Last weekend I stayed with another volunteer called Leyton
in a family's house in Welverdiend. We arrived on Friday afternoon and met our
host for the first time. He is 17 years old and took us to his home where we
met his Mother, three older siblings and younger brother, niece and two
nephews. All nine family members lived in 3 rooms, the three men/boys stayed in
two rooms on one side of the yard and the 6 others stayed in one room at the
far end. It was odd seeing the family split up like that but in African culture
the men in the family often have the better rooms and food etc.
That night the oldest sister (36) cooked pap and chicken for
us, pap is kind of like mash potato but made from maize, it doesn’t taste like
much but is filling so it’s eaten a lot in the communities we work in. The
chicken and cabbage was delicious so we sat and ate with our host while the
rest of the family left the room, it was weird being served like this and we
didn’t feel comfortable having not helped cook or wash up after. We told his
sister that she had to teach us to cook the next day, partly because we wanted
to learn and partly because it was the only way she’d let us help out.
We spent the night with our host asking each other questions
and watching an old 12” TV, his mother had saved and bought him this to help
him learn English; he watches African soaps listening to the actors and reading
the subtitles, if he finds a word he doesn’t know he looks it up in his
dictionary. He told us that he wants to be a meteorologist or failing that a
journalist, he’s definitely clever enough but he just needs the money to get to
university. But with 98% unemployment in Welverdiend he will struggle to find a
job after he finishes school, I have no idea how he will be able to afford
university without finding a job.
His parents were originally from Mozambique, I’m not sure
when or why they moved to South Africa but it was probably during the war in
Mozambique, lots of people fled the country and risked their lives to get into
SA. His family then moved from Belfast (not the one in Ireland) when his father
died. He was just 6 at the time and his mother decided to move closer to her
sister so they ended up in Welverdiend.
We spent a fair bit of time watching the local football league,
there are 11 teams in Welverdiend and the winner of that tournament moves up to
play against other villages. Our host was the captain of his team and we
watched them win 2-1 on Sunday afternoon. It was really good seeing a social
side of the communities, we always hear about the un-employment and broken
families and shortages of water so it was great seeing two local teams doing
what they love in a properly organised and refereed match. The atmosphere of
these small matches showed how much a part of their lives it is. I was told the
league was properly organised by coaches and village elders to keep the kids
out of trouble, an encouraging sign that the village is a hopeful, positive community
that is starting to actively encourage the children and young adults.
We were taken to church on Sunday morning with our host and
his friend who was hosting two more volunteers (Dave and Russell). The church
couldn’t afford a building so people took their own chairs and sat in the shade
of a huge tree. The service was all in Shangaan but the people we sat next to
translated bits of what the pastor was saying. Apparently he was preaching about
abandoning ancestor worship which is still strong in a lot of communities across
Africa. After the sermon we were asked to go to the front and introduce
ourselves, they then gave us the seats of the church founders and their choir performed
for us; they sang in Shangaan and English and it sounded fantastic. Afterwards
we were given food that had been brought as a social lunch meeting; the church
also sent a boy to the store to buy a bottle of coke for us. It was amazing receiving
such generous hospitality, the church were unbelievably welcoming, it was a
great example of African hospitality… and also a reminder that wherever you go
in the world you still can’t escape the reach of huge brands like Coca-Cola…
although it did taste amazing under the African sun!
The weekend was a tough experience which stretched my
comfort zone a long way. I now realise how important the work that Hands at
Work does is, having seen the people it supports and hearing the stories of how
it affects so many children and young adults in the communities. I’ll never
forget the names of the people we stayed with and the amazing kindness,
generosity and hospitality they showed us. That family will stay with me
forever and I can’t wait to go back and see them soon.
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