Somethings...

The HIV Support group Choir


The gum boot dancers...very cool dancing. They use their hands and their boots and make as much noise as possible


The meal served at the end of the presentations...it was actually really really good.

I found myself in a situation where I had to stop and think....what the hell am I doing here? I went to an HIV/AIDS awareness celebration with our HIV/AIDS support group choir. I walked into ther hall and immediately noted that I was the ONLY white person for what felt like miles. I was immediately herded to the head table, which just happens to be situated on a stage in front of the whole crowd. Great. Anyway, I managed to sit through 3 hours of speechs, all done in Zulu...and NO I have not learned this language yet. The choir, however was amazing. There was also a presentation by the Gumboot dancers, which was quite spectacular. At the end of it all, we got fed some very tasty food. I was also thanked profusly by a few of the organizers, for coming and showing support.....
Anyway....



Expert Volunteers...Fiona and myself!


This is a photo of the camp setup. You can see theUmzimkulu river in the back...and you cant miss the Beer tent, fully stocked with Black Label and Hansa!



The Kayakers in the river going through 'Slot Machine', a set or rapids.

This past weekend I went out the The Thromi X-Fest with a fellow volunteer, to do some more volunteering....It was really good fun actually. Basically this is an extreme sport festival. There was alot of kayaking ( because that is a huge thing down here) and downhill mountain biking, which I dont understand how people could be so stupid to do, lond distance mountain biking, canoeing (in the south African sense...not wuite like home) and a multisport challenge, consisting of kayaking 20km, running up a mountain for 5 km, and mountain biking for 20km. Fun hey?? My volunteer cohort Fiona and I helped out a little bit with registration and such, but mostly enjoyed the sporting events and the evening festivities. I think that I may be turing into a volunteering expert...this weekend we are helping out with a HUGE canoe festival called the Drak challenge....should be fun too...

Hope everyone is well!!

Pictures from My trip to Mangeni

The kids next door, posing for one of the many many pictures I took of them. They loved it!


Our room, shared between 4 people. We also cooked and used the toilet in here. Cosy....


The people living next door..they wanted their photos taken. The kid was not too happy with us white people..he started to cry every time I looked at him.


Us crossing the river to make our home visits....the girls must do this everyday. Actually there are 2 rivers to cross....


A shot of the village and a common house in the village. Most houses are made of two or more small buildings made of mud and brick, with straw type roofs.


One of the Kids next door. She just loved us...

A day in the life...

So I had the oppertunity of a lifetime...I was able to spend 3 nights in a very remote village with our Community Health Workers. Now you must understand, this village has no running water (well, there is a river I guess), no power, no heat and is about 50 km off the highway, on a long dirt/mud road that winds through the mountains. SO getting there on monday was no treat...we packed 9 people into the cab of a pickup truck..cozy hey?
There were 4 of us in this one small bedroom, which was our bedroom (for 4), our kitchen and sometimes our bathroom. We had a corner full of food to last us for the week and one small burner that runs on paraffin. Dinner would take roughly 4 hours to cook.
So we were lucky enough to make some home visits with out Home based care workers. A big part of the day included walking to the homes. It took about an hour and a half just to get to the first one. Up hill and through 2 rivers. Really.
The visits were quite interesting. Though, it started to feel a bit depressing by the end, because you are always going into homes of very sick people. People that lay on the ground using only a foam mattress and blanket, that cannot move to even toilet themselves. Luckily family seems to be quite important to this culture and so, most patients are well looked after in there home. We did visit one man that puzzeled me. I knew that culture would be an issue, but...we met this young man, in his early thirties who is HIV +. His CD4 count is quite low and was put on ARV's a while ago. Sadly, this man will not take them because his church has told him not too. Instead, he is to take these herbal immune boosters. How long will this man live without his ARV's??? Probably not long.

Anyway..It was definitely an interesting experience, one I will not soon forget. Hopefully I will have some pictures up soon...the computer here does not always cooperate, as you all may have heard! Also..if anyone is interested in getting a better look at the village I will be spending the next four months in..check out GLOBAL NATIONAL News on Feb 11, 2008. They were here filming in December. It should be an interesting peice. I think the national edition starts at 5pm. Enjoy and let me know what you think!