On my first trip to Zambia I came across this little girl with her “Doll”
I was heartbroken to see a child playing with a doll head a missing eye, not to mention the rest of the body!
Next trip I came up with the idea to make dolls to take with me for children. This was the reaction of one of the children I gave a doll to.

 The newest additions to the family of dolls:

You can have me add a message to a tag attached to your doll of choice:

"Do your little bit of good where you are. It's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world" - Desmond Tutu

Just received! Newest Pic of the house. We'll be seeing it in just a few days!! Angela and I leave on the 11:45 bus tomorrow morning, for the Vancouver airport. Here comes the long flights and waiting in the airports...but won't it be worth it when we get there!

newest picture of the lot

This is the most recent picture I've recieved of the cleared lot. Fundiswa, her 2 brothers and her mother. We've been told that now that the lot has been cleared the build should start soon.

New photo of the property for Fundiswa's home.

The trees have been chopped and the traditional leader will clear the rest of the plot with the help of a grader by 25 April 2013. The ADP is in the process of getting quotations and will purchase the material so that the house is built and completed in due time.

Also had a post from the ADP manager:

Sah Zungu-Mzolo wrote - Yes indeed Donna i wil be sending you a picture the site has been cleared we have found the builder soon the project wil be taking off the ground. Fundiswa' s mum is recovering well as she had an operation. They all cried tears of joy when i gave them an update on their house. They have never had a place called home.. i urge all you supporters and donors to invest ths life ...fulfilling project ....i am in the meeting noq with some community members and we are planning for ths community project. I would like to thank all the people who have sponsored ths project nd to encourage more people to pledge their support i am the Manager for the WV office and am telling you..you are making a huge difference in ths family. Donna you are an angel sent from heaven thnks

The time is always right to do what is right. ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

Leaving off posts about last years trip, I thought it was time to let everyone in on our upcoming trip and how things are progressing.

We've received word that the property for Fundiswa's home has being acquired!!! Very exciting news indeed. I received this email from WV head office a couple of weeks ago:

Here are 2 photos I received yesterday from staff in South Africa. The plot is purchased but not yet cleared.

Here’s a note from Sayinile received today:

+++++++++

It is good to hear from you my dear sister.

Fundiswa's mother had been in hospital, and she was discharged yesterday and is recovering.

During the time she was away, World vision was able to work with neighbours in ensuring that children were safe and had food to eat. Fundiswa's eldest brother was the one taking care of Fundiswa and her younger brother who is 7 years.

The mother is happy that she is going to have a home for her children as they are living in a one room house she is renting.

The local Chief has mobilised community members to clear the site and i will be giving you an update on how the site looks before end of month.

It looks like a nice plot of land, flat for building and perhaps their own garden and, with trees for shade, let's just hope they don't cut them all down. I haven't received any updates yet, but am looking forward to seeing what is going to be next!

We have also found a great place to donate the dolls and stuffies, along with some of the hygiene kits:

Another exciting development - well, at least I think so! So please help Fundiswa's home build by sponsoring one of the dolls or hygiene kits so we can take even more dolls with us!

Our itinerary is as follows:

We'll leave Vancouver July 18th and arrive in Durban on July 20th. I'll be renting a car again (hoping I don't injure this one!) and we'll drive up to Greytown, where we will be staying at the Sunrise Guesthouse. http://www.sunrisebandb.co.za/

We will stay in Greytown till the 26th, visiting Fundiswa and her family, the Umvoti ADP as well as the Children's Village. We'll also be visiting with our guy Nikki and his family and the KMP ADP staff. On the 26th we expect to head back down towards Durban and spend a couple of days at Umdolti Beach, which will give Angela a chance to re-group from her first experience with rural African life.

I stayed here for a few days at the end of my trip last year, but unfortunately I was too sick with bronchitis to fully appreciate the beautiful expanse of beach. Hopefully that won't be a problem this time! On the morning of the 28th we fly on to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, where we will spend 2 weeks volunteering at the

Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage http://www.chipangali.com/ one of the few places we could find where Angela wasn't to young and I wasn't to old to volunteer. We're hoping it will be a really wonderful experience. Please make sure to check out their website.

While reading up on the Orphanage, I discovered there is an overnight train that runs from Bulawayo through to Victoria Falls at a cost of only $11 each for a sleeper. I understand it was built in Britain around 1950 and is a 'liitle' run down, no electricity, food etc., but with the door and window locked it says we should be safe. I suppose that means no midnight runs to the washroom! http://www.seat61.com/Zimbabwe.htm 

With Livingstone, Zambia being that close and inexpensive to get to, I decided to add a few days on to the trip (much to Angela's horror, she feels the trip was already a bit long) to visit Kalomo ADP and Velody. How could I pass it up! I believe it will be another great experience for Ang and hopefully one she she'll enjoy.

