a quiet morning

it was a relatively quiet and serene morning in swayimane. standing on the pavement, i could hear the song of birds crisp and clear against the wind swaying through the tops of the surrounding sugar cane farms and only a few hundred meters away, the laughter of children frolicking in the schoolyard. the weather is getting warmer by the day and i can already smell spring in the air. outside the truck, i quickly gazed over at daphne who was talking on the phone and for a moment, i thought to myself how much i admire her for the work she does, the way she blends herself into the lives of these Zulu families, and how she instill within them hope, courage and possibility. i was reminded of the stories she shared with me – her upbringing, the death of her own child, the various circumstances that led her to zimele – through all these experiences and hardships, she was able to stand on her own feet. her unconditional devotion to social development, trudging through the days work, driving mile after mile, connecting with her people through her own language – draws for me a much more powerful and universal language – one of sacrifice and commitment and one of selflessness.

we met with a man who showed us the local church building that will be used to host the last meeting for the visiting NGOs tomorrow at 9am. the purpose of this meeting will be to provide a forum for these community facilitators coming from various parts of South Africa to learn more about the concept of self help / savings groups and the components that make them effective structures for building towards financial and social self-reliance. another important part of the forum will be to voluntarily gather family information in an effort to emphasize the value and importance of home-based care visits.

afterwards, daphne and i drove up to visit a group member that was part of the catering service used to host the first meeting which was held last monday – so that she could sign the receipt book and formally close the transaction. as we were heading to her residence, i couldn’t help but notice how much color there is in swayimane – despite all the garbage strewn across the land and the general poverty of the area, there is a kind of vibrant color that floats in the air – a palette ranging from a woman’s unique garment and the green gardens that surround their homes, to the bright colors of laundry hanging on the lines to dry.

next, we spent the majority of the day spending time with the ‘thokomala’ savings group. the group normally has about 15 members, but was short on attendance today. a strict, but important policy of these savings groups is to issue a penalty fee for those who are unable to attend. daphne and i spent the remaining hour carefully going over each personal savings records that every member is required to log, as well as the group minute book, to ensure that all transactions were up to date and accurate. due to the recent months of weak financial growth, each member made an agreement to put in 10R extra from their own personal pension payments into the group fund, to help maintain a steady balance.

we then headed off to the final meeting of the day, which was another installment of catering services hosted by one of the SHGs for the visiting NGO members. as usual, this meeting was initiated by prayer, followed by song/dance, communion and discussion amongst the community facilitators to address common concerns and to also prepare for the wrap-up meeting tomorrow morning.

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when i got home, i was shocked and saddened to hear about a death in the family of one of the neighbors to max and miranda. a mother with a 2-month old baby had just lost her husband who was hit by a sugar-cane truck coming home from their father’s funeral. the whole thing is unbelievably tragic and my deepest condolences go out to this family. a few of their family friends and relatives from jo’burg are staying over tonight, and i cannot imagine the kind of heavy emotions that are being processed right now. through this however, we were able to share a lovely dinner and i am very grateful for having met each and every one of them despite the unfortunate circumstances. periods of tragedy and difficulty can really bring people together and i felt this to be one of those moments.

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tomorrow, i will be taking a day off for a 3-day weekend tour of the umfolozi/hluhluwe game reserve!