St Andrew's Link
Friday 9 August 2024
Day 12 - Home Visits in Seville B
Thursday 8 August 2024
Day 12 - Seville B
Our last day in the community was a visit to Seville B which is a Care Point that has only been open for a year!
We woke up at Wits and had a lovely breakfast before heading out to the community. On the way to Seville B we stopped to pick up Eunice and Loneck in Pfunani and then also stopped by the roadside to buy some cabbages and others food items for the community. We had to pick up 12 cabbages! They cost R10 each which is less than 50p each and they were huge! The “boys” helped Audres and Loneck to carry them. Whilst we were there Chris also decided to buy some oranges and apples from a stall to help support the local community and replenish our bus fruit supply. They were the best “oranges” we have had all week!
Before visiting the Care Point in Seville B we made a stop to see the village chief to let him know we were visiting his community. Hands at Work stop there every time they visit to keep him informed and also to keep him onside. Although while in conversation it was evident that he is as concerned about the poorest children and those without identification papers. Seville B has a main road down the middle with South Africans living on one side and Mozambicans staying on the other. There is an increasing amount of people from Mozambique moving into Seville B. During our extended chat with him he challenged us to give him a solution to the problems he faces as the chief of the community and we asked many questions as to the struggles his community faces. The majority of these were around Birth Certificates and Papers.
When we arrived at the Care Point we were given a warm welcome by the Care Workers. We played bubbles with the young children before having a relationship group with the Care Workers. We got the chance to get to know them and hear about the struggles they are currently facing.
Seville B is currently operating out of a locals house as there is no existing purpose built Care Point; this is next to one of the Care Workers home. Hands at Work have purchased some land ready for a new Care Point to be built. The community have been encouraged to clear the land ready for work to begin so that they take ownership of the Care Point, it will then be build in stages! We were fortunate enough to be able to visit the land and it is now in the final stages of gaining permission from the local chiefs. John prayed over the land before we all departed for our Home Visits.
On returning to the Care Point the children had already begun to sing and worship and were taking great pride in showing off their songs - most of which were led by some of the smaller girls! We all prayed together and then ate with the children. The meal consisted of pap, beans and beetroot (which Alice was very excited about!).
After the food we got the parachute out to much excitement from the children. They were fascinated by the colours and enjoyed running under and touching the different colours! The favourite colour was ‘orange’!
After this we got the speaker out of the bus and it was time to “shine” with the children! After many songs led by us the children wanted to thank us by doing a song of their own so we got to watch a very impressive dance display from the children. We then left the hub to return back to Wits.
We reflected on the community and our time there; although new it was one where there was a deep sense of community and care for the children from the Care Workers.
After a quick swim in the freezing pool and a lovely dinner we had our daily debrief with Tyler and Audres, to go over the day’s events and interactions, and share highlights and lowlights. We then all headed to bed.
Blogged by Pippa
Wednesday 7 August 2024
Day 11 - Pfunani Holy Home Visits
Tyler from Hands reminded us that the reason they are called ‘Holy Home Visits’ is that we invite God to join us in them and then we wait for him to show up and be present. This might look like the conversation turning to water and then needing help collecting it so we have in the past helped the Care Giver with this; it might look like a challenging conversation or posing a question and trying to go deeper or unpack it; it might be praying or providing a work of encouragement. Each Holy Home Visit is different and no time limit is put on them.
We went on three ‘Holy Home Visits’ in Pfunani on Tuesday - read about each one below.
Visit 1: Chris W, Matthew and Harry
During our visit to Pfunami today, Chris, Matthew and Harry went on a Holy Home Visit with Angel, Lonic and Tyler. We visited a home where 3 generations of the same family were living - 15 people in total. The grandfather had passed away a year ago. The Grandmother was living with 9 of her own children who ranged in age from her eldest daughter who was 26 to her youngest - the twins who were 7. Her three eldest daughters also had children of their own. Unfortunately none of the fathers of the eldest daughter’s children were living with the family. It appeared that the older children and the grandchildren all had South African papers and so we're able to get a grant (like Child benefit) but the youngest children were not able to get papers because the government would not accept that they were the mothers own children because of her age. The three eldest daughters were all trying to find work but had not been able to find anything so far. The family asked for us to pray that they would be able to find work and that the children would do well in school.
Visit 2: Sally, Ben and Mark
Sally, Ben and me were joined by Eunice, Sharon and Thembi on two visits. The first was to Nomsa’s house where she lives with 3 sons and 2 daughters aged 2-15 years. However, no one was in but Sharon allowed me to take a picture of her outside the home. At the second visit we met with Linsa who was living with her South African boyfriend, a 15 yr old daughter, a 10-yr old son and she also has a 1-month old baby girl. Linsa allowed Sally to hold the baby and even though it was hot by our standards the baby was well wrapped in blankets. The other children were not at home. Linsa said that when she was younger she left school early to look after her siblings and then look after her own children. She left the family home and moved into another house down the road and together with her partner they can stay there as long as they wish. Linsa said that she is unable to get piece work and her partner chooses not to work even though he has South African papers. The family situation sounded familiar to other stories we had heard on other visits. At the debrief later on Sally shared with the team what a privilege it was to hold Linsa baby.
Visit 3; John, Pippa and Adam
Adam, Pippa and John accompanied Audres and Pfunani care worker Pindile on a Holy Home Visit to Gogo Maisi’s home. It was wonderful to walk through the dusty lanes with Audres, back in his home community, meeting people he hadn’t seen for a while. He explained that the eighty year old Gogo (grandmother) is living with, and looking after, her seventeen year old granddaughter, as the child’s mother has gone, partly to live elsewhere, partly to find work. She lives on the same property as her son and daughter-in-law, but there is a tension between them and they have no interest in helping her. Hands at Work have built her a secure two room home on the land, however she receives no grant (money) as she has no official papers. The granddaughter also receives no grant because her mother has failed to complete the necessary paperwork, this means that she often goes to school without uniform, pens or pencils; the local service centre staff are planning to meet the child’s mother and encourage her to fill in the forms, enabling the girl to access grant funds.
When we arrived the gogo wasn’t home but her daughter-in-law, Nzelda, quickly found her and brought her home; she offered us chairs, and we all sat while she talked to Audres about her situation.
In addition to her home and family issues, the Gogo has recently been unwell; she had visited the local clinic and been given a referral to the hospital, HAW had helped her to get to the appointment but on arrival was told there was no doctor available! However, the hospital did give her some medication and she has been feeling a little better in recent days. At the end of the visit we all sat on the ground with the Gogo and her daughter-in-law and we prayed with them - for safety and protection; for healing of relationships; for health and wellness; and for the access to grants that the granddaughter is entitled to. What a privilege to sit with this lady for a short while.
Day 11 - Pfunani Community
7 But me, I’m not giving up.
I’m sticking around to see what God will do.
I’m waiting for God to make things right.