Reflections - One week on!!

Having been back in the UK for a week - Here are our reflections on our time in South Africa.

Oliver

From visiting the poor and vulnerable people in South Africa I have learnt that western people are very weak, while the poor and vulnerable are very strong, physically, mentally and emotionally. This is something that as a culture we struggle with, we fall at the first hurdle, they don’t(!) they pick themselves up and try again.

The part of the trip that will stay with me forever is the joy that was seen among the faces of the children (and the care workers) at Mafambisa as we decided to teach them some holiday Club songs and dances, something so simple provided so much joy to them.

From the trip I will take away the fact that wounded and vulnerable people still care. This may be for others (seen through the care workers hard work at the care points) or the fact that their faith is way stronger than mine yet they are so vulnerable and wounded compared to me.

Hannah

For me, this experience was an intense and incredible one. From it I have taken heart breaking stories as well as some amazing new friends.

For me one of the best parts was the team I was with. I feel like we bonded right from day one and helped one another to grow stronger. I have made friends for life and they have helped to challenge and support me throughout the experience.

I was also struck by the community spirit everywhere we went. The Hub was the first experience of this and I loved being welcomed into the Hands family. It is a family I look forward to returning to in the future. I experienced this close community feel once again when we headed out to the care points in Mafambisa, Share, Pfunani and Mluti. All of these places were run on the generosity and caring of the Care Workers. They came together to help the most vulnerable children without a second thought.

I found the most inspiring thing to be the children and the unwavering joy they showed. They found happiness in the simplest of things. Despite being 'the poorest of the poor' in material items, they were the richest in happiness and faith.

I found myself fully immersed in all aspects of life in South Africa and I feel that the most important part for me, was the way that my heart was opened up to God and his work.

I want to thank everyone at the Hub for welcoming us all and making us a part of the family. A massive thank you to Chris and Rosemary for guiding us and to the team for supporting one another. (Even putting up with me on my very grumpy Sunday!)

Meg

My experience of South Africa has been of admiration in witnessing the joy these vulnerable individuals hold. Despite their desperate situation they continue to smile and laugh, seeking faith to provide this light. It was beautiful to witness the altruism of humankind by seeing people care for one another, as seen between both the care workers and children but also between the children themselves. This experience has taught me to find joy in the smallest of things and helped to cement the gratefulness I feel towards the life I lead.

Vicky

How much god is part of everyone’s daily lives: the care workers and givers, the children and even the workers at Hands. They pray multiple times a day about every little thing and I think it is truly beautiful to see how much faith they have in god to keep them going through life.

I was really struck by how much the wealth of the people varied. The further you get from the main road, the poorer the families are. However you can really tell the difference between a poorer family compared to a wealthier family, even if they’re metres apart. A wealthier family could have stone pillars at the front of their house to show how much money they have whereas a poorer family couldn’t do that. That was something that really hit me whilst being out there.

Our society has developed to want more and more possessions without truly being grateful for them. What we saw in South Africa was that families didn’t have many possessions and if they did, they cherished them greatly no matter what they were. This is something we should all learn from as we have so much to call our own and still don’t seem to be satisfied with it all, yet they have so little and seem so much happier still.

Rosemary

• Centrality of prayer in daily life
• Resilience
• Gratitude to God every minute of every day

Alasdair

  Africa Presented me with an opportunity to see how communities can pull together in the face of adversity.

We heard many harrowing stories during our visit that will stay with me for a long time, and met faces that we won’t forget.

It was great to see how children with literally nothing can find happiness and joy in the smallest of things, a page torn out of a colouring in book for example. And their gratitude for our briefest of visits was huge. In reflection it makes you think about the opportunities we have and take for granted here in the UK and how they would welcome it with open arms.

Clarrie

Going to South Africa has proved to be the greatest experience of my life because it has given me the opportunity to look upon my own life in a different way. This humbling and life-enriching experience has allowed me to become open and vulnerable to my own struggles and weaknesses, as well as facing challenges that have opened my eyes, my heart and my soul. My faith has been both strengthened and challenged and I have been humbled in watching the love that God has for each and every one of us grow in these communities.

