As promised (a
long time ago!), here are more pictures from my time in South Africa [Cottages at Injesuthi, Summer 2007]:
Every Monday (and sometimes Thursday or Friday, depending on how much food was left) the cook and any given caretaker would go into town (
Estcourt) to go grocery shopping at Mackson's FoodZone, one of two supermarts in town. In this picture: pears, toilet paper, laundry soap, cereal, milk, "biscuits" (kind of like wafers). It was really astonishing to see that, though they purchased an immense amount of food, it was all very fairly priced. I appreciated seeing how the money that was given to the Cottages was stewarded well and not going to waste. The lady (cut off) on the right is Florence, or Flo, the orphan village's cook. If you look carefully, you'll be able to see something wrapped around her top - that would be a blanket she wrapped around her waist to secure her infant (Kozi) to her back. That's how she'd usually carry him around, unless he got fussy or hungry.
Here are Kwanele (HIV+, standing in the doorway) and Mfundo (going up the steps). Mfundo is carrying a box of cereal into the storeroom and Kwanele is getting ready to carry in some toilet paper. It was adorable to see how eager they were to help bring in groceries. The kids were often rewarded for good behavior like that - but not necessarily with money. I was told that in the Zulu culture, tones of voice are used to encourage or discipline a child. So if they were being good, the child would be verbally praised and approved of, but if they were bad then a harsh/loud tone of voice would be used before physical enforcement entered the picture.
Pictured above are some crafts (beaded pens, bookmarks, HIV awareness pins, a star, a butterfly, a strawberry, in the bottom right there is a intricately decorated ornament). These were all hand-made by ladies in the community. They also make very, very beautiful baskets and mats and traditional Zulu jewelry. Many women support entire families (often large ones, I might add) on this trade alone. Some of the beaders have been doing this for decades and others have just begun. Life stages range from teens to grandmothers. If you're interested in purchasing some of these items (all proceeds go right back into the community), you can contact Roz Thomas at rozthomas@hotmail.co.uk. [Actually, I have a bunch of residual craft items that never got sold at last year's fundraising auction. If you're interested, you can have them. E-mail me at jesknguyen@gmail.com for details.]
I don't remember this lady's name, but she's one of the much older, much more experienced beader ladies. This was on one of the days that all the ladies gather together to sell their products, take orders (they do many custom projects), and share techniques/stories with one another. Barbara Borgman oversees the entire community betterment project that these ladies and their beautiful trade are a part of. The ladies get paid a very fair price for their work and any proceeds from sales to tourist shops or tourists (there are many groups who come through the Cottages to help) go straight back into helping to improve the quality of life for the community members. This is done through various things like HIV awareness programs, financially/morally supporting families, and teaching others how to take up the beading/weaving trade.
If you are interested in getting involved with this project, you can contact Barbara Borgman at ubuntup@lantic.net. [See photo of business card below - click to enlarge]
This is Zeneli, age 10 or so. Her story is a sad, but fascinating one (if you want to hear it e-mail me at jesknguyen@gmail.com). Remember that first picture where I talked about Flo carrying her infant on her back? Well, this is Zeneli mimicking Flo. She has a teletubbie fastened securely to her back while she rakes away weeds to earn marbles. It was really neat to see how much the younger kids would pick up from their elders. There was always this sense of unity and community and working toward a common goal while I was there. One of the goals of this village (and all the other villages in Africa) is to give these kids a new family. That's one (of many) reason(s) they don't allow adoption through this village. Each child is placed with a caretaker and that becomes their family. It's really quite beautiful the way it works...
Speaking of working together as a family, Kwanele (HIV+, Left) is helping Kozi (middle, Flo's child) learn to walk. Even though Kwanele is the third youngest child at the Cottages, he's still helping to lead and teach the young'un! Again, it was beautiful to see these kids love and serve and lead and teach one another. This room is the dining hall/common area. After meals and cleanup the kids would sometimes play games, but usually they'd have dance parties. I'll post some pictures of them dancing later.
This.... now, this is a very special picture to me. Not at all because I'm in it, but because of the little girl to my left (right side of this picture). Her name is Nothile and she is a very special piece of work. At the time, she was a 13-year-old orphan. She was actually the first child to come up and introduce herself. She simply grabbed my hand and said, "Hi, I'm Nothile. What is your name?" in an soft, sweet, gentle tone. From Day 2 we were inseparable (we got in late on day 1). Before going to Africa, I dreaded the idea of working with preteens and teenagers (that was a rough patch in my life...and toddlers/preschoolers are my specialty) and I was utterly astonished that she and I clicked so well. She has a heart of GOLD and a curiosity like no other. She plays jokes and is often very goofy (she tried to convince me she was 21 the night I met her - I believed her, haha!), but we had some great talks; she possesses maturity far beyond her years.
That is it for now. I will hopefully update again soon! =)
Jessica K. Nguyen
Accounting, Finance Class of 2011
Michael G. Foster School of Business
University of Washington, Seattle
accountingforAfrica.blogspot.com
Here we are at an Irish Pub (Murphy's) in Amsterdam, Holland. I got an Irish Shamrock and some Amsterdame Bitterballen and Paul got a Murphy's Red and some Fish+chips+mushy peas. 
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