Day 3 - Mafambisa Community

Just before 11am we set off in the bus for Mafambisa. We were giving service centre workers Virginia, Prudence and Eunice a lift and we spent the journey getting to know each other. The combination of speed bumps and pot holes made for a very bumpy journey.  Before too long we arrived. It was exciting to look out of the bus window and suddenly realise that I recognised the building I was looking at. It was the distinctively decorated children’s shelter. 

We received a warm welcome from the care workers who were excited to see us and it was incredible to see that they could remember some of the returning team members. As we arrived later than usual all the food preparation had already been completed so we started our day at the community with a relationship group. We got the opportunity to introduce ourselves to the care workers and the chance to hear some of their stories as well as pray for each other as a group. 

At the care point there is a new set of toilets being built, funded by recent fundraising in Biggleswade. Some of the team volunteered to get stuck in and get involved in mixing the concrete for the base of the block. While this was happening the rest of the team kept the under 5’s entertained with bubbles and a balloon ball creating great excitement, lots of fun and laughter.

Around 2pm the older children started to arrive from school and join in the with the fun of playing with bubbles and some tennis balls. A while later all the children gathered in the shelter at the care point where we started to sing and dance all together. 

Before eating the children all recited the Lord’s Prayer in siswati. We joined them in eating lunch of pap, veg and potatoes in sauce. It was very tasty but eating with your hands caused us all to slow down in an attempt not to burn our fingers. 

After eating we helped to wash and clear up before having to return to the Hub so the service centre workers could return home safely before dark. After dropping them back we all popped over to the local supermarket to pick up some snacks and essential foods including Chris’ marmalade for breakfast.

We then returned back to the Hub where we enjoyed a dinner of rice and stir fry prepared for us during the day by the hospitality team. This was followed by a debrief from Charissa where we talked about all we had done today including highlights and any worries for tomorrow. 

It was an impactful day getting to meet all the amazing care workers and the joyful children of the community. I personally made a connection with a girl at hub who is almost the exact same age as me. Her English was amazing, much better than my siswati! This meant we could have a lovely conversation. We talked about all she had done at school that day as well as our shared excitement for tomorrow when we will take the new loud speaker with us  (which needed charging) and we can sing Shine and dance together which is something we both love to do. I am looking forward to going back tomorrow after a good nights rest. 

Blogged by Pippa