It's difficult to put into words what surprised me the most because I would say 'everything'! The simple beauty of life both in and out of the communities is inspiring to see, and the joy that many children have in the small things is infectious. We are told that these communities are broken and vulnerable, but when you go there and experience even a tiny glimpse of their lives, their unconditional love, faith and joy is humbling and overwhelming. The care workers' willingness to give whatever they can, even in the face of their own darkness, was another aspect of this experience that touched me. Their dancing, singing and complete trust in God is admirable and has given me a new perspective on the love and hope that Christ has in us and that we have in him. The memories and stories that I have heard have taught me so much about myself, as well as the diversity of humankind, but have also allowed me to open myself up to ask more questions and think more on my relationship with God.

Finally, I would like to give the biggest thanks to each and every member of the team for travelling with me and supporting me over these past two weeks, which have been the best of my life! But it has been these individuals that have made this possible, and I am proud to have been on this journey with them.

Chris

For me I think, this year, has been about going deeper with Hands; about understanding more about the stories wehear; about being able to follow the stories through and understanding just how fragile and vulnerable these communities are.

As in previous years it is about the joy and the welcome that we receive in the communities, the joy and the faith that supports these people through their tough lives.

And finally for me it is about just how brilliantly the team worked together; how well they confronted the issues; how they took time to think about and consider each of the situations; how well they engaged with the communities; their thirst for this experience; how their faith had grown and the lasting effect that this experience will have upon them and the relationship with the communities that has been created.

DJ

This has been the 8th time I have visited Hands, even after going year after year the care support workers love and care given to the most vulnerable children amazes me.  They are always there for the children, I admire there hard work and determination to look after the children when there is so many obstacles to over come. There own often broken lives, there own day to day struggles. It amazes me the hard work they do to look after the children from collecting water, making a fire, standing over a hot fire in dense smoke to make the children food, feeding the children, talking to them, helping them, visiting them in there homes, caring for them.

Every time I see this I think, and what do I do.................

Also I want to say you to the cupboard; For there hard work fundraising, giving up their time and going to Hands. The team did so well in the community’s they jumped straight in and helped
And it was a pleasure to go with them. Thank you all’

Day 14 - Friday 27th July 2018 - Community Prayer

We met on the veranda of the Hub at 8.00 am for briefing before travelling to Mluti for Community Prayer. More than 40 of the Hands team, plus service centre personnel accompanied us for this monthly event which rotated around the care points. Following prayers for a safe journey and members of the communities, observing “African Time” we eventually set off in convoy.

Once in Mluti we joined in worship and praise songs before introductions from the care workers, who are divided into two groups - cooks and a visiting team. The care point has recently increased in size, as a response to demand: it now caters for 50 children and has recruited a number of new care workers.

Carolyn then shared some thoughts with us, firstly focussing on qualities associated with the letters of Mluti.
Multiply
Loving
United with each other as they go out
Teachable, touchable
Image of God for us all

Imitating Christ in serving others.

Kara then prayed for us before Carolyn shared a thought which she based upon 1 Timothy 6. 7,8

7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

Carolyn illustrated with a couple of questions that no one can actually take anything with them when they die and no baby is ever born with any clothing on. Therefore the scripture was correct we come into the world with nothing and we leave with nothing.

Carolyn emphasized the teaching of Jesus, that we should be content with what we have, but also we should take the opportunity that God has given us, not allow our lives to be ruled by earthly possessions. Rather that we should fight the good fight of faith and follow the example of Jesus. 

As community prayer came to an end we organized ourselves into small groups ready to go on holy home visits. We visited a variety of homes between us and spent time talking and praying with the Care Givers. 

Water is a struggle as it is delivered by truck once a fortnight and has to be carried up to the homes and stored in a variety of containers. 

There is little regular work available, however some manage to find some ‘piece work’. Many of the people are refugees from Mozambique and this adds to the complications as they do not have South African papers. 

Having returned from Home visits we had chance for a quick bite to eat before the children turned up from school. 

We spent time skipping, with some very fancy footwork from the children, before it was time for them to eat and us to return to the hub.

With little time to spare we made our way to Kristi and Daytona’s house for our final debrief! Kristi asked each of us to feed back on - “what”; “so what” and “now what”. Each of us recounted the stories that had touched our hearts and Kristi encouraged us to write these down, so that firstly we wouldn’t forget, but mainly so that we could recount these when we got home.

We shared what these stories meant to us and how they had strengthened our faith and also how we would use the experiences that we had had to tell people back home. 

Our time in South Africa is rapidly coming to an end and we went out in the evening for a final meal together as a team with Cat, Daytona and Kristi. And we watched the Lunar Eclipse.

