Who will take care of these orphan children?
A drive through the beautiful countryside to another Rotary project.
The children are excited to welcome us to their new CDCC (Creche day care facility).
Grannies are an crucial component of these projects. Essentially the generation between Grannies and children are being wiped out from the AIDS pandemic, leaving the little ones without a normal family foundation.
Note how they take off their sandals before entering the building.
Rotarians enjoyed spending time with the children. Volunteer Interact and Rotaract students were also working there, helping support the children.
Wonderful harmony singing was provided at the ceremony by the local school choir. All of us were moved by the happy energy and joy that came from their little voices.
Elaine Norris had brought some letters of greeting from Canadian Grannies and distributed them to some South African Grannies in attendance. They were excited at receiving this special attention, which may result in some pen pal friendships.
The local Sangomas (healers) from the area entertained us with a cultural dance.
After the ceremonies, ladies from the community provided us with a typical South African meal.
In addition to providing housing for the children, many Grannies volunteer at the centre to provide loving care. Most of the kids are either orphans or from single parent families as a result of AIDS deaths.
The children enjoyed sharing time with our group members.
You can see the happiness in their eyes as the children bid us farewell.
Another stop to visit RC Kitchener's CDCC project, soon to be opened.
One of the local ladies gives a lesson to the Canadians on how to carry water.
District 9270 Governor, Gerald Sieberhagen greets PDG Doug Vincent and our Canadian travellers.
The Presidents and Governors at a Rotary meeting in Durban area, hosted by RC Umhlanga.
David Martindale (l) and Pat Draper (r) are congratulated by PDG Doug Vincent on receipt of their multiple Paul Harris Fellowship recognition.
PDG Doug Vincent, Rotary UN Representative gives a presentation on Rotary at the United Nations.
Mount Edgecombe Rotarians each hosted some Canadian visitors in their homes for dinner and an evening of fellowship.
A 5 am start to help with the Feedback food aid program which is a Rotary sponsored project in Durban poor areas.
First stop is at Albany bakery to sort through bread which has damaged packaging. They donate these items to Feedback who distributes them to the poor areas.
Sorting through rejected fresh bread which has abnormal size and wouldn't fit through cutting or bagging machines.
Overall, we loaded two cube vans with bread and had a bit of space for additional leftover food items that will be picked up at local caterers or restaurants. The yellow pails are to transport soup donated by local food establishments.
All of the inedible bread we sorted out is either offered to a pig farmer for feed or thrown out.
Now we are on our way to distribute the food to the needy communities.
Passing through a nice neighborhood on our way to the poor township and shantytown areas.
It is common to see women carrying food, water or other items on their heads like this.
First stop is at a school where they feed the malnourished children each day, many of them orphans. Feedback is encouraging their clients to be self sufficient by promoting growing tunnels (green houses) for vegetables.
There is a warm welcome from the school principal and administrative director.
Another gardening area behind the school to help feed the children of this poor community.
A visit to the classroom, which was very crowded. Note six students sharing two desks pushed together.
The teacher wanted to be sure we took a picture of her and struck this enticing pose.
Retired teacher Al, could not resist picking up a piece of chalk and using the blackboard.
A visit to the school library and staff area.
Volunteer mothers of the school children help unload their ration of bread for the day.
They proudly show of the small kitchen where they prepare soup and bread for the children's lunch.
Next stop is a private home, where the lady offers her house as a drop off and pick up place for local residents to get bread.
The driver told us that when he comes to this home, there are usually over 100 ladies waiting for the food. Today with the extra helping hands we arrived early, and the women had not all arrived yet.
Al gets a lesson from the ladies on how to carry a bread tray.
Everyone in the places we visited welcomed us warmly and were appreciative of what Rotary and Feedback do to support them. For many, if the truck did not come on any given day, they would not eat.
While we are out delivering the bread, another truck is picking up left over food from restaurants and caterers. They then deliver to various needy areas like this school. Feedback does not warehouse food, because there is a need to deliver it as soon as it is donated. Through a database management system, they detemine the appropriate need and destination for direct delivery from the donor's location.
A welcome to the home of Mama Thokozle. With help from Rotary and Feedback, she offers informal feeding and care to the homeless and hungry in her poor settlement area. The Feedback staff estimate she feeds about 400 people each day, with many being school children who come on their way to or from school.
This is a new building that has been erected to help store and prepare the food beside Mama' Thokozle's home.
Feedback does more than deliver food aid. They also encourage and assist residents to grow gardens in these “tunnels”. In Mama's back yard, local volunteers come each day to help garden.
The ladies are proud of their vegetables in the greenhouse and those who volunteer to work in the garden have first chance at the food harvest. Brad Burger is a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar from Illinois, who helps Feedback on a regular basis.
Checking out part of the new terraced garden on a hillside behind Mama's home. The residents are clearing more ground to expand this garden area with help and encouragement from Feedback staff.
It was a rewarding experience, sharing time and delivering aid to the local shantytown residents who are in such desperate need.
On the road again, heading north from Durban.
It is customary for Zulus to live in these round thatch roofed Rondavels. In most cases several huts are grouped together, either by extended family or with the workers on a farm.
The land seems fertile with no apparent shortage of water, allowing small gardens and farm fields. Corn is a popular crop.
A typical cluster of homes as we pass through the countryside.
The scenery is breathtaking with a mixture of primitive and cement block housing.
Now we are into a more tropic area with irrigation and sugar cane being grown.
Next stop was at Shakaland, a native village with cultural education, food and accommodation. This village was originally created for a movie about Zululand and then turned into a cultural resort for visitors.
Native Zulu people reside here and share their culture and traditions with us.
A native warrior stands guard at the entrance and provides a welcome as we arrive. Which one is the native?
You must receive permission from the tribal chief to enter the actual village.
Learning about the Zulu culture, their village layout and buildings. Huts are arranged in circle patterns, with some designated for housing and others for food storage. The one in centre is on stilts so animals cannot reach the food items inside.
The chief oversees our welcome ceremony and drink preparations.
A lesson on how the ladies carry food or water from a stream nearby. Note the colourful beaded tops these girls wear, which tells us they are single girls with boyfriends. The top clothing and hat of our guide, tells us she is married.
John has made someone mad and is challenged to a fight with native battle tools.
The ladies enjoy shopping again with many handcrafted items to consider. Note how the young ones are trained early to become entrepreneurs.
Others decided to enjoy relaxing at the swimming pool.
After a delicious dinner, we were entertained with native drumming and cultural dancing.
In this culture, single girls have bare breasts. Those with boyfriends cover breasts with fancy beads and married women wear a cover or more traditional tops.
Trying to teach Canadians to do a Zulu dance does not work!
The end of a long day and time for bed in our Zulu huts called Rondavels. Warning! . . watch for the monkeys who like to sneak in and steal things, especially your candy and snacks.
Dinner with PDG Nick Phillips (second from right), who has been instrumental in helping coordinate many of our South African matching grant projects. It was heartwarming to connect faces to some of the names we've come to know over the past couple years.
