Dopota III

Woops! Been a long time since I`ve posted anything, too much going on 🙂 Pictures here 🙂

After being back in Zim for two weeks, we were finally getting ready to go to Dopota! 🙂  Sungano and I had planned the previous week to do all our office work fast, do the shopping and then head out as early as possible so we could be there before dark. Of course that didn`t happen. I had somethings I needed to send out and to print but surely there had to be a power cut this day!!!! If I have learned one thing on this trip, it is to always do today that you are planning to do tomorrow. I was thinking about doing all I needed on Friday, but I just thought I could do it before we left. Lesson learned.  We tried to work with what we could, before heading out and do our shopping. Even though we were a few hours later then I wished for, we would still be there by dusk.  With the car so stuffed that Thomas hardly could reach the gear stick we headed out. We had a good road trip and stopped for dinner at Halfway (Halfway to Victoria  Falls) before the last stretches in the road. Driving off the road and down to Dopota was so amazing I almost jumped out of my seat! And seeing my whole family again was wonderful and a reunion with laughter and smiles. A couple of people didn`t know I was headed back, and it was the best surprise ever! 🙂

It got dark and late after we had finished talking and catching up, so we all went to bed. Su and Sibonile slept in another room, so I had the bed to myself this time. Didn`t sleep much though, coz my bed was tilting and I felt like I was falling out every time I moved. Next morning I found a couple of the extra mattresses we have in the office under my mattress. Tilting solved.

This was Su`s first time in Dopota, and I took it upon myself to be her local guide 🙂 Of course I have no navigation skills, so we had to bring some the guys from the working committee with us for help. And I promise, anyone who isn`t born and raised (or lived in Dopota for several years) would be lost in that labyrinth of a village. We started down with the borehole and stopped by one of the gardens. Like I mentioned on the previous post it haven`t been raining enough this year, and so the garden was all dried up and with no crops. The women responsible for the garden were trying to save some of it and have also tried to plan new vegetables so they can have something to eat. You`ll see in the pictures how dry it is, pour some water on it and it will immediately vaporize. The second garden we saw later that day was in much better condition, and by the looks of it they would have more food of it. The gardens are close to the bore holes so they don`t have to walk too far to fetch water. But still, it`s not a easy job when everything is done manually, in other words carrying every last drop of water needed for the garden. And they are pretty big.
After seeing one of the gardens and walking around the school, we went up to the first sewing club, and I was very happy to see that they have almost finished the construction, only the working table is missing. Finally the ladies will have place to work 🙂

When we went down to the dam, I was very sad to see it. There is hardly any water left, you`ll see in the photos that the water level is very low and they told me that by a month`s time it will be completely dry.  It`s very hard to hear the stories from the people in the area, and to realize the reality they are facing. Droughts and food shortage is very real, and extreme. You could try to imagine how you would feed your whole family when there is nothing to harvest, you`re unemployed and have no source of income.

On a more positive note, the next day we were handing out food to our helpfund clients. Sabona gives people in the community here a ration of food supplies every month, so they have the basics they need. In the package they receive there is mealie-meal for making sadza, beans, soya chunks, soap, sugar, capenta (dried fish), juice, cooking oil and spices.  They guys in the working committee were at it all morning to prepare everything, and soon the whole ground surrounding the office was covered in food and people. It was such a beautiful sight, people were so happy and thankful for all that was given to them. It doesn`t get more real than this, Su and me were talking about it while we were handing the food out. To get these bags of food every month is so crucial for them, it really is the difference from starvation to a somewhat livable life. Since it was Su`s first time in Dopota is was her first time meeting the clients and so she was talking to this sweet sweet old lady. She lived about 8 km away, and had managed to walk all the way over here to get her food supply even though every step looked painful.  She has given birth to 11 children. Of those there were now only three left. The others have died from HIV/AIDS. Two of her remaining daughters had moved to South Africa and she was taking care of their daughters. She was too old to work and had no income other the occasional vegetable she sold. I had to bite my lip so I wouldn`t just break down in front of her, if she was so strong I had to be too. I carried one of her bags for 5 m, seriously 5 m, and I have never seen someone so happy over something so little! She laughed and laughed and said I was now her grandchild too, and she would be my gogo (grandmother in Ndebele).  These moments are so good that it makes your heart wanna jump out of your chest with joy! 🙂

The already great day was turning out to be a fantastic one. I did an interview with one of our higher education students, a poet in the making. He`s studying to be a forensic, but he is also a man for great words. After we spent the day together I have received no more than five beautifully written  poems!
Thomas is always giving me lessons in Ndebele culture and he said that since this is my second time coming to Zim I needed an official Ndebele name. I said I would like to be Nina Ndlovu, which means elephant. Now, I still hadn`t seen one (after almost 7 weeks in this country, including 4 in the elephants backyard) so he said he would never let me out of the country before I`d actually seen one. So, after we had been driving around the village to visit some of the projects we drove towards Main Camp to see if we could spot some. The car was full so I was sitting in the back of the pickup, and I swear it has got to be one of the best days in my life. Driving towards Main Camp while the sun set the sky on fire and thousands of stars slowly made the appearance is seriously breathtaking. Freezing freaking cold, but stunning. Just as we were about to give up and turn around we spotted an elephant in the moonlight! It was a small bull (biggest creature I`ve ever seen and couldn`t believe that was supposed to be a small one) walking peacefully in the grass eating. I`ll never forget the day I earned the right to my new beautiful Ndebele name 🙂

The following day Thomas and the girls left me and headed back to Bulawayo. I was excited to start working and to learn more about Sabona. Meshack and me went around to some of the other schools in the area we support and had meetings with the school reps.  We have two secondary and two primary schools in the district which are the schools we have most kids on the sponsorship.  The work I`ve been doing is mostly with the schools, so I get to know a lot of the kids. Every time we drive in to Lupote, our second primary school and the kids have a break they run to the car and flock us and goes: BYE BYE!!!!! And waiving and laughing 🙂 I always say the same thing: When I`m arriving you should say HELLO, but they just laugh when I talk to them. 🙂 And then when we leave again it’s the same: BYE BYE!!!!! They`re SUPER CUTE ❤

Friday morning we had another school meeting and then after lunch I went to Sable Sands, a safari lodge not too far off. More on that on the next post 🙂