Building for Books (Article by Woody)

The corrugated metal roof on the

new library goes up! Following our trip to Pretoria in mid-May to attend our Close Of Service (COS) preparation conference with Peace Corps (have we really been here that long already?), we took a short day-trip to Bedfordview just outside of Johannesburg to pay our second visit to the RotaryClub's Humanitarian Aid and Book Donation Centre. This time our visit was on behalf of our high school, and in preparation for the nearing completion of the new Literacy Centre at that school. Once again we worked to pick out a wide selection of textbooks, reference books, novels, travel books, and anything else that will add variety and flavor to the new library.

Roof beams up and walls plastered... In addition to picking out books, we were also there to check over and coordinate delivery of a number of computers collected and donated to the schools in our village by the previous PCVs Adam and Lora Willard's home-town church. Between the computers and books from Rotary, plus our share of the shipment from Books For Africa (click here to donate now if you haven't yet!), the generous donations from Scarsdale Women's Club Operation Bookshelf, Darien Book Aid Plan, and many other sources – the kids and adults at our village high school will soon have the resources to expand their access to information, improve their understanding of the world at large, and maybe, just maybe, improve the overall English literacy and graduation rate at the school. Hopefully completion of the new library and the delivery of the shipment of books and computers will coincide such that we can wrap setting up the library and get enough teachers and students oriented to using it before it's time to leave South Africa! Eish! The countdown is on. . .

Xidudla (She-dude-la) (Article by Robin)

As my host mom likes to remind me – “U ya xidudla” which basically means 'you're fat' in xiTsonga. Since coming to South Africa, I've been gaining a lot of weight. I've probably gained between 20 and 30 lbs since being here – although it is difficult to tell exactly how much I've gained as I don't have a scale available to measure. My only gauge is the size of my pants which seems to have gone up about 2 or 3 sizes. Have you heard of the college freshman 15? Well, I've got the Peace Corps 25...

One thing that I really miss about America is having the convenience of an indoor gym where I can exercise. My whole life, I've struggled with keeping extra weight off. But it is really difficult here in South Africa due to a few factors. Not having a climate controlled gym to workout in, there are few alternatives for exercise other then just going outside and walking. However, the first problem is that about 8 or 9 months out of the year here are extremely hot and humid, making walking outside a bit unappealing. Even if the weather conditions do cooperate, there really isn't much of any place to walk. We have two choices – walk in the dirt road where, out here in the country, cars seem to constantly speed and run you off the road regardless if you are a cow, a goat, a child, or an adult. Or the second option is to walk in the uneven and bushy fields where you constantly have to dodge cow patties, broken glass, and make sure that you don't step on any snakes. There are no sidewalks or even pathways to walk, run, or exercise. The other problem with going outside to walk around the village is that many villagers don't just go around exercising. So, when we do go outside, Woody and I constantly get strange stares from people in the village and are regularly asked “Mi vuya kwihi?” – “Where are you coming from?” “You are returning from where?” Basically that is how people ask – “Where are you going?” To which we have to reply just “jiga jiga” (here and there) or “famba fambani” (going around).

Additionally, besides the unconscionable heat, the other problem that contributes to weight gain is the lack of food choices. There are no low fat, low calorie, sugar free food choices in the village. In fact, there aren't many choices at all. Here in the village corner shop, there is only one brand of bread. Your only choice is choosing between the white or the brown government subsidized bread. In the US, I could easily find lower calorie options for just about everything in the grocery store. Here even when we travel to our closest shopping town, the only option available is the full fat versions of almost everything. It was just within the last few months that we could even find fresh fruits and vegetables sold in our village. We always had to go outside the village to our shopping town for fresh produce. Most of the processed foods sold in the grocery stores here are packed full of MSG, salt, and lots of fat. I'm jealous of those younger PCVs who can survive off of cake, cookies, chips and candy and not gain an ounce of weight. So, needless to say, one thing that I'm looking forward to when we get back home is eating a healthier diet and being able to exercise stress free on a regular basis.

Advancing Seams. . . (Article by Robin)

Chains do not hold people together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads, which sew people together through the years. ~Unknown

Student making a

reversible baby dressIn September last year I started teaching a community sewing class to adults after school on Fridays. The goal of the project was to teach community members usable, marketable vocational skills to help supplement their income. The Ku Rhunga Klub students have been quickly advancing and are becoming skilled in making a variety of different products. Currently the club creates items such as girl's reversible baby dresses, boy's reversible rompers/jumpers, reversible aprons, and reversible shoulder bags. From our humble beginnings as a weekly adult sewing class, the Ku Rhunga Klub Project is beginning to expand to an income-generating micro business. The income generated from this project will be split between supplementing the personal income of the participants and providing additional or improved equipment and supplies for the group. The goal will be for each item sold, approximately half of the profit will go to the club member who created the item as labor compensation and half of the profit will be given back to the Ku Rhunga Klub Project to save for needed equipment and materials.

Student working with new sewing machine In April of this year, the Ku Rhunga Klub was generously granted R4,000 as an enterprise development investment from Ulusaba Pride 'n Purpose. The grant is to be used for equipment expenses and to purchase more sewing machines. The club was also given a 6 months interest free loan to be used to purchase needed fabrics and haberdashery items. So recently we were able to take a shopping trip to the big city! We traveled to Hazyview and Nelspruit along with Lindsay from PnP and the Ku Rhunga Klub's newly elected chairperson to purchase sewing machines and supplementary sewing accessories such as shears, machine oil, irons, and seam rippers, fabrics, etc.

Woody sets up the new sewing machines We came back from our trip with 2 new sewing machines and a ton of fabrics and additional accessory items in tow. The Klub members have been excited about the prospects of the project and working hard to make the variety of items in the initial order, and a little side income as well. They've already completed a few of the items in the order, and seem to be even more enthusiastic about our now twice weekly Klub meetings and classes. The Klub has also attracted the attention of a few other new community members interested in learning or improving their sewing skills. We even have one teacher from the school who used to sew some traditional items as a side business, but has not had access to a machine in a number of years. So far, I'm very proud of how much the students have advanced and can't wait to see what other items they come up with next!

Student showing off her

reversible apronStudent showing off his

reversible vestBack side of the

reversible vest

Students showing off their wares

Let's GetCreative (Article by Robin)

In March, I facilitated a lesson with Grade 10 and Grade 11 studentsat our high school regarding a creative story writing assignment. Atthe beginning of the lesson, I talked about how to introducecharacters and the setting. I discussed the three main points ofview (1st, 2nd, and 3rd person) and the 5 parts of a story. I gavethem a brief overview of how to write a story. Then I handed out aworksheet to help the students write an outline or skeleton of theirstory. I also gave them each a picture from a magazine and askedthem to use that as a starting point. The people in the picturesbecame their characters which they had to name and the background inthe photo became their initial setting. I know that many people havetrouble just coming up with a story on their own. So the idea was touse the magazine pictures as a starting point. We started with storyoutlines, then I had them write a rough draft, then lastly the finaldrafts of their creative stories. The goal of this project was totry and develop the learners imaginative abilities, help them learnand apply knowledge of the writing process, and especially help thempractice their English writing skills.

In the end, I got some great stories including a story about CaptainMasiya who is a captain of a ship who sails to a place where birdswill sing for you. But his two crewmen named Vincent and Recksonwere fighting to the death until Vincent killed Reckson and the shipsank. Vincent then had to tell the tale of the ship's woes fromprison.

We also had a story titled “The Unusual Wedding” about abeautiful wedding that took place on a ship in the middle of theocean. It was the wedding of Elizabeth and John. Everything ransmoothly during the wedding until suddenly a storm came and shook theboat and John fell overboard. Elizabeth then jumped into the waterand swam to save her love John. She carried him on her shouldersback to shore and the couple lived happily ever after.

Another story was about a teenage girl who saves an entire village ofpeople who are suffering from heart disease by getting the whole townto exercise. She called a town meeting and encouraged people toexercise thereby saving people's lives.

We also had some sad stories including one about a teenage villagegirl who is tricked by her school friends into going to the mall inthe big city and who then force her into having a “date” with anolder man who locks her in his car and rapes her. But then the girlgoes home and tells her mother what happened and they go to thepolice who finds the man and puts him in jail for 50 years.

Speaking of stories, here is another short story written last year bya grade 7 student who was attending Woody's computer classes. A fewof the Art Club boys came to the computer lab after school and Woodytaught them how to use the Paint program. In addition to drawingpictures on the computer, he asked them to write a short story to goalong with the picture. The story is titled:

3 Rooms by Isaac MY MOTHER'SHOUSE This room is divided in to 3 ROOMS.The first room is for me and my brother.The next room is for my two sisters. The last room is for my father and my mother.There is no shower but there is a bath room. Where we bath in when it is cold. There is swimming pool where we swim here when it is hot. MY father keep our family BEAUTIFUL by planting trees (and) greengrass.There are many trees that give us shadow. When it is a time of fruits we eat more fruits likePaw paws (papaya), mangoes, bananas and apples.

Story and picture by ISAAC (grade 7)

Show Me and IMay Remember (Article by Robin)

“Read thedirections and directly you will be directed in the right direction.”~ Doorknob (Lewis Carroll,Alice in Wonderland)

One observation that we have made while teaching here in South Africais that regardless of their literacy level and educationalbackground, many people are often more visual learners. People tendto need to be shown rather than told how to do things. For example,when we share an American food item with our host mom she often wantsto know how it was made. Once we baked her banana bread and sheloved it. So, she asked me how to make it and I wrote out therecipe, read over it with her, and gave her the baking instructions. But she still insisted that I come into her house that day and giveher a cooking demonstration on how to make it – never mind that itwas actually Woody and not me who made the bread. Also, whileteaching sewing classes, I've noticed that my students prefer that Idemonstrate something rather then give them the pattern instructions. Once I was helping one of the students use the school's industrialsewing machine. Since it is an industrial machine, I wasn't familiarwith how it needed to be threaded. So, while my student immediatelytried to thread the machine incorrectly, realizing that it wasn'tright, I took out the manual to see how it should be done while mystudent stared in amazement that I would actually read the manual forinstructions. Also, although Woody has repeatedly tried to showpeople how to use the 'Help' menu in Word or Excel, they still oftenhave trouble understanding how to do things just by reading theinstructions. So, he is left having to give a demonstration of howto do something even though the person he is helping just finishedreading the step-by-step instructions in the Help menu. This alsomight explain why the 'Self Help' section of the school libraries aregenerally left untouched.

Having knowledge or knowing how to do something is highly prized herein South Africa. In America and the 'West' in general, it's commonfor people to freely give other people information. But that's notalways the case in Africa. People tend to guard their knowledge inthe same way that Americans might guard their personal items. Knowledge is an expensive commodity here. So, taking the time toshow someone how to do something is highly revered. It shows thatyou care enough about someone to share with them.

Nonetheless, visual learning is definitely not a bad thing. It justmeans that we have to be more conscious of it when we are teachingpeople here in South Africa. I know that I myself have certainlygotten frustrated many times with sewing instructions that don't havegood pictures to better explain what to do and how to do it. And Ialso have a funny story about Woody and a new washing machine whenonce he didn't read the directions.

The BirthdayRace (Article by Robin)

What'sthe best way to prove to yourself on your birthday that you are notgetting old? Why complete a marathon, of course... This year, theLongtom marathon happened to land on my birthday. Again likelast year, Woody ran the 56Kultra marathon and this time I walked the half marathon. So, I spentmy birthday walking my ass off until my hips were sore, my legs weresore, and my feet had blisters. Um, what the hell was I thinkingdoing this anyway??

Cold and foggy morning of the raceWe started the 21K at 7 AM in Mauchsberg at 2,150 m above sea levelat the top of a section of the Drakensberg mountains. It was quitechilly that morning when we started the race due to the thick layerof fog in the air. Typical me, not being dressed properly – I wasfreezing since I was dressed for the heat in a short sleeved shirt. Luckily I had brought along my trusty MP3 player which I didn't useto listen to music – but instead to keep my inner ears warm as Itend to get ear aches in cold windy weather. At the start of therace, my race companions and I started out running mostly just tokeep warm. After we got our blood flowing again, we slowed down to abrisk walking pace.

Me and one of my walking partnersAfew kilometers in, we got to the first well equipped waterpoint wherepeople handed us water, soda, candy, bananas, and other high calorieenergy goodies. Which helped to keep my spirits up but didn't do memuch good for trying to burn calories off. Instead of burningcalories, I was consuming them. But damn, they were good! I guessthere should be some type of payoff for putting yourself through thiskind of grueling exercise. Anytime I was starting to get tired, atleast I knew that there was another waterstation coming up soon whichmeant that I would get candy!

Woody coming in toward the finish lineAs the fog started to clear off, a beautiful view began to emerge. We could finally look around us and saw a picturesque view of thevalley below and the surrounding mountains. As we descended down themountain, we eventually reached the town of Lydenburg. As we got tothe town, cars were literally running us off the road. By the timemy walking companions and I got about 13 or 14K into the race, therewere several of the faster 56K ultra people who were starting to passus. However, one cool part was when we got to see the first female56K runner coming in to the finish line. Additionally, the onefemale PCV in our group who ran the ultra marathon was the secondfemale to finish the ultra race and the first PCV ultra runner tocross the finish line. It was great to see all these iron women. Itdefinitely made me wish that I had gotten my grandfather's marathonrunning gene. Aaargh, why didn't I get that gene??

Woody and Robin at the finish lineAftercrossing the finish line and getting that well deserved medal, ;o) Itended to my sore legs, kicked off my shoes, and waited for Woody tocome in. Woody arrived at the 7h 42m mark. I was so relieved tofinally see him come in. Knowing how much pain I was in, I couldn'teven imagine what he must be going through having run an ultramarathon. But after we finally got on the bus and back to thebackpackers where all the PCVs were staying and took a quick shower,there was a full buffet of food awaiting us. Then I got to celebratemy birthday with cake and ice cream and surrounded by lots of friendsand other PCVs. So, what more could you ask for on your birthday? Well, okay, I guess you could ask for a trip to Cape Town. Becausethat's what we did next. We spent the next 5 days over the Easterschool holiday on an all too brief trip to Cape Town. Click here to check out ourPicasa photo album tosee pictures of our trip to Cape Town. We went to Table Mountain,the Cape Peninsula, Boulders beach and more. There are lots of cutepictures of penguins and dassies...

African Jackass PenguinA rock Hyrax ("dassie") at Table Mountain

Woody and Robin at Cape Point

Books for Africa (Article by Robin and Woody)

“We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say "It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem." Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes." ~Fred Rogers



The progress on the new library at the high school is coming along well. The masonry work is finished and the roof is going up. Next we just need the electrical work and a few coats of paint. And of course books! We want to thank all of you who have donated to our Books for Africa project:

Helen Al-haddad
Rhoda & Ben Hill
Cely & Joe Alhaddad
Marla & Mohammad Al-Sulaihim
Tim Branaman
Kearstin Brewer
Jennifer Hill & Aaron Martin
Gillian Grant
Natalie Eckberg

The response we have received so far has been hugely positive, but a large gap remains between the money we have raised and our funding target. So far, our group of 10 PCVs have received donations totaling $8,475, about 53% of our total goal of USD $16,000. Clearly, we still have a lot of ground to cover and we won’t be able to do it without your support.

Please keep in mind that the library building itself will be complete and ready to start housing books and welcoming students in less than 5 weeks. Additionally, our service will reach an end in September / October this year. While we hope that our schools will receive another set of volunteers after our service ends, we would like to know that there will be books coming to stock the library, even if they do not get here until after we have left. So time is of the essence. If you plan to support this project, do it now! The sooner we reach that fundraising goal, the sooner the container of books will be on a boat and on it's way across the ocean. When you break down the cost, the books are valued at around $1 each so even a $10 donation helps support 10 books! It takes a village to raise donations for a library! So, be rest assured that any amount you send will be making a huge difference in the lives of our high school kids.



Please help us and take five minutes to follow the link to our project titled “We Succeed – Siphumelela”: https://www.booksforafrica.org/donate/to-project.html?projectId=98

1. Scroll down to the green “Donate Now” icon above the project description.
2. Fill out all the necessary information.
3. Under the “Additional Information” field on the donation form, please be sure to write the name of the US Peace Corps volunteer who you are sponsoring. For example please indicate: “Robin Alhaddad” as the name of the person who told you about Books for Africa.
4. Click “Next” and you’re done!


Method 2: Check
To pay by check:

1. Make out a check payable to: Books for Africa
2. Either add a post-it note or indicate on the memo section of the check that you are sponsoring “South Africa – We Succeed-SIPHUMELELA, Robin Alhaddad”
3. Mail the check to:

Books for Africa
253 East 4th St., Ste. 200
St. Paul, MN 55101 USA


Thank you so much for your contribution and for helping to make our kids futures just a little bit brighter!

Will it Be Done'Now' or 'Now, Now'? (Article by Robin)

“There ismore to life than simply increasing its speed.” ~Mahatma Gandhi

WhenAmericans want things done we want them done right now and we don'twaste a lot of time doing it. Some might even say that we Americanscan be industrious and alacritous. But that's not how most things are done in Africa. Things move attheir own pace here. Most things just get donewhenever they get done. There are many examples of African timemanagement all over the continent including everything from the waythat houses are built to the responsiveness of customer service. InAfrica, time isnot seen as linearlike the way it is inthe Western world. I'm not saying that this is a badthing, it's just different.

Houses in the process of being built are often built piecemeal andthen left to sit for years unfinished. In America, fast-foodrestaurants are just that – 'fast food' but in Africa, that's notalways the case. Also, just because you are told that something willbe done by a certain date or certain time, it doesn't necessarilymean that it will be done by then. You would think that things mightbe different in the bigger cities, but in general they are not. It'sso ingrained in the culture that people often have to differentiatebetween doing something 'now' meaning I'll do it in the nextday or two and 'now, now' meaning I'll do it immediately.

Americans are also workaholics. We are used to working all the time. In my previous job working in the US at a non-profit organization, Iworked typically around 60 hours per week, some weeks working 6 daysa week, and received only about 2 weeks of paid annual holiday timeoff. Yeah, we also get some national holidays off too. But notnecessarily. I once worked for an employer who never gave us NewYears day off. Here in South Africa, some people can have up to 12weeks of vacation per year, which is great for the employee moralebut can often impact productivity taking two or three times longer toget things accomplished. We have often started a project only tofind out that there is an industry strike, or an office will beclosed, or an important component will be out of commission for twoweeks – necessitating the rescheduling of the project. While thismay drive us Americans crazy, most people don't seem to mind here. In some senses, African time is a good thing – people are more laidback and less stressed out or worried about when things will get donethan most Americans are. For Woody and I, it just means that we haveto learn to adjust our concept of time. We have to get ourselves outof our Western concept of time and learn to realize that althoughthings won't get done as quickly as we hoped, they will get doneeventually.

Here is a quote from Mother Teresa about time:

“In the West we have a tendency to be profit-oriented, whereeverything is measured according to the results and we get caught upin being more and more active to generate results. In the East –especially in India – I find that people are morecontent to just be, to just sit around under a banyan tree for half aday chatting to each other. We Westerners would probably call thatwasting time. But there is value to it. Being with someone,listening without a clock and without anticipation of results,teaches us about love. The success of love is in the loving – it isnot in the result of loving. ” ~Mother Teresa, A Simple Path

The Tooth-Fairyis at it Again... (Article by Robin)

Distributing about 60 toothbrushes to Grade ROnce again we received about 70 new children's toothbrushes fromguests of Ulusaba. So, this time I decided to do the same dentalhygiene demonstration that I did last November for the Grade R(kindergarten) kids at our second primary school. The two Grade Rteachers helped me explain the need to brush twice a day and thetechniques of how to brush top and bottom teeth and inside andoutside. After giving a verbal demonstration of brushing, wedistributed about 60 toothbrushes after labeling them with eachchild's name. Then with our toothbrushes in tow, we headed outsideto the water tap where we had a chance to brush our teeth and sing'Brush, Brush, Brush Your Teeth' to the tune of 'Row, Row,Row your Boat.'

Learner applying her back-handed excessive force techniqueWhileobserving the kids, I noticed that they all had several differenttypes of toothbrushing techniques including the “back-handedholding technique,” the “applying excessive force technique,”the “grin and bare your teeth technique,” the “messy toothpasteeverywhere technique,” and the “holding the toothbrush upsidedown technique,” and more! One girl was mimicking me while I wasdemonstrating how to brush only she didn't put the toothbrush insideher mouth. Others were eating the toothpaste and then coming backfor more...

Getting ready to brush... Afterthe demonstration, one of teachers told me that she was happy that wedid this lesson because she had recently told her students the weekbefore that they needed to brush their teeth daily even if theydidn't have a toothbrush – instead they should use the 'traditionalbrush.' Generally if people here don't have a toothbrush, they willuse a branch from the guarri tree to brush their teeth. So, now thatwe have equipped all the Grade R kids with their very owntoothbrushes, no more guarri branches are needed!

Colouring a giant tooth

Demonstrating the "messy toothpaste everywhere technique"

Last Call: Books for Africa Project

Outside the new library - just needs a roof!The progress on our new library at the high school is going well. The building is almost complete! Just need a roof, lighting and fans, electrical work, and a few coats of paint. Therefore, we wanted to take a few minutes to send you a friendly reminder about the Books for Africa Project we are working on. We are trying to finish fundraising by the end of March — less than a couple of weeks away.

View from inside the library -

just needs electrical work and a coat of paint!

