Tuesday, July 12, 2016 was "Thank You to MCERF Day!
None of this would be possible without you.
Tuesday ended up being a very interesting day. Work continued outside, and great progress was made, although, as is often the case, everyone was feeling a bit of a rush by day's end, since the units are being installed on Thursday and Friday, and we knew that Wednesday would be taken up with our trip to Soweto.
On the outside --
On the inside, I thought I would work on the blog, which I have been shamelessly behind with, as you will notice. BUT--here came Mama Ellen to do traditional beading with us--so that we can look like the Wot-if Trust women!
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| Mama Ellen says the one in this picture has ended up looking like the Italian flag! |
Out Lila, who was all Miss Professional Presentation yesterday, was quite sick today, so, as she says, she learned to bead and found ten new African mothers to take care of her!
Just as I was making progress, more excitement happened. I got a chance to go tot the Methodist church to meet the two pastors and talk with them about some ways that we might be have my Methodist church in Pocahontas, Arkansas, partner with them. A member of the church who is a contractor stopped by to see what is going on here, and he said he would drive me over and introduce
me if I could walk back. My new friend Kuhle Manqeyi said he would be glad to go, so we headed out.
We were very fortunate--Rev. Lekeka, the Minister for the Diepsloot Methodist Church and the President of the Young Men's Guild, and Rev. Nombula, the Circuit Youth Coordinator, were both at the church. They spent a long time taking me around to see everything they are doing. I don't have pictures because I didn't want to slow us down or be too intrusive at this point. The church has a HIV testing a support program, with counselors on site ,and they also have a social justice support office with a lawyer on the premises. We saw women knitting quietly in the sun, meeting with their groups, and we saw families waiting to meet with support counselors and get assistance.
We went to the church itself, which is quite a bit like the Moravian Churches in Alaska, with one very large open space that can be divided up with movable chairs so the space can be used for meetings, classes, meals, etc. We also looked at three large buildings which used to be used as parsonages but are now closed up and need to have extensive maintenance. If funds and assistance were available, these buildings have potential tenants lined up to lease them, but raising funds is very difficult.
There are also at least three schools--a math and science school, a computer skills school with adult and youth programming, and a primary school and creche. School is on vacation this week, but there were students around. We walked across a very large field that was previously used for soccer and rugby, but it is dried out and mostly not in use. There are very new public bathrooms which have been vandalized and can not be used. We talked abut how hard it is to build a sense of responsibility to care when so many people have so little. Security has to be planned anytime anything new is built.
Then we went to what I would describe as a sewing business incubator: .http://beautifulthings.co.za/
Women were working in a large room with excellent sewing equipment, making leather bags. Kuhle was just as surprised as I was--he said he never knew this was there! I talked with Nic, the man in charge, and he put a bag away for me and promised he would bring it to the Father Louis Blondel Centre on Thursday.
Here is my new bag, which has just arrived:
The picture does not do it justice! Nic brought other bags, so we are shopping again. The women here at the FLBC said that these bags are sold in malls and the casino for tripe the price we paid, which was about $60 USD.
When we were walking back to the office I met a young white man in a truck (I mention white many because they are here, but in small numbers.) He runs a food collection and distribution operation. The shocking part of our conversation was that he says that they feed 4000 people a day.
We agreed that the most important thing will be to email each other when I get home so that we can come up with a small project between churches, probably connected too our kids.
Kuhle and I walked back through Extension 10, which is much more settled than Extension 1, where we are working. It has more space and more government houses, with shacks built in between. Unlike Extension 1 it has electricity.
Back at home here at the center I finally had lunch--it was after 3:00 here, and then I did a bit more beading and then we were all very tired!
Quite a day overall!
While I am writing about friends and neighbors, I can't say enough about the welcome we have gotten from the Father Louis Blondel Center and the Wot-if? Trust. The Wot-if? Trust's "focus is on helping emerging and small enterprises to grow and become sustainable, ensuring gender equity and giving the youth hope and opportunities for the future." The following programs are either hosted, supported or facilitated by the Trust:
Diepsloot Agricultural Forum
Diepsloot Business Chamber
Women's Empowerment Program
Business and Personal Skillls Training
Fil, Media and Technology Initiatives
The Jane Goodall Roots and Shoots Programme
Youth Leadership Development
Math and Science Programmes
Entrepreneur Development
Small Business Support Servies
Business Modeling and Coaching
Community Events
The Social Good Summit
NPO Support
Diepsloot Connection.
A lot going on--a great place with a dedicated staff!
You can find more about the Wot-If? Trust at https://facebook.comwotiftrust
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