Happy Halloween

Just wanted to drop a line to all you blogger fans out there. Another week has managed to fly by, and Jim and I continue to really enjoy our work and time here. Last weekend, we had the wonderful opportunity to attend a retreat for Christian medical professionals in Mkuze (about 2 hours away). The weekend was held at a beautiful lodge, and we camped - which was really fun. It really served as a great way for Jim and me to meet new people and grow in our faith. We got back to Manguzi on Sunday afternoon and did a little work in preparation for the new work week. Over the course of last week and this week, we have been quite busy with donor visits. Last week, Annabel and Pete of AVERT UK traveled a long way to visit us at TU, and this week Mr. Vusi Khoza of Oxfam Austrailia drove up from Durban for a visit. We had a wonderful time and learned a great deal from both donors. These visits are extremely helpful in further developing and improving Tholulwazi, as well as teaching Jim and me so much about non-profit management. We are incredibly lucky to be receiving such valuable experiences.

Life outside of work continues to go pretty well too. For the past 3 weeks, we have not had running water and our rain tank has gotten quite low - but last night, the taps turned on. It was great to have it, as it has been extremely inconvenient without it. But, we are managing, and really you start to adjust to nearly anything. Anyway, just say a few prayers for the water. The rest of the week should go by as usual - we have to buy food parcels and pack them on Friday in preparation for the Monday distribution. I also have to write a 12-month report to Absa Foundation (one of our funders), a new proposal for 2008, and a 2-year proposal to AVERT. I have been working on these things for a little while now, but I really want to get them done soon so I can start spending some time outside of Tholulwazi shadowing the doctors at the Hospital.

K, gotta run. Work is about done for the day, and Jim and I are going to go jogging before dinner. We hope and pray you are all doing well, and please drop us an email if you have a second. We love keeping in touch with everyone from home.

A few people have asked me to post ways YOU can get involved with the work Jim and I are doing in South Africa. So, here are a few things we need help with:

Database Design Assistance: None of the current TU staff has the skill set to design a database that would allow us to keep track of the many orphans in our care as well as our home based care volunteer activities. Currently we use a paper filing system that is laborious and disjointed. It would make an enormous difference to our organization if someone were willing to design such a database for us.
Playground Equipment: We would like to create a safe and fun place at the TU Centre for children to play after school so that they are not vulnerable in the hours between leaving school and returning home for dinner.

2nd Vehicle: TU is currently operating all its many projects using only one vehicle. All employees are allocated specific days and times to use the vehicle for their programs. If we had a second vehicle we would be able to do far more on any given day.
Electricity!: Electricity from Eskom continues to be our biggest challenge. Without electricity, we are confined to paper systems, food can not be refrigerated, HIV videos can not be shown, faxes can not be sent, we can not email or do a myriad of normal organizational activities. It hinders our every-day activities continuously.
Creche/Daycare: We plan to open a small education based creche for orphan and vulnerable children who are too young for school. We currently do not have specific funding for such a project so any donations of books, children's tables and chairs, art materials, puzzles, and toys would be greatly appreciated.

Donatations from the United States can be sent through Camp

Tax deductible donations can be made through Umbono, a 503-1c organization in the United States. I will make these details available as soon as I get a hold of them.

Financial donations can be made directly to SA via:
Tholulwazi UzivikeleABSA BankAccount No. 4066314041Branch No. 632005Swift Code: ABSAZAJJ
Tholulwazi Uzivikele is a registered non profit organization(Reg no 015-411 NPO)Public Benefit Status number: 930021528

This account is fully audited and has signatories comprising of hospital staff members and key community leaders.

Other great ways to help:
We are always in need of the following basic items:
Households Items:
Food
Blankets
Clothing
Toys
Shoes
Baby care items
Toothbrushes
HIV Educational Resources: Books, training materials, DVDs, movies, tv series etc.

...Ok, so there are a few ways you can get involved with Tholulwazi Uzivikele and help the desperately impoverished community of the KwaNgwanase area of South Africa. I hope you are all doing well. Time is flying for Jim and me. We are working today (Saturday) because we have a great group of visitors from Concord, NC here in Manguzi. So, we will be taking them out to do some home visits in the bush - to see how the people are living first hand. While we are out we will also be distributing food parcels to the most needy families we encounter.
Today's busyness is representative of this whole month. Jim and I have so much going on with work and with outside commitments (bible studies, etc). But, everything we are doing is really exciting, and we are really enjoying working hard.
As the mangoes get plumper and redder and the rains begin to fall here in Manguzi - we continue to miss all of you back home. Love to all.

Trick or Treat

g,
Hi all. It has been a little while since I last posted, so I wanted to just take a quick second to write a bit about what is going on with Jim and me these days. Work has gotten more and more busy every day, and Jim and I are starting to find ourselves working quite long hours. But, we don't mind as we love the work we are doing and can usually rest assured that our efforts do in fact save people's lives.

But, we still have time for a little play (see picture above). A few weekends ago, Jim and I went with some friends out to a beautiful desolate horse ranch, and went to a beach called Black Rock from there. It was such an incredible place - with the roaring Indian Ocean, distant whales on the horizon, and great paths for walking. It was a wonderful, relaxing day.

Sadly, it has been a few days since things have been so relaxing because Jim has been pretty sick. He has had four different fevers (all of which have broken), muscle aches, and gastro issues. I think he is finally on the mend, but you never can tell with this type of sickness. I think the lab is going to run some more tests on him - and hopefully that will lead us to getting some medicine and feeling better. In the meantime, we have spent lots of time in our house – working on Tholulwazi stuff, reading, and enjoying a few Smallville episodes (courtesy of a Nielsen Family Care Package). I have also had time to plan our Christmas holiday. Jim and I unfortunately will not be able to return to the US for the break, but instead we are taking a 2200km roadtrip down the coastline of South Africa from Manguzi to Capetown. The drive should take 3-4 days with a good amount of stopping, and we are bringing tents to camp along the way. I am really excited about the trip, and can’t wait to see more of this incredible country.

But, the excitement of this trip still doesn’t change the fact that I am really going to miss home over the holidays. It will be the first holiday I have spent away from my family, and I am going to miss our time together, our traditions, and all the craziness that comes along with family holidays. But, I guess it is part of working abroad and part of growing up.

Speaking of holidays, I hope you all enjoy Halloween. Sadly, SA doesn’t celebrate this great holiday. I really love dressing up and eating (I mean) giving out candy to trick-or-treaters…but I guess this year I’m just gonna miss out. So, have a spooktacular Halloween and eat a reese cup for me!