The response we have received so far has been hugely positive, but a large gap remains between the money we have raised and our funding target. So far, our group of 10 PCVs have received donations totaling $5,195, about 32% of our total goal of USD $16,000. We're not even close to 50% of the way to hitting our goal. Clearly, we still have a lot of ground to cover and we won’t be able to do it without your support.

If you have already sent in your contribution, then please accept our sincere thank you! To you we would like to say 'ha khensa' meaning “we thank you.” If, however, you’ve been meaning to send in your donation and got sidetracked along the way, now is the time to do it.

By developing a love of reading our kids will be taking the first steps towards radically altering their life prospects. And these books won’t just help the children here and now — they will be used for years to come. It takes a village to raise donations for a library! So, be rest assured that any amount you send will be making a huge difference in the lives of our high school kids. Yay!... We're getting a new library!

Please help us and take five minutes to follow the link to our project titled “We Succeed – Siphumelela”: https://www.booksforafrica.org/donate/to-project.html?projectId=98

1. Scroll down to the green “Donate Now” icon above the project description.

2. Fill out all the necessary information.

3. Under the “Additional Information” field on the donation form, please be sure to write the name of the US Peace Corps volunteer who you are sponsoring. For example please indicate: “Peace Corps Volunteer, Robin Alhaddad” as the name of the person who told you about Books for Africa.

4. Click “Next” and you’re done!

Method 2: Check

To pay by check:

1. Make out a check payable to: Books for Africa

2. Either add a post-it note or indicate on the memo section of the check that you are sponsoring “South Africa – We Succeed-SIPHUMELELA, volunteer Robin Alhaddad”

3. Mail the check to:

Books for Africa

253 East 4th St., Ste. 200

St. Paul, MN 55101 USA

Thank you so much for your contribution!

Watch YourHead... (Article by Robin)

It is marula season again. Those golf ball-sized green and goldenfruits seem to be falling off of trees everywhere. And that alsomeans that it's harvest time. The "great harvest" begins inJanuary and February. Tons of people in the village go aroundcollecting the marula fruit to be sold to commercial companies thatprocess it into products like jam, beer, essential oils, and amarulaliqueur. There is so much fruit, that it can't all be picked. So weare having to step over piles of marula left-and-right. I guessthat's better then stepping over the usual cow-patties. Not tomention, watch our heads from falling fruit. So needless to say, weare all getting our fill of vitamin-C here in the village.

All parts of the marula tree are used for various purposes. Whendried, the seeds have a nutty flavor which tastes a bit like cashews. The bark of the tree is also used in traditional medicine andhealing. There are a whole range of beliefs that have also developedaround the marula tree. The marula seed is used as dice by ShangaanSangomas (medicine men and women), who cast their "bones"to foresee the future or help people with a variety of problems orailments. The Zulus eat the fruit for fertility and use the bark tohelp determine the sex of an unborn child. And the fermented fruitis also used to make an intoxicating traditional beer. With thislove for marula, it's no wonder there are so many annual marulafestivals held all over South Africa!Commercial companies buying local marula fruit

Correspondingwith America Requires Syntax Surgery (Article by Robin)

At the end of January, we started a new school year. Last year, ourhigh school had only a 57% matric rate (senior certificateexamination that determines graduation), which is up from theprevious year's 48% matric rate. You might think, wow only 57%?! But actually we had the third highest matric rate in our circuit.That should tell you a little something about the present state ofrural education here in South Africa.

One of the reasons why the matric rate is so low is because of thehuge barrier of learning English. All the exams are written inEnglish and the kids are expected to be able to read, write, andunderstand English well enough to explain complicated scientificconcepts meanwhile most of the teaching that goes on in the classroomis done in the home language or in English heavily supplemented withhome language – making the need for English literacy immanent. Sowith this in mind, I jump at the chance to find ways to challenge ourkids in English and get them practicing. Recently I had our grade 10high school students participating in the World Wise Schools Correspondence Program communicating with American kids back home inFarmers Branch, Texas. Through this program, our students get achance to communicate with students in America while also getting tolearn about American culture and practice their English writingskills. While drafting their letters, the class got to practicegrammatical rules and concepts such as when to use “are” versus“is,” when to use “at” versus “in,” when to use “watch”versus “see,” and when to use “stay” versus “live,” etc. Not to mention the constant reminder to use punctuation please! Don't forget those full-stops, commas, and question marks...

Recentlywe received the reply letters from 7thGrade studentsat Parish Episcopal School. Our kids were very excited to receivetheir letters and a picture of their pen-pals. The letters wereoriginally written back in October, so after reading the letters Ihad to explain to the class what Halloween is and why we celebrateit. English class also became a bit of a math lesson when I had toexplain how you can convert temperature from Fahrenheitto Celsius when talking about the weather. The WWS program hasopened our kids' eyes to some of the similarities and the differencesbetween themselves and American kids. It's pretty universal thatmost teenagers love to talk about music, sports, and animals. Butwhen it comes to food – well that's a different story. I foundmyself trying to explain more than once what fajitas and sushi are. Oy...



Help BringLiteracy to Our High School (Article by Robin)

“We live in aworld in which we need to share responsibility. It's easy to say"It's not my child, not my community, not my world, not myproblem." Then there are those who see the need and respond. Iconsider those people my heroes." ~Fred Rogers

Contractors break ground on the new libraryAlthough Woody will be running the ultra-marathon again this year inthe Longtom race in March, in lieu of asking for money for the KLMfoundation – this year we have decided that we would pay theminimum donation from our own pockets. The reason why we are doingthis is because we need to ask for your help to raise money for booksfor our high school – which is something that directly affects ourschools. Last year we were able to help raise $900 for the KLMfoundation. This year we have to almost double that amount to about$1,600 for Books for Africa.

Contractors laying foundation for the new libraryAs you may know, thanks to someextraordinarily generous guests of Ulusaba, Pride 'n Purpose, a newLiteracy Centre is being built at our High School! In January, thecontractors finally broke ground on the new building. So now we needyour help in raising money to get a 40ft. container shipment of booksfrom the U.S.-based organization – Books for Africa to ourschools in South Africa. There are a total of 10 US Peace Corpsvolunteers involved in this project, including myself, who arearranging for our schools to collectively receive over 20,000 booksincluding children’s story books, math books, science books, andEnglish literacy books to improve the overall resources of ourschools. The total project goal is $16,000 USD – making my shareof the fundraising goal about $1,600 USD. Over 2,000 of the booksraised from this project will go directly to our High School.

Yay!... Walls going up and we get a door!Books are the foundation of a strong educational system. The Books for Africa project will provide our schools with the basic resource of English-language books which are pivotal in developing the literacy levels of students by implementing school-wide reading programs, introducing leisure reading, and supplying teachers with materials to enhance their lessons. Thousands of students will benefit from the Siphumelela project by equipping them with the tools needed to speak, read, write, and understand English which is a basic and fundamental skill these children need to excel in their studies and become productive members in South African society. What a better way to help the future leaders of South Africa? Therefore we are kindly requesting your donations by March 15th – the deadline for sponsorship.

Here's How to Donate:

To donate simply follow this link on the Books for Africa projects page:

https://www.booksforafrica.org/donate/to-project.html

1. Scroll down until you see South Africa on the right-hand column. Under South Africa, click on our project titled “We Succeed – Siphumelela.” 2. Click on the green “Donate Now” icon above the project description.

3. Fill out all the necessary information.

4. Under the “Additional Information” field on the donation form, please be sure to write the name of the US Peace Corps volunteer who you are sponsoring. For example please indicate: “Peace Corps Volunteer, Robin Alhaddad” as the name of the person who told you about Books for Africa.

5. Click “Next” and you’re done!

Method 2: Check

To pay by check:

1. Make out a check payable to: Books for Africa

2. Either add a post-it note or indicate on the memo section of the check that you are sponsoring “South Africa – We Succeed-SIPHUMELELA, volunteer Robin Alhaddad”

3. Mail the check to:

Books for Africa

253 East 4th St., Ste. 200

St. Paul, MN 55101 USA

Thank you so much for your contribution and for your interest in our school literacy program!! It is because of the hugely supportive family and friends like you that we are able to continually develop and enhance our English literacy programs in our schools.

High School morning assemblyMorning assembly includes about 550 students

Our fridge filled with cards and letters from loved-onesWith Januarybeing the start of the new school term and the start of our final 9months of service, we would like to take time to thank all of you whohave supported our work over the last year. Some people havesupported our projects financially through donations while othershave supported us emotionally, mentally, and spiritually throughemails, cards, letters, Face Book messages, reading and commenting onour blog, and even sending care packages. The simple act of justasking how we are doing means a lot to us and lets us know thatpeople back home care. Therefore, we want to take this time to sendour sincere thanks to all of you – you know who you are. It isbecause of support from family, friends, and organizations like youthat we are able to continue our work here strengthening theeducation of local school children and keeps us going from day to day– even when some days are rough. We thank you all for yourcontinued support and generosity. Hence, to you we would like to say'ha khensa' the Shangaan phrase meaning “we thank you.”

~Robin and Woody

Hollywood Comes to the Bush (Article by Robin)

Woody and I get to meet Slater and his girlfriendI never thought when I joined Peace Corps, that I would meet acelebrity. Who thought that by living in a remote rural village inSouth Africa, that you would get a chance to meet Christian Slaterand Sir Richard Branson??. . . Well, that is exactly what happened tous!

Slater and Branson withour village Indhuna and créche staff

In honor of Richard Branson's 61st birthday, ChristianSlater flew down to South Africa to attend the opening of a newcréchein our village that Slater so generously donated the money to build. A crécheis the French word for what wecall in the US a daycare center or preschool for kids. Inpreparation for their visit, many of the community members andthe créchestaff prepared entertainment. At the opening event, there was lots of traditional dancingperformed by local kids as well as songs and nursery rhymes performedby the adorable childrenwho attend the créche. We got to see great performances suchas “I'm a little teapot,”“ten green bottles,” and“A sailor went to sea,” etc.

After the fabulous performances by thekids, Slater and Branson cut the red ribbon on the door and thenproceeded inside to put their handprints on the wall making a tree ofhands on the inside of the créche.Things got a little messy after that...

To see more photos and read more aboutthe Akani crécheopening, check out Richard's Blog on Virgin's website and Ulusaba's Bush Telegraph Blog.

Building a SwingSet (Article by Woody)

In late October, the primary school in our side of the villagestarted a small construction project to build a set of tire swings inthe playground area used by the lower grades. By mid November, themain structure had been built, but the school ran short on budget toget the needed tires, a few remaining chains, and tools to cut thetires to saddle-seat shape. With a little financial help from a mediagroup visiting Ulusaba and working on building projects in and aroundthe village, the school was not only able to purchase the remainingneeded materials, but was even able to expand the swing set to doublethe number of swings from 8 to 16 total. In December, once schoolended for the term, we spent 3 days working on the expansion to theswing set and hanging the remaining chains. In January 2012 we willreceive the donated tires and should be able to complete the swingsshortly after school starts.



Poverty and Poaching (Article by Robin)

Beasts kill forhunger, men for pay. ~John Gay

All of us have heard about animal conservation efforts – whetherhere in South Africa, back home in the US, or anywhere in the world. We've heard of well known organizations doing conservation work likethe World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the The Nature Conservancy. We know that animal conservation is necessary. But it wasn't until Imoved here to South Africa and have had a chance to see first handthe diverse species of animals that this continent has to offer thatI realized how threatened the lives of these animals really are. Itwasn't until I visited national parks, game reserves, andconservation centers here that I have come face-to-face with theimminent need for animal conservation. Woody and I live in a ruralvillage just 5 KM from Kruger National Park and the threat of rhinopoaching has continued to move into our area. Unfortunately, theillegal rhino horn trade is big business here in South Africa. Justlast week, 8 rhino carcases were found in Kruger. Yes, I said8 rhinos!! Eight rhinos?!... That is just insane! These majesticcreatures are quickly going the way of the dinosaur. The thought ofthose beautiful animals not being here for my future children to seeone day baffles my mind.

Unfortunately there are many reasons why animal poaching stillprevails – among them are government corruption, poverty, hunger,loss of cattle by carnivores and loss of crops by herbivores, and aninternational market for exotic products all have the incentive of‘money’ embedded in them. One of the root causes for poachinggame animals like the rhino comes down to the fundamental differencesbetween the rich and the poor. The underlying factor for localpeople to get involved in poaching is, dare I say it – poverty.

Most of Africa’s national parks, reserves, and wildlife areas likeKruger National Park are bordered by rural communities - like ourvillage - where the poorest of the poor are targeted by crimesyndicates to commit horrendous offenses such as animal poaching.Subsistence poachers are usually from poor communities and are drivenby poverty and hunger to poach animals. The opportunity to earn justa little bit of money by killing rhinos is difficult to resist whenunemployment rates are soaring and there are few alternatives to feedyour family. These small time subsistence poachers take high risksfor comparatively little reward and will usually pass the horns on tokingpin syndicates after the job is done.

On a trek through the village with &BeyondOn the first day of the New Year, Woody and I participated in a RhinoConservation Awareness Walk starting from our village through about 5other communities. When we started out that morning around 7 AM onour 17 km journey, we had no idea what to expect. We joined up withrangers and staff from &Beyond and Africa Foundation’s FOOTPRINTS OF HOPE awareness campaign which aims to educatesurrounding communities about the importance of rhino conservation. The goal was to walk through various rural communities – thoseespecially surrounding the local game lodges and talk to people abouttheir role in rhino conservation and ask community members to join inthe fight to save rhinos from extinction. Our walk was guided byMark Shaw, Regional Ranger Trainer for &Beyond South Africa. We were also joined by professional soccer player, Gordon Gilbert(Kaizer Chiefs, Moroka Swallows and Mpumalanga Black Aces, as well asthe Scottish Premier League). Gordon Gilbert giving a rhino talk to the community

For more info and pictures about our rhino awareness walk check outthe &Beyond Footprints of Hope Travel Blog.

Orphaned Juvenile CheetahAfter our rhino walk, Woody and I took a short holiday and went andvisited the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre. TheHESC focuses on conservation of rare, vulnerable or endangeredanimals. Cheetah conservation is one of their core disciplines. Wegot a chance to see cheetahs, wild dogs, southern ground hornbills,and many other endangered species up close and personal. We even gotto see the beautiful and rare King Cheetah. To see more picturesfrom our trip to HESC check out our Picasa web album.

I hope that by reading this blog, it will inspire you to check outSavingRhinos.org for more info on saving rhinos and to see how you can help raiseawareness of this cause.

For more info on rhino poaching check out WWF's Rhino Poaching in South Africa.

Here Comes theRain Again... (Article by Robin) “Hot weatheropens the skull of a city, exposing its white brain, and its heart ofnerves, which sizzle like the wires inside a lightbulb. And thereexudes a sour extra-human smell that makes the very stone seemflesh-alive, webbed and pulsing.” ~TrumanCapote, Summer Crossing

Last year the bridge washed away due to heavy rains.The bugs are back again and so is the summer heat... Theweather here varies in the summer between extreme heat getting up toas high as 44°C(about 111°F) one day and thendown to about 26°C, after therains. On hot days, it can bea two ice-cube tray day – meaning thatwe can go through two trays ofice in one day.

The summer also brings the rain. Typically we will haveseveral days of high heat and humidity followed by a day or two ofrain. During the summer, the air will be impregnated with humidityfor several days before it finally rains. That makes the heat almostunbearable as it weighs you down like a soaked rag. It is almostimpossible to get cooled off. Even while sitting directly in frontof a fan, I'm still sweating from the unconscionable moisture hangingin the air.

When the rains finally do come, it falls from the sky ina torrential downpour like a stampede of horses. Then there is thesound of the rain slamming against our tin roof. If you have neverlived in a house with a tin roof, well it is quite an experience tohear the sound of the rain. It sounds like there has been anexplosion in a glass factory. Imagine yourself being inside a tincan while someone throws thousands of small marbles at you. The roofjust amplifies the sound of rain and it is actually quitefrightening. I often feel as if our roof will go flying off of ourtiny house each time it rains because of the huge gusts of wind –And like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, we will go flying off with itto some remote and mysterious land. These rains often start in theevening. While Woody and I curl up in bed trying to watch TV on ourlaptop, we often have to cease our entertainment for the evening andjust go to sleep because the noise of the rains slamming against theroof make it impossible to hear anything. There is also the sound ofthe rolling thunder. I'm not sure if it is because we are in a ruralarea that is less dense or if it is because the walls of our houseare thin, making a insufficient barrier between us and the elements –but somehow the thunder and lightning seem more ominous here. Idon't recall thunder clap being quite this loud back home in the US. I often get so scared that I practically jump out of my skin eachtime lightning strikes. It is no wonder that people here are scaredof lightning!

However scary it seems, we need the rain though. Therain is what fills up the river when it runs dry – providing waterfor washing, cooking and bathing. The rain also waters the mealies(corn) and peanut plants during the growing season. While at timesnerve-wracking, at least we get a break from the unbearable heat whenit rains. So, I say... Let it rain! Let it rain!... And now I'llend this article with a Zulu proverb about rain:

Whereis the Rain? Thegiraffe and the elephant went for a walk. Theystopped in some shade and started to talk; "Iwish it would rain," said the giraffe with a sigh. "I'mtired of watching the clouds pass us by!" "Yes,"said the elephant, "Where is the rain? Iwish I could eat fresh green leaves again. Thesun is so hot and the land is so dry; Whenwill the rain fall from the sky?" Laterin the day the sky turned grey, Theflying ants flew out to say, "Therain is coming! We smell it in the air! Andin the distance, thunder we hear!" Thegiraffe and the elephant looked up at the sky Andheard the black eagle give forth his cry,"Therain has come, The rivers will flow; Thedry season is over; now the green grass will grow!"

Kids and Computer Graphics (articleby Woody)

Oupa by FloydCanyou draw a rhino free-hand? Not I. And definitely not using a mouseeither. But after showing a small group of the Art-Club and LibraryHelper kids in the computer class a few basics about using the Paintprogram in Windows, guess what one of the first things they drew was? Impressive!

Soat the end of Term 4, to incorporate it into the computer literacylessons, we asked them to make a drawing in Paint. Then, in Word, towrite a short story about the drawing. From there a few of them evenmanaged to embed the drawing into the story. We got everything from“One time my brother. . .” to “The Krazy Khumbi (taxi)”. Afew more classes like this and we'll have a handful authors ofillustrated kids stories. With the majority of these kids graduatinggrade 7 this year and moving to the high school next year, hopefullyit won't be too long before we can get them access to computers atthe high school so they can continue working on developing theseskills. There may even be a graphic artist or two in the makingthere. The Krazy Kumbi by Floyd, Grade 7 Zulu song about a Khumbi

VusiDrives the Kombi

Vusi drives thekombi that takes us all to school.

We open all the windows so theair blows nice and cool.

He hoots when he fetches us, he hootswhen he goes,

He hoots at the cows that are standing in theroad.

Vusi drives the kombi that we all love to ride.

If youwant to travel with us, there's lots of room inside!

Toilets

ComputerSkills for Adults (article by Woody)

ABET Computer Classes

Thisterm (October to December), in addition to computer classes for thekids at the school, the adult learners attending ABET (Adult BasicEducation and Training – like GED) classes hosted at the primaryschool expressed interest in attending after-school computer classesto improve their own skills. So two of the educators, Mr. Mhlaba andMr. Ngwenya, volunteered to teach one class each once a week. Mr.Mhlaba took the ABET class, and Mr. Ngwenya took the generalcommunity class. With the changes we made in the timetable for thisterm, we were able to incorporate these two classes into the end ofthe school day on days when the computer class was not in use. Thatway we avoided keeping anyone overly late at the school and at thesame time fit the computer practice in before the regularly scheduledABET classes, which start after the primary school knocks off eachday.

This group of adult learners picked upthe skills so quickly and have such focus and patience whenpracticing, that even though they started learning more than a monthafter the kids, they've already outpaced the kids. They're alreadymoving on to writing documents, learning a little about file anddocument management, and a few are even working on writing theircurriculum vitae (CV). They even asked that we keep the computerclass open for the week following the end of the school term untilofficial break for the Christmas holiday. On the list for next term:spell checking, dictionaries, and encyclopedias...

Woody demonstrates the computer desktop while Mr. Mhlaba explains in XiTsonga

Operation Rhinoceros: Combining Wildlife Conservation and Kid's Art (Article by Robin)

This year, September 22nd was World Rhino Day. Four out of the five species of rhinoceroses are in danger of extinction in the wild, due mostly to illegal trade in rhino horn and increasingly, to habitat loss. Unfortunately, the illegal rhino horn trade and poaching is big business here in South Africa due to the demand in the Asian market for horn products for medicinal purposes. Here in South Africa, there are two species of rhinos including the black rhinos and the white (or wide) rhinos. Just recently on the 10th African Western Black Rhino was declared officially extinct by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. And here is another recent SABC news article about two rhino carcasses found in Free State. When I hear stories like these, it is disheartening and makes me very angry. It's unbelievable how cruel people can be and it often makes me lose faith in human beings.

It is because of stories like these that I strongly encourage you all to check out SavingRhinos.org for more info on saving rhinos and to donate in order to help raise awareness of this cause.

