Durban Adventure

Hi all. I hope this blog finds you well. Jim and I have just returned from a 5 day trip to Durban (a big city about 4.5 hours away from our home in Manguzi). We left last Saturday afternoon and just returned Wednesday night. We had to make the trip for a gender advocacy conference hosted by Oxfam in Durban, but the workshops were only 2 days long - so we went up early to make a little vacation out of it.

When we drove into Durban, we were like kids in a candy store - surrounded by malls and restaurants. We have been in rural Manguzi for the last 2 months, and we were so spoiled by the modern material world we found in Durban. We had a great time - staying at a fun hostel called the Hippo Hide and taking trips to the mall and to different restaurants. We also saw the movie 300 at the IMAX. It was a nice break from the rural life.

We checked into the hotel for the conference on Monday night, and it was an awesome place. It was a little dated, but it was right on the beach. The food and accommodation were included for all conference participants, and the restaurant there was pretty delicious. We were definitely enjoying ourselves. Tuesday morning the workshop didn't start until 10:30, so we had the morning to lay on the beach and soak up this great life. The sessions were really informative and challenging. The facilitators really posed tough questions for us as Program Coordinators, and I think we still have a long way to go to become "gender aware" and "gender active." But it was great to discuss issues surrounding gender that we have with our own staff and the communities we serve.

We headed home on Wednesday night, and worked yesterday and today. I am currently working on a 2-year funding proposal from AVERT UK, an excellent HIV/AIDS organization. The report is a lot of work, but it is fun to plan for two years of Tholulwazi programs and to be part of the creative process. Jim and I are so blessed to work at Tholulwazi and are learning an unbelievable amount about running a business, budgets, proposals, management, conflict resolution, and the Zulu culture. It really is an amazing experience for us, and we have to always remember to be grateful.

We hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and an even better Thanksgiving! (Luckily, we have a few American friends who are really great cooks - and we are planning to have a feast as well).

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

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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!

Our House

This is going to be a quick post because Jim needs to use the computer, but I just wanted to put up a few pictures of our lovely house! I really love it, and appreciate it now more than ever. Last weekend, Jim and I went to Swaziland because we didn't have work on Monday. We left Saturday morning in a bit of a rush and arrived in Swaziland at dusk - after some car troubles, a long line at the border post, and some directional issues. We took quick showers at the Backpackers where we were staying and headed out for a dinner at Mandelelala's. It was such a treat to go out to dinner because Manguzi doesn't really have any proper restaurants.

The next day we toured the Ezulwini Valley (Valley of Heaven). It is a beautiful place - surrounded by mountains on all sides and overgrown with vibrant flowers. We spent the day visiting craft shops and the Swazi Cultural Village. In the village, we had lunch on a porch nestled at the bottom of a lush mountainside. It was a beautiful view. We ordered cheeseburgers, and as soon as mine was brought out, a monkey jumped on our table out of nowhere! In a split second he stole my burger and jumped into a nearby tree. It was crazy!!! Even though I was a little traumatized, I was glad the monkey stole it because it had mayo on it - and I hate mayo. As a result, I reordered the burger and got a plain one - safe from the monkey's paws. After lunch, we went for a quick dip in the pool of a beautiful double waterfall and then watched some traditional Swazi dancing. We headed back to Manguzi on Monday, but this time we were three. On Saturday, we met an 18-year old girl from Germany who was backpacking for 6 months through sub-saharan Africa alone! I couldn't believe she was doing it being so young and by herself! Anyhow, she was having some difficulty with transport and happened to be going to the same area as me and Jim - so we gave her a lift.

When we were about 30 minutes from our house, we received a one-day old text message saying that our house flooded. I couldn't believe it! How did our house flood? Was everything ruined? Would we have to buy the whole house? How were we going to afford the damages? The questions were racing through my mind. Soon enough we made it to the house and looked inside. By the grace of God, there was almost no damage. Apparently we left a drain plugged and a tap twisted on (but when we left the water wasn't running, so we hadn't noticed). But, when the water did come back on - the sink filled up and spilled over, until the water had soaked the carpet in our bedroom, filled the kitchen floor (nearly 2 in. high) and began to spill out the front door. Our landlord (who usually lives 4 hours away) just happened to be in Manguzi and he noticed the water coming out the front door. He called a mutual friend of ours, and asked him to come over. Dr. Mark Blaylock, Colin (Jim's best friend and mentor here), and Bongani (a volunteer at Tholulwazi) come over immediately and cleaned up all the water! They mopped up everything and moved a lot of our furniture around to minimize the damages! It was so incredibly nice of them and so fortunate for us. So, after the entire flood - we only lost a few books and we had to tear up the bedroom carpet - which we will be replacing soon. Moral of the story - thank God for all your blessings, don't be ungrateful for what you have, thank God for great friends, don't leave the tap on!