We have a couple of extra days back in Livingstone, as I want her to see the Falls and take her to the Lion Project (where they now have 7 - 10week old cubs, so won't be to big still, when we visit). Friends Margaret & Claire are back there right now, playing with the cubs!

photo taken by Margaret & Claire

I also plan to meet up with and, take out to dinner, the local staff from the African Impact project, that I wasn't able to thank the way I wanted to last year.Then it's time to head for home once more, leaving Livingstone on the 23rd of August, arriving back in Vancouver on the 24th. So, that is our itinerary at this point; which hopefully will not have any changes between now and then.

I'll post any new pictures of Fundiswa's project as soon as I receive any.

Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights -

It was now time for me to head back towards Durban. I still had a couple of days left before my flight and had booked into a small motel at Umdloti Beach, about a 10 minute drive to from the airport. I was unfortunately by this time sicker than I had even been in Greytown, so I didn't venture far, only taking a walk down to the small shopping area once. It's a beautiful area and I wish I had of been able to spend more time exploring. On my last day I had made arrangements with Nobhule to meet up for coffee before heading to the airport.

 Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living. - Mary Ritter Beard

 

 

My wonderful family met me at the bus stop and welcomed me home with balloons and a beautiful sign in Zulu. Only problem was they were welcoming home Angela and not Busisewe.

 

and herein lies my adventures of 2012

Hope you've enjoyed coming along with me.
 

Where there is life there is hope.

The problem is not the problem;

the problem is your attitude about

the problem.

The only rules that really matter

are these: what a man can do and

what a man can't do.

- Captain Jack Sparrow

 

Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow. ~Swedish Proverb

By this part of the trip I was starting to feel very unwell. I'd had a bout with a sore throat and a bit of a head cold while at the Lion Project, but it didn't seem to amount to much. It came back again while at St. Lucia, but again didn't seem to catch, now I knew it was going to hit with a vengeance. I had taken what antibiotics I brought with me already, but the cough was getting worse and I was pretty sure that it was going to turn into bronchitis, which had been my fear all along because it can be pretty humid here and on the coast. I was surprised though as it hadn't seemed humid at all, but something was bringing this on; probably the stress of the travelling and not really eating too well, plus who knows what I had been around on the projects so, realizing I only had a few days left and not wanting to be sitting on a plane for all those hours, with the long layovers hacking up a lung, I looked in the phone book and found a local doctor down the road from the guest house. I decided to just drop in a see if they could see me and luck was with me. The doctor was in and had no patients (I had to come to Africa to find this?) and took me right in to his examination room. He asked what the problem was, took a quick listen to my chest and said he knew just what the problem was. He pulled out a syringe and gave me shot of something in my butt, right away; I afterwards thought how stupid I was, I had brought my own syringes for just such an occasion, having been warned by Dr. Johnson not to allow anyone to use their own, opps! We then headed out to reception, where I discovered they had their own version of a pharmacy where I was given 2 different pills to take (never really told what the problem was, what the pills where, or what to expect), handed a bill for approx. 300 Rand and that was it. Unfortunately the doctor's medicine didn't work well and I did sit hacking up those lungs all the way home. I'm actually kind of surprised they let me on the planes.

Anyway, before I headed home, it was time to visit Fundiswa and her family. Within the first couple of days arriving at the Livingstone project, I received and e-mail from Sah; I was then informed that a few months back Fundiswa had been raped; was I sure I still wanted to visit? WHAT! Of course I did! I was crushed at the thought I had spent a lot of time from then till now thinking about this poor little girl and what she must have gone through and on how I should approach the subject, if at all, when I met up with the family. As the time was approaching I found I was getting more apprehensive, not wanting to upset Fundiswa or act inappropriately causing any cultural misunderstandings. I was hoping I would handle it all well.
After Sah picked me up, we made a quick visit to the office to sign some papers and then headed out to where the family was staying in area about 1/2 hour back towards Stanger. They were staying, for the time being, with Marion, one of the ADP workers. I think everyone was a little anxious, but within moments greetings and hugs were exchanged and I sat down to hear from Sibongile, Fundiswa's Mom, about this terrible ordeal.

I was told Fundiswa had been walking through a field in the later part of an evening when she was attacked by a 16 year old boy. Her injuries were very severe and she probably would have died had she not been spotted by someone. It sounded like she had to under-go some major surgery and I'm sure the healing process is still ongoing, especially in her mind. Tears were shed by all of us and I hope I made Fundiswa feel a little better after talking with her and the family. Sah explained that the police had not wanted to charge the boy, (unbelievable, but happens often here in South Africa, it's not an isolated incident to be sure) but she pushed hard and the boy was arrested and was set to be prosecuted. I haven't heard what the outcome was.

