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