South Africa 2011-2012

Fall is in full swing here, and I have to keep forcibly remind myself that at home graduations are taking place left and right, because due to the cooler weather here it seems like Halloween should be right around the corner. Since I’m someone who likes fall and winter much more than spring and summer, I’m very much looking forward to having two winters this year, especially since I had to suffer through two summers in a row before that (North Carolina’s followed by South Africa’s)! The mildness of the winters here actually makes me long for those bitterly cold Minnesota winter days; crazy, I know. Interestingly enough, the almost constant warm weather here seems to be paralleled in the lack of connectedness to a church calendar that I’ve been experiencing while attending a charismatic church. Life here sometimes feels like the theological equivalent of a Swedish summer, in other words, an eternal day, which can feel exhausting at times. Summer is beautiful, pleasant, and comfortable, but there is a proper time for winter too.

I’ve had the chance to take part in a couple interesting things here recently. First, Africa Bike Week, a huge outdoor festival where seemingly all the owners of Harley-Davidson motorcycles in Africa ride around Margate together, happened in late April. The parade of all the motorcycles was very fun to see, but by the time it was over I was relieved that the level of noise in Margate was about to returned to normal!

http://www.africabikeweek.com/

Last Sunday I went to see two of the volunteers take a leap of faith via the Oribi Gorge swing; the highest gorge swing in the world. For some unexplainable reason, some people enjoy being strapped into a harness connected to a cable high above them and then hurled down 33 stories in a matter of seconds. The cable then gradually pulls them back up. It did actually look like a lot of fun to me, but I thought of better things to do with R450, so I was content to watch Erika and Malin do it.

The second group of volunteers I’ve been a part of (i.e. the group that’s here now) got smaller recently. Martin left to go back to Sweden on Sunday, May 20th, after four months here, so there are now five of us: Markus, Malin, Erika, Joel, and myself. We wished Martin could’ve stayed longer, but he had to get back to his job in Sweden. (On a side note, in Sweden they hold your job open for you for six months if you have a good reason to leave for awhile, depending on the company and, of course, depending on what the reason is. I’m glad volunteering in South Africa constituted a good enough reason for Martin’s employer to hold his job open for him.)

Though I haven’t arranged my flight yet, I’m going to be coming home in late September, as that is when my visa will expire. I’m very much looking forward to coming home, and often wonder how it’ll feel and how long it’ll take me to adjust back. Before I came I thought I might end up growing so attached to South Africa that I’d never want to leave, but instead I’m realizing more and more how much I left behind and how grateful I am to be able to come back. I’m sure to some degree when I think of any particular aspect of my life back in the U.S. (friends, family, church, education) I’m taking the best memories from each and merging them together, but overall I still think I have more going for me there. Regardless, though, coming here was a great decision and through being here I’ve learned, grown, and helped more than I ever anticipated I would be able to.

Working with Siyavuna is still a wild ride in some ways, but we continue to improve our systems all the time. Near the beginning of the year SDC hired a bookkeeper who has been tremendously helpful with keeping careful track of past records and presenting current figures accurately and completely. It also seems that sales are up; I remember in January R150 in a day of selling was the norm, and now R250-R350 is normal. I think our recognition in the community is definitely starting to improve. Since March we have been making profits, so hopefully this will continue. Starting July 1st we’ll be adding three more vegetable collection points (eight, up from five) so sales will have to go up if we’re going to maintain our current standard of selling most of our produce fresh and throwing away as little as possible.

There is some bad news from Siyavuna’s end, though: Wim, a Belgian development worker who’s the founder of Siyavuna, will be leaving at the end of July, when his contract expires, and going back to Belgium with his wife. Siyavuna is going to be stretched thin without him, but they/we are lucky to have had him for so long, and we wish him the best as he prepares to go back home.

On a related note, since I’m leaving soon I would really appreciate any ideas people have for finding a volunteer to replace me when I leave. Siyavuna will desperately need a new full-time volunteer, and though I’ve advertised this as a volunteer opportunity in many circles, I haven’t gotten any response. There must be someone who would jump at an opportunity like this the way I did, and I’m thinking/hoping/praying I find them! I would also greatly appreciate any advice or contacts people have for me as I start the job search, which is getting daunting fast.