The beginning of Term 4 started in October. At the beginning of the term, our local game lodge, Ulusaba hosted a World Rhino Day celebration. They decided to host an anti-poaching rhino campaign here in the village to raise awareness and funds in the fight against poachers. Unfortunately, recent poaching syndicates found in the Hoedspruit, Limpopo region (about 1 hour away from us) originated from our area – right in our back yard! So, Ulusaba's goal was to do awareness campaigns in the villages dispelling the myths about rhino horns, why poaching is bad, and how we cannot afford to loose the BIG 5.

They decided to do a rhino fact workshop with some of the Art Club kids at one of our primary schools and asked Woody and I to help out. A few of their volunteers came to one of our schools and gave a rhino talk to the kids and handed out a new Rhino Awareness booklet that they recently designed. Afterwards, the kids from our Art Club got a chance to paint a carved wooden rhinoceros and then we had an art competition.

Knowing that Ulusaba was planning this event, a few weeks beforehand, I found a realistic looking coloring page of a rhino, I photocopied and enlarged it, and then had the kids from the Art Club use the coloring page to practice making their designs so that they could get an idea of how they wanted to paint their rhinos.

In my Grade 7 literacy class, we had also just finished reading a book called Jungle Drums and in the story the warthogs make a wish and take all of the spots, stripes, and feathers from the other animals in the jungle and the markings of all the animals get mixed up with one another. So, I used that story to explain to the kids that they could do something like Jungle Drums where they put zebra stripes or cheetah spots on the rhinos. For those of you back home, think of the Pegasus horses that were painted and installed all around Dallas (or other public art exhibits that have been featured in major world cities where fiberglass sculptures of animals are decorated by local artists and then distributed all over the city). The idea for this project was much the same where the kids were allowed to design and paint their rhinos however they wanted to.

After the kids finished painting their rhinos, a few days later Ulusaba held a competition to award the best design. There were about 16 kids who participated in the competition. All the participants were given a backpack full of goodies and then the winner of the contest was awarded a free game drive from Ulusaba. The winner will get a chance to go into the reserve with 6 of their friends, have a game drive and hopefully find a real rhino, and then have lunch at the lodge. The kids were real excited about the competition as I had been explaining it to them for weeks beforehand. The competition was also particularly exciting because the kids had special guests who attended and assisted with the competition – Adam and Lora Willard the RPCVs who were previously working in the village. Adam and Lora happened to be traveling through South Africa and visiting the village after being gone for a year. Since Adam originally started the Art Club, this art competition gave him a chance to have one last project with the Art Club kids. All the painted rhinos from the competition will soon be auctioned and sold by Ulusaba to raise money for their rhino awareness campaign and for the school.

The Ku Rhunga Club Sewing Project (Article by Robin)

Ku Rhunga means to sew... As a secondary project, I have recently begun teaching a few adults after school each week on Fridays how to sew or what they often refer to as “machine sewing” here. As many of you may know, one of my hobbies is sewing. Since coming to South Africa, I was able to purchase a used sewing machine for R900 (about $100 USD). And it has given me a opportunity to work with some of the fabulous traditional African fabrics here. Nevertheless, since my class consists of beginners, I started the class by teaching them the parts of a sewing machine and I am now working on teaching them basic sewing skills. I currently have two women and one man in my class. The goal is to be able to teach them usable marketable skills and to eventually produce items which can be sold in the local surrounding game lodges.

First we had to practice cutting patterns, straight stitching, and basic sewing techniques before we could get into anything too complicated. So, one of the first projects was for them to make their own reversible apron. This was a great beginner project because it only requires straight stitching and the students were able to produce something right away to take home. My students were very excited when they completed their aprons. Most of them even wore their aprons while walking home after class. So far, the classes are going well with the only obstacle being consistent electricity. Here in the village we have frequent power outages especially after thunder storms. So, having electricity available can be touch-and-go at times.

We also found out that the school has a used industrial sewing machine that was in a storage room. So, Woody and I took it out of storage, dusted it off, and are working on trying to get it up and running. If we can get it working right, then they may eventually be able to use it to make school uniforms for the kids!

Brush, Brush, Brush Your Teeth... (Article by the Tooth Fairy, aka Robin)

Other than a dimple in a cute little chin,What's more adorable than a toothless grin? ~Azu "Betty" Espezia

Learning to brush your teeth can be a fun activity especially when you have a cool new toothbrush to do it with... We received donations of about 50 new toothbrushes and some toothpaste from guests of Ulusaba. So, I decided it would be a great opportunity to teach the Grade R (kindergarten) kids at one of our primary schools about dental hygiene and keeping their teeth clean. Our lesson started off with teaching the kids how to brush their teeth using a “B-is for Brushing” mini-poster that I printed out from Colgate online. Then myself and the two Grade R teachers taught the kids a few fun teeth-brushing songs as follows:

BRUSH, BRUSH, BRUSH YOUR TEETH

Brush, brush, brush your teeth

At least two times a day.

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning,

Fighting tooth decay.

ARE YOUR TEETH CLEAN AND WHITE?

Are your teeth clean and white?

Do you brush them left and right?

Do you brush them in the morning?

Do you brush them every night?

Do you brush them up and down?

Do you brush them round and round?

Are your teeth clean and white?

After learning the songs, we gave each child their own toothbrush labeling them with their names so that they wouldn't get them mixed up and could take them home after school. The class then journeyed outside to the water tap where we proceeded to first give a demonstration and then had the kids brush their own teeth. We demonstrated brushing the top teeth, bottom teeth, outside, inside and the tongue too. Well, it turns out that watching a bunch of 5 year-olds brush their teeth is quite hilarious as there was toothpaste everywhere! Good thing we were outside.

After the brushing, I also gave the kids a colouring page of a giant tooth and toothbrush... It was a great day and a good way to brush our blues away!

The Third Goal (Article by Robin)

Many Americans don't realize that there are actually three goals to the Peace Corps program. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy launched an innovative program to spearhead progress in developing countries and to promote friendship between the American people and peoples overseas. From the beginning, the Peace Corps Act which established the program in 1961 identified three goals: 1) to help developing countries meet their need for trained men and women; 2) to promote a better understanding of Americans overseas; and 3) to promote a better understanding of foreign peoples and cultures on the part of the American people.

As Woody and I sit here and write this blog, we are fulfilling goal number 3. Additionally, I also recently started another third goal project by participating in the Coverdell World Wise Schools Correspondence Program. This program is designed to build a cross-cultural understanding for students and help students better understand countries and cultures that many of them may never experience. Thankfully, Woody and I both already knew a few really great teachers back home in the US. So, it was easy to get started in the program. I began our correspondence program with a friend of mine named Tiffany Lewis who teaches 7th grade Social Studies at Parish Episcopal School in Farmers Branch, TX. Because of the size of Tiffany's class and the English level of my students here at the high school, we decided it would be best for her class to correspond with our Grade 10 students.

We had about 108 students who participated in writing letters to Parish Episcopal School. The goal for my students was to give them an assignment to help work on their English skills while also learning a valuable skill like letter writing. Letter writing in general is a lost art form and judging by some of the adults here, it is not addressed much in schools either. So, part of why I wanted to do this activity was to teach my kids how to write a letter. I started with having the kids brainstorm some questions that they might want to know about American students. I also taught them the 5 parts of a letter including the heading, the greeting, body, complementary close, and signature. It took me a couple of weeks to have them write their drafts of their letters and then edit them. Then the third week I was able to have them write their final drafts of their letters. Because of their lower skill level in English, I wanted to use this assignment as a way to practice their English as well as their writing skills. I think the kids thoroughly enjoyed the assignment and I know that they learned a lot from the experience. Now they are eagerly awaiting their letters from America... Additionally, I hope to be able to recreate this assignment again with another class and a couple of other teachers that we know back home.

Timetables (Article by Woody)

One year into our work at these three schools, it seems that one of the hardest things about our work is not so much communicating, choosing which projects to tackle, or even working with occasionally unruly kids. Rather, it seems often that the hardest thing is trying to divide our time equitably between the three schools and, in that division of time, incorporate an actual schedule for the classes or tasks we're undertaking. Trying to do that and give enough time for knowledge transfer proved to be next to impossible with the interesting and somewhat creative timetables that the schools have been using. So after meeting with the School Management Teams (SMT) at the two primary schools, and with the Scheduling Committee at the high school, we were able to convince them that the best way to incorporate the English and Computer literacy classes that we are facilitating is to basically reinvent the wheel by designing a new timetable essentially from scratch.

This proved to be an enlightening exercise at all three schools. First we had to review their current timetables to see what subjects were offered to which grades, who taught those subjects, and how many hours a week were dedicated to each class. Just going through this kind of inventory the various teams realized how inconsistent and sometimes plain wrong their old timetables were. After that we worked out how best to distribute the hours of each subject across the school week. We were definitely not going back to the “switch teachers and subjects practically every 30 minutes” routine that had been in place in the past. We were also able to build in a few conditions like what days of the week we were at the school, where the library and computer classes would be placed, and putting the Principal's or Deputy Principal's classes at a particular time of the day to leave the rest of each day free for meetings and management work. Finally we fed the whole thing into a timetabling program called FET and hit generate to let it do the complicated part of shuffling blocks of time around until everything fit. I know it sounds like a lot of work, but we managed to do the whole thing at each school in just about 2 hours of very focused work. Based on the feedback from the scheduling teams, this is a big change from the 2 to 4 weeks they typically spent at the end and beginning of each year fiddling with the schedules until they got them “right”.

Since this is a pretty big change in process for these schools, they adopted the new timetables with the understanding that they would only be used for the brief few weeks of teaching at the beginning of Term 4, the current term that started in October. With the high school we actually did the design work at the end of Term 2, and were able to pilot it for all of last term during Term 3. Now that they've all had a chance to try it, we're asking all the teachers for feedback to see how they like the new schedule and if they have any special requests for how to allocate their time in the coming year. Later in November and early December, we will be going through the timetable design again, but this time with the scheduling teams doing all the inventory and data entry, taking the feedback from the surveys into account, and I will be there simply to advise and assist. With a little practice, they will be able to use this method going forward, and save themselves a few weeks of headache and frustration at the beginning of each year.

The Price of a South African Bride (Article by Robin and Woody)

In South Africa, the word Lobola means bride price and it is the traditional Southern African dowry custom whereby the man pays the family of his fiancé for her hand in marriage. The custom is aimed at bringing the two families together, fostering mutual respect, and indicating that the man is capable of supporting his wife both financially and emotionally. It is a gesture of goodwill in the formation of new family lineage.

Traditionally the Shangaan people were pastorial and their wealth was determined by the number of cows they owned. Therefore, the traditional lobola payment was made in cattle as cattle were the primary source of wealth in African society. However, most modern couples today have now switched to using cash or part cash and part cattle as is now typical in rural areas. The process of lobola negotiations can be long and complex, and involves many members from both the bride's and the groom's extended families. In our area, from what we have seen, the lobola prices range from as low as R5,000 to more than R50,000 plus cattle. The lobola is typically paid over time to the bride's parents or family representatives and the couple is not officially married until final payment is made.

Recently we were invited by a friend to attend her lobola negotiations. For our friend, the price was negotiated to R15,000 (approx $2,000 USD) plus two cows. During the lobola negotiations, the bride-to-be and and her close female relatives (sisters and cousins) are not to be seen by the groom’s family. So, the bride-to-be stays hidden away while her parents or family representatives meet with the groom's family. Woody and I stayed hidden with our friend in her bedroom. This gave us a chance to talk to her about how the lobola proceedings work.

On a prearranged day, the groom's family comes to the bride's house and announces to the bride's parents or family representatives that they are coming to pay lobola. The two sides of the family have discussions for a while. Although the price is negotiated previously, they still have to come to an agreement on what the partial payment amounts will be. After they come to an agreement on the price, the groom's parents come and bring partial lobola (maybe half or two-thirds) of the total. The custom is that the groom's family should make at least two payments. It's in poor taste to pay the total amount all at once, as it would imply that the bride's family has negotiated such a low price for their daughter that the groom's family can easily pay the total at once. Eventually the bride-to-be is called out to the room where the negotiations are taking place. The bride's family then offers the bride-to-be along with another single female from the same family and asks the groom's family which girl they are there to pay lobola for. The family then chooses the bride-to-be. It's the last confirmation that the groom's family is there to pay lobola for their daughter and not someone else. Once the negotiations are complete, the two families sign a contract and the money is handed over to the bride's family. Then there is a big party with lots of food. Because the cost of the lobola and the cost of a wedding can be so high and take so long to save up for, most couples who are “engaged” often start having kids before they are even married and typically even before they are engaged. Some people wait up to 20 years or more before they have a wedding ceremony.

Paying lobola is not only tied to the right to marry, but also tied to other aspects of traditional life. For example, if the groom has not completed paying lobola and the bride-to-be suddenly dies, then the bride's family can put a hold on the funeral and burial until the groom's family comes up with the remaining money. He is still required to pay the full amount of the lobola before they can bury the bride. Another area where lobola has influence is in divorce. A wife asking for divorce is typically not granted divorce unless her family can repay the full amount of her lobola back to the groom's family. This is seen as an incentive for both the wife's and husband's families to intervene in case of a dispute between spouses to attempt to reconcile their differences before reaching the point of divorce.

In addition to being invited to our friend's lobola negotiations, we were also invited to attend a wedding ceremony of our Deputy Principal and his wife (who is also a teacher at the school). When it comes to weddings, they can be a bit elaborate and very expensive. Our Deputy Principal and his wife have actually been married traditionally for 20 years and have already had 8 children. But they hadn't yet been able to have a “white wedding” ceremony until now. So they had a combined wedding and 20th anniversary celebration. Most weddings take place outdoors under a huge tent because the number of people in attendance doesn't allow for enough space inside a church. Another huge cost to the wedding is the food. They have to be able to provide enough food to feed the several hundred people in attendance. Generally that means the slaughtering of a few cows and several chickens.

The wedding itself, like many public functions, is a highly structured event with items like a formal opening and prayer by the officiating minister, a number of guest speakers representing family, friends, employers and co-workers, neighbors, and church group affiliations. At this most recent wedding, even the couple's two oldest children had a chance to speak about their parents. The whole event, much like a typical wedding in the US, is split into two parts, the wedding and the reception. Normally the wedding is held in the morning, starting at around 9 or 10am and running until 12 or 1pm. At that point, lunch is served, and the guests have a chance to mingle, relax, and step out of the tent, which, if it's a summer wedding, can become quite hot and suffocating by that point in the day. The reception then starts around 3 or 4pm, and can run as late as 10pm or midnight. The biggest difference that we've seen is that the reception is just as structured as the wedding, with time for more guest speakers interspersed with selected traditional or religious songs and dances, and finally the cutting of the wedding cake.

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust: One's Final Hour Has Come. . . (Article by Robin)

Last month we also attended a memorial service and funeral for a staff member of our high school who also happened to be the wife of a teacher at one of our primary schools. If a staff member of a school dies, usually the school where the person worked along with several nearby schools will close early so that teachers and staff can attend the memorial service and visit the family. Here in the village, funerals generally take place on Saturdays. Since they are all-day affairs, Saturdays are best because people are not working and it allows time for relatives and friends to travel in to attend the funeral. The services start very early in the morning at around 6 AM and go on until 12 or 1 PM. Funerals are very expensive and elaborate events with tributes given by just about everyone from family members, aunts, grannies, siblings, friends, neighbors, colleagues, the school Principal, union representatives, Department of Education representatives, members of the church and so on... There is also a lot of singing going on. Almost between every speech and the next, they sing a hymn or at least a few verses.

Throughout the world there are also various traditions about visiting grave sites and memorials. Some people burn incense and candles while others may leave flowers on the grave. In the Jewish tradition, you leave a rock on the top of the gravestone to mark your visit and show that you were there. In the Islamic tradition, people often pour water on the grave to mark their visit. Here among the Shangaan people, some mark their visit by leaving behind traditional beer and snuff at the grave site.

The sad part is that death is very common here. More so then in the US, people die from everything from cancer, to HIV/AIDs, to various other health problems, to car accidents, drowning accidents, and so on. The death rate in South Africa is 17 deaths out of every 1,000 people per year (July 2011 est.). It's the third highest death rate in the world, as of 2011 only Angola and Afghanistan are higher. The average life expectancy here is about 49 years. Compared with the US, who's death rate is only 8.38 deaths out of every 1,000 people per year and the average life expectancy is 78 years.

Just recently a friend of ours living in a neighboring village had to pull a dead boy from a shallow pond after he had drowned and been under for about 2 hours. In another neighboring village, a boy died after falling from a Tintoma (Jackalberry) tree. We've also heard rumors of kids being attacked by crocs while crossing the river in our village. Also many people here do not know how to swim and therefore there is a high rate of drowning deaths. Lots of people also die from car accidents here as almost no one wears a seatbelt, many cars are not in good running condition, and many drivers do not follow reasonable safety precautions like keeping a safe following distance, signaling, and care in passing other vehicles. People also fall ill and die from typically treatable diseases including cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and other diet, stress, and lifestyle related illnesses. Our host mother seems to attend at least one funeral every month.

Circuit Workshop (Article by Woody)

Among the things we inherited at our schools from the previous volunteers at site, one of the most asked about has been the spreadsheets, known here are Progression Schedules, used to record learner results and determine when a learner can progress from one grade to the next. Earlier this year, word apparently spread around to the other neighboring schools in our circuit and a couple of neighboring circuits that the 3 schools we are working in have been using electronic versions of the paper forms the rest of them have been relying on. For them the paper forms often resulted in mistakes in calculation and meant resubmitting much paperwork or, even worse, meant a learner was not given a final result at odds with their actual test results. So we got a few visits from principals and administrative staff from these schools asking how they could use the same electronic forms at their schools. Because of the time involved in presenting these tools and their use to the school staff, I finally decided to turn it into a one-day circuit-wide training, inviting all 22 primary and high schools to send representatives to our local circuit office for a workshop near the end of September, just a few days before school closed for the 3rd quarter.

With about 35 people attending – principals, administrative staff, and a few educators – we were able to get the material presented in just under 6 hours, a hectic pace even by my standards. At the end of the day most of the schools indicated they were going to start using it immediately, some were going to wait until the following quarter to use it for the final grades for the year, and just a few others were not able to use it without major redesign either because of complexities in the subjects they offered or because of the number of learners in a single class... (“You have over 200 kids in one classroom?! Seriously?!”) It was interesting to see the wide difference in computer skills between the staff of the different schools. Some knew exactly what we were talking about when describing different steps in copying the forms, renaming files, filling in the forms, etc... while others struggled to keep up and had to rely on their neighbors to coach them through the steps. Also interesting was the wide difference between the schools in what subjects they offered, and how they weighted those subjects when it came to determining if a learner had acquired enough knowledge to pass their current grade and progress to the next grade. Unfortunately it seems that despite national, provincial, and regional standardized tests, no national, provincial, or regional criteria for advancing learners has been communicated well enough to the schools to follow, or if it has been communicated, then the schools are choosing to disregard it in favor of their own criteria. Fortunately for us, the schools where we work came to a common agreement about these criteria and, despite occasional protest from some of the teachers, are still able to enforce it. Hopefully this workshop not only encouraged these neighboring schools to go electronic, but it also got them thinking about the criteria they use for grading and advancing learners.

Touring the Panorama (Article by Robin)

Once again we went on another school trip. This time it was the yearly school trip for our second primary school. On this trip, we got a change to see some of the sites along the Panorama route – seeing such tourist attractions like the Kahamai (Swadini) Reptile Park a.k.a. “Snake Park,” Echo Caves, the Three Rondavals, and Bourke's Luck Potholes. Our journey started at 7 am with a bus load of screaming kids. Only about 70 or so kids from the school were able to attend the trip. Before heading out on a long journey, it's customary for someone to stand up and say a prayer to ask God to keep us safe on our journey. After the prayer, soon we were on our way. . .

Park guide shows off a live pythonOur first stop was the Kahamai Reptile Park. The main goal of this park is conservation and education about reptiles and amphibians. It is home to various types of snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodiles and more. Some are local species and others come from all over the world including some from Texas. We saw both a Texas cottonmouth and a rattlesnake. A few of the kids were even brave enough to pose with a huge python carried by one of the park caretakers. The Shangaan word for snake is Nyoka and people are very scared of snakes here. If they come across a snake they will automatically kill it – generally by wielding a big stick at it. Woody and I have had a few encounters with snakes since living here. Once there was what looked like a green mamba sleeping curled up inside of the school library, then another time Woody came across a huge 4-foot long gray snake on the school grounds – thankfully it was already dead, and most recently we had a small snake inside our house.

Kids at Echo CavesNext on the list was Echo Caves in the Molopong Valley. These caves have sheltered humans since the Middle Stone ages. The cool cave air was a nice break from the impending heat. On our descent into the cave, we had to walk down some very steep stairwells. One of the girls was pretty scared to go down the stairs, so I took her by the hand and we went down together. Once in the cave, our guide told us about the tribes of people who once lived in the caves. The kids got to learn the difference between stalactites and stalagmites – it reminded me a bit of my college geology days.

Three Rondavals viewing pointThe third stop was at the Three Rondavals viewing point. A Rondaval is a traditional house or round hut-like dwelling with a thatched roof. This mountain site has three giant peaks of quartzite and shale and they are called Rondavals because their shape so closely resembles that of the traditional huts. The peaks are also named after the three wives of Chief Maripi Mashile – which are Magabolle, Mogoladikwe and Maseroto.

Bourke's Luck Potholes Our final destination was the Bourke's Luck Potholes. This is a natural water feature that marks the beginning of the Blyde River Canyon. Due to countless years of swirling whirlpools which occur as the Treur River intersects with the Blyde River causing waterborne sand and rock to grind huge, cylindrical potholes into the bedrock of the river. The Potholes were also named after a gold prospector, Tom Burke, who staked a claim nearby.

