Tumela

Tumela bo nTate, bo ‘m’e, bo abuti and bo aussi,

A week has gone by and it seems like so much more. Time doesn’t feel the same in Malealea where there is no electricity and my days are filled with amazing moments upon amazing encounters. The work with the orphans, trainees and their caregivers is well under way. It’s a different rhythm than the shows we were doing in the beginning of this expedition. I’m getting to know the local people personally and it’s so enriching for me. Everywhere I go in the village people now recognize me, they know I’m not a regular tourist and that is so precious to me.

After my last post we went to the handicap center and it was pure magic. Sibongile and I performed for them and they loved it. What a great crowd! To see these children in more than difficult situation love Pedalo and the interpretation of a Sesotho I offered them and then using my therapeutic techniques to empower all of them by playing music with them individually to make them feel like rock stars for their friends and family is something I will always cherish. The conditions these children live in is not comparable to the kids with similar handicaps back home in Canada.

Last Monday we stated the residency program. We meet the caregivers in the morning we do theater exercises and have them share and open up. We gently introduced psychosocial games to them have them play and learn communication tools. We feed them a good, hearty and plentiful meal at the end of every session which I think is the motivation for them to come and it works. They surprise me every day with their individual investments. They give themselves one hundred per cent and have such a good time playing the games we teach them. I see them becoming kids and opening up with very little inhibition. They were really surprised and love the fact that I eat with them every meal we have.

We have an hour and fifteen minute break before meeting with the orphans they take care of in the afternoon and my time is usually spent playing with Pulane, who is the local child that lives at the lodge I reside at. I showed her acrobatics and hand to hand today. She is a natural, like most of the kid’s here.

The orphans are wonderful too. They play like children should and forget about their circumstances during the time we spend with them. We started with games to get to know each other and now we are preparing a show we will present to their caregivers next week. They all started warming up to me slowly, which is what I had planned. Many of them cough a lot and don’t seem very healthy. It’s hard to imagine that many of them are HIV positive. We are building their confidence, I can see the change in them daily.

The trainees are great people too. They are paid to be with us but I can see the immense change in them from the first day to today. They seemed very skeptical in the beginning but I have seen them transformed and eager about the rest of the work and the future. There are two guys that are about my age out of the five trainees and today I saw them take out little medical bags from their pockets and swallow a multitude of different pills which I’m guessing is medication for HIV-Aids but I would have never guessed that they were affected. Same as the only male caregiver in our elderly group, I’ve learned that his 76 year old mother is HIV positive. What a different reality!

I cherish every moment here and I look forward to using the experience I am gaining here to help out the people in need where-ever I may be.