mapeni, Mr. Soga, Mr. Silingile, Ms. Mfana, Ms. Mgqibelo, Mr. Tolashe, and Mrs. Mbutana.
Our student council representatives included Mr. Bhali, Miss. Cerhn, Mr. Manyathela and Miss. Smile. 

Next we formed a project management team, identifying together which jobs were required, and then appointing a local person to oversee each area. I am very pleased to introduce to you the Nqiningana Junior Secondary School Food Security Management Team:

Nqiningana Junior Secondary School Food Security Management Team

Gcinisizwe Noyakaza (Director of Community Relations) and
Siyabonga (Nqiningana Food Security Project Manager)
show their community support after a very productive work day.

 

Student Council Members (Close Up)

Members:

General Manager:  Mr. A. M. Gwanya (School Principal)

Project Manager: Mr. Siyabonga

Manager of Fence Infrastructure: Mr. Soga

Manager of Seed Propagation: Mrs. Ndzala

Manager of Administration: Mrs. Mfana

Youth Student Council: Mr. Bhali, Miss. Cerhn, Mr. Manyathela and Miss. Smile

Chairperson: Mrs. Mbutana

Advisor: Mrs. Nosandise Noyakaza

***In addition, 16 youth will be chosen by the management team, 8 boys and 8 girls. These youth will work alongside Management Members to learn new skills including leadership, agriculture and project management.  Photos to come.

Just a few of the wonderful children who will reap the benefits of this project.

 Thank you to everyone who is supporting this project! If you would like to donate to this project

visit www.canadahelps.org or donate using email money transfer

or PayPal (thembaproject@gmail.com)

Cheques and Money Orders can be sent to:

The Themba Development Project

161 Glenforest Drive

Halifax, Nova Scotia

B3M 1J2

All donations are tax-deductible (Canada)

Nqiningana School

 One of my favorite places in Nqiningana is the junior secondary school located down the hill from my house. The children are always so happy to see us and the school administration is strong and eager to work together. This year we are working to turn their field into a working vegetable garden which will feed the children through the school lunch program. It will also be a source of income as they can sell excess produce and purchase school supplies with the funds. Right now the school is barren of trees, any that were planted were eaten by the many baby goats who easily slip through the holes in the fencing. This means that there are high winds, lots of dust flying around and soil erosion.

We have also pointed out a project which compliments our existing project and that is getting the rain water harvesting system back up and running. The current system has fallen into disrepair and many parts look as through they were not set up properly in the first place, making the system not very user friendly. For example the collection tank was built directly on the ground meaning that you cannot put a bucket under to fill with water. Also, the tap was squished into the wall so it was barely accessible! We are working together to move the tank and improve the system. The collection tank is not shown in the picture below, if I remember I will take a photo so you can see before and after.

Main school building, notice how barren the landscape is. Notice also
that there are no toys or playground equipment to entertain the youth. 

This is the building used for the school lunch program, there are many areas of
opportunity in terms of boosting the materials they are using and
improving hygiene. Here I am speaking with one of the teachers,
discussing the needs of the school. 

Site of the future school garden. Poor fencing meant that the garden that
was here was eaten entirely by the goats. We are working
together to improve the fence and build a strong garden.

Cute as they may be (my oh my they are cute), these baby goats also
eat our garden, so we are working together to patch the holes and build a new fence.

So as you can see this is an exciting project! Thank you to the many people who have made a donation to this project, big and small! If you want to get involved you can make a donation using Paypal (thembaproject@gmail.com) or donate using canadahelps.org

Thank you to everyone!

The making of our house

One of the most exciting things is that I am soon to be a home owner, imagine, my very first home! Well this one is a little different, it is a traditional round house, and it is built entirely by hand. Actually it was supposed to be finished before my arrival in Nqiningana but due to the weather and constant funerals construction has been delayed. I am so proud as I watch Gcinisizwe lift the Earth, create bricks and prepare our house for us. 

Gcinisizwe hard at work, loosening the soil so that he can make bricks.
This area will also make a lovely home garden at one point. 

This is the acting manager for the project, ha ha, just teasing. Puppy enjoys a nap
in the sunshine while Gcinisizwe breaks a sweat. 

I finally caught a baby lamb! Wow, he was so soft!

Gcinisizwe fills the brick mould with wet soil and smooths down the top. 

Slowly slowly we makes enough bricks to finish the house. 