Rosemary and Chris

Day 13 - Thursday 26th July 2018 - Mafambisa

Today was our final day in the community at Mafambisa. It was a chance for us to thank the Care-workers for the work that they do at the care point and in the community, and then to have some final time with the kids playing and celebrating the connections we made with them last week.

When we arrived at Mafambisa we conducted the usual tasks of collecting water and preparing food for the children.




Those of us who visited Linda and her family earlier last week went to see her again to see how the building of their new house was getting on. We were very excited to see that the land had been flattened and the foundation had been set. Whilst we were there, builders which included people from Hands at Work were taking sand up to the foundation from another part of their plot of land as that was the only type of sand that could be used for concrete. We then went back to the community with Linda’s children so they could play and eat with the rest of the children.



Our Care Worker appreciation started with some traditional worship and praise songs, with some words of encouragement led by Rosemary for the group. After e had reminded ourselves of everyone’s names we began our gift to the care workers.

The St. Andrews mobile salon opened for business, giving the care workers massages, moisturising and nail painting accompanied by home made brownies, coke and orange juice. This gave the care workers the opportunity to relax, and emphasised the words of Hands at Work, “we want the care workers to be the hero’s.”

As the children started to arrive we moved our attention from the care workers and onto the children. Hannah had taken the time to blow up a massive ball for the children to play with. Unfortunately the ball didn’t last long as a hole was made rather quickly and despite the attempts to tape the hole up, it still deflated rather quickly. When this happened, we were able to keep them occupied with colouring books, bubbles, singing Shine and Great Great, Brill Brill again and also an energetic game of duck duck goose. Everyone had a fantastic time.

Before we left the care workers handed out some handmade bookmarks which had been made by students at Edward Peake, again these were given by the care workers so they are the heroes.

This evening we took part in Hands bring and share meal, this is where the community at the Hub comes together to share a meal, bringing different elements to share. We contributed pudding, cheese cake and a lemon meringue, again home made. After had a chance to feed back to the community how the visit had affected us and what elements had stood out. Clarrie, Ollie and Hannah fed back for the group talking about the places we had visited and some of the stories that we had heard that had left lasting memories.

The evening finished with a ceilidh, although over here they are more attuned to “barn dance!” Led by Chris. It was a great way to round off what has been a busy but fun day.


AJ and Vicky

Day 12 - Wednesday 25th July 2018 - Pfunani

This morning we had, what could be classed as, a lie-in with breakfast being at 8.00am. Breakfast was much of the same as the day before so it was deliciously cooked. After eating, one of the service team members, Audrey, shared her story of her own involvement with Hands at Work. She revealed she had previously tried to help her community before even becoming part of the Hands-showing her amazing character. Audrey acknowledged how she struggled to juggle the commitment to her own family and also her desire to provide for others, relying on the power of God to help her deal with this struggle. We saw the strength of God through the families members hearts being changed to supporting Audrey and her endeavours to fulfill Gods plan for her. Upon hearing her story, we were re-inspired to continue sharing encouragement with the care workers.

We arrived at Pfunani for the second day and were greeted by the ‘under 5’ care group. We started to help prepare food-Vicky found herself sorting out beans and prepping the butternut squash whilst Clarrie and Meg helped wash up the plates and pots, and all the men attempted to light a fire. 

We didn’t have a very long day within the community today, but we did spend a precious hour re-engaging with the ‘under 5’ group. We noticed that they were a lot more relaxed and comfortable around us, especially seen within Claudia. Yesterday we found her to be in need of attention and occasionally showed moments of aggression, but today she revealed a more calm side of herself. 

Every Wednesday in the Pfunani care-point they have a words of encouragement session, in which the care workers share scriptures, sing songs of praise and pray together-today we got to witness this. We enjoyed getting to know the care workers in this session, something we missed out on yesterday as most of them were absent due to being at a meeting in the local school. Audrey shared a verse from the bible that was to provide encouragement to our group after the events of not being to go to Share yesterday, suggesting it to be in Gods will and that it should only encourage us to fight the frustration we may feel with only Gods blessing, alluding to the idea of never fighting anger with violence. The session also included praise and worship songs, which we all enjoyed. We even found a couple that were familiar to us after hearing them before.

