Mother Bear Project

A few months ago I contacted a non-profit organization in the states called The Mother Bear Project. I requested 100 hand-knitted bears and not 3 weeks later I received them in the post. It is amazing that the only cost to me was the duty cost; which was practically nothing. The bears came with a few regulations: recipients had to be OVC's (orphan and vulnerable children) or affected by HIV/AIDS, each child had to have their picture taken with their bear, and the photos sent back to Mother Bear Project. The majority of children we work with easily qualified for a bear.

The bears are hand-knitted by individuals all over the states and donated to the organization. This is such an amazing project and I was so excited to be the one to pass out the bears and represent Mother Bear Project. I passed out bears at Treasure Hunters Crèche in Nkosazana, Nkosazana Primary School Grade R, Mgube Crèche in Umhlatuze Village, and Ngwelezane Hospital. I won’t lie; the hospital was a very bittersweet experience because some of the children were very sick and that was hard to see. But, it was great to witness them get a smile on their face while they’re facing so much at such a young age. I hope these bears will bring all of the children some comfort and joy. Make sure to check out their website and maybe you can become a knitter for Mother Bear Project! http://www.motherbearproject.org/

Children at Treasure Hunters Creche. (This is the creche I visit pretty often to help the founders).

Me on my way to Nkosazana Primary School to hand out to the Grade R's (its like Kindergarten).

Nkosazana Primary School Grade R.

Mgube Creche in Umhlatuze Village

Whenever I head to Nkosazana Primary to teach my Grassroots Soccer HIV Program, I always stop to see this little man in his class. I don't know what it is about him but boy does he make me smile!

Chickens...food and fun!

Several months ago Dan and I joined an Alpha Course at the Empangeni Methodist Church. Alpha was a 12-week course and some of my friends were facilitators so I decided to go. Well for the last session, our table decided to have a Thanksgiving potluck. Everyone was excited for their first “Faux Thanksgiving”. Everyone was assigned one dish; the only problem was…there would be no turkey. We had to settle for 3 small chickens instead (I don’t think you can get it now and if you could it would be pretty pricy). The most anticipated dish was Dan’s pumpkin pie; the only problem was he couldn’t find pumpkin so he used butternut squash. It was surprisingly very similar and tasted very yummy. We also had mash (mashed potatoes), green beans, green salad, beetroots (substituted for cranberries), stuffing, coleslaw, and pies. I thought it was really fun to bring our Thanksgiving tradition to SA. We even went around the table and shared what we were most thankful for. It turned out to be a great evening and I would say a successful cultural exchange.

I started the Grassroots Soccer program that I had mentioned a few posts ago and I just love love love it! The learners and their eagerness to learn about HIV has really had a HUGE positive impact on my service. I am out in a small rural area about 20K from my org. We are doing the program at a primary school and I have two counterparts, Jules and Hlengiwe. They are the couple that started a crèche on their property. They have been really great to work with and the learners really seem to like them. I will touch more on Grassroots when this intervention (11 practices make one intervention) is complete. I can’t wait to finish this intervention and get some more started. Since I am doing Grassroots twice a week I have been able to spend some time out at Jules and Hlengiwe’s house and in the village. I love being out there and I am learning so much about livestock and gardens. Jules has done some really amazing things at his place and is coming up with a lot of income generating projects. Spending time out in the rural areas is so peaceful and I really enjoy going out there. Here are a few pictures of me playing with his ducks and chickens! They thought it was funny how intrigued I was with all of the animals. I wonder if he gets sick of my numerous questions about everything!

Rugby is going really well and we have finals this weekend! I am really sad to see the season come to an end already. I have made a lot of great friends from the team and I am sure I will continue to hangout with them when the season is finished. I know I have been a bit behind on posting but there will be more to come shortly when some things get finished up! Miss and love you all!