The Price of a South African Bride (Article by Robin and Woody)

In South Africa, the word Lobola means bride price and it is the traditional Southern African dowry custom whereby the man pays the family of his fiancé for her hand in marriage. The custom is aimed at bringing the two families together, fostering mutual respect, and indicating that the man is capable of supporting his wife both financially and emotionally. It is a gesture of goodwill in the formation of new family lineage.

Traditionally the Shangaan people were pastorial and their wealth was determined by the number of cows they owned. Therefore, the traditional lobola payment was made in cattle as cattle were the primary source of wealth in African society. However, most modern couples today have now switched to using cash or part cash and part cattle as is now typical in rural areas. The process of lobola negotiations can be long and complex, and involves many members from both the bride's and the groom's extended families. In our area, from what we have seen, the lobola prices range from as low as R5,000 to more than R50,000 plus cattle. The lobola is typically paid over time to the bride's parents or family representatives and the couple is not officially married until final payment is made.

Recently we were invited by a friend to attend her lobola negotiations. For our friend, the price was negotiated to R15,000 (approx $2,000 USD) plus two cows. During the lobola negotiations, the bride-to-be and and her close female relatives (sisters and cousins) are not to be seen by the groom’s family. So, the bride-to-be stays hidden away while her parents or family representatives meet with the groom's family. Woody and I stayed hidden with our friend in her bedroom. This gave us a chance to talk to her about how the lobola proceedings work.

On a prearranged day, the groom's family comes to the bride's house and announces to the bride's parents or family representatives that they are coming to pay lobola. The two sides of the family have discussions for a while. Although the price is negotiated previously, they still have to come to an agreement on what the partial payment amounts will be. After they come to an agreement on the price, the groom's parents come and bring partial lobola (maybe half or two-thirds) of the total. The custom is that the groom's family should make at least two payments. It's in poor taste to pay the total amount all at once, as it would imply that the bride's family has negotiated such a low price for their daughter that the groom's family can easily pay the total at once. Eventually the bride-to-be is called out to the room where the negotiations are taking place. The bride's family then offers the bride-to-be along with another single female from the same family and asks the groom's family which girl they are there to pay lobola for. The family then chooses the bride-to-be. It's the last confirmation that the groom's family is there to pay lobola for their daughter and not someone else. Once the negotiations are complete, the two families sign a contract and the money is handed over to the bride's family. Then there is a big party with lots of food. Because the cost of the lobola and the cost of a wedding can be so high and take so long to save up for, most couples who are “engaged” often start having kids before they are even married and typically even before they are engaged. Some people wait up to 20 years or more before they have a wedding ceremony.

Paying lobola is not only tied to the right to marry, but also tied to other aspects of traditional life. For example, if the groom has not completed paying lobola and the bride-to-be suddenly dies, then the bride's family can put a hold on the funeral and burial until the groom's family comes up with the remaining money. He is still required to pay the full amount of the lobola before they can bury the bride. Another area where lobola has influence is in divorce. A wife asking for divorce is typically not granted divorce unless her family can repay the full amount of her lobola back to the groom's family. This is seen as an incentive for both the wife's and husband's families to intervene in case of a dispute between spouses to attempt to reconcile their differences before reaching the point of divorce.

In addition to being invited to our friend's lobola negotiations, we were also invited to attend a wedding ceremony of our Deputy Principal and his wife (who is also a teacher at the school). When it comes to weddings, they can be a bit elaborate and very expensive. Our Deputy Principal and his wife have actually been married traditionally for 20 years and have already had 8 children. But they hadn't yet been able to have a “white wedding” ceremony until now. So they had a combined wedding and 20th anniversary celebration. Most weddings take place outdoors under a huge tent because the number of people in attendance doesn't allow for enough space inside a church. Another huge cost to the wedding is the food. They have to be able to provide enough food to feed the several hundred people in attendance. Generally that means the slaughtering of a few cows and several chickens.

The wedding itself, like many public functions, is a highly structured event with items like a formal opening and prayer by the officiating minister, a number of guest speakers representing family, friends, employers and co-workers, neighbors, and church group affiliations. At this most recent wedding, even the couple's two oldest children had a chance to speak about their parents. The whole event, much like a typical wedding in the US, is split into two parts, the wedding and the reception. Normally the wedding is held in the morning, starting at around 9 or 10am and running until 12 or 1pm. At that point, lunch is served, and the guests have a chance to mingle, relax, and step out of the tent, which, if it's a summer wedding, can become quite hot and suffocating by that point in the day. The reception then starts around 3 or 4pm, and can run as late as 10pm or midnight. The biggest difference that we've seen is that the reception is just as structured as the wedding, with time for more guest speakers interspersed with selected traditional or religious songs and dances, and finally the cutting of the wedding cake.

Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust: One's Final Hour Has Come. . . (Article by Robin)

Last month we also attended a memorial service and funeral for a staff member of our high school who also happened to be the wife of a teacher at one of our primary schools. If a staff member of a school dies, usually the school where the person worked along with several nearby schools will close early so that teachers and staff can attend the memorial service and visit the family. Here in the village, funerals generally take place on Saturdays. Since they are all-day affairs, Saturdays are best because people are not working and it allows time for relatives and friends to travel in to attend the funeral. The services start very early in the morning at around 6 AM and go on until 12 or 1 PM. Funerals are very expensive and elaborate events with tributes given by just about everyone from family members, aunts, grannies, siblings, friends, neighbors, colleagues, the school Principal, union representatives, Department of Education representatives, members of the church and so on... There is also a lot of singing going on. Almost between every speech and the next, they sing a hymn or at least a few verses.

Throughout the world there are also various traditions about visiting grave sites and memorials. Some people burn incense and candles while others may leave flowers on the grave. In the Jewish tradition, you leave a rock on the top of the gravestone to mark your visit and show that you were there. In the Islamic tradition, people often pour water on the grave to mark their visit. Here among the Shangaan people, some mark their visit by leaving behind traditional beer and snuff at the grave site.

The sad part is that death is very common here. More so then in the US, people die from everything from cancer, to HIV/AIDs, to various other health problems, to car accidents, drowning accidents, and so on. The death rate in South Africa is 17 deaths out of every 1,000 people per year (July 2011 est.). It's the third highest death rate in the world, as of 2011 only Angola and Afghanistan are higher. The average life expectancy here is about 49 years. Compared with the US, who's death rate is only 8.38 deaths out of every 1,000 people per year and the average life expectancy is 78 years.

Just recently a friend of ours living in a neighboring village had to pull a dead boy from a shallow pond after he had drowned and been under for about 2 hours. In another neighboring village, a boy died after falling from a Tintoma (Jackalberry) tree. We've also heard rumors of kids being attacked by crocs while crossing the river in our village. Also many people here do not know how to swim and therefore there is a high rate of drowning deaths. Lots of people also die from car accidents here as almost no one wears a seatbelt, many cars are not in good running condition, and many drivers do not follow reasonable safety precautions like keeping a safe following distance, signaling, and care in passing other vehicles. People also fall ill and die from typically treatable diseases including cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and other diet, stress, and lifestyle related illnesses. Our host mother seems to attend at least one funeral every month.

Circuit Workshop (Article by Woody)

Among the things we inherited at our schools from the previous volunteers at site, one of the most asked about has been the spreadsheets, known here are Progression Schedules, used to record learner results and determine when a learner can progress from one grade to the next. Earlier this year, word apparently spread around to the other neighboring schools in our circuit and a couple of neighboring circuits that the 3 schools we are working in have been using electronic versions of the paper forms the rest of them have been relying on. For them the paper forms often resulted in mistakes in calculation and meant resubmitting much paperwork or, even worse, meant a learner was not given a final result at odds with their actual test results. So we got a few visits from principals and administrative staff from these schools asking how they could use the same electronic forms at their schools. Because of the time involved in presenting these tools and their use to the school staff, I finally decided to turn it into a one-day circuit-wide training, inviting all 22 primary and high schools to send representatives to our local circuit office for a workshop near the end of September, just a few days before school closed for the 3rd quarter.

With about 35 people attending – principals, administrative staff, and a few educators – we were able to get the material presented in just under 6 hours, a hectic pace even by my standards. At the end of the day most of the schools indicated they were going to start using it immediately, some were going to wait until the following quarter to use it for the final grades for the year, and just a few others were not able to use it without major redesign either because of complexities in the subjects they offered or because of the number of learners in a single class... (“You have over 200 kids in one classroom?! Seriously?!”) It was interesting to see the wide difference in computer skills between the staff of the different schools. Some knew exactly what we were talking about when describing different steps in copying the forms, renaming files, filling in the forms, etc... while others struggled to keep up and had to rely on their neighbors to coach them through the steps. Also interesting was the wide difference between the schools in what subjects they offered, and how they weighted those subjects when it came to determining if a learner had acquired enough knowledge to pass their current grade and progress to the next grade. Unfortunately it seems that despite national, provincial, and regional standardized tests, no national, provincial, or regional criteria for advancing learners has been communicated well enough to the schools to follow, or if it has been communicated, then the schools are choosing to disregard it in favor of their own criteria. Fortunately for us, the schools where we work came to a common agreement about these criteria and, despite occasional protest from some of the teachers, are still able to enforce it. Hopefully this workshop not only encouraged these neighboring schools to go electronic, but it also got them thinking about the criteria they use for grading and advancing learners.

Touring the Panorama (Article by Robin)

Once again we went on another school trip. This time it was the yearly school trip for our second primary school. On this trip, we got a change to see some of the sites along the Panorama route – seeing such tourist attractions like the Kahamai (Swadini) Reptile Park a.k.a. “Snake Park,” Echo Caves, the Three Rondavals, and Bourke's Luck Potholes. Our journey started at 7 am with a bus load of screaming kids. Only about 70 or so kids from the school were able to attend the trip. Before heading out on a long journey, it's customary for someone to stand up and say a prayer to ask God to keep us safe on our journey. After the prayer, soon we were on our way. . .

Park guide shows off a live pythonOur first stop was the Kahamai Reptile Park. The main goal of this park is conservation and education about reptiles and amphibians. It is home to various types of snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodiles and more. Some are local species and others come from all over the world including some from Texas. We saw both a Texas cottonmouth and a rattlesnake. A few of the kids were even brave enough to pose with a huge python carried by one of the park caretakers. The Shangaan word for snake is Nyoka and people are very scared of snakes here. If they come across a snake they will automatically kill it – generally by wielding a big stick at it. Woody and I have had a few encounters with snakes since living here. Once there was what looked like a green mamba sleeping curled up inside of the school library, then another time Woody came across a huge 4-foot long gray snake on the school grounds – thankfully it was already dead, and most recently we had a small snake inside our house.

Kids at Echo CavesNext on the list was Echo Caves in the Molopong Valley. These caves have sheltered humans since the Middle Stone ages. The cool cave air was a nice break from the impending heat. On our descent into the cave, we had to walk down some very steep stairwells. One of the girls was pretty scared to go down the stairs, so I took her by the hand and we went down together. Once in the cave, our guide told us about the tribes of people who once lived in the caves. The kids got to learn the difference between stalactites and stalagmites – it reminded me a bit of my college geology days.

Three Rondavals viewing point

12 Months in the Bush

As of September, we have been living in our village for one year, and have been in South Africa for 14 months. I can't believe how fast the first year went by. It seems like we just arrived last month. Some days it feels like we've done a lot in our first year and some days it feels like we haven't done anything at all. We have three really supportive principals, one of whom is like a father to us. We have a host-mother who isn't necessarily a good substitute for our real mothers, but nevertheless whom we have grown fond of. We also have some really good friends here in the village. People who we hope to be able to keep in touch with after we leave. They have been great confidants, teachers, and friends. We've seen births of children, deaths of co-workers, weddings, funerals, birthdays, and so much more. We have taught people a few things, but we have also learned a lot. We continually navigate the complicated South African school system as well as the day-to-day tasks of rural village life. All in all, the first year has been good. Now we are gearing up for our second year. Lets hope that the second year is just as good, if not better then the first!

Cow Dipping, Not Cow Tipping (Article by Robin)

Mondays in the village are cow days. Literally all of the cows in town from both the A-side and the B-side of the village come to the dipping station not far from our house. Here they dip the cows and sometimes even the dogs for ticks. Ticks are a real problem here in South Africa as tick-bite fever also known as Rickettsia (also related to Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the US) is highly prevalent here. In the one year that we've been living in the village, both Woody and one of our cats have contracted African tick-bite fever (a bacterial infection transmitted by ticks). Dipping day makes walking to our high school on Mondays very interesting as I mosey past what feels like every cow in the village. There is a lot of Mooing in the air on Mondays. It starts early in the morning around 6 AM or so. We can hear the Moos all the way from our house as we get ready for school and eat our breakfast. Then as I head toward school, I find myself walking through herd after herd of cattle as they make their way to the dipping station. They often block the road and slow down the traffic of cars who are trying to get to the B-side of the village. Along with the cows follow the cattle dogs and their owners who heard them. Among the many breeds, the two main types of cattle here in South Africa are the African Nguni cows and the Indian Braman cows.

As you may or may not be aware, cows do not like to swim. So getting them to jump into a vat of water is not easy. The herd-master has to smack them with a stick to get them to jump into the pool of dipping fluid. When they emerge completely soaked, they walk around making a muddy mess. After a few hours of this wet mucky business of dipping, the cows finally head home to graze while waiting for this all to start over again next week...

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (Article by Woody)

For the things of this world cannot be made known without a knowledge of mathematics. ~Roger Bacon

So I'm finally in the classroom. It only took a year, but now that the setup for the computer classroom is done at one primary school, and I've had a chance to observe some of the math classes at the high school, I'm actually in a position to co-teach the computer classes and some math classes.

The computer classes at the primary school are going well, about as expected. The kids were a little confused the first couple weeks, but I think they're finally getting the hang of it, mouse clicking like pros, and some even topping 30 words-per-minute time on typing practice (granted only typing the letters F and J, but still not bad). It took a little trial, but we figured out a schedule that would work without overwhelming my main counterpart, Mr Mhlaba. So when classes resume in early October, he'll be in charge of the curriculum, but will only be teaching the grade 7 and ABET (Adult Basic Education and Training - think GED in the U.S.) learners. Three additional teachers have agreed to take over the grades 4, 5, and 6 classes. At the other primary school we're just ironing out the kinks in the schedule, but should be able to begin in October with a similar schedule, only it may involve working with 4 main teachers to cover grades 4 to 7, and 4 backup teachers. All together hopefully this will be a good learning experience for the kids and for the teachers as well.

At the high school, I'm mainly working with the teacher in charge of mathematics (or “maths” as they call it here) for grades 10 to 12. Most of his classes consist of the kids who are studying the science-major track offered at the school. I'm a little concerned because it seems the curriculum, or maybe just the lesson planning used at the school, is a little scatter-shot. Also, the kids seem a bit confused by the material and lack some basic arithmetic skills that I would normally expect to see well ingrained by those grades, having to depend on a calculator for everything from division to basic addition. Since I'm only at the school 2 days a week, it's difficult to judge, but as far as I can tell it seems that the kids will be studying something like geometry (shapes, area, volume, etc) one day, then 3 days later be working on something like statistics and probability. On the other hand, being there only 2 days a week, and coming into the classroom so late in the year, I may have just missed the earlier, more structured lessons. So my goal for next term is to spend more time with the teachers, helping them organize their lesson plans and pick out homework assignments to ensure that they hit the ground on a slightly better footing at the beginning of next year.

Nghala Means Lion or “King of the Road” (Article by Robin)

Singing on the busAbout once a year, each school usually hosts a school trip. This year, one of our primary schools opted for a trip to Kruger Park. About 200 kids from the school attended plus about 15 staff members including teachers, general works, Admin staff, SGB members, and two Peace Corps volunteers. As we piled all of the kids into the buses in the morning around 9 AM, there were parents and community members standing outside seeing them off. The parents get almost as excited as the kids about the trip. Well, rightfully they paid good money to send their kids on the trip and they also want to be sure that their kids make it onto the bus and don't get left behind. The kids all waved goodbye to their parents as we took off on our journey to Kruger. It took us about 45 minutes to drive to the Paul Kruger gate on bumpy, dusty dirt roads, the whole time the kids were singing at the top of their lungs. As we entered the gate, the excitement hung in the air. Once inside, we were taken on a tour of the Kruger museum and library that talks about the history of the park and the area. On our drive around the park, we got to see lots of game animals including kudu, impala, bushbucks, waterbucks and more. We also got to see elephants, hippos, buffalo, wildebeest, zebras, and giraffes. We occasionally stopped at the allotted rest stops (the only places in the park where you are permitted to get out of your vehicle) and took breaks for lunch, bathroom and snack breaks for the kids, and so on.

Lion traffic jam...As we came to the close of our visit in Kruger and started heading toward the exit gate, we soon encountered a lion traffic jam as we found several juvenile male lions who had decided to sit in the middle of the road. This was the highlight of the whole trip. At that point, Woody and I had moved from riding in the bus with the kids to riding with our Principal in his personal car. Since we were in a private vehicle, we got up close and personal with these lions. Several times they walked right past our car and stared at us through the window. It seems these lions had decided that it was their road and they were going to sit in it. They picked a less then opportune time to do so too, because we were on our way rushing to the gate before it closed at 6 PM. Well, needless to say, we didn't make it to the gate on time. Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers over 19,485 square kilometers and is roughly the size of Massachusetts. It's a huge park. It took us about 9 hours to complete our school tour and we finally made it home that night about 8 PM. It was a long day but well worth it. Now we're ready for next year's trip!

Photo shoot!View from our rear-view dashboard

Check out our Picasa photo album for more pictures of our trip to Kruger with the kids.

Books, Books, Books, We Need Books!!Do you have books that you no longer want? Donate them to a great cause! In light of our upcoming Literacy Centre project at the high school, we would like to host a book donations drive. Please join us in raising needed book donations for our future library at the high school. You can donate individual books or organize with your school, church, scouts group, community group, or host a drive at your place of business. Ask your local library to adopt our library project. We'll be giving up-to-date info on the progress of the library build. Donated books can be either new or used. Our request for books will continue from now until the library is officially open, which will be several months from now. What better way to help this growing community than to support education and literacy? To see a list of books and get ideas of what we need for the high school, please review the past June 2011 post or contact us directly via email. Books can be mailed to:

Robin & Woody Al-haddadU.S. Peace Corps VolunteersSchools and Communities Resource ProgramPO Box 1174Thulamahashe 1365South Africa

With support from you we will be able to enhance and expand the high school's impact on the lives of the students and within the community.

As always, we appreciate your support!!!

It's a Beautiful Day in The Neighborhood... (Article by Robin & Woody)

“We can change the world and make of it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference” ~Nelson Mandela

Picking up rubbish in the community in honor of Mandela Day The first day back to school for Term 3 was Mandela Day. In November 2009 the United Nations declared the 18th of July as Nelson Mandela International Day and each year it's marked with acts of good works in communities throughout the world. At one of our primary schools in the A-side of the village, we celebrated Mandela Day by singing happy birthday to Mandela during the morning assembly, then singing the South African national anthem. In recognition of the more than 67 years Tata Madiba spent serving his community, his country, and the world at large, Mandela Day encourages people around the world to volunteer 67 minutes of their time to do something good in their communities. For one of our primary schools, we spent our 67 minutes picking up rubbish from the school grounds and surrounding community neighborhood. The entire school participated in this event from Grade R (kinder-garden) to Grade 7. Hands big and small worked together to clean up the community. And boy did our community needed it too... Wish we could have Mandela Day every week! Happy Birthday Tata Madiba!! 67 Minutes picking up rubbish around the community

Literacy Day Reading Competition (Article by Robin)"I can read in red. I can read in blue. I can read in pickle color too." ~Dr. Seuss

Learners read during the Literacy Day Competition The Mpumalanga Dept of Education decided to implement a district-wide literacy day. In honor of Literacy Day, one of our schools on the B-side of the village hosted a program in July which included a reading competition, speech giving, and story telling competitions in both the home-language of xiTsonga/Shangaan and in English. Forty-nine kids from grades 1 through 7 participated in the competition. Myself and two other teachers were asked to judge the competition. We judged the participants in handling of the book, reading the heading, title, and author, reading fluency, tone, confidence, posture, and minding punctuation (full-stops A.K.A. periods, commas, and questions marks) while reading. For the reading competition, each learner read a section or page from a story book. The competition started with 3 or 4 students from each grade reading in xiTsonga/Shangaan and then in English. While I am not fluent in Shangaan, I was able to pick-up from intonation which students were reading more fluently then others. We also had speeches and stories told by several of the 7th graders.

We judged participants on fluency, tone, posture, and in handling of the book.

UNISA College Talks (Article by Robin) "Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today." ~Malcolm X

UNISA Recruiter speaks to grades 9 through 12 After the career guidance talks hosted by Ulusaba last month, I realized that our high school students needed more guidance and information on the application process for college. Many of the kids at the high school don't really have plans for their future and most have no idea what the application process is like for college. I can recall trying to tackle the convoluted application process myself when I started college many years ago. So, I decided that it was time to arrange for them to hear from a college recruitment officer. I was able to get two guest speakers from the University of South Africa (UNISA) to come to the school and speak to the kids about what the application process is like, what the requirements are for acceptance into the university, what courses and degrees they offer at the college, as well as how to apply for financial aid. My goal was to get the kids to start thinking about their the future and for them to understand that they need to be making good grades and preparing for college now. We had about 400 students from grades 9 through 12 who participated in the two-part sessions.