All too soon, we had to leave, to get home in the daylight. We used this time to relax and spend time thinking about all that we have seen and learnt in the past few days. Many of us also took the chance to catch up on sleep! Although we have had an amazing few days in a different environment, we all felt happy to be back at the Hands Village, which is starting to feel like home.

After dinner we reconvened at Daytona and Kristi’s for a long but necessary debrief. We had this chance to off load our experiences and challenges and they helped us once again to understand them. We had any questions that we were left with answered as fully as possible.

Led by AJ we spent the evening baking some delicious treats for tomorrow’s ‘Bring and Share’.
We are all amazed that we have so few days left but are looking forward to making the most our time here.

Hannah and Meg

Day 11 - Tuesday 24th July 2018 - Pfunani

The morning started bright and early at Wits with breakfast arranged for 7:30am, this meant travelling for more 15 minutes from our overnight accommodation to the dining hall and reception, this is mainly across bumpy dirt tracks which seem to send you all over the bus. While travelling to the dining hall we spotted some Impala and Mongeese who ran across in front of us which was a lovely sight to see.

Breakfast consisted of some fresh fruit, yogurt, muesli or a hot option including sweet-chilli bacon and scrambled eggs, all of which was thoroughly enjoyable. We then set off with the intention of returning to the community of Share, where we visited yesterday afternoon. However on our travels we realised that all roads into the community were blocked due to protests over the road surface with locals wanting tarmac roads but the government not paying for them. Due to this we decided that the safest option was to phone the other care point that we planned to visit tomorrow, Pfunani (a well developed care point -‘life centre’- in Welverdine). Audrey, leader of the Hazyview service centre for Hands at Work, made the quick call and found that there was no unrest within the community and therefore it would be safe for us to travel there. This was hard for many of us having said that we would see the care point tomorrow, however we did know that this couldn’t be helped.

We then travelled to Pfunani, where we picked up Audris (a rare male care worker) who brought the keys as well as water barrels. When we arrived at the care point there weren’t any children yet as this was about half past 10 and they usually open up at 11. Although, it wasn’t long before the ‘under 5s’ began arriving. Something that Pfunani has that other communities we have visited haven’t is an ‘Under 5s’ provision. This is very similar to a crèche where the younger children arrive at the life centre around 11 and remain there until their older siblings take them home around 4pm. 

Soon after Patricia (another member of Hands at Work service centre team) arrived, and we had had the chance to play with the younger children we departed for home visits. Rosemary, Vicky and Oliver went with Audrey, while DJ, AJ, Clarrie and Meg went with Patricia and Audris (Chris and Hannah remained at the care point, playing with the under 5s).

Rosemary, Vicky and I visited Gogo Sally and here 2 daughters who lived about a 20 minute walk from the care point (African speed is much slower than what we are used to). The reason that we visited Gogo Sally in particular was because her Granddaughter had recently been to the young leaders programme, run by Hands, at the Somerset care point. Another reason for the visit to Gogo Sally was because of her 22 year old daughter, Penny, who suffers with Epilepsy, this means that Gogo Sally and another of her 5 children, Linda, have to care for her full time. This is a huge strain on Gogo Sally and her daughter as this means that they are unable to do ‘Peace work’ which would allow them to have some form of income. However, despite everything Penny was full of joy and laughter, she was thrilled to see Rosemary and enjoyed time shaking her hand and also insisted that Rosemary prayed for her after singing. She profoundly exclaimed that she had a love for church and God, claiming that since going to church more she is feeling better than before. When we left our visit there were many feelings of love for the family as well as the feeling of joy as she still had such faith and love for Jesus which really put us all to shame.

AJ, DJ, Meg and I went on a holy home visit to go and see a woman named Janita who had strong connections with the care point. She told us that she had 5 children, which meant that there were a lot of names to remember, and that her eldest daughter, Joy (19) had two children of her own. All of her children go to school and enjoy having an education, and she is very happy with where she lives and the community that she feels safe within. She moved to the area about 5 years ago and was given a house by the government after 1 year of living in the community. Her house was relatively small but her plot of land was quite big, which meant that she had started to build another house that was much bigger than the other. She is hoping that, once this house is built, that the girls and her will be able to live in the new house, leaving the older house for her boys. DJ enjoyed a good dance with Janita, only because it was punishment for forgetting her name, and she shared a laugh with all of us. Her faith was very strong and vitally important to her, which showed as she wore a pin badge on her top that represented her as a member of the church community. She asked us to pray for her own strength in finishing her new home, and also that her children succeed at school and in everything that they do. DJ prayed for her, and we all thanked her for allowing us to hear her story. As we travelled back to the care point, we were able to get to know more about Patricia, one of the service centre team members, and Audris, one of the only male care workers currently at Pfunani, who both journeyed with us to the home visit. 

