November 9, 2008 Update

I had a refreshing experience in South Africa with my mom a couple weeks ago. We were able to visit Cape Town and part of Kruger Park-such a change from life in Zimbabwe! It was also a wonderful blessing to have some time with my mom and to receive her special deliveries (notes from friends and family and donations for the orphanage). When I arrived in Harare, the Mapongas were there to greet me and take me to the orphanage, but first we had to make a few stops for groceries, etc. on the way. Grocery shopping is always interesting - seeing who has what and at what prices... Then we continued on our journey to Masembura, less than an hour from Harare. After unpacking my luggage, and meeting everyone at the Maponga home, we went down to the orphanage. All the children were standing in a line holding colourful signs when we arrived. I had no idea what they were doing, I thought it was some sort of activity that they do every evening, until I got out of the truck and heard them singing a song with my name in it – and the colourful signs were a welcome greeting for me! I was quite overwhelmed... Soon I was introduced to each child: 3 girls and 6 boys. Then we kept singing and dancing for a while. The next day I sorted some of the donations for the orphanage before lunch. Then I had two of the girls who live with the Mapongas help me attempt to make balloon animals from some of the balloons that were donated. We were a sight! They were quite contorted and we were in hysterics whenever they popped! Later Mai Maponga came in to go through the donations with me. We had so many beautiful dresses, lace, ribbon, thread, balls, toys, balloons – it was such a blessing to be a part of delivering all of these to the kids! THANK YOU to everyone who helped! Since there are only 3 girls at the orphanage right now, the Mapongas agreed to help me distribute the other dresses to other orphans in the community. (Because of the selection process for the orphanage, they are quite familiar with the needs in the surrounding community.) Since I wasn’t staying at Masembura very long, they said we would do it whenever I come back, so that I can take pictures and see more of the surrounding community.
The next day I came back to Sanyati, and we loaded donations for the Baptist Seminary in Gweru and the orphanage into the Maponga’s truck. Then, I rested for a couple days before heading off to Denda Clinic. This clinic is in a very isolated area and is severely lacking in resources. The staff there continues to trudge through despite the many inadequecies; they were an inspiration to me! I stayed with a nurse (Sister Nyama), her young sister (Joyce, 16), and her nephew (Genius, 14). There wasn’t a mattress for me, but I did have my own room with an examination table to sleep on. That was actually quite a pleasant surprise, because when I first arrived they told me that they should have brought a mattress for me. Then I was thinking, “Great, I’m going to be on the floor and rats are going to get tangled in my hair.” So when I saw the exam table, I was pretty sure that, although it wouldn’t be the most comfortable, at least the rats wouldn’t get tangled in my hair! (And I never even saw any rats while I was there.) I saw lots of patients with Sister Nyama and helped the nurse aides with wound care (mainly from scotch cart incidents). There used to be both running water and electricity in this community, but not anymore. There is a solar panel that the clinic staff uses to keep the clinic phones and batteries charged. The vaccine refrigerator is gas-powered. The artesian well on the clinic site has very warm, salty water that is not ideal for drinking. So, I went with Sister Nyama on a few days to collect water from a protected well a little less than a kilometre away. The water from this well was still much more salty than I would have liked, but clean and safe were good enough for me! I had gotten quite used to cold water during my stay in South Africa and my time in Sanyati, so it was an adjustment to warm-ish water for the week.
One day I went with the Environmental Health Technician to do some health education in the community. We went on his motorbike (donated by WHO) to an even more rural area between the Denda Clinic and the next clinic over. About 40 people came to the session, which I thought was pretty good for a meeting taking place under a tree in the middle of a desert. He was a little disappointed though, and said that often over 100 people will come to his sessions, but he thought lots of people were out collecting food from donating agencies at the time of this meeting. He told me about a few of the people in the crowd, and how he especially appreciated the support of the local traditional healer and spirit medium who were there. Since both of these people still have such a strong influence in the community, the people are more likely to accept the information presented if these influential people embrace the new information. After the meeting we had lunch with a local family, and I also played a little football/soccer with the kids (with a plastic bag/string soccer ball). We also found a little store that had electricity AND Coca-cola! One of those is special, but to find both of them together was a very special treat! There was also a group of people gathered at the store next door watching what is likely to have been the only television in the area. Then we continued our journey back to Denda Clinic (I only had to get off the bike a few times to go through river beds, etc.). The next day, after our time at the clinic, Sister Nyama and I walked to the Baptist deacon’s home. They welcomed us with rice (!) and tea before walking me around and showing me each of the buildings that comprised their home. The main house had four bedrooms and a sitting area. The other buildings were the thatched-roof kitchens, the grass bathroom, Blair toilets, and the granary, where they store and dry the maize until they are ready to use it for sadza. On Sunday, we went to the local Baptist church. They asked me to speak, which I wasn’t exactly prepared for. I’m not even sure if my interpreter understood what I was trying to say. (Being in such a rural area, the people are not used to speaking as much English...especially with my Southern accent.) The front of the church is virtually nonexistent. The church is a cinder-block structure, but the front and one of the sides are basically missing - a stark reminder of the situation here and the serious lack of resources. Despite the circumstances, everyone was eager to share, sing and learn from the Word.
On Monday I came back to Sanyati. It took longer than it should have, due to some technical difficulties, but we made it back to the mission station eventually. I came back to the administrator’s home and resettled here (in other words, unpacked and repacked, since I’m living from a suitcase). I just relaxed for a couple days with Mai Mtisi and Tanaka (their 8 y/o son) at home. She is a teacher, and they haven’t been working much lately. I’ve also started helping Tanaka with his English. On Thursday, I went back to the hospital. There are still a few departments that I haven’t spent time in yet, and so I decided to start somewhere new. After chapel, I talked to the matron about going to OI for a while. OI stands for Opportunistic Infections; this is where people go for pre/post HIV test counselling and follow-ups. They also help coordinate home based care givers, who are volunteers in the community. These dedicated ladies are essentially hospice workers in rural villages. Tonight I had dinner with the Byler’s who were celebrating their son’s birthday. It was a special treat to have cold tea and homemade pizza (even chocolate cake!). The electricity is finally back, another treat after the week at the clinic and then a week here without it! I watched Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien, and now I’m watching Crossing Jordan...almost like being home!