Getting here – I left Atlanta Tuesday evening, and after gaining 6 hours in time change, arrived in Impendle (closest small town to iNzinga) at 1:00 PM Wednesday, just in time to attend the last hours of regional planning meeting. The meeting was chaired by Sam, who set up our original volunteer time here last August. It is still a somewhat interesting feeling to walk into a remote Zulu town or village and be recognized and welcomed.
Hitting the ground running – The meeting was very productive. I met two new people with key local government agencies (Impendle area Municipality, Department of Agriculture). They are very excited about what we’re doing, had heard good things about how we handled ourselves last august, and are eager to work with us going forward. Interestingly, the feeling from them is that by us bringing outside resources to the area, it will help them get more support from others in the government. So, now off to see the Inkosi (Chief).
Inkosi’s Blessings – Mr. Zuma guided me through the meeting and we got his blessing and support for our plans. I’m not sure he yet knows fully what that means in terms of how often I am going to show up to ask his permission, but more importantly, his support; asking him to use his leverage with the community to help make sure our programs are implemented with maximum impact.
Bheki from Cedara – I also spoke with Bheki from Cedara College of Agriculture. He’s going to meet me in Impendle Monday morning because I’m going to have to show him how to find iNzinga. We are going to scout all the locations we are going to do gardens in August and make sure we have the exact list of materials. We’re also going to nail down a location for the gardening training in august. Response to that has been rousing so far.
Back to school – Today we met teachers and principals at the secondary and primary schools. I am again blown away by how hard these people work, how much desire they have to get the things they need for their kids, how hard they work to make up the difference, even when they themselves are relying on an Apartheid-era education that did not fully prepare them for their jobs. The list of needs is long, but we had good prioritization sessions and we know just what we need to get with the funds we’ve raised so far.
Getting to the Internet – Finally today (Friday) we drove an hour and 20 minutes to the small town of Howick where after trying three places, finally found a wireless connection that allowed me to access the Net from my laptop.
Odds and Ends – It is really cold and last night very, very windy. There is snow on the local Mountains. It is beautiful. It is so good to see the Zuma family again. Amahle is a year older. She has asked me about “Mo” (Miranda) several times, and she now calls me “Malume Tommy”, Uncle Tommy.
More as time allows…