UNISA gives students advice on applying for financial aid

After-School Computer Classes (Article by Woody)

Mr. Mhlaba gives lessons on using the mouse to Grade 6 students In mid-July when the school term started again we were able to arrange a shopping trip with one of our two Primary schools to get the few missing supplies for the computer classroom. With those in hand, we were finally able to finish wiring power to all the computers and get all the computers operational. A couple weeks later, we opened the computer class to the Grade 6 learners after school to give them their first hands-on introduction to using a computer. One of Peace Corps' goals is to have us work with counterparts (either educators or community members) training them on program functions and helping them to gain the skills needed to continue our programs once we are gone. My counterpart at that school, Mr. Mhlaba, started the class with an introduction to using the mouse, and got the learners practicing with a game-program written by another PCV to help them learn hand-to-eye coordination in moving the cursor to a target and learning the difference between a single and double-click. Because of the amount of new vocabulary words they're having to learn for the class (mouse, monitor, keyboard, click, single, double, log-on, shut-down, etc...), he's having the present most of the lessons in XiTsonga for now. Once they're more familiar with the terms and concepts, then we'll hopefully be able to transition to more instruction in English.

First computer class with Grade 6 Our goal is to give 1 hour each week to classes for grades 4 to 7 during the school day. We may also be able to keep the class open after school 1 day a week for learners who want to continue to practice, educators who want to work on improving their skills, and community members who want to learn a little about computer operation.

Welcome to the Library... (Article by Robin)"A library is like an island in the middle of a vast sea of ignorance, particularly if the library is very tall and the surrounding area has been flooded." ~Lemony Snicket

Reading Little Lucky Lolo and the Cola Cup Competition to Grade 5 My weekly English literacy classes at the primary schools are still going well. The library lessons for English literacy are adapted from a curriculum developed by the READ Education Trust. The program includes a library orientation in the first few weeks. Then once-a-week for a month we continue to read the same book each week in class. In the first week, I read aloud to the kids so that they can hear the book being read and hear how the words sound. Then we do group reading with the same book during week two so that the kids can help each other read, then followed by guided reading in week three so that the teacher can help guide the kids' while reading. Finally we move to independent reading in week four. Our libraries also have 6 library helpers consisting of students from grades 6 and 7 who help with the day-to-day tasks of running the library after-school.

Reading a book donated by Biblionef to Grade 5 students The organizational system that we use at our libraries is a color-code system. Each category of books has a separate colored sticker on the spine of the books. For example, Science and Nature will have a green sticker, Arts and Hobbies a red sticker, History a blue sticker, and so on. It's much easier then the whole complicated Dewey Decimal system. Unless you have a full-time librarian who can restock books, then the Dewey Decimal system is generally too complex for most kids to understand how to re-shelve books. The color-code system allows the students to put books back in the category/section where they found it. Additionally, since there is no public library near the village, the our libraries are open two days a week to the community during after-school hours. We also have a lending system that allows the kids and community members to borrow books.

I read English as my counterpart reads the XiTsonga version.

Speaking of Books, Books, Books, We Need Books!!

Do you have books that you no longer want? Donate them to a great cause! In light of our upcoming Literacy Centre project at the high school, we would like to host a book donations drive. Please join us in raising needed book donations for our future library at the high school. You can donate individual books or organize with your school, church, scouts group, community group, or host a drive at your place of business. Ask your local library to adopt our library project. We'll be giving up-to-date info on the progress of the library build. Donated books can be either new or used. Our request for books will continue from now until the library is officially open, which will be several months from now. What better way to help this growing community than to support education and literacy? To see a list of books and get ideas of what we need for the high school, please review the past June 2011 post or contact us directly via email.

Books can be mailed to:

Robin & Woody Al-haddadU.S. Peace Corps VolunteersSchools and Communities Resource ProgramPO Box 1174Thulamahashe 1365South Africa

With support from you we will be able to enhance and expand the high school's impact on the lives of the students and within the community.

As always, we appreciate your support!!!

End of Term Two (article by Woody) High school students taking their end-of-term exams outside under a tree

June was a slow month leading up to the long mid-year break. At the schools June was mostly consumed by mid-year exams, leaving very little teaching. Some of our projects still progressed, getting a little further with the proposals for the Literacy Centre at the high school and coming near to completing set-up of the computer classrooms at the two primary schools before the term ends. With the libraries, we received a few more book donations to add, and at the newer library have made some headway on preparing literacy lessons for the coming months.

Reflections of the Past Year (article by Woody and Robin)

We've now been living in a rural village so long that we had totally forgotten what a dishwasher was – literally. Even when it was right in front of us. Recently we stayed a few nights in a backpackers (hostel) – one of those places where everything is self-serve and you can use their kitchen to cook. After eating our meal, we asked the hostess where the sponge was so that we could wash our dishes. She said to us “you know, you don't have to wash the dishes, you can just rinse them off and put them in the dishwasher” as she pointed to it directly in front of us. We then looked at each other and were like “oh yeah, a dishwasher!” We had totally forgotten about those... Well, duh!!

Anyhow, since term 2 wrapped up at the schools around the end of June, we've had a few weeks break to relax and think about the year behind us. Yes, time does fly and, as of July 15th, we've officially been in South Africa for 12 months. One year ago, we walked off an airplane and walked into our new life here in South Africa.

Us a year ago with fellow PCVs flying out of JFK airport

Where were we this time 12 months ago? Well, we were just landing at O.R. Tambo International airport in Johannesburg. After a 1:00AM wakeup call to be on the bus to JFK at 5:00AM, then a 15 hour flight and with very little sleep the night before, then another 3 hour bus ride to our training center, we got to work immediately. There was no time for jet-lag as we got straight to work on our pre-service training. And it's been a whirlwind ever since. . .

We had no idea what was in store for us then and what lay ahead. We started our training at the Ndebele Teacher's College with 52 other trainees. As we got off the bus, we were greeted by a chorus of traditional South African songs sung by our Language and Cultural Facilitators (LCF) teachers. Then it started with a barrage of vaccinations, introductions to appropriate social behavior, introductions to 6 out of the 11 official languages of South Africa, as well as intros into rural life and living conditions. We would spend most of our days for the next 2 months learning as much language as possible as well as learning about cultural norms, about the South African school system and the problems and politics that go with it, about safety and security, medical considerations, and as much relevant South African history as we could reasonably retain. We even got to see a teacher's strike that lasted 3 weeks first hand. A week after our arrival we got to meet our temporary host families who we would be living with for the seven weeks of pre-service training. We soon learned how to wash clothes by hand, took our first bucket baths, took our first visits to South African schools, given our first African names, ate our first traditional meals of pap (corn meal porridge) and gravy, had our first glimpses into South African traditional culture, and so much more.

About a week into our training and unsure of what to expect, I wrote in my diary that “I feel like we will have a lot of obstacles to overcome and many boundaries to break through. I just hope we can live up to making our community proud of us.” A year later, now that we have broken through a few of those boundaries, we've just barely begun to scratch the surface. We still have so much work we want to accomplish and so little time to do it in. Let's hope that at the end of the next 14 months, that we will be able to honestly say that we have made a dent here and have made our community proud of us.

Career Talks with High School Kids (article by Robin)

Ulusaba staff give career talks to the kids

One activity that did happen in June was career guidance talks hosted by Ulusaba, Pride 'n Purpose. There were 20 grade 10 and 11 students, 5 educators, and ourselves that attended the talks. Ulusaba staff gave their personal points of view about their various positions within Ulusaba and the hospitality sector. The kids got insight into being a lodge manager, a community liaison, a general assistant, a park ranger, a chef, a stores manager and an administrative assistant. They were able to hear first-hand careers information and personal anecdotes from employees who work in the hospitality field. The speakers explained a little about the qualifications needed for applying, their job duties and responsibilities, personality traits required for the job, and their personal story/journey of how they came to do what they are doing now. We really enjoyed hearing everyone's stories and getting a chance to meet a few of the Ulusaba staff. It was our first time to visit Ulusaba grounds too.

Woody and I felt that the talk was also inspiring for the students. They really seemed to enjoy the presentations seeing that many of them were taking notes during the talks and several had questions at the end of each speakers' presentation. Additionally, we felt that the lecture was enlightening for the educators as well. Many of the educators that attended have to provide career guidance for the students as part of their teaching responsibilities but many are unsure what advice to give. During the apartheid era when many of these educators grew up with the Bantu Education Act, black South Africans had limited career choices and were restricted to primarily labor positions, teaching, working as domestic helpers, and other blue-color jobs. We hope that this career guidance program will be able to continue in the future. We think it is a great way for the students to hear first-hand about different career opportunities right here in their own backyard as well as giving Ulusaba staff a chance to interface with the local community.



Books, Books, Books, We Need Books!!

Do you have books that you no longer want? Donate them to a great cause! In light of our upcoming Literacy Centre project, we would like to host a book donations drive. Please join us in raising needed book donations for our future library at the high school. You can donate individual books or organize with your school, church, scouts group, community group, or host a drive at your place of business. Ask your local library to adopt our library project. We'll be giving up-to-date info on the progress of the library build. Donated books can be either new or used. Our request for books will continue from now until the library is officially open, which will be several months from now. What better way to help this growing community than to support education and literacy? To see a list of book and get ideas of what we need for the high school, please review last month's (June 2011 post) or contact us directly via email. Thanks for your support!!

Changing Seasons (Article written by Robin)

This strange bug landed on the latch of our windowsill. Winter is upon us here in the village. While most of you back home are getting ready for the 4th of July, swimming, hot summer holidays, and the impending 110°F weather, we are bundled up in sweaters drinking hot cocoa hiding under a warm blanket. Although the temperature outside doesn't get as cold here as it does back home in Texas – and there is no snow, we have no heater and no insulation inside our tiny house. Therefore, there is no real barricade between us and the ominous weather looming outside – making the cold air feels much more frigid here. However, one good thing about winter here is that many of the bugs go away. Yeah! No more flies circling the pit toilet. No more flying termites, click bugs, and other flying beetles swarming around inside our house and bouncing off our heads. No more sleepless nights as we lie on the bed drenched in our sweat. Aaahhh. . . Oh well, to think this harmoniousness bug-free period will only last until about mid-August or so before they all return again. . .

Giant beetle wandering into our house.

A Quest for Books. . . (Article written by Robin and Woody)

Thanks to some extraordinarily generous guests of Ulusaba, Pride 'n Purpose – a privately owned local lodge and game reserve – our High School will be receiving a new Literacy Centre! The donors have agreed to build the school a Literacy Centre including both a library and a computer classroom. The school has recently formed a Building Steering Committee (BSC) comprising of a few members from the high school including the Principal, Deputy Principal, a couple of teachers, a couple of members of the School's Governing Body (SGB), and ourselves. The BSC is now in the process of selecting a contractor to build the new building as well as getting needed paperwork in order. Although the building planning is still in progress now, we are hoping to break ground by August. The Literacy Centre, will be more then just a place to borrow books from... The high school students are expected to do investigations and research assignments on a regular basis. However, currently they have little to no resources to use. They have no internet at home or at school, no computers, no library, and often times no text books. The nearest public library is about 50 KM away. The new Literacy Centre will include both a library and computer lab which will be used for reference, research, enhancing learner literacy, hosting English literacy lessons, and developing both student and educators' computer skills. The Centre would also be used by the learners and community members for career guidance and to enhance marketable skills. Materials and applications for college and other post-secondary education programs would also be made available to learners through the Centre.

Tenth grade high school class combined with over 120 students. Do you have books that you no longer want? Donate them to a great cause! In light of our upcoming Literacy Centre project, we would like to host a book donations drive. Please join us in raising needed book donations for this future library. You can donate individual books or organize with your school, church, scouts group, community group, or host a drive at your place of business. Ask your local library to adopt our library project, and we'll give you up-to-date info on the progress of the library build. Donated books can be either new or used. Our request for books will continue from now until the library is officially open, which will be several months from now.

Here are some of the books we hope to collect:Junior novels (from easy to advanced – for grades 8 through 12) – (Here is a list of popular junior novels on GoodReads to give you some ideas: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/juvenile)Story Books with Audio or Video CDs and DVDs – (These may be used during literacy lessons. Books with either audio or video CDs accompanying the text allow the students to hear a voice and accent different from our own and videos help give visual clues to what is happening in the story.)Classic Novels Little House on the Prairie, Harry Potter, or other junior series books. (Books suitable for ages 12 to 21)Reference books including English dictionaries, thesauri, and unique reference books Multi-cultural and multi-racial booksBooks with universal themes (friendships, animals, love)Books featuring Africans or African-AmericansBooks about Health and Science Educational children's science and literary magazines in good condition Books about Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Books about Gardening Books about Business Books about Careers and Jobs Books about Current Events World History or African History books (please no American history) Travel Books, Atlases, and Country Specific Reference Books Reference books for Arts and Hobbies Ecology and Environmental books Biographies (especially famous Africans) National Geographic mags (especially with articles featuring Africa) Educational Games, Brain Teasers, Flash Cards, and Puzzles

Please avoid donating the following types of books:• Damaged, torn, or very dirty books (including moldy, missing pages, torn/missing cover, or excessive water damage).• School textbooks.• Books with lots of slang, which may be difficult for English learners to follow.• Books about United States history or government.• Books about American holidays (4th of July, Thanksgiving, April Fools Day, Valentine’s Day, etc.).

NOTES:If you are willing to help raise money rather then collect book donations, then please contact us for details on how to donate. Any money raised will be used to purchase either computer equipment or library books for the school. We are also in need of computers, monitors, printers, and other equipment for the computer lab. If you are willing to collect computer donations, please contact us directly for information about how to ship items through the Rotary Centre in Johannesburg. We can also use lower-level children's story books for our primary schools. Please contact us directly if you would like more information about what kinds of books we need for the primary schools.

How to Ship Books:

For individual book donations, the best methods that we can find are First-Class Mail International Package. A box up to a 4 lbs is only $31.89; and Priority Mail International Flat Rate Boxes. A small box is $13.95. Please note, when shipping mark the items as “Educational Material” and do not declare a value otherwise we will have to pay exorbitant customs fees. For larger quantities of books, there is USPS Air Mail Bags (up to 66 lbs). Or you can contact us directly for information about how to ship boxes/containers of books through the Rotary Center in Johannesburg. Please let us know if you plan to ship large quantities of books. If we know of other people hosting a book drive, then maybe we can get you connected in order to combine shipping.

Employment in the Village (Article written by Robin)

The national average unemployment rate in South Africa is about 25% and has in the past gone as high as 31% in 2003. Our province of Mpumalanga has the second highest unemployment rate of 30.8%, second only to the Northern Cape at 31.3%. This is astronomically high when compared to the US which has unemployment rate of 9.1%. Needless to say that the unemployment rate is very high here in our village. Those who do have jobs often leave the village and live in one of the larger cities like Pretoria, Johannesburg, or Nelspruit. There are however a few jobs in and around the village.

Most of the farming in our village is subsistence farming for personal use. We don't have big commercial farms here in our village. Our best guess is that maybe about 40% to 50% of people in the village are unemployed and either get temporary seasonal work or depend on government social grants (welfare). From what we can tell, there is also very little craft work done here in our village compared to other areas. We don't see much in the way of traditional crafts (sewing, beadwork, woodwork, ceramics, etc) being sold either in the village or in nearby shopping towns.

Probably the largest employer in or near our village are the surrounding game lodges. We have several private game lodges in our area who are excellent at hiring local people. Local villagers often work at the lodges in a variety of jobs including as maintenance crew, house-keeping services, general assistants, lodge managers, park ranger, drivers, cooks and chefs, and administrative assistants. There are also local villagers who work at the schools and daycare centers in the village either as teachers, clerks, or general workers. However, the majority of the teachers in our schools do not live in the village and only 1 out of our 3 Principals lives in the village. Most live in nearby townships or bigger cities and commute into work. There are also some "convenience stores" and taverns in the village that few people work at.

Another option, especially for women, is to be a “hawker.” These are food vendors who sell everything from fruits and vegetables to chips, candy, gum, sweets, and sometimes prepared foods. The hawkers (street vendors) usually either hang out around the schools and sell to teachers and students or they have a small roadside shack that they sell from. Many also set up tables at the local taxi rank in our shopping town. The vendors have tables that line up alongside the taxis which are queued up to leave. Since it takes a while for any one taxi to fill up, these vendors generally have a captive audience. Often times they come right up to the window or open door of the taxi and try to “hawk” or sell things to you right there. Generally, we never buy sweets or prepared food from these vendors. However, we do often buy a lot of our daily fruits and vegetables from them. Generally they have better prices on fruits and vegetables then the grocery stores do and often they are better quality too.

Market Day in the Village... (Article written by Robin)

Cooking pots and wash buckets for sale at the marketBecause so many people in South Africa are unemployed, the Department of Social Development and the South African Social Security Agency provide various social assistance cash grants to those whose livelihoods are most at risk. The available grants include old-age grants for pensioners; disability grants; child-support grants (for low income families who have children under the age of 15); foster-care grants; care dependency grants, war-veterans’ grants; and temporary grants for aid relief. There is an estimated 50% of the population in South Africa who are below the poverty line and depend on these grants.

Most people in our village who receive social grants generally receive one of the following grants: Old-age grant which is a monthly income provided by the South African Social Security Agency to people over the age of 60. Pensioners receive R960 per month about $141 USD. Foster-care grant for people who raise foster children receive R650, about $95.50 USD per month. Due to a sizable rate of HIV and AIDS in South Africa, the parent mortality rate is exceedingly high leaving behind many orphans and vulnerable children, therefore making the need for this grant tremendous. Child-support grant is a monthly stipend for low income families with children under the age of 15. Families receive R240 per month per child which is about $35.30 USD. This amount is not nearly enough to take care of all a child's needs. It’s not even enough to buy disposable diapers for a month.

Chicken truck on market dayOne of the busiest times of the month here in the village, is Pension Day when everyone receives their monthly grant stipend. Therefore, once a month, our village holds a pensioners' market day. People line up outside and down the block of a local convenience store where the Department of Social Development sets up to distribute the monthly pensions. Everything from house-hold goods, cooking pots, plastic bathing buckets, fruits and vegetables, live chickens, traditional fabrics, and clothes are sold at the market. Many things, especially fruits and vegetables, are sold in bulk at the market at wholesale prices. So, Woody and I like to go to the market once a month and stock up.

Broken Down Orange Truck at the MarketPeanuts, Sugar Beans, and fried Mopane (Mopani) worms for saleOur spoils after market day. All this cost us R40 (about $6)

Once a month, our village holds a Pensioners' market.

Communication is Dead (article by Robin) "The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place." ~George Bernard Shaw

One thing that we struggle with often here is communication. For starters, everyone seems to think that because we are white, that we must speak Afrikaans. Unfortunately, we don't. The few phrases we learned during our training included “Goeie Môre” (Good Morning) and “Ek kan nie Afrikaans praat nie” (I don't speak Afrikaans). It can be a bit frustrating when people insist on speaking Afrikaans to us regardless of how much we tell them that we don't speak it. Especially the older generation here in the village. Once we were at a muchonglo traditional dance in the village and an elderly gentleman tried to speak to us in Afrikaans. We told him in xiTsonga (Shangaan) “A ni vulavuli Afrikaans” (I don't speak Afrikaans). Yet, he still continued asking us questions in Afrikaans. Another time we were on a khumbi riding to our shopping town, and a drunk guy on the taxi started speaking to us in Afrikaans. Again we told him in xiTsonga “A ni twisisi Afrikaans” (I do not understand Afrikaans) and “A ni vulavuli Afrikaans, Ni vulavula Xilungu” (I do not speak Afrikaans, I speak English). But, it took a good ten or fifteen minutes to convince him that we actually didn't speak Afrikaans. No really, we speak English!

Even when we are communicating in English or a mixture of Shangaan and English, we still often have language barriers and confusion. A few weeks ago, Woody went to into our host mom's house to “top up” electricity on our meter box. The conversation that proceeded went much like the old vaudeville joke by Abbott and Costello “Who's on First?” Here is the conversation that occurred between Woody and our host mom:

Host mom: Do you have film? “Ni vone kamareni” I saw it in the bedroom. Woody: “U lava film yini?” What kind of film do you want? Host mom: “Papayi.” Woody: “Yini??. . . Papayi? Papayi?. . .I don't know Papayi.” Host mom: “Papayi, Papayi, you know. . . Papayi!!”

Our host mom thought this conversation was hysterical and soon told me all about it. It turns out that she was asking for “Popeye.” Popeye is the general word that people use here to refer to cartoons. Because she had very THOROUGHLY cleaned our house about a month ago while we were away on vacation, she now knows everything we own... So, she knew that we had some cartoon DVDs given to us by the previous volunteers. The best part of this story is that “Popeye” is also what they call cartoons in Kuwait where Woody grew up. So of anyone, he really should have known what she was talking about.

