A Life of Ubuntu

Well I’ve made it through my first week at my site and it has been an adventure.  It all started with my kombe ride from Pietermaritzburg to the town near my site, Estcourt.  It just so happened that Monday was pension day so the town was filled with people.  The taxi rank area in Estcourt is an entire square block parking lot that is surrounded by small market shops and then store buildings.  As we pulled up I began to get nervous thinking about how I was going to find my host, Ms. Constance, in the middle of the seemingly chaotic market area with two huge bags but I didn’t have much choice. (Mom if you are reading this you might want to skip the next two paragraphs)

Of course the van parked right in the center, too.  I grabbed my bags and walked as quickly as I could towards the buildings hoping that if I put my duffel bag down to call Ms. Constance that I would be able to block it from being taken.  I got ahold of her but she said someone else from the center was picking me up and in a location a couple of blocks away.  I was thinking to myself, “How am I going to carry these bags around these people to a place that I don’t even know for sure where.”  Just then a woman came out of a grocery store and told me that I needed to get inside quickly because she overheard some men saying that they were going to try and take my bags.  (On a side note, I don’t want anyone to read this and think that South African people are bad because the truth is that muggings happen everywhere.  I was definitely a prime target for it and luckily there were some people watching out for me!)

Needless to say I quickly grabbed my stuff and went inside, recalled Ms. Constance, and had my ride pick me up at the grocery store.  Although my heart was beating out of my chest I was so thankful for the help and had a nice talk with the manager of the store who was very accommodating and friendly.  My ride, Goodness, brought the truck near the store so that I could put my bags in.  We then continued to run a few errands.  Like I said previously, it was a busy day in town so there were lines everywhere we went.  Unfortunately for me the back hatch of the pickup does not lock so this meant that I had to stay in the truck while Goodness ran her errands.  It wouldn’t have been too bad but the passenger side window was broken too so it got quite hot in there.  Finally after nearly two hours of errands it was time to make the short 10 minute ride from town to the center.

The KwaZamokuhle Diaconic Centre is a part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in South Africa and has many community projects that it assists with.  Some of these include making communion wafers that are shipped around the globe, arts and crafts that are made in the more rural areas and then sold, a sewing center and a computer center to teach people new skills, and several large gardens. 

The day starts at 8 with prayers in the chapel and ends around 4.  It is dark by 6:30 so it has been a challenge keeping myself entertained at night.  I often fall asleep before 9pm but then wake up before 6am. I spent a lot of this past week packaging boxes of communion wafers in the morning and then taking them into town in the afternoon.  Who knew my gift packaging training at Bed Bath and Beyond would come in handy here?! I also typed a few letters for Ms. Constance, the manager of the center, on a computer that ran Windows 98. Talk about old school!  Most of my time is spent following around Goodness and going with her into town to run errands.  Although the town is close it always takes several hours when we are there but it is nice to just listen to the things that Goodness has to say.

There isn’t much going on at the center on the weekends and not very many workers live on site so I am mostly on my own.  On Saturday I took a kombe into town just to explore and buy a few things.  (I am still working on getting reliable internet but the one store that seems to carry what I need is out right now but hopefully they will have them soon.)  The town was pretty busy but it was nice to just walk around and see the different shops and stores. 

Then on Sunday everyone goes to church.  The closest church to me is only a 15 minute walk away which isn’t bad at all.  It is supposed to start at 9 but it didn’t actually start until 9:20.  When I arrived at 8:50 there were only three people in the church, including myself.  Church services tend to be much longer (2-3 hours or more) here, especially if it is Communion Sunday.  The sermon usually takes half an hour and offering can take upwards of 30 minutes but there is a lot of singing and dancing during it which makes it exciting.

There has been a lot of adjusting to get used to and all the quiet time at night gives me a lot of time to think (and a lot of time to be homesick).  I am sure it will get better as time goes on and I meet more people in the community.  I know that the site I am at is not an easy place to be but I know that I have a lot of people supporting me and I am comforted by that.  In Africa there is a word that is used to express a sense of community and solidarity.  The word, Ubuntu, is often translated as “I am because we are.” In essence, I am who I am because of all the people in my life.  So to everyone reading this who has been there to support me and love me and cheer me on, words cannot express how grateful I am for you!

 I hope you all are doing well and I love you! 

“And I will live to carry Your compassion, to love a world that’s broken, to be Your hands and feet.  And I will live with the live that I’ve been given and go beyond religion to see the world be changed.  By the power of Your name.” –Lincoln Brewster, “Power of Your Name”