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LOVELIGHT 1542 Woodson Road Baldwin, Kansas 66006 |
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Updates From Our Volunteers |
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Here are snippets from Trailblazer Maura Fallon’s travel journal titled, Global Grace: July, 2009 We spent 2 weeks visiting our dear friends in Riviersonderend, a small rural village about 2 hours from Cape Town. Upon our arrival we visit Lietie, a grandmother who is a driving force in this small rural village. She has organized an amazing group of women who have created a sewing and quilting group, learned organic gardening and studied Healing Touch together:
“Our needles are clicking and we are listening to the details of the incredibly hard lives these grandmothers (GoGo’s) are living. Lietie’s husband of 45 years died last month and tears well up as she remembers how much he did for her and how much she loved him, loves him still. She shows me a photo taken during happier times. They have raised 9 grown children and she has a houseful of children now who call her ‘Oma’. They stay because they do not have parents who can care for them anymore due to HIV/AIDS, alcohol or other drug addictions. 52% of the adult population is unemployed and the entire community experiences depression and desperation.”
“Leitie’s son, John Jacobs, has returned to his hometown to build a community center. He has received all of the permits necessary (it has taken years) and is now meeting with the architect and others who will play pivatol roles in the construction (sandbag) and vision for a center including a theatre, restaurant and cooking school. He is wanting this project to be a model in green building for the area and has found people at the University, two hours away, who have some wonderful ideas and are excited to assist. He is hoping that people will come great distances to see what he has done in RSE. He is interviewing folks proficient in fundraising. John is very well respected in the area and when we are with him in the street people come to say how much they love him. Many volunteers will be required to finance, build and maintain the vision and Robin is hoping we will send special ones from America to assist. The Light Center is committed to helping in any way we can.”
A highlight of our visit was helping with the creation of a new community garden... “One of the small boys, Clayton, age 7, suddenly is next to me. Leitie has sent him to the garden with oranges, rolled in the hem of his t-shirt, for the volunteers. He offers me the biggest one. He notices that my borrowed, oversized gardening gloves have pulled away from my wrists and he pulls them back up to keep my $5 watch out of harm’s way. My time here is filled with hundreds of similarly sweet moments and I cannot adequately describe the loving spirit that is so evident in everyone I meet. This week will be another busy one. We are back in the garden preparing the space for a gardening workshop on site this coming Friday morning. Our friends from the Novalis Ubuntu Institute will be bringing 7 bags of compost and will train participants in rotating crops and year-round gardening. We went to the local grain elevator this afternoon, gathered empty grain bags and filled them with dried grass clippings from the B & B where we are staying. We will use these in the garden as well. The neighborhood boys were back in full force to help with clearing the space to ready it for Friday’s workshop. Fence post and barbed wire has been purchased to enclose the yard to keep the many dogs in the neighborhood out.”
“This evening John and and his mom, Lietie, have prepared a traditional African dinner for us in their home. It includes chicken, sausage, fish, sweet and white potatoes, vegetable pie and homemade bread. On Thursday evening we will return the favor with a traditional American dinner of meatloaf, corn on the cob, salad, sweet and white potatoes. Apple tarts and vanilla ice cream.”
“Robin and I met with a small group of women at the Community Hall this morning to teach/practice Healing Touch. The grandmothers (GoGo’s) share it with each other and their grandchildren, some of whom are HIV infected. The women are also experiencing stress reduction while treating themselves.”
Read more here: http://ucohlove-in-action.blogspot.com/ |
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Photo: Robin and Maura with some of our very capable garden helpers! |