Every Day Stuff and Household Chores (article by Robin)“Learn to do common things uncommonly well.” ~George Washington Carver

Our Pit ToiletMany of you are probably wondering how we do stuff. I mean everyday ordinary stuff like bathing, doing laundry, and using the toilet, etc. You may recall that Woody and I do have electricity but do not have running water inside our home. That means no running water to wash our hands, drinking, taking a shower, washing dishes, no washing machines, and no flush toilets. We are actually quite lucky though because the municipal water system to our village was recently installed about 6 months before Woody and I arrived in the village after having been out for the last 11 or 12 years. So, the previous volunteers had to fetch water from the river or at the village boreholes using a wheelbarrow. Luckily the village taps were installed before we arrived. So, mostly all Woody has to do is fill up our jerry cans (large jugs) at the tap in our yard. Because we have access to municipal water, we also do not have to boil our water as we would have to do with either well water or river water. For drinking water, we usually just filter it to remove rust and sediment, which is sufficient.

Fortunately, the small RDP government house that we live in does have a sink in our kitchen with a drain that goes outside and a “wash room” with a drain where we can bathe. So, for washing hands, brushing teeth, and doing dishes, we use the sink and a small water pitcher.

Our washroom for bathing

For bathing, we use a modified version of a “bucket bath.” Since we have a washroom with a drain, we are able to pour water over our heads without being confined to an actual bucket to catch water. There is a whole convoluted system to bucket bathing. We generally use the top-down method. Starting with the face, then the hair, then work your way down. This method works best because the water gets dirtier as you bathe. So, it's best use the cleanest water first to wash your hair and face.

Since we have water available in our yard, we can also do our laundry at home rather than hauling it the 2K to the river. Basically we have a system of buckets (large basins) that we use for washing our clothes by hand. Generally, because of the labor intensiveness of hand washing and the often scarcity of water, we only wash clothes about every other week or when our clothes are obviously dirty or smell bad.

Laundry time... Sideways pit toilet

Last but not least, without running water, we don't have indoor pluming and no flush toilet. So, we have to use an outdoor pit toilet. The genius who installed the pit toilet on our property, installed it sideways making using it a bit of a challenge. Do we enjoy using a pit toilet, you ask? Well, NO. But you do get used to it. Eventually, you just have to go! With pit-toilets comes lots of challenges, most notably the bugs and then the lizards who hang out in the pit toilet to eat the bugs. You might ask – what do you do when it is really late at night and you have to go but don't want to walk outside in the dark? Well, then you use a pee bucket... I have truly learned to embrace my inner-pee bucket here in SA.

How do we dispose of trash here in SA, you may ask? Well, we burn it of course... Without municipal services in the village, that means there is no trash collection or recycling. So, unfortunately, while it is horrible for the environment, not to mention our lungs, the only choice is to burn trash. We do try to reuse as many items as we can. But, there are only so many plastic bottles that you can reuse before they overtake your house and you have no choice but to burn them.

Trash pit on fire...

Slow Food (article by Robin)

Home-made pretzelsWhen it comes to cooking, we use a two-burner hotplate and what we affectionately refer to as an “easy-bake oven.” The oven is like a slightly larger version of a toaster oven in the States which is where we do all of our baking. There is no such thing as fast-food or “take away” here, unless you are visiting a larger town/city. So, our typical version of fast-food when we don't really feel like cooking is generally grilled cheese sandwiches or those mac-and-cheese packets that people so generously stock us up on! Basically, if you want anything it has to be hand made from scratch. If we want Mexican food for dinner, then we have to make tortillas and frijoles refritos from scratch. If we want spaghetti, then we have to make the tomato sauce from scratch. If we want pizza, we have to make the dough from scratch. If you want pancake mix, well then you have to make it from scratch too. You would be surprised to see how long it takes us to make even a simple dinner.

Navigating the Rules of the Road (article by Woody)

Traveling around southern Africa by public transport, locally known as Khumbis or taxis (minivan-sized vehicles) – not to be confused with "private" or "metered" taxis like the ones most common in the US, can be an interesting, confusing, and often challenging endeavor, as any PCV will tell you.

Khumbis are a kind of social pressure-cooker; they're typically uncomfortable, often loud from blaring house music or church sermons, always over-crowded, and, more often than not, in various states of disrepair that make riding in them a real adventure. Considering all these factors, it's amazing how patient and understanding the passengers typically are. Or maybe they're so used to it that to expect anything different would be unthinkable. I think it says a lot that when taking a trip over 2 hours long, you have to fill out a form asking for next-of-kin contact information.

The social dynamics of the taxi are a bit odd. People will entrust everything from their belongings - including purses - to their children to just about anyone else in the taxi without any hesitation, and for the duration of their trip, if there's a more convenient place for their baggage or kid with the other person. It's also not unusual for the driver to bump someone from the front-seat to the back of the cab, even a gogo (grandmother), just so the cute girl that's getting on the taxi can sit up front next to the driver. Passengers in the front-seat or front row generally tell the driver where people in the back want to get off, help collect the money, and often make change. Another unwritten rule of the khumbi is that there always has to be music blaring at all times. The two types of music that are most common are house music and religious music.

And in all the travels we've taken, only once have I been on a taxi where they asked where anyone was going in order to seat the first ones out closer to the door. Consequently it seems it's always the ones at the back of the taxi, quite often including us, are some of the first ones to get out. On an overloaded taxi - more on that later - this can mean a 3 - 5 minute stop to let one person out, as almost one-third of the passengers have to get out to let the person at the back get out, then they all pile back in, in exactly the same order, just to do it all over again 1km later. Many times people are sitting on each other's laps or standing in the isle between seats. On a bad day this will turn our 20 minute trip back from shopping into a 45 minute sardine-packed adventure.

We're fortunate that the taxi rank in our shopping town is clearly labeled with the destinations each cab is going to, and the drivers and rank manager can tell you which one to take to get to where you're going. The same goes with the mega-rank in downtown Nelspruit, our closest large city. But I have seen a few ranks that have no labeling whatsoever, so your only option is to ask, and hope that the person you're asking is either the manager or a seasoned driver. If you're traveling a long distance, then it's best to know where you're going and what taxi changes you'll need to make along the way. And there's absolutely no central directory that we've been able to find of what routes exist, so other PCVs and co-workers are really the best resource on navigating the public transport system.

It's a bit confusing to me, but the taxis will almost always wait at the rank until they're full to capacity before leaving. It's not unusual to wait half an hour to 1 hour while the taxi loads up, then wait another 15 minutes to get the one last passenger that would bring it to capacity. The reason it confuses me is that as soon as they leave the rank there's another passenger waiting on the roadside signaling that they want to catch this taxi. That person has probably been there for at least 15 minutes, and we could have reached capacity by being on the road 15 minutes earlier. Instead, the taxi might stop for that person, and another and yet another further down the road, putting it well past capacity. Or if the driver's not feeling particularly in need of the fares, then he'll just pass them by signaling that the taxi is full. I think the worst we've been on, where we've been able to count heads, was a taxi rated for 15 passengers, and carrying 20 not including the driver. We've probably been on more overloaded taxis, but at that point it seems impossible to count.

If you're really lucky, and we have been twice, you'll end up on a taxi where the driver only has a vague idea of where he's going. On-the-job-training seems to involve another driver at the rank, possibly one who also doesn't know the route, telling the newbie how to get to his new destination. Once, traveling into Ermelo to change taxis, the driver made it part way into town, then said he had no idea where the taxi rank was, but he'd be glad to drop us right there... “E-e, inkomu... Please flag down another taxi and ask the driver how to get to the rank.” Later on that same trip, coming into Nelspruit on another taxi, the driver had no clue where he was going. Fortunately another passenger knew the route so well that he was able to give him turn-by-turn directions. One day GPS will revolutionize transport they might realize that many of their fancy cell phones actually have GPS...

All children, people, and cattle beware when a khumbi is speeding down the road... Once we saw a live chicken fly out of the back of a chicken truck driving in front of us. The taxi driver didn't miss a beat as he swerved around a young girl who ran out into the middle of the road to catch the free meal.

In a nation with 11 official languages, the taxi hand signals are a universal language. In South Africa, people have developed a very innovative hand signal communication system for taxis. So much so that the South Africa Post Office (SAPO) issued a set of ten taxi signal stamps. In order to ride the public khumbi system here, you've got to know the signals. There are regional variations on the signals. But, the ones that we have observed locally are: To hail a taxi – hold your arm horizontal and index finger pointing in the direction that you want to go indicating “are you going that way?” Arm vertical, index finger pointing up, means “I want to go long distance.” Index finger pointing down means “I want to go local.” Hand-curve motion indicating left or right indicates which town you want to travel to on the main road. Return signals from the cabbies include the “I dunno” palms-up shoulder shrug signal given by the driver (usually while barreling down the road at 100K per hour) indicates “I'm full... or The taxi is full.” The flat-palm capping the closed fist (like “paper covers rock”) also indicates that the the cab is full.

Riding khumbis are one of the most interesting ways to travel around and see the country, and - aside from the trains - seems to be less expensive and more within our budgets than any other form of transport.

Meeting Deputy Director (article by Robin)

Robin & Woody with Dept. Director Hessler and Senior Advisor Minutillo

Recently, Woody and I got to meet the Deputy Director of Peace Corps, Carrie Hessler-Radelet, and the Senior Advisor to the Director of Peace Corps, Maryann Minutillo, from PC headquarters in Washington, DC who came to speak to a select group of volunteers. They chose to visit three countries including South Africa, Jordan, and Honduras. For South Africa, they chose to speak to volunteers closest to Pretoria, Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal Province, and Nelspruit in Mpumalanga Province. The meeting was in regards to issues around safety and security and to see how Peace Corps can strengthen current practices. It was a great meeting and very informative and productive. They seemed to really take what we had to say to heart. Woody and I also felt that the meeting gave us a clearer picture on how things are structured within the organization both locally and at headquarters. Hopefully, some good organizational policy changes come out of it.

Some of you may have seen the recent news about safety and security issues in the Peace Corps. While I believe there have been some severe problems in the past, I think Peace Corps is now working on correcting that. The current Director of Peace Corps, Aaron Williams, was nominated by President Obama in August 2009. So, he has been in the office for less than two years. The Deputy Director of Peace Corps is newer and she was nominated in June 2010. So, they are now having to address past shortcomings in the organization. We would like to personally thank those volunteers who spoke up about sexual assault and the lack of support within Peace Corps. We are grateful that they have brought these issues to light within the Peace Corps and their actions are helping Peace Corps review and change their policies and treatment of victims.

Woody and I both came away with a really positive feeling from the meeting because it seems that they are taking our concerns seriously. The Deputy Director even encouraged us to start a volunteer-run Committee on Sexual Assault and Harassment. So, myself and three other volunteers are currently trying to spearhead a committee to address these issues among volunteers.

A Race to the Finish. . . (article by Woody)

Woo Hoo!! Great job Woody!On March 25th, the last day of school for the first quarter of this year, we headed to Sabie to attend the Longtom Marathon and KLM Foundation fundraising event. Over 2,000 people registered to run both the 21K and the 56K Ultra marathon and 1653 people completed the race. Representing the Peace Corps contingent, we had about 60 current and former volunteers and a few family and friends registered for the race, including the 7 PCVs registered for the 56K Ultra. After spending a fairly quiet evening catching up with the other PCVs and their guests that were staying at the backpackers, we had a short meeting to find out what the plan and schedule was for the race the following day and to get the goody bags from the race sponsors including KLM and Longtom shirts, sport bottles, and most importantly our racing tags. After that most of us headed to bed early, because the race started the following morning at 6:00am.

The next morning, we were all up around 4:30am, to have enough time to grab a quick bite and contemplate the overcast and rainy pre-dawn skies before walking across the street to the meeting point at the local high school assembly hall where the race registration was being completed. By 5:15, gathered at the hall, we got to see all the other runners and walkers, some of whom had stayed in Sabie at other accommodations and some who had driven in just that morning. Shortly after that, the 22K group was rounded up, loaded onto buses, and driven up to their starting point at the top of the route. The rest of the runners in the 56K milled about wondering if the rain would let up long enough for us to start the race. At 6:00am, we all left the shelter of the hall to gather on the main road at the starting point. At 6:15, after a few brief announcements, the starting gun went off, and just over 1,000 slightly rain-soaked runners started up the hill, around the bend, and on our way out of Sabie on the road to Lydenburg.

And we are off!

I don't have much to compare it to, not having run any races prior to Longtom, but the route, the scenery, and the weather were about as close to perfect as I could ask for. Once we were out of Sabie, we got out from under the rain, and spent most of the run to the top actually running through the clouds hanging on that side of the mountain. It made for pleasant, cool running without being too slippery. It also obscured the view of the uphill road ahead of us, which was a relief for me; I'd rather not see the hills I have to climb ahead of me, and just focus on the few yards I can see just in front of me. When we did reach a break in the fog, the view of the valley far below and the mountains in the distance was almost distracting. It was so lush and green it reminded me a bit of the drive up Waimea Canyon in Kauai, but in some parts was so heavily wooded that it also reminded me of traveling through parts of Oregon and Washington State. I just have to keep in mind that the start at Sabie is about 3300 feet above sea level, so the route to the top at about 7000 feet above sea level is well above anything I've traveled on foot before.

After the first 5K or so, we started seeing the refreshment stands along the roadside every 1K to 2K after that. And what a relief that was; water, sport drinks, soda, bananas and orange slices, baked potato wedges, gummy-bears, candy-bar bits, and - if you really needed the protein – biltong and braaied boerewors (think jerky and grilled bratwurst ;o). There is no way the little we could eat for breakfast and whatever we had for dinner the night before was going to keep us going for the length of the run, so these snacks along the way were essential to continuing the run. And with the stands came all the volunteers from the different sponsors of the run, not only providing refreshments, but also cheering us on, encouraging us, and even saving the environment by cleaning up the litter from the runners that missed the trash bins along the roadside. In addition to the stands, there were also escort, safety, and emergency vehicles making rounds alongside the runners to make sure there weren't any problems along the way.

Once we reached the top of the mountain, at 34K into the run, everything changed. That side of the mountain was sunny though still cool and breezy, clear, and seemed to be mostly relatively flat farmland and fields in large patches, so you could see far down the road ahead of you. And aside from a few short uphill sections, it really was mostly downhill from there.

Woody with Principal Mathebula and his son.About 10K from the end of the route Lydenburg came into view in the distance, and at the far end of town I could just make out a set of large grain-silos. I started to think “I really hope we don't have to run all the way down there. . .” Wrong! That's exactly where the high school and finish line were. By that point, it was just a matter of keeping on putting one foot in front of the other, running or walking, down the winding hill road, into and through town, then turning one corner after another until the finish was in sight. As one runner yelled to Robin upon reaching the school gate, “will this race never end?!” But before you knew it, it was over. And there waiting at the finish was Robin along with a wonderful cheering crowd of PCVs, as well as the incredibly supportive Principal Mathebula from our host Primary school, who had not only come out with his family to see the race, but drove Robin the long way around from Sabie to Lydenburg to get to the finish and watch the runners coming in! I came in at 7h 27m and 54sec and placed 720th which put me just under the 8 hour cut off for the race.

After checking out at the finish line, we got a quick bite to eat from the vendors at the finish before packing up to catch the bus back to Sabie. There a quick shower and a hearty meal awaited, followed by awards and recognition for the top fundraisers and the runners with the best times in each category. After that, we were able to unwind a bit before calling it a day; some of the PCVs were heading out for a few days of camping or hiking the next day, others were going back to site for a few days before going to the week-long LST sessions in Pretoria, and still other - like us - were heading out for longer vacations over the early fall break. Botswana and Zambia, here we come!

We want to thank those of you who sent in your generous donations in support of Woody for the Longtom Marathon. Special thanks to Tracy Ryan, Helen-Marie Al-haddad, Anonymous donor whoever you are, Beth Caple, Stephanie Smith, Ben and Rhoda Hill, Sam and Tanya Hill, Carl Skibell, Arthur Skibell, Joe & Cely Alhaddad, and Elizabeth Mecchi-Sanders. Because of your support, we were able to raise over USD $800 for the KLM Foundation!!

Group photo of all the PCVs who ran the Longtom

The “Big Five” Readers (article by Robin)

Last term, I thought that it would be a good idea to start a Reading Rewards program at Library-A in order to rejuvenate the kids' interest in reading. The competition was called the “Big Five Readers” and I made a chart for each grade that looks like a race track with clip art of the “Big Five” animals on the track to show progression of who is winning. Each of the top five readers for each grade was assigned to one of the Big Five animals and I was tracking their progression of points each week on the race track. In the program, I'm was awarding more points per book depending on the level of difficulty. For example, if a student read five children's story books they would earn 5 points and if another student read one Level 1 Junior Novel they would also earn 5 points, and so on. The students were required to complete book report questionnaire sheets to prove that they actually read the story. With the help of a community volunteer who is working at the library after-school, the competition was a success. She assisted me with distributing and collecting the book report questionnaire sheets to the learners during the competition and with distributing the certificates and awards at the end of the program.

Receiving a certificate for being one of the Big Five Readers

At the end of the month-long competition, the winners were announced during school assembly and awarded certificates along with some donated prizes. We had 96 students participate in the Reading Rewards Program and we gave awards to the top 5 students for grades 3 to 7. Our highest winner was a grade 7 boy who earned 67 points. The second highest was a grade 7 girl who earned 62 points. The kids were all very excited to receive their certificates and they are all anxious to do the competition again. I'm hoping to be able to make this an annual competition at the school.

Group photos of all the Big Five winnersGroup photos of all the Big Five winners

AIDS in Art (article by Robin)

In commemoration of World AIDS Day, we asked the kids in the Art Club after-school program to create artwork representing the fight against HIV/AIDS. It was a chance for them to express some of their feeling about an epidemic that is affecting a large part of our village and community. South Africa is one of the countries most severely affected by the AIDS epidemic, with the largest number of people infected with HIV in the world. UNAIDS estimated that in 2009, the total number of persons living with HIV in South Africa was 5.7 million which is about 12% of South Africa's population. Our province, Mpumalanga has the second highest rate of HIV and AIDS in SA with an estimated 34% of the population (2009). The impact that this epidemic has on children is devastating. Due to a sizable rate of HIV/AIDS in the village, the parent mortality rate is exceedingly high leaving behind many orphans and vulnerable children. Here are a few of my favorite pieces from the assignment:

George (age 13) - "Think Positive"

Goodman (Age 14) - "HIV is our kill my parents"

Rector (Age 12)

Kunhle (Age 12)

Getaway in Botswana and Zambia (article by Robin)

Elephant in Chobe National Park - BotswanaAfter the Longtom race, we had a break between school terms. So, we took a small camping trip to Botswana and Victoria Falls Zambia. It was a nice break from school and a fun way to spend my 35th birthday. We went to the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Chobe National Park also in Botswana, and Victoria Falls in Livingstone, Zambia. Victoria Falls is supposed to be one of the “Seven Natural Wonders of the World.” We saw a ton of game animals especially elephants (no pun intended). We had a nice time taking a relaxing mokoro ride (traditional Botswanan dug out canoe) along the Okavango Delta. We went on an open-vehicle game drive inside Chobe National Park and an afternoon boat cruise. And enjoyed our dinners under the African stars. We also got to see the Zambian side of Victoria Falls. The waterfall is 1700 meters (1.1 mile) wide, and spans across both Zambia and Zimbabwe. We also got to do a sunset dinner cruise on the Zambezi River which is the 4th largest river in Africa. And got to camp near some ancient and huge Baobab trees.

It wasn't all fun and game though. We did some rugged camping in the Okovongo Delta with no facilities. There were no fences, no running water, no showers, no buildings and no electricity. We had to use a very basic pit toilet – peeing into a hole in the ground is not as easy as it sounds. We also had wild elephants, warthogs, and vervet monkeys which all walked through our various campsites at night at different times and that was a little crazy. We also took a four-hour hiking tour in the Delta that was murder on my feet. Not to mention the ant infestations at two of the campsites which was not fun at all! Between the ants, mosquito bites, blisters, and the big toenail that I pulled, my feet looked like a war zone by the end of it all.

But, overall we did get to see some amazing things on our trip and for the most part we enjoyed it. If you want to check out more photos from our trip, go to our: Picasa Web Album

“To the Emerald City, as fast as lightning!” ~Wicked Witch of the West

In February, we took a road-trip to Johannesburg along with 4 other educators, 2 from each Primary school, to visit the Rotary Club Book Donation Centre. Thanks to the schools, we were able to travel in "style" with a private khumbi and driver so we didn't have to take public transport to get there. It also meant we could make the trip in a reasonable amount of time (about 5 hours) and at a safe rate of speed rather than the normal 8 - 9 hours of break-neck stop-and-go typical of public transportation.

Rotary Centre WarehouseBecause the Rotary Centre is only open from 9:30 to 3:00 PM, we planned to arrive in the late afternoon and spend the night at a nearby backpackers, then head to the Centre the following morning. Visiting the Centre was interesting, not only in the location and setup, but also in getting to watch the educators walking around the main book repository part of the warehouse like kids in a candy store. There were so many books covering so many subjects, and all free for the taking for needy schools. We even got a reminder of home while visiting the book centre, because many of the books were donated from our home state of Texas. Among the text books, we would find things like Texas history books as well as a Centennial Celebration book about Pearland, Texas. Thank you Texas Board of Education for pawning off your useless textbooks on unsuspecting third-world countries! Because I'm sure that other nations couldn't survive without that valuable knowledge of Texas history. Okay, all joking aside....

In reality, visiting the book repository was just our secondary goal. Our main reason for traveling that whole way was to inspect and arrange transport for the shipment of generously donated computers collected by Adam and Lora's church group back in the States. Unfortunately, because the computers were so well packed, the best we could do was examine the shipment of boxes, get a rough count of the computers based on the packing slips, and make arrangements with the couriers for transport of the computers back to our schools. In the meantime the educators that accompanied us worked to pick out and box additional books both for the libraries and textbooks to be used as subject references for their classes. At the end of the day we collected the 8 boxes of books in addition to the computers, and had plans for pickup and delivery of the computers from the courier, with Ulusaba, Pride n' Purpose kindly picking up the tab for transport of the donations back to our village in a few weeks.