After arriving back from our Holy home visits we were able to spend more time again with the Under 5s. This was great to see how they had already opened up slightly to Hannah and Chris who had spent the morning with them. However we soon learnt due to mattresses and tiredness that there was a chance for a nap for the younger tired children although AJ and DJ also took the opportunity to enjoy a short nap with some of the younger children! After 2:30pm we expected a few more children to arrive as the primary school finishes around this time and they did begin to arrive slowly although it did seem a long time due to the fact that it is a rural community. However they did soon arrive and we managed to get them to play some games with the parachute which was lovely to see as well as enjoying a game of Impala Impala Lion (Duck Duck Goose). We promptly enjoyed some singing and prayer before the food was served, consisting of Pap (a firm favourite with Vicky and Hannah), Cabbage and Chicken feet followed by some quick goodbyes.

We departed from Pfunani at about 4:30pm and travelled back to Wits. As soon as we got back, DJ, AJ, Meg and Chris all decided that they were brave enough to go swimming, whilst the rest of us watched on and laughed. We then quickly got changed and had showers, before travelling to the dining hall about 15 mins away. We shared an amazing meal of chicken, pasta salad, roasted vegetables and green salad, and then a pudding of fruit roulade! We stayed only for dinner, so travelled back to the accommodation centre where we went straight to Audrey’s cabin for our debrief. We all talked about the differences we had noticed between Pfunani and Share, and also something that we saw that challenged us. Audrey told us the stories of some of the children which were very hard to hear, and she also told us more about the nature of the Pfunani and the struggles that this community faces. Alcohol is one of the big issues in the area which means that the streets can become very dangerous, particularly at night. The vulnerabilities that the children face come mainly from their broken and disjointed families, both because the parents had passed away, but because the parents had split up and the father figure was completely absent. This lack of male support means that these families do not have enough money to fee their children, making them vulnerable to disease and malnourishment. The under 5s programme was set up just over a year ago to try and face the problem of serious malnourishment in young children. These children come to the care point earlier than the other children, and are given a simple breakfast of brown porridge, milk and peanut butter to help build up their strength. Finally, Audrey explained that the majority of the families in Pfunani are from Mozambique and therefore do not have any papers, which means that these families cannot access any money or support from the government, making it extremely difficult for them to build a life for their families. This made us all think about our own families and how lucky we are to be surrounded by people who love and care for us, particularly in having a vital father figure at home.

Oliver and Clarrie

Day 10 - Monday 23rd July 2018 - Share and Witz

Greetings from Wits University Field Centre, within Kruger National Park!

For the gentlemen the day began in chapel at 7.00 am with men’s prayers, whilst the rest of us enjoyed a more leisurely breakfast before the Hands Monday Meeting and Prayers for the whole community at 8.00 am. This meeting includes a celebration of birthdays, including Vicky’s upcoming 18th on 6 August! Although a little early, she enjoyed receiving multiple hugs, much clapping and a time of prayer - a special Hands tradition which is carried out with enthusiasm and gusto. We were encouraged to consider the reasons for ‘spiritual dryness’ amongst mission personal, and sang a number of hymns and prayed for the needs of the Hands family, the care points throughout 8 countries and our partner communities in the U.K., USA, Canada and Australia amongst others.

Eventually, soon after 9.30am, we set off for Share, a journey of more than 3 hours which included stops to buy vegetables for the communities we are visiting, and increasingly rugged dirt and sand tracks as we travelled further and further from the Hub. Our minibus was rather full, with our luggage for two nights away; and two Hands volunteers, Audrey and Gugu, accompanying us.

We arrived, with our vegetables, just in time to start preparing the cabbages for lunch, which comprised pap, a bean stew and a vegetable dish based on the cabbage. We were greeted over time by 13 care workers (the care point has 14 in total with more than 60 children registered), ably directed by Promotion their leader; we soon went indoors to share in hilarious introductions, which included forfeits if a tennis ball was dropped, much energetic singing and dancing, and finally a time for prayer.

