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A party of 6 travelled to Johannesburg, picking up a minibus to make a 300
mile journey to Clarens. The party consisted of two members from Christchurch,
Downend, two Headteachers and two young teachers from Swindon.
We were warmly welcomed by the staff of Dihlabeng School who were still
entertaining visitors from The Swindon Family Church. Introductions over,
we went to our accommodation to unpack, shower and change before being shown
around the local township where most of the population of Clarens live.
Lizzie, a trainee teacher at the school was our guide. We were immediately
greeted by lots of smiling faces as the children rushed to hold our hands.
Unfortunately, we only had two each so they had to share. Most of the
population of Clarens are very poor and live in self built homes.
Homes in the Township
  
  
Children from
the Township
  
Health and Safety is not high on the agenda in Clarens. At one point,
we counted 30 children in the minibus. Rest assured that every child was
delivered home safely.
Zero tillage in Lesotho
The next day, we travelled over the border to Lesotho to experience working
the land using zero tillage. This takes farming back to biblical times.
Normal ploughing causes the water to rush over a ploughed field, taking the
seeds away. With zero tillage, the only tool is a large, long handled, axe
shaped hoe. Add maize seed, fertilizer, plus a measured stick and a long
piece of string with knots at various intervals, as spacers and this is all that
is needed to plant a whole field (plus manpower of course). Three maize seeds
are planted in each hole at regular intervals. The next row is marked at a
set distance away from the first, each hole being counterset between the holes
on the previous row. Using this method, the maize is not washed away when
the rain comes as the rain ripples between the mounds of earth on top of the
seeds. A small field feeds a family for a year. The seed is
initially provided by the U.N. and each farmer gives back 10% of the seed to
pass on to other farmers. The fields below are ready for replanting.
 
Dihlabeng Christian Church 
Sunday, saw us all in Church, a new thatched building that the congregation
should be very proud of. Drumming, singing and dancing were very much in
evidence and the whole place was ‘jumping’. We would defy anyone to keep still
in these surroundings.
Dihlabeng Christian School 
The weekend over, and we prepared for a busy week ahead. Both teaching and
maintenance were carried out. We took enough teaching materials to provide aid
for comprehension on English Farms and to make puppets to help with spoken
English. The children were able to dramatise the story of Noah’s Ark at the end
on the week on their Assembly time.
   
Clarens Pre-school
We were fortunate to be able to visit a preschool which is overseen by the
Head teacher of Clarens Intermediate School. Both the Intermediate School and
Pre-school were previously privately owned, so are well built and in good
repair.
The pre-school is run by a very lively teacher who is creative both musically
and artistically. The children are well stimulated and work in bright and
cheerful surroundings.
  
There is an outdoor play area, which, although well equipped, would not stand
up to British Health and Safety Regulations. All of the play equipment is made
from recycled materials. The people of Clarens re-use as much as they
can.
    
  Intermediate
School
Mojelofa Farm School
The Mojelofa Farm School is about five miles from Clarens but still
accommodates children from Clarens. Our first visit there
Was quite a shock, having come from Dihlabeng Christian School which is now
so well resourced and staffed. Mojelofa is in great need of repair, especially a
building which houses two classrooms.
That could not be done immediately but we did buy a lot of English books so
that the children could learn to speak and read English. Young people cannot get
a job in Clarens unless they speak English so it is vital that they learn. The
books were much appreciated as text books are shared one between four children
at present.
The following pictures show the two classrooms needing attention. They are
housed under a leaking corrugated roof. As you can see, there is only half a
ceiling in one room and the walls are damp and dingy.
  
  
 This
final picture, shows the Head Teacher’s Office. There is a lock on the door but
the window is broken and does not shut.
After this visit, we all knew that we had to do something to help. Between
us, we counted our ‘reserves’ and almost had enough to buy a new roof. We left
with a pledge that we would return to England, the money would be raised and
that the school would have a new roof.
The children and staff were all glad and happy to have visitors. The staff
were delighted with the footballs and skipping ropes which came from one of the
Swindon schools and wanted to know if they could have one. Material possessions
are very few in this part of the world.
  
The Orphan Project
South Africa has not escaped the spread of the AIDS virus. Clarens has a
growing number of children who are orphaned as a direct result. A large number
of volunteers from local Churches have been organized into a rota to feed these
children once a day.
The children are housed overnight with local families but the families are
very poor and cannot afford an extra mouth to feed, hence The Orphan Feeding
Programme. In February of this year when a party of workers went from Swindon,
there were 50 orphans on the role. Today, there are 120 children.
We were asked to take part for one day, helping to collect and prepare the
food. Food is collected daily from local shops, markets and hotels. All of the
food is beyond its sell by date and would normally be thrown away. We sorted
bread and cakes that were piles together in the same plastic bags. Vegetables
were divided into piles, plus a bag of bones and a bag of pigs’ tails for extra
flavour! Each pile was chopped and put into large saucepans, plus stock
cubes and seasoning. This was cooked to make nutritious, wholesome soup.
  
 
Each day at the Orphan Family Shelter, a different activity is planned before
the meal. This includes sports, puppet shows and lessons in personal, social and
emotional care. Our contribution was to perform an amusing puppet show before
the children ate their meal.
  
I make no apologies for only having a few pictures of the orphans as we felt
that this meal time was their personal space and should be left alone. We spent
the time talking to the children whilst they ate, helping to feed some of the
younger ones who were confused about the lumps in their food. This soup had
whole pieces of vegetables and bones to suck on which the children were not
accustomed to. After the meal, the children were given bags of clothing that had
been brought from England. They were also given a small bag with some bread and
a cake to share with someone else that they might meet later. Lots of the local
children are very hungry too. We were told that the children do share their food
as they are pleased to have one good meal a day.
When we agreed to make this trip to S. Africa, we hoped that we could raise
enough money to fund three orphans through a year at school. We were able to
fund so much more. (See fund raising)
This ‘African Experience’ has given us so much more than we could ever give
to anyone there. We have had an opportunity to see what life is like for the
poorer people of the country as well as the more fortunate. We have met so many
local people and had more hugs than we could ever remember. We shared in local,
vibrant worship where race and colour was not an issue. Faith binds people
together. We were able to taste the wildlife of the area and to see some of the
beautiful countryside. Most of all, we learned humility.
We would like to thank everyone who supported us both with donations and
prayer. We will go back……………………….Watch this space for another journal…………
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