Did we mention that the backpackers we stayed at was about 2km down the road from a little Chinatown? Mmmm, stir-fried tofu & veggies never tasted so good...

Unloading donated computersA few weeks later, one late afternoon in early March, the couriers arrived with the truckload of computers, after having picked them up from Johannesburg earlier that morning. Thanks to the work of many hands - some big and some small – including a few community volunteers, educators and local kids, we managed to unpack all the boxes in fairly good time. We now have ahead of us the task of sorting, testing, and setting up all these computers, hopefully before the next school term starts in early April. Fortunately, there appear to only be a few different models, which should not only make building the software platform simpler, but also make for a more consistent experience for the learners once the classes begin. This also means that should any computer turn out not to have survived the trip, it can most likely be used for parts for repairs on some of the other computers. Our end goal will be to have about 35 to 40 working computers in each Primary School's computer lab, making sure that both schools have equivalent sets of same performing computers. Soon after, we hope to have computer classes going for both the learners and the educators.

How I met my host-mother....

So, after having been at our site for nearly 6 months now, our host-mother shows up one day completely unannounced out of the blue. You may recall that after initially arriving at our permanent site, we were told by one of our Principals who arranged the housing for us, that our host-mother is not living on the property. She is a single woman who owns the property but she had recently moved to Nelspruit and found a boyfriend. So instead, her nephew has been living in the main house in order to take care of the property. Well, one day I (Robin) was sitting outside reading a book with a group of girls who sometimes come over to our house after school for story time, and suddenly a woman carrying a bunch of groceries and luggage shows up at the main house. After putting her things in the main house, she pulls up a chair and comes to sit outside with me and the girls. Then she announces her name to me as if I am supposed to know who she is. We talked for a bit, mind you that my xiTsonga (Shangaan) is not that good and neither is her English. But, I'm starting to understand that she is not just a regular visitor. Suddenly she gets up and wants to look inside our house. She had heard through her family that live in the village that the schools had installed a shower drain in our wash room as well as wiring the house with electricity. So, she was curious to see what it looked like. But at that point I was profoundly confused why this woman just blatantly walked into our house as if she owned it... Well, it turns out that she does own it. So, I get up following her into the house and thinking “W w w wait, who are you again?!” I wish I would have known that she was coming, then I would have cleaned the house. Anyhow, after finally figuring out who this woman was, we still are not completely sure how long she intends to stay. Although communication between us is limited, we get the idea that because the Mpumalanga Dept of Education finally paid our rent, that she now has the money to travel to and from the village.

After a week or so of her arrival, one day, she baked us some biscuits and brought them over to us. So, in exchange, the next day we baked her some banana bread and returned her plate to her. She enjoyed the banana bread so much that she wanted to learn how to make it. So, we went shopping at our nearest shopping town and picked up some of the ingredients for her. After returning from the store, I (Robin) then went over to her house and gave her a lesson on baking banana bread. She was also very happy with us after Woody was able to fix her refrigerator because it was – in her words quote “fuckt'up.” Its been very strange these past few weeks getting acquainted with her after 6 months of not seeing or meeting her and having lived very independently on our own. But, so far, I guess it's going well... She even told me the other day, “Rirhandzu (my Shangaan name) you are a funny.”

Today's Reader is Tomorrow's Leader

Reviewing Library Rules with Grade 4After weeks of planning lessons, I (Robin) have finally been able to get the educators scheduled to bring their classes into the library for literacy lessons. I made a timetable for all of the educators who are teaching English classes (which is grades 3 to 7) to attend classes with me once a week in the new library (which I'll call library-B) at one of our primary schools. Most of these students and even many of the educators themselves have never been inside a library much less know how to use one. So, I have been starting at the very basics with teaching the kids library rules, how to choose a book at their level of English, the different book categories in the library, how to hold a book properly, the different parts of a book, etc. So far, classes are going well – despite the one day that a learner vomited inside the library. Eish!

Nevertheless, the teachers have all be showing up to classes – although some are better than others about getting to class on time. One of the teachers even co-taught with me the lesson on the parts of a book! She did a great job explaining the cover, the spine, the pages, and so forth to the kids.

Literacy Lessons in the New Library

Reading Rewards Program

Morning AssemblyAt our other primary school, the library there (I'll call it library-A) has already been up and running for a while thanks to the previous volunteer Lora Willard. Therefore, I thought that it would be a good idea this term to start a Reading Rewards program there in order to rejuvenate the kids' interest in reading. At our schools at least, the kids all seem to love competitions. So, this new Reading Rewards program seems to be just the thing to get them excited about reading.

We are calling the competition the “Big Five Readers” and I have made a chart for each grade that looks like a race track with clip art of the “Big Five” animals on the track to show progression of who is winning. Each of the top five readers for each grade is assigned to one of the Big Five animals and I'm tracking their progression of points each week on the race track. I'm also awarding more points per book depending on the level of difficulty. Here are the rules: “Read a book, then answer the book report questions. You can earn the following points: Story book – Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 = 1 point, Junior Novel – Level 1 = 5 points, Junior Novel – Level 2 = 7 points.”

On the first day after announcing the competition, we were trying to open the library after-school and there were a ton of kids waiting to get into the library. After letting a few kids inside, it was soon pointed out by someone that there was a green mamba asleep inside the library. Suddenly, all hell broke loose and chaos quickly ensued... Kids screaming, adults trying to kill the snake with large sticks, people running over me. Eish! It was a mess... Thankfully no one was hurt, except for the snake, and we eventually got the library open.

For the competition, I decided to put up the posters in the library so that they are in a public spot and I have been writing the kid's names for each grade who are in the top 5. One day, when the library was open after school, I went to write the names of the top 5 learners for the week on the posters. As I was writing, all of the kids watched in awe and waited silently for me to finish writing the names. They were all excited to see whose names made it up on the board for the week. Although it is going well, the competition is not perfect. Some kids are copying each other or they are copying text from the book and filling out the book report page. So, I am having to address that or decide if I want to award them the points for their report.

Here are a few of my favorite book reports that I have received so far...

Book Title: The Marvelous Treasure, Characters in the Book: Captain Polly Molly Macaroon. Question - Why do you like this book?: “I like this book because its about gold. Captain Polly Molly Macaroon hunted for treasure with her friends. I like this book because its make me now (know) about pirates and it will make me now (know) English.”

Book Title: Salem's Tails Back to School (Junior Novel). Question – Why do you like this book?: “I like this book because I know that school is important to me and other learners and school is your future. As the person I learn a lot in this book and go study. Thanks you. bye.”

Book Title: Swamp Monsters. Question – Why do you like this book?: “I like this book because she tell me Swamp Monsters can come eat your lunch.”

At the end of the month, the winners will be announced and awarded certificates along with some donated prizes. One of the 7th grade girls who is a Library Helper and is an avid reader, has been telling me for weeks that she wants a diary. So, I bought her a diary book and plan to give it to her if she does well in the competition. One day I showed it to her in order to spark her interest in the competition and make her try harder. Since then, I have been grilled multiple times about the contingency of this diary. She is VERY concerned that I will give away the diary to another student if someone else wins the competition. I've been telling her that she just better keep working hard and do well in the competition. Let's see what happens...

Don't Forget to Donate!!

Please help sponsor Woody in his run for the upcoming Longtom Marathon and to help raise money for the KLM foundation. The race is right around the corner and it will be held on March 26th, so this will be your final chance to help support Woody in raising money for this worthy cause!

The KLM foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded by two PCVs that served in South Africa. The foundation raises money to send deserving, hardworking students to one of South Africa’s best college preparatory schools – the Uplands College in the Mpumalanga province. What better way to help this country than to educate a future leader?

We want to thank those of you who have thus far sent in your generous donations in support of Woody for the Longtom Marathon. We appreciate your support!! You too can help us support good education here in South Africa.

Here's How to Donate:

There are two ways you can make a donation:

Method 1: Online

1. Go to the KLM foundation website http://www.klm-foundation.org

2. Click on the “Donate Now” photo at the top right-hand corner.

3. This opens up a secure https:// connection for people to donate.

4. In the Longtom Marathon field on the donations form, please indicate “Dawoud Al-haddad” as the runner's name.

Method 2: Check

1. Make out a check payable to: Kgwale Le Mollo (US)

2. Add a post-it note or indicate on the memo section of the check that you are sponsoring “Dawoud Al-haddad.”

3. Mail it to:

KLM Foundation (US) c/o Bowen Hsu 461 So. Bonita Avenue Pasadena, CA 91107

For more information on the KLM foundation and the important work they are doing, visit the KLM website at: http://www.klm-foundation.org

Thanks for your support!!

Too Many Marula, Not Enough Pineapples

Marula is used to make a local beer, amarula liquor, as well as jam.It's marula fruit season here in the village. These marula fruit are everywhere! Dropping off trees left and right. Villagers are collecting the local marula fruit from trees to be sold at market. Marula is used to make a local beer, amarula liquor, as well as jam. Recently we saw people lined up along the main road to sell their fruit to a commercial purchaser. In addition to marula, there are several other fruits that are in season now including mangoes and guava. As a result, we've noticed an usually high number of kids in trees these days trying to pick all this yummy fruit. As they say, nobody goes hungry around this time of year! Villagers pick marula fruit from local trees to be sold at market. People lined up to sell their fruit to a commercial purchaser.

London bridges falling down, falling down... Recent flooding from heavy rain has washed away the bridge in our village.

Recent flooding from heavy rain washed away the bridge that connects the two sides of our village. Making it difficult for us to get to 2 of our 3 schools. We have to cross the river in order to get to two of our schools on the B-side of our village and our Principal says that there are crocs in the river! So, it made for an interesting time trying to cross it. The first time the bridge washed away, they just patched it by filling it with sand and rocks. Then a few days later, a large dump truck filled with sand fell through it!

Dump truck falls through the bridge.

If you are what you eat, does that make me an arthropod? Fried mopani worm Another new and exciting adventure this month happened when I (Robin) ate fried Mopane (Mopani) worms for the first time... (Well, they are not actually worms, they're caterpillars.) So, I guess you can say that I'm officially an insectivore now. One of the teachers at the high school brought us a plate to try out. They tasted smoky and were very crunchy. Mopani worms are a local delicacy especially for the Shangaan people. Sometimes they are fried and other times they are boiled. They are usually eaten as a crisp snack and people eat them here like potato chips or popcorn. Eventually, if these creatures are allowed to grow, they will become a beautiful Emperor moth.Emperor moth at rest on the side of our house.

Computer lab opening...

Thanks to Ulusaba, Pride n' Purpose – We received 29 computers from a donor in Australia for the computer lab at one of the primary schools. Woody got a few of them set up in time to have an “impromptu” opening of the new computer lab after school just to allow the kids to check out the computers. Unfortunately due to a wiring mismatch with the electrical sockets, we only had enough working outlets to be able to get two computers running. But, after letting a few kids into the lab to try out the computers, we soon realized that they were very excited to use the computers. We let them play typing tutor games and demonstrated to them where to hold their fingers on the keyboard. For some of them, it was their first time even touching a computer... And it was certainly the first time to have a computer lab at the school. The kids all enjoyed being on the computers. They were so excited that they wanted to even play on the computers that were not up and running yet! We have several more computers on their way and hope to have both the computer labs at the two primary schools fully functional very soon.

The school also received a generous donation of a projector from a group of guests and donors of Pride n' Purpose to be used in the computer lab. This should be of great help in demonstrating different programs and techniques to the learners once the classes start.

Taking a break from sorting library books, Woody stops to give a math lesson.“A quality education has the power to transform societies in a single generation, provide children with the protection they need from the hazards of poverty, labor exploitation and disease, and given them the knowledge, skills, and confidence to reach their full potential.”

~Audrey Hepburn

Don't forget to donate!

We want to thank Beth Caple, Tracy Ryan, and Carl Skibell, for their generous donations to the KLM foundation. We appreciate your support!!

You too can help us support good education here in South Africa. Woody has chosen to run the Ultra 56 KM in the 2011 Longtom Marathon as a way to help raise money for the KLM foundation. The KLM foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded by two PCVs that served in South Africa. The foundation raises money to send deserving, hardworking students to one of South Africa’s best college preparatory schools – the Uplands College in the Mpumalanga province. What better way to help this country than to educate a future leader?

Please help support Woody in raising money for this worthy cause!

How to Donate:

There are two ways you can make a donation:

Method 1: Online

1. Go to the KLM foundation website http://www.klm-foundation.org

2. Click on the Donate photo in the upper left corner.

3. This opens up a secure https:// connection for people to donate.

4. In the Longtom Marathon field on the donations form, please indicate “Dawoud Al-haddad” as the runner's name.

Method 2: Check

1. Make out a check payable to: Kgwale Le Mollo (US)

2. Add a post-it note or indicate on the memo section of the check that you are sponsoring “Dawoud Al-haddad.”

3. Mail it to:

KLM Foundation (US) c/o Bowen Hsu 461 So. Bonita Avenue Pasadena, CA 91107

For more information on the KLM foundation and the important work they are doing, visit the KLM website at: http://www.klm-foundation.org

Thanks for your support!!

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't forget to make some art – write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.” ~Neil Gaiman

We hope everyone had a festive and very happy Christmas, Hanukkah, Festivus, or generic Winter Solstice holiday season. We wish you all a New Year full of love, joy, and happiness. We hope that this new year takes you to great unknown places and new horizons. Whatever 2011 has in store for us, here is to wishing that we all will have the strength, wisdom, and fortitude to seize the opportunity and create something extraordinary with it...

IST (In Service Training)We are almost 6 months into our 27 months of Peace Corps service. Therefore, Peace Corps required that we do an In-Service Training and workshop to discuss our completed Phase 2 assignments, how our community integration is coming along, as well as to gain knowledge and training on new topics. Our IST was held in Piet Retief, in the Mpumalanga Province. It was a great time getting a chance to get together with our fellow SA-22 volunteers, many of whom we haven't seen since arriving at our respective sites. It also gave us a chance to compare and contrast our individual living and work situations with other volunteers. As a result, Woody and I have come to the conclusion that we are grateful that we have been placed in a good community. So far, we get along with all of our Principals and Deputy Principals; no major personality conflicts with any of the staff at the schools or with host family members; our living situation, while not ideal, is certainly adequate and in no way hinders us; our village and community both seem safe and welcoming. Additionally, we are lucky to be living so close to one of the largest game reserves and illustrious national parks in Africa. While we by no means have a perfect situation, we also don't have a whole lot to complain about. So far, our village and the people in the community have treated us well. Thus, we are excited to continue our service into the new year.

Having said that, still nothing is perfect. We still get called Mulungu by some people in the village. I often want to say to them “Vito ra mina a hi mulungu!” (my name is not mulungu!) – but don't. And communication can sometimes be challenging. Especially when people keep trying to talk to us in Afrikaans! Regardless of how many times we tell them in xiTsonga “A ni twisisi Afrikaans” (I do not understand Afrikaans) or “A ni vulavula Afrikaans, Ni vulavula Xilungu” (I do not speak Afrikaans, I speak English), we still have people who continue to talk to us in Afrikaans. Maybe it is because they don't speak English themselves or are too embarrassed by their English skills to try and speak to us in it. But regardless, they often assume that because we are white, then we must understand Afrikaans. People also often assume that because we are white, we must automatically be rich. Recently on our way traveling back to our village from IST, we were sitting in a khumbi (public taxi) at the taxi rank waiting for it to fill up and leave, when a local hawker (vendor) came up to the window and tried selling us a bag of grapes by telling us that they were special grapes for rich people... Well, now tell me why would we be riding on a public khumbi if we were rich??! People often don't believe us when we tell them that we are volunteers and that the living allowance we get from Peace Corps is lower than any local teacher salaries. Many people were also surprised when they asked us what we were doing for Christmas and New Years and we said that we were just staying in the village. They expected us to be jet-setting back to the US for the holidays. However, minor frustrations and annoyances aside, both Woody and I are doing well so far and hope our good fortune continues into this new year.

Christmas in St Lucia. Hippo swimming in the EstuaryAfter IST was complete, we decided to take our holiday break while relaxing at the beach and seeing the Indian ocean for the first time before eventually making it back to the village for Christmas. We went to St Lucia Estuary which is located along the coast about 3 hours north of Durban. Having been our first official “vacation” in South Africa, it was a little touristy but still very rejuvenating. We chose St Lucia mostly because another volunteer, whose family came to South Africa to visit him, was hosting a holiday Christmas party for all of our SA-22 group there. It was very thoughtful and generous of his family to host the party for all of the volunteers who can't be with their families and loved ones during the holidays. While in St Lucia, we got a chance to see a lot of wildlife that we haven't seen yet in South Africa including hippos, crocs, Vervet monkeys, warthogs, and a small antelope called a Red Duiker. Now that we have had a chance to restore our selves, we are exited to get back to work in the village and can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for us. Mama Warthog with BabiesKudu

Beach bums...

Now that 2010 has been wrapped up, please indulge us for a short recap of what we've seen since leaving Dallas in July 2010:

* Philly: Ever too briefly, and just long enough to realize that it is a city that we will have to investigate more thoroughly when we are back in the States. * JFK International: Seriously, that is all we saw after Philly, and before strapping in for the longest non-stop flight we both have ever been on. But I guess that's what happens when you've got a 1:00AM wakeup call to be on the bus to JFK at 2:00AM. Thanks go to South African Airways for making a 15 hour flight seem like only 15 hours, and not more like 27... * Upon our arrival, rushing past Johannesburg on a chilly mid-July morning, we got to see the vast countryside of mid and eastern South Africa driving through Gauteng province and about ½ of Mpumalanga province to reach the KwaNdebele area and the teachers college where we would stay for the next 2 months of training. * Cows, goats, chickens, donkeys, and stray dogs, mostly wandering anywhere they wanted around the village, including wandering on the main roads passing between the villages... and disrupting traffic. Ostriches and peacocks, usually on the other side of the wall at the teachers college, though the peacocks would often fly over the wall to pick around for bugs on the college grounds. * Block after block of RDP housing (government housing), giving us some idea of what kind of housing we would eventually move to at our permanent site. As well as, traditional rondavel houses. Some houses were nicely painted and some were even done in the traditional Ndebele style. * Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh my!.... Okay, so there are no actual tigers or bears native to South Africa. But we have seen lions, leopards, cheetahs, elephants, hippos, crocodile, warthogs, fish-eagles, hornbills, duiker, kudu, springbok, impala, nyala, and a few other kinds of deer and antelope that we like to collectively refer to as “Bok-boks,” just because we can't remember what they are actually called at the time. * Farms as big as anything in Kansas (only not on flat land!) growing everything from apples, oranges, and bananas to avocados, mangoes, pineapples, and pine trees. It's just impressive to see, and smell, as you pass by in a cramped khumbi (public taxi), the miles and miles of produce growing around you and stretching down from the mountain-ridge road to the bottom of the valley. Fortunately, when it's at peak season, we get some of it in the markets around us. Unfortunately, most of it is grown for export, so other than when it's in peak season, we only see the staples in our nearest shopping town. * The Indian ocean... We got to swim in it, walk along a few miles of beach collecting shells, and even saw someone fishing from the beach catch a small shark (yikes!).

And now since we start back to work tomorrow, here are a few things that we are looking forward to working on over the next few months of Term 1 of the new school year:

Libraries: Starting back on the one that's fully functioning, getting things rolling on the library introductions and literacy lessons on the recently completed library, and getting back to work on cleaning up the one that is still a warehouse and a work-in-progress. Computer labs: Getting to Johannesburg to pick up the donated computers and start setting up the computer labs at the two Primary Schools. Working with our counterparts at those schools to plan a curriculum that we can use in classes, mainly for the learners during school hours, but also possibly as an after-school program or with adult education.Helping the educators at the High School supplement their English language classes with more literacy and comprehension focused lessons.More computer literacy classes for the educators at all 3 schools. This should be a good opportunity to assess what their current skills are and to find out what areas they would like to work on improving. Initiate a mobile hands-on science lab program at the High School for all grades. Teach hands-on science activities using locally available and low-cost materials. Murals! We're hoping to get something started by the end of the term at one Primary School and possibly at the High School on world-maps painted on the ends of class-blocks.

Whew! Sounds like our 2011 is going to be busy...

For the first time, we are on our own... Lora and Adam (the outgoing volunteers) have now left and flew back home to the US on November 19th. It was great having them here in the village while we were settling in. They were able to show us around, introduce us to people, and inform us about what they were working on with their projects in the schools. We enjoyed many good meals with them and it was great having American counterparts with us for a while. But, alas – we are now on our own. In some ways it is good, because some people in the schools didn't seem to officially recognize us while Adam and Lora were here. They constantly deferred everything to them rather than asking us for help. This seems to be a cultural behavior that I'm sure most volunteers who are replacing a previous volunteer have experienced. However, it just goes to show you how much the community loved and accepted Adam and Lora as their own. Hopefully we can follow in their footsteps and become as fully integrated as they were.