The younger children soon arrived from school and we became engrossed in a number of games, including bubble blowing, rudimentary French cricket, and much sign language to aid communication. Some of the care workers joined us for the games which was pleasing and encouraging.

I was asked to take Gugu to a taxi point just off one of the main roads. 6 of the care workers joined me for the ride and as soon as they entered the mini bus they all started to sing and dance. They sang loud and with great enthusiasm, they where singing clapping stamping whistling and shouting. We had the windows down and their African rhythm was reverberating around the minibus and I wish I could of kept on driving as I didn’t want the amazing sounds and songs to stop. It was definitely one of my highlights whilst being in Africa. I would choose to drive with the ladies singing than the radio any day. After we had dropped Gugu off we made the return journey back to the care point, I purposely drove slowly to take the singing in as much as I could. On our return Rosemary could hear us long before she could see us, the van was visibly moving with the dancing that was going on.

When we got back the lunch was ready, Clarrie, Meg and Vicky served the lunch starting with the youngest children, who firmly refused the cabbage dish but fortunately Clarrie was able to start to dispense the huge bowl’s contents once the slightly older children got to the front of the queue! Whilst the children where getting their lunch I noticed one of the care workers was emptying the stone sink by using a plate to scoop the water out, she told me it was blocked. Once we got the water out I removed the waste pipe off the bottom to see if that was blocked which it wasn’t, she explained to me where the waste pipe went to which was about 25meters away in the vegetable patch. Me and Chris dug down to find the pipe. Once we found the pipe I found some old fence wire which I used as a improvised drain rod. I pushed the wire up about 2 meters which resulted in a awful goo and stench coming out the pipe followed by good flow of waste water. The care workers where very grateful, this left me thinking how long had it been blocked? A simple task made a difference. If I hadn’t seen her bailing the water out I would never of known, how long would they of struggled with this?

All too soon it was time to say our farewells to the Share community for the day as we needed to journey to the edge of Kruger Park for our accommodation. With the field Centre almost in sight, we spotted two elephants just inside the boundary fence; needless to say Chris completed a swift three-point turn in order that we could take some very close up photographs. Once at the Centre restaurant, as darkness descended well before 6.00 pm, Audrey began our day’s debrief before dinner was served - delicious salads, beetroot, samp and beef curry followed by hot chocolate pudding and custard. We continued our discussions after being extremely well fed; we were deeply moved by the stories of three people associated with the Share care point which prompted us to pray for the troubled individuals before seeking out our accommodation in complete darkness!

In the midst of Kruger we are now enjoying a few games of cards before reaching the 10.00pm curfew and our bunk beds!

DJ and Rosemary

Day 9 - Sunday 22nd July 2018 - Day Off - Kaapsahooop

This morning started by going to church at St George’s Church, which is the Anglican parish church for White River. The curate gave the address and talked about our dependence as a society on social media, how life had become faster as a result. She went on to reflect that we are willing to spend many hours on our phone, doing email, responding to chat, and yet sometimes we cannot find time to spend even 2 minutes with God.

 

 

 

 

Church over and we headed off to Kaapsahoop, which is an ancient mining village at the top of a hill. The Village has many colourful wooden houses, several craft shops and a small market.

Having parked the van we went on a walk to a nearby waterfall, this involved scaling down a steep rocky slope into a wooded valley. Then up another short valley to the bottom of the waterfall. Lots of pictures were taken before we scrabbled back out of the ravine to the Village, where we visited the shops and market, before having pancakes at the pancake house.

 After dinner, we climbed up through the strange rock formations to the radio station at the top of the hill. The view from here was incredible as you could see for miles in every direction. Pictures were taken before we made our way back to the bus and back to the Hub for beans on toast, scrambled egg and sausage.

 After tea we made our way to the Wendy House for a brief session to re-orientate ourselves for the week ahead. We reflected on last week, the children we had met, the houses we had visited, the care workers we had walked along side. Mafambisa, despite Siyathuthuka existing before it, is a fairly immature care point, the care workers are still learning, and the number of care workers is still small. Tomorrow we head north to “Share”, which is a more mature and more established care point with more care workers. “Share” is also a lot more rural and so we are looking forward to a different experience. We spent a few moments in silent prayer as we brought before God those things that had made us happy, those that had made us angry, and those that had upset us in Mafambisa last week.

Vicky and Chris