Home in Nqiningana

We arrived in Nqiningana to yet another funeral, so far we have been averaging 2 per week. It is estimated that in this region that people living here spend 70% of their income on funerals, and I can understand why now that I am here to see with my own eyes. There are many reasons for the frequent funerals, the most frequent one being that this is home to many many older people who simply pass away from old age. There is also HIV/AIDS in this area, the most common reason for the under 40 deaths.

 Funerals here are very different from home, there are no funeral homes, the family comes from all over the country to help, as well as family friends. Women and men are entirely segregated, busy doing their respective jobs. Women spend their time together cooking and preparing for the large meal which will feed the many people in attendance. Men spend their time digging the hole for the casket, killing the sheep or cow (depending on how many people come and how much the family can afford) and cleaning it to prepare it for cooking. The elders sit (women with women, men with men) together and talk about community events. 

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a strict vegetarian, people ask me if I mind the animal killing part. To be truthful I wish that the whole world were vegetarians, but if people do choose to eat meat then this is the best way to do it in my view. The animals live a 100% free life, eating grass, being in the fresh air and sunshine. Then one day they are "chosen" and killed in a very respectful and fast way. It is in stark contrast to the brutal regime of industrial agriculture which is where 99% of your meat is coming from. I also really respect their closeness with the animal that they are about to eat, they raise the animal, care of it, then with their own hands kill the animal and prepare it. There is no suffering, and there is also no waste. If you are going to eat meat then this is the way to do it!

I must admit, trying not to sound crass, that I actually really enjoyed the day. On other occasions in the past I have felt intimidated by events such as this due to the language barrier and very different culture. But this time I knew enough Xhosa to sort of understand a tiny bit of what was going on, and there were people from the cities visiting who could speak English. It was also a really wonderful opportunity to meet many many many new family members who I have not met before. Everyone and I mean everyone had heard of me before meeting me, and when they saw me they ran up and greeted me, often with a hug. I am still told that I am the very first white person in the Diya clan which is absolutely remarkable to me. Although I suppose the more I am here the more I begin to believe people who tell me this. Everywhere we go people approach us to shake our hands, people yell from across the street to tell us how excited they are to see us and my personal favorite is when I hear a group of people giggling and then they greet me in Xhosa, "Molo makoti" and then I respond in Xhosa also, then there is more giggling. People are very very very welcoming of me, and I feel proud to be a makoti (Xhosa new bride). 

The bus which connect Nqiningana and other villages to the neighboring city of Queenstown

The men preparing the animal for consumption

The community gathers to bury yet another loved one

Just a few of the ladies that I spent the day with. We had a really nice time together,
cooking, talking and enjoying the experience together. 

Welcome back Nosandise!

After a year I am very happy to report that I am back in South Africa and have been welcomed back by all. For those of you who didn't know, I decided to pursue a Masters degree in Human Development and Food Security, a program which took me to Rome, Italy, the headquarters for Food Security and home to United Nations programs such as IFAD, WFP and FAO.

After a wonderful week spent in Cape Town to reacquaint myself with Gcinisizwe and meet some wonderful friends, new and old we then ventured east to Thembalethu. What an amazing thing to spend my birthday this year in Thembalethu, surrounded by friends and family. Birthdays are not normally celebrated in our area, Gcinisizwe and our son Sizwe had not actually had a birthday celebration until this year, who knew! I was really excited to celebrate and to share some very tasty cake with my friends. We enjoyed a night around the fire, and also packed the inside of my brother and sister-in-law's house where we sang and danced.

20 or so of my closest friends squeeze into my
brother-in-law's shack to enjoy some cake!

Nozukane leads the group in glorious Xhosa singing!

For those of you who were wondering where I am sleeping while in Thembalethu, it is this house below. In fact, this house used to belong to Calamine, Gcinisizwe's older brother, but sadly he passed away last year. With the house now empty Gcinisizwe took the opportunity to move in so that he could be closer to his other brother who lives next door. The house is not fancy, but it is dry and keeps us protected from the elements. 

This is the house that I stay in while in Thembalethu. 

And our million dollar view!

Sizwe's first birthday party!! He turned 8 this year. 

Sizwe's first birthday cake ever! I didn't realize it was his first party until I placed
the cake in front of him, he had no idea what to do! I said blow! Ha ha ha. 

Our time in Thembalethu went really quickly, we were busy preparing a grant proposal that would create jobs and bring fresh food to Thembalethu. We also had a chance to meet some wonderful people from George whom I have been speaking with via Internet for years now. All in all it was a very productive time!