Us "Kicking Out" Lora and Adam

As a show of their appreciation for everything that they did, the schools and Ulusaba jointly hosted a Farewell Function for Adam and Lora. This event consisted of the slaughtering of two cows and several hundred chickens. It was a grand affair attended by principals, teachers, students, representatives from Ulusaba Pride & Purpose, the Department of Education, our Associate Peace Corps Director, members of the village community and many more... The children sang songs and preformed some traditional Muchongolo dancing and of course there was a feast to be eaten. I think we all truly enjoyed the event and it was a perfect way for all to say their goodbyes and give Lora and Adam a great send off!

Rediscovering the Undiscovered

Since Lora and Adam left, we have been following up on some of their projects as well as creating our own. As I mentioned previously, Ulusaba brought us about 45 MORE boxes of books that all of the Virgin Companies so generously donated for the library that Lora started at one of the primary schools. So, we have been working on unpacking, sorting, and categorizing all of the new books. Additionally, we have decided that we would like to start a new library at the high school. The high school students seem to need a library the most since they are charged with having to do research and investigations on various academic topics. Luckily the high school already has a designated space which they call the “library” but is really just a chaotic storage space for old text books.

Right now it is a giant pile of textbooks occupying about half the room. The pile is about 5 feet high, 6 feet deep, and 30 feet long... If our math is correct, that's about 900 cubic feet of textbooks! So, we decided to take on the task of cleaning, organizing, and boxing these books to make way for a real library. This is a monumental task as there is a mix of both usable quality books and apartheid-era books dating back circa 1986. We even uncovered a full class set of Shakespeare's MacBeth written in XiTsonga! If we can get it organized and cleaned up, then maybe we can get some shelving in there to properly store what is being kept, and use the rest of the space to house a real functional library that the learners, educators, and community can get some use from. The next trick will be organizing a small committee of educators to decide how best to manage this library once it is open and operating.

Visiting Kruger National Park

Another recent first that we experienced was visiting Kruger National Park for the first time since we arrived in the village. It was a short school trip but very educational. A local game lodge that is part of the &Beyond Foundation and focuses on “ecotourism” invited representatives from all three of our schools to attend a conservation lesson and game drive. Several teachers, principals, and students attended the event. Even our local village Indhuna (Chief's Headman) got to come along.

Woody, Principal Moses, a teacher, and the IndhunaThe purpose of this event was to teach kids about the environment and the animals in the park in order to inform them about the importance of wildlife conservation. The lodge even served us a wonderful lunch after the game drive and then the kids got to answer questions about some of the animals that they saw on the safari. Although the trip was short and sweet, we did get to see three of the “Big Five” including an elephant, a cheetah, and lions! We can't wait for our next trip back to Kruger to see more!

Freshly Killed ImpalaWaiting for lunch...Woo hoo! We love Kruger!

Village Traditions

Another first in the village was getting to watch the traditional Shangaan Muchongolo dancing. There is a local dance troupe who performs the Muchongolo dances each Sunday in a different village in our area. We were lucky enough to catch one of these performances. The Shangaan people originate from Mozambique and are known more for being agriculturalists than pastoralists and cattle herders. The Muchongolo dances traditionally celebrate the role of women in society, war victories, as well as ritual ceremonies.

Traditional Muchongolo Dancing

The 2011 Longtom Marathon

With the new year right around the corner, we are looking forward to upcoming events. One of these events is the 2011 Longtom Marathon and KLM Fundraiser which will be held on March 26 in eastern Mpumalanga province. For this event, Woody has chosen to run the Ultra 56 KM marathon!! It is a challenging course that traverses the Drakensberg mountains between Sabie and Lydenburg and through a grueling mountain pass.

Many Peace Corps volunteers have chosen to participate in this marathon as a way to help raise money for the Kgwale Le Mollo Foundation. The KLM Foundation is a non-profit organization that was founded by two PCVs that served in South Africa. The foundation raises money to send deserving, hardworking students to one of South Africa’s best high schools – the Uplands College in the Mpumalanga province. The majority of students in South Africa never graduate from high school and even fewer qualify for university programs. Of those students in Mpumalanga who sit for the graduation exam, less than 50% pass the exam. This is the second lowest rate of achievement of any province in South Africa. Of the students who graduate, only 12% qualify for a four-year university. Attending the Uplands, students have many opportunities that traditional rural schools cannot provide, some of which include: academic choice, sports, music, community service, and wonderful supporting relationships with staff and educators. The Uplands and KLM also give the students an open door to a brighter future. After 5 years of rigorous academic training and leadership development, many KLM students have aspired to become professionals in marketing, law, animation, graphic design, accounting, medicine, architecture, and social work.

Each year the Longtom Marathon Fundraiser provides two-thirds of the cost of the 5 year education for one learner at Uplands College. What better way to help this country than to educate a future leader? KLM relies heavily on the funds raised through the Longtom Marathon and volunteers participating in the marathon are expected to raise a minimum of US $100 for the KLM foundation. So, even small donations of $5, $10 or $15 will add up quickly!

Please help support Woody in raising money for this worthy cause!

How to Donate:

There are two ways you can make a donation...

Method 1: Online

1. Go to the KLM foundation website http://www.klm-foundation.org

2. Click on the Donate photo in the upper left corner.

3. This opens up a secure https:// connection for people to donate.

4. In the Longtom Marathon field on the donations form, please indicate “Dawoud Al-haddad” as the runner's name.

Method 2: Check

1. Make out a check payable to: Kgwale Le Mollo (US)

2. Add a post-it note or indicate on the memo section of the check that you are sponsoring “Dawoud Al-haddad.”

3. Mail it to:

KLM Foundation (US) c/o Bowen Hsu 461 So. Bonita Avenue Pasadena, CA 91107

For more information on the KLM foundation and the important work they are doing, visit the KLM website at: http://www.klm-foundation.org

Thanks for your support!!

Joy Mashego was selected as the 2009 KLM scholar. Sixteen year old Sandile Tshabalala arrived at Uplands College in 2007

Our House is the small one on the left.

Now that we are settled into our new home (for the most part anyway), it's time for us to get busy. We haven't actually started teaching yet... Right now we are in the observation phase. Peace Corps asks us to conduct teacher interviews and observe classes for the first three months that we are at our site in order for us to gain a better understanding of what the needs of the schools and the community are. The three schools that we are working in all seem to have different personalities. For one of the schools, it has been easy for us to conduct interviews and then it is like pulling teeth to get any interviews done in the other schools. The interviews are meant to help us get to know the teachers better and help us decide what types of projects and programs we should initiate in the schools. Eventually we have to find teacher counterparts who will work with us to develop our programs so that the programs are more sustainable when we leave South Africa. So far, we have about 101 ideas just for the High School alone. The challenge now will be seeing if we can get the schools buy-in and if we can find counterpart teachers to work with. If the schools don't take ownership in our projects, then our efforts will be pointless. The school year here runs in quarters and they are in their final quarter now and preparing for final exams. So, we may not get to do any actual teaching until the next term begins in January.

The long road...

At this point, we are still trying to figure out our footing here in the schools. The school system here is very different. For one thing, the teachers do not work nearly as many hours as teachers in the US do. They often walk out of class leaving their students alone in the classroom. And the schools have a tendency to knock off early for just about any excuse. Teachers often don't put much effort into working on lesson plans. It seems that Literacy and Numeracy (State-side, think "the 3 R's") are the biggest problem in most of the rural schools here, and the most common issue brought up by the teachers. Another problem is that the schools are supposed to be transitioning all classes to English being the primary language of instruction by the third grade. However, they schools don't focus on the basics of English like phonics, spelling, and basic literacy. Students are expected to go from learning the alphabet to writing complete sentences all in the third grade year. Seeing as this task of learning everything at once is impossible, most teachers often resort to speaking their home language in class rather than speaking English. As a result, the kids do not become literate in English and have difficulty with reading and writing. Imagine trying to learn 4th-grade Math or Natural Science taught in English when your first exposure to English in class was just 12 months ago. Our biggest projects at this point appear to be around continuing work on the libraries and computer labs and related literacy programs the current PCVs have helped establish at the two Primary schools, and also working on the after-school Art Club that they were involved with.

Library Opening:

Thanks to the outgoing volunteers, Lora and Adam and Ulusaba, Pride n' Purpose, we now have a new library and computer lab at one of the primary schools. Ulusaba is the local game lodge (Richard Branson's private game reserve) and Pride n' Purpose is the charitable non-profit arm of Ulusaba. They completely funded a new library and a computer lab for one of our primary schools. Recently we had an informal opening of the new library just to allow the kids to look at the books. On opening day, once the bell rang for break – there was screaming and cheers coming from the classrooms as the kids all rushed out and queued to be the first ones in the library. They were so excited that they were waiting in a long line just to get in. Woody had to stand outside and be a “bouncer” letting only a few kids in the door at a time. The library also has 6 library helpers consisting of students from grades 6 and 7 who help with the day-to-day tasks of running the library. Our library helpers, who we have taught how the library system works, were there to control the crowds and assist other students with choosing books.

On the same day of the opening, the crew from Ulusaba also brought us about 45 MORE boxes of books that all of the Virgin Companies so generously donated for the library! The books cover a very broad range; everything from ABCs and picture books all the way up to adult fiction novels and college-level reference books. That may sound wasted on the Primary school kids, but keep in mind that these libraries are open to the community and they are the only libraries that the teachers and most people in the community have ever had access to. Lora and Adam will be concluding their service and going back to the U.S. in two more weeks. So, Woody and I have been taking over the task of sorting and organizing all of these new books. I (Robin) will be taking over teaching literacy lessons in the library and Woody will be taking over teaching computer classes in the computer lab once the new school term begins in January. Also, in the new January term, we will begin to have a lending system which will allow students and community members to check out books from the library.

Waiting in line...

Library Rules

Following the library opening, Adam, myself, and some of the boys from the after-school Art Club worked on painting the sign for the new library and literacy center. In addition to the new library, we will soon be opening a computer lab. Woody has been working at both primary schools to get some of their really old computers up and running. We are also expecting a shipment of newer computers to come in soon from the US. So Woody has a lot of work ahead to come!Robin & Adam working on the literacy center sign.

Good Job! - Art Club Boys

With the Secondary school, we are still working out where to start. There are so many projects that we can undertake, but the trick will be to figure out which ones will have the best chance of succeeding. The staff there are really excited about the potential for setting up a library, a computer lab, and maybe even a science lab there as well. But the biggest obstacles at this time are space and electrical power. They do have space for a library, so that one should be easier to get started first. However, there is currently no space on campus for a computer lab. Space is so limited that they are currently having to combine two 9th grade classes together with 112 students in one room. Power is another problem. We are amazed that this school of 500 students and 30-something staff are able to do all their work with only 220v 20A electrical service for the whole campus. But that definitely won't cut it for any computers. In fact, their electrical service has been so spotty recently that they have been resorting to using a generator to provide steady power to the campus when needed.

One World Classrooms International Art Exchange:

Floyd Themba - "At Home"

The after-school Art Club (established by Adam) has also been participating in the International Art Exchange program hosted by OneWorld Classrooms. The idea is to mail 25 pieces of student artwork to OneWorld Classrooms, then they mail you back 25 pieces of original artwork created by students from around the world. It has been a good window through which our students will be able to learn more about other students lives and and their cultures. It also give us a chance to have a teachable moment with the Art Club kids by taking and showing them on the World Map project the countries which we receive artwork from. Art + Geography = Good Lesson!

World Map lesson

Just a few more random thoughts: In rural SA, keep your mosquito-net up year-round, as it helps keep more than just mosquitoes off of you while you sleep (like really big, fast spiders); a cold-water bucket bath is a great way to cool off when it's 110 F in the shade; sugar beans make fairly decent frijoles refritos; chemical warfare seems to be the only thing that keeps flies out of the pit toilet; in Shangaan, since Mu-lungu means white person, and Xi-lungu means English, why does everyone here assume we can speak Afrikaans?

SA-22On Tuesday September 16th, Woody and I swore in as official Peace Corps volunteers! We took an Oath of Service and received our Peace Corps badges. The ceremony was nice and even our language teachers sang a song for us wishing us well on our journey. Almost immediately after swearing in, all of the volunteers who were learning the Zulu language and who would be going to KwaZulu Natal (KZN) had to leave for their Supervisor's Workshop. So, we lost almost half of our group right away. Then on the following days, we had different language groups leave for their Supervisor's Workshop and site placement. Woody and I were among the last group to leave the following Tuesday which included all of our group of XiTsonga speakers and the SiSwati group. Swearing In Day

The day before we left, we said our goodbyes to our host-family and stayed the night at the college dorms where we had our training. Our host mom gave us a nice Pap (cornmeal porridge) pot made from cast aluminum and two wooden stirring sticks as a going away gift. The next morning we awoke at 4 AM and left for our Supervisor's workshop at 6 AM where we would meet the principals of our new schools. The drive from Siyabuswa to north of Nelspruit took about 3.5 hours. As we drove in to the site of our workshop, we saw picturesque mountains and hills everywhere. There were also several Vervet monkeys roaming the grounds. At the workshop, we met the representative from the Mpumalanga Dept of Education. When the meeting started, each of the volunteers took turns standing and introducing themselves in their target language and saying which schools they would be working in. As we introduced ourselves to the group, our principals would stand and introduce themselves to us. Woody and I will be working in three schools – two primary and one high school. Only our two primary school principals were able to attend the workshop. At the conclusion of the meeting, we all loaded our bags into the principals' cars and away we went to our new homes...

Our village is in the Mpumalanga province. Our house is a small 3-room house probably around 350 sq feet. We have a kitchen/dinning area, 2 small bedrooms and a "washroom" (without a toilet) used for bathing. We have an extra bedroom, if anyone wants to visit us (hint hint). The house is made from bricks and concrete with a corrugated tin roof. We have electricity but still have to use a latrine toilet outside. We just recently got our mosquito net hung up over our bed and we are required by Peace Corps to take malaria prophylactic pills as we are close to a high malaria risk area. The mosquito net helps keep out more than just the misquotes as we have some large spiders here too. Our host mother is not living on the property. Apparently, she is a single woman who owns the property but she has recently found a boyfriend and is off gallivanting with him. So, instead her nephew is living in the main house in order to guard the house. So, for the most part, we have our space to ourselves. Although, the owner's mother lives nearby in the village too. The first night we arrived in the village about 7:30 PM and were introduced by our principals to the Kokwani (grandmother), the nephew, and three of the nearest surrounding neighbors.

Mbizi Game ReserveWe also live about a 45 minute drive into Kruger National Park. Our house is about 5 KM from the Sabi Sand Game Reserve and Richard Branson's private game reserve. The area is not very mountainous but more like rolling hills. There is a small creek that divides the two sides of the village. Woody and I are living in the A-side of the village and the outgoing volunteers are living in the B-side of the village. We are lucky enough to have another couple living here who are current PCVs whom we will be taking over for. They have extended their service until November. So, we will have about 6 weeks with them before they leave. They have been introducing us to the community and showing us around.

We will be working in three different schools. Two of them are Primary schools and one is a High School. We live close to one of the Primary schools. The distance is about 2 km from one school to the next. So, it is approximately about 4-5 km to the farthest school. The volunteers here have already done a lot. Their main projects were building two libraries and computer centers at each of the primary schools. The building for the library in one of the schools has just been finished and the project was completely funded by a local game lodge. They also painted an awesome World Map mural and a World Cup soccer mural on the sides of two of the buildings at one of the primary schools.

Both of our primary school principals seem like very nice guys and genuinely care about us. They have been doing a lot for us and also arranged with the school and the host family to allow us to temporarily borrow some furniture and appliances until we either get some from the Mpumalanga Dept of Education or get stuff from the outgoing volunteers. We were given tours of all three of the schools. A few days after we arrived, we were introduced to the Indhuna (Chief's Headman) and some of the stakeholders in the community.

The good thing about replacing previous volunteers is that our principals totally understand the process and know that we are supposed to only be observing for the first 3 months. So, they are not pushing us yet to jump into classes. I think that is the right way to do things so that we can learn more about the community and their needs first.

One Saturday, Lora and Adam (the outgoing volunteers) showed us how to get to our nearest shopping town. We rode a khumbi (taxi) into town and did some shopping. Then we went to visit another nearby volunteer who was hosting a BBQ birthday party for another volunteer. Several volunteers who live in the “Bushbuck” region came to the party and we were able to meet many other volunteers in the area. It was nice to have some “American” style food with friends. Then on our travel back home to our village, the khumbi was so full that Woody practically had another woman sitting in his lap the entire ride!

Another interesting day happened when after school, we had a gaggle of children follow us home like the Pied Piper of Hamelin. Each one carrying a brick in their hands. When we asked why they were carrying bricks, they answered “I don't know”. Well, it turns out that our principal arranged to have a shower drain and “septic” tank (really a French drain) installed at our house and he asked literally every child from the school to bring a brick to our house to be used for the construction of the drainage system. Then while the drain was being constructed at our home, we were interviewed by couple of 7th graders from the Library Helpers Club. They were proposing to be radio style reporters and made sure that we knew all of the library rules. It was a blast!

As we have been introduced to the teachers and the students at the schools, they often laugh at us when we try to speak xiTonga. I'm not sure if it is just our accents or if they just think its funny to see white people speaking their language. Also, when we say that we are from Texas, we often have had people ask us if we know Chuck Norris and one guy said “Oh yeah, like from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Aaaah, the best parts of Texas culture revealed...

We've also been helping Lora in the library at one of the primary schools and learning how she runs the library. She has several kids from the school who are “library helpers” who assist with running the library on a daily basis. Another day we helped Adam with his after-school art club. He was teaching the kids about 3-D art and chose clay as his medium. It was awesome for us since we both like to do pottery. I taught the kids how to make a pinch pot and showed them how to make designs in the clay with toothpicks and pressing rocks for texture. It was fun and relaxing.

Finally, after visiting the schools, it seems that the high school can use the most help since Lora and Adam were not previously working in that school. So, Woody and I already have some project ideas in mind that we would like to do there. Hopefully, we can make them work out.Ndebele Traditional Rondoval Huts

Sala kahle (stay well)...

Sanibonani (greetings) from South Africa!

We've been doing well here our past 7 weeks in South Africa. There are 52 volunteers altogether in our group and three couples including Woody and I. The village that we are staying in is called Maganagobušwa (Mahanahobushwa). The first week after arriving, we stayed in the dorms of at the local Teacher's College in the village. There are 11 official languages here in South Africa and during our first few weeks at the collage, we learned greetings in 6 languages including isiZulu, isiSwati, xiTsonga, SePedi, Ndebele, and Afrikaans. We have about 8 LCFs (Language and Cultural Facilitators) who have been living and working with us during our PST (Pre-Service Training) to teach us these languages. We've also had a lot of vaccinations during these past few weeks and we each received a medical kit from Peace Corps. Within the first week of arrival, we were divided into separate language groups. Woody and I are learning the language xiTsonga (The X makes a “sh” sound in xiTsonga). XiTsonga originates from Mozambique and is spoken by the Shangaan people in the northeast provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga.

Then in our second week of training we moved from the college campus to live with current our home-stay families. Woody and I are staying with a family of four. We live with a young widow and her three sons ages 13, 11 and 6. We also have a family cat named Smokey. In our home-stay, we have electricity but no running water. Therefore we have to wash our clothes by hand, take bucket baths in a large basin in our bedroom, and are using an outdoor latrine. Our home-stay family doesn't speak xiTsonga, so we don't have anyone to practice speaking with in the area other than our LCF. In addition to language training, we have cultural and social training. We learned a lot about the former Bantu Education System and internalized oppression affecting the black South African people during the apartheid era. Although, the apartheid era is over, there is still a lot of residual effects in the school system. So, our job here will be to help them develop a better educational system in the schools. One of the largest challenges that we will face in schools is the habitual, and illegal, use of corporal punishment. We were able to visit one of the local primary schools before the nationwide Teacher's strike began here 3 weeks ago. And during our brief visit to the school we've already witnessed the use of corporal punishment.

Visiting the local primary schools was exciting. The kids are very energetic and eager to learn. It's uncommon for white people to visit the villages much less actually live in the villages. So, the kids go crazy every time they see us. The have given us African names. My name is Lerato (which means “love”) and Woody's name is Kamagelo (which means “welcome”). Each time we visit the school, the kids treat us like rock-stars. They all want to shake our hands and they often scream our African names when they see us walking past the school campus. I've never been so confronted about my race as much as I have here in South Africa. It's a very unusual experience. At home in the US, I almost never think about my skin color unless I have to indicate my race when filling out an official form of some type. But, here we are confronted with our race on a daily basis. We often have random people just saying Mulungu (“white people”) to us as we walk down the street. Even though the apartheid era is over, it just shows that there is still a lot of work to be done regarding race relations here in South Africa.

Finally, we recently received our official site announcements from Peace Corps. Woody and I will be living in a rural xiTsonga speaking village a couple of hours north of Nelspruit bordering Kruger National Park. We are exited to see our new home and are hoping that we will see a lot of animals there. We will also be replacing another couple who are currently serving in the community and who are about to finish their tour. We will be working in two primary schools and one high school. We are very exited about our site. However, due to the current nationwide strike spearheaded by the public sector service unions, our site visits have been delayed. The strike has been spreading throughout the country and is now affecting more then just the schools. It now involves most of the public-service sector. Since the strike began 3 weeks ago, schools have not been in service and we as volunteers also have not been able to continue to visit the schools for observation. Due to the strike, Peace Corps has decided that they do not want us dispersing to our individual sites until the strike ends. So, for now, we are waiting it out. Next Tuesday, we will be taking our language proficiency test and then hopefully in the following week, we will be swearing in as official Peace Corps Volunteers!