About this time Marion brought out a huge platter of chicken for our lunch, so we all put on our happy faces and had a bite to eat. After lunch Luwazi (Fundiswa's older brother) sang a beautiful song for me, he has a lovely voice; her little brother Dando is quite a handful, being a typical 5 year old. It was then time for gifts. The idea for Nikki having a phone for emergencies had come from hearing what had happened to Fundiswa. I thought that perhaps if she had of had a phone with her, she might have been able to call for help and so I had bought one for her and then decided that Nikki could probably use one as well. The Eco_zoom stove was handed over, as well as food I had bought and some clothes for the children, along with Mom's apron, of course.

After giving the gifts, we headed outside, where it was Fundiswa's turn to sing for me - Lovely! Sah wanted me to see the new program she had instigated setting up at the pre-school down the road, so we walked down to observe the children. The program is something new they are trying, hoping to get the really young children to be less violent, calmer and help them learn to get along. What I saw seems to be working, the children were all really well behaved, quite and played well together, along with listening to their instructors. After the children all filed out, we had the place to ourselves and we watched Fundiswa and Dando play (Sah said she had not seen Fundiswa laugh like that for a long time) and then she and I danced a bit, just being silly and having some fun. We headed back outside and the kids played on the jungle jim for a short time before we headed back to Marion's. It was Fundiswa's turn to sing for me, how sweet the sound.

Then it was unfortunately time to leave. That was such a sad moment, Fundiswa cried and cried when I had to go - my god I wish I could have brought her home with me. 

  

 

Sah then took me to see another worthwhile project they had put together for a group of vunerable youths. The project was a egg farm, which was supporting this group of children and a wonderful idea, but I was disturbed to see the chicken's living 3 or 4 to a cage, with the cages stacked upon each other. Sah realized I was a bit upset and I had to explain that I found it inhumane for the animals to be living in such conditions. I tried to give a heads up on how it would be healthier for the chicken's and the eggs they produced to be lose in a run. I hope they have listened and learned and those poor chicken's have a bit more room to move.

we drove down the side of this mountain to get there

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”


Again I had the joy of visiting Nikki and his family. Mumsy, Fikile and I picked him up at his school and drove to that little parking area at the top of the trail to his home. We hiked down that mountain again and when we got close to home, I could hear Granny with her undulating song of welcome - what a delight. A welcome that sends a wonderful chill down your spine.

Whilst planning this trip I had wracked my brain to come up with a useful gift for Nikki's family. Searching around the internet I came across a site that sold Eco-Zoom stoves. Reading that they are suppose to only use about three small sticks of wood to cook a meal, it made me think of seeing the women collecting firewood, while last visiting here, and decided this would be a great thing to give them. Plus, it has the added benefit of a child not being able to fall into the fire, double bonus. How to get them over to South Africa with me though, as they are made of a brick type substrate inside, so far to heavy to take on the plane and carry all over Zambia with me, before I got here. I Skyped with the company owner in Seattle and he told me there was a fellow in Durban who was selling them and put me in touch via e-mail. Well, small world that it is, the fellow turned out to be Nobuhle's' fiance! We figured out that the best thing would be for him to ship them up to St. Lucia while I was there and I could bring them down with me in the car (I purchased one for Fundiswa's Mom as well). As per the car, there were some tense moments waiting for their arrival in St. Lucia. They hadn't arrived by the time I got there and didn't show up till almost time for me to leave, but all ended well. Nikki's gift was an inexpensive phone to have with him on his walks to and from school, in case of emergency. Practical, I thought, without thinking about how/where he could charge it. I was told it would be no problem, he could charge it at the Spar store up the road. An added bonus to this visit was his Grandfather being home from Johannesburg, as well as his Dad coming up from Durban again. It was wonderful to see them all again.



some new clothes

the Rondavel we had sat in last time has been destroyed by rain storms

here's the stove

 

All to soon the visit was over. The ladies and I headed back to the WV office so I could fill out a bit of paper work then it was time to head back to Greytown. When I had left there that morning, I had plugged in the GPS and typed in that I was heading to Stanger, as that was the way back to KwaMapamulo and the GPS wouldn't recognize that area. I almost made it without needing directions, at one point I pulled over and called Mumsy, I wasn't sure where the turn off to the office was, things had changed in the few years since I was last here. What could I see around me she asked - I could see a sign for a Spar store perhaps 300 feet away on my right. Turn there she said and as I did I recognized where I was at once. When it was time to leave I once again used the GPS typing in Greytown. Here is another of my misadventures. Did I want to add that to my trip, it asked me. Not having used these things before this trip and not knowing how they worked, I touched the button for yes. Well turn right it said, and I did. Little did I realize the GPS had added Greytown to the end of my trip to Stanger, which meant I was heading there first. After about 3/4 hour driving I was getting pretty worried, as things just didn't look the same as the way from Greytown and shouldn't I be getting close by now? It was then that I realized my mistake, made a hasty U-turn and headed back the right way. By now the sun was getting low on the horizon and was beginning to shine right in my eyes, making it difficult to see on a road I was already nervous about travelling. The thought of driving after dark was not pleasant either and caused me much angst. I thankfully arrived back just as dusk was settling in with great relief.