Jim's Little Accident

Another fun week down in Manguzi...and only a few scars to prove it! For those of you concerned readers at home, don't worry Jim did not get in a fight with the locals and we have not resorted to domestic violence just yet. Last week, Jim was riding in the back of a truck out in the bush. He was having a great conversation with one of our staff members - Nkosi - when BAM all of a sudden Jim's head collided with a thick tree branch filled with briars. His eye was bleeding like crazy and the branch managed to knock him over and rip up his shirt. It was a pretty bad hit, but luckily the TU team was on their way back to the Centre and they dropped Jim at the hospital. Fortunately, Jim and I are friends with almost all the doctors at Manguzi Hospital, and he was seen very quickly (no line at all for Mr. Lefler). When I arrived to the hospital to check on him, I could hardly believe it. The area all around his eye was ripped (a chunk of skin was just sort of dangling by the crease in his eye). But thank God his eye was not damaged. A doctor friend of ours named Allen stitched him up and assured him that the accident was a good thing because "chicks dig guys with scars." And, I have to be honest, he does look pretty tough...ha! Anyway, I took the picture above the night of the accident to put it in the blog, but I can honestly say he is looking a lot better now.

As for the rest of our adventures, we went to the beach this weekend and it was beautiful. We watched the sunset next to a lake full of hippos - definitely Africa-style. The work week has begun, and Jim and I may have started a new tradition this morning. We found a restaurant in Manguzi (one of three) that serves an incredible breakfast! There is just one woman who works there, and she only has one table to serve people. But, you can tell she is very proud of her place, and she is a very good cook. We woke up early and had breakfast at 6:30 at Bongiwe's. We are thinking of becoming regulars for her, as it was such a nice change to "go out to eat" and it was something Jim used to do with his friends in high school (eating at the Breakfast nook before first period).

Anyhow, I have to get to work. I'm not sure if I have already written this, but you all must check out the Tholulwazi website at www.tuproject.org It is a great site, and I think you will all really enjoy the pictures and learning more about what Jim and I have been up to in Africa. Also, there is a page that shows how you can help...so if any of you can do anything - please let us know. Have a great week!

Busy Busy

This weekend marks the end of our first week as Program Coordinators of Tholulwazi, and things are going pretty well. This past week was highlighted by many successes including a plan for trying to get more funding for our Home Based Care Programme, completion of the first week of our life skills course (which had 95% or higher attendance everyday) and the completion of the Tholulwazi website. You can check this out at www.tuproject.org

It is an incredible site. Although we work with a population ravaged by poverty, unemployment, and HIV/AIDS - Tholulwazi is so alive and vibrant. I think the site is a true testament to the energy of the TU staff, Home Based Care workers, and the people we serve. I hope you all have a second and take the time to really look through this website.

As far and Jim and me, married life gets better and better. We are really getting settled in our new house and are starting to get a "routine." Cooking dinner proves to be a little adventure each night, but we have had some great homemade chicken & vegetable soup, veggies and lentils, hotdogs and corn on the cob, and of course some breakfast for dinner. It's funny the things you learn about each other after you get married. For instance, Jim LOVES meat and I never noticed it before, but I can go a few days without eating meat. I like it, but I don't make a huge effort to buy it at the grocery store and cook it. Well, that is having to change a bit now that we are married and cooking almost every night. Luckily, we do have some great friends here in South Africa who are great cooks - and we have enjoyed some delicious braiis and chili meals lately. But, in the absence of an invite to a dinner party, I am now looking at www.epicurious.com quite a bit and getting delicious recipes and ideas to spice up the dinners.

In addition to our cooking adventures, Jim and I have been having some car adventures, as well. On Thursday, Jim drove the car to Jozini (about an hour away from Manguzi) and didn't think to get gas before he left. By the time he realized he needed gas there was only one station he could reach, and of course they were out of gas. The mechanic told Jim that Jozini was about 38 km down the road, and that maybe he would make it. Jim got in the car, and asked God to let his gas last 38 km. Sure enough exactly 38 kms later, Jim ran out of gas. Unfortunately, the mechanic underestimated the trip to Jozini by a few kms and Jim was stuck on the side of the road! Guess he should have asked God for just a few more kms. Anyhow, luckily a nice old Zulu man picked Jim up and drove him to get gas.

Later that day, after Jim had come back from Jozini, we were driving a friend home after work. She lived way out in the bush, so we were traveling on the sand when the car started smoking. At first I thought it might have just been the sand coming out of the car, but sure enough it was smoke. The car overheated just before we reached her house. Again, luckily there were a ton of really nice people around who helped us figure out what was wrong and got us some water. We filled up the little water tank thing (that was of course completely empty) and headed out.

Two days later, we drove to the beach and still hadn't gotten any antifreeze for the car (we didn't even now if there was antifreeze here!) and of course, the car overheated again. Fortunately this happened right when we got to the beach, and before heading home we went to the gas station and got antifreeze put in. Hopefully this is the end of our car drama for a little while.

Finally, just to help all of you understand a little bit of what it is like here in Africa, I want to try to share an "African Anecdote" each week. This week, we were talking with our friend Colin who is a doctor at Manguzi Hospital, and last week a woman came into the emergency room and wasn't helped right away. She proceeded to squat down in the middle of the room and urinate on the floor. Everyone in the room was getting upset at her by this point until as a complete surprise a baby popped right out of her onto the emergency room floor! Crazy.

Hope you all have a great week, and know that Jim and I miss you. God Bless.