Manguzi

I can’t believe it has already been nearly 2 weeks since my last posting! Time has been flying by. By way of update, Jim and I left Johannesburg 2 weeks ago and stayed in Durban for a weekend. We had a great time staying in a B&B in Umhlanga, enjoying the beach, the mall, the movies, and any other modern conveniences we knew we’d miss as soon as we made the final move to rural KwaZulu Natal. But, move we did, and we have been here in Manguzi (named for its many mango trees!) for just under two weeks.

Life here is great! We are situated right on the Mozambique/South Africa border and on the western coastline of the country. So, we are just a quick drive to another country or the beach or both. That part is really spectacular. Within Manguzi, we are living in a rondovel (cute round cement house with a tin/clay roof) on a property with a two other small houses and one big house. The owners of the property work out of Durban; however, so they are not often here. Our rondovel has a nice living room, small kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. It is the perfect size for me and Jim and such a fun house to have as newlyweds! It is decorated with a funky safari theme, and protected by two enormous guard dogs, a big metal barbed fence, and a full time security guard. I feel extremely safe here, but it’s nice because we live out in the “community” rather than within the hospital grounds (where most of the white people live). So, hopefully we make friends with our neighbors and practice speaking Zulu.

The house is about a 5 minute drive to our work at Tholulwazi Uzivikele (which means “Get Knowledge, Protect Yourself”). This South African NGO offers help and shows compassion to individuals suffering from HIV/AIDS through a Home Community Based Care (HCBC) volunteer corps and an intensive orphan care program. TU has established a physical presence in the KwaNgwanase area through its 205 person HCBC volunteer corps’ homestead visits to the sick and needy. Additionally, TU garners respect from the community through its social empowerment programs such as orphan psycho-social workshops and registration assistance for disadvantaged persons in need of Identity Documents. Jim and I have been training since August 15th and will begin working as the organization’s Program Coordinators on Sept. 1. We are both thrilled to have such an incredible opportunity at such a young age and can’t wait to get to work. I have had the best time getting to know the staff at Tholulwazi (current manager, 2 paralegals, school coordinator, 2 cooks, psychosocial support staff, and life skills teacher) and am looking forward to working with them all for the next 10 months.

Today was the highlight of my time with Tholulwazi, as we went to Tembe Elephant Park (nearby game reserve) for a staff team building day. We started the day by driving 2 4x4 vehicles into the park and viewing tons of antelope, impala, and buck. After about 10 minutes of driving, we had to slow down and wait as an elephant crossed the road directly in front of us!!! It was incredible. Then, we went to a “hide” (tree-house like place) where you can sit and watch the animals at a nearby waterhole. From there, we saw 9 elephants (tusks and all), zebras, giraffes, wart hogs, tons of impala, and loads of birds. It was so neat to see all the animals in their natural habitat. I felt like I was filming a Discovery Channel documentary with my eyes, and suddenly understanding where the inspiration was stored in making a movie like the Lion King. It was just amazing. But, better than anything else, it was the first time for everyone on the Tholulwazi team to go a South African game park! This was such a great boundary to cross, as going to reserves is typically difficult for local Zulu people to do if they do not have a 4x4 vehicle or extra money to spend on leisure. For this reason, I think everyone LOVED today and I know I will (but I think everyone will) remember it always. One staff member said one of his proudest moments of his life was today – going to the Tembe – and that he was excited to go home and tell his mom he had seen the animals up close. To me, that was so special.

Anyhow, this is a long post! I hope you are all doing well, and I can’t wait to hear from more of you. Miss you all!