top7

Sick in iNzinga

Hello my lovely blog readers.
Miranda here from iNzinga.
The last few days have been pretty uneventful for me. I have been terribly sick and in bed while all of the good stuff has been happening outside.
I know that my dad worked and talked with the secondary school in the area to start a community library with a grant that Isipho got. We are pricing everything, and working with a local carpenter to build the shelves and tables, etc. Keeping it here in iNzinga. While I’ve been laying here in bed, dad got some pretty good footage of the stuff he’s been doing, and the people he’s meeting. Yesterday, I think it was, dad met this fantastic old Zulu man up the hill who has been gardening on his property for decades. He is one of the only ones in the area who has real good knowledge, that he says he got from his father and grandfather, and who is keeping up a great garden. His garden is beautiful, and he offered to come down the hill to help with the school gardens sometimes, making sure they are working nicely, and exciting the kids.
Also, yesterday I got up for the first time in a few days and went with dad and Nonjabulo down to the tiny store down the road that sells bread and sometimes oranges. While Nonjabulo was buying some bread, dad struck up a conversation with this man who was standing nearby. The man asked my father “could you give me a job?” We hear that a lot, being the only white people who wander around iNzinga for any long periods of time, and they assume from our accents that we are from America, and immediately ask for a job. He started talking about how he cuts grass, and takes care of flower beds and gardens. When he asked my dad what we were doing here in the village, my dad told him that we also help with gardens, and we work with the gardens in the schools and the drop-in center mostly.
The man got really excited, but then hesitated. He asked “will you help us so when you leave we can still garden?” My heart swelled and I told him that is exactly what we hoped to do. That is our goal, to be able to go to the next village and be confident that the gardens here will thrive despite our absence.
It amazes me every time that I hear someone here say something like that. It really is what people want here. Their independence. Everyone likes to be helped when they need something. But isn’t it better to ask for help, get the help, and then be able to continue on by yourself? It’s demoralizing to have to get help constantly for the same thing your whole life.
This morning I finally went to the clinic with my dad-ee-oh. I was so terrified before and that’s because the only other time I went was when dad ran into the barbed wire fence and split his head wide open. It was the only day the doctor was in town for the next two weeks and all of the desperately sick and injured people in the village were lined up against the not so clean walls. There were people with infections, sores, freshly broken bones, sick children and whooping cough. I was so overwhelmed that I freaked myself out a bit.
When I went down there this morning there was one other patient and that’s all. They let me in right away and the cheerful doctor sat me down, and started chatting away in English while she took my blood pressure and checked my heart and my breathing. When we told her we were from America she said, “You come from America?? To here? Oh my!”
I felt very comfortable despite my earlier worries, and am quite fond of the nurses who work there, without pay. She handed my some antibiotics and some old-fashion cough syrup (yum….) and told me how much to take how often. She even gave me a complimentary Tylenol. All of the medication was free, and she sent us on our way. It’s amazing that in a place as wonderful and generally wealthy as America, for even a check-up or antibiotics we have to pay a reasonably high fee. There are a lot of people who get very ill because they can’t afford any medical attention in America, while here, anyone who is sick gets their fair share of necessary medicine and good care for free. It may not be the best of medical care, but everybody gets what they need.
I am pretty excited about finally getting some medicine, and hopefully will be feeling fit as a fiddle (a saying which has never made any sense to me whatsoever) or at least a little bit more energized and can get my interviews in and some really great footage. I love bringing my passion of film together with my love for iNzinga. I have never ever wanted to make a documentary, it’s just not my style, but when I come here, it’s like already being in a different world, and just capturing what I see. It’s like making a movie without having to direct a cast or crew. Everything just happens and it’s wonderful.
Today I am going to interview the class presidents of the high school down the hill and see what they have to say about the gardens but also about their future. I want to know how they see their destinies.
Well my old school cough medicine and Tylenol are kicking in and I might just pass out, so I’m going to sign off for today. I may blog again tonight. Keep an eye open for more!!
Rock on,
Miranda

Miranda blog — day 2 — 2010

Ngiyakhubona. I see you. In the movie Avatar, the Na’vi people greet each other by saying “I see you”. It doesn’t mean “I see you” in the literal since, with your eyes. It means “I see into you”. It means “I see you as another living thing”. “I appreciate you, and I respect you”. Despite the fact that I heard this when Amahle found me in a game of hide and seek, my mind immediately went to the meaning of the phrase.
It’s so amazing how my perception of people has changed in the last two years. You don’t have to speak the same language, come from the same place, or share the same culture with someone to see them. It takes time and trust and love, but the fact is we are all human beings. I see these people. I acknowledge who they are as people, and accept that they have become my family.
Today we went into town and met with Dr. Swatson, who works with us through the local agricultural college, Cedara. He provided a lot of good information and advice, but also listened well to all we had to say about the gardens accomplishments and struggles. He was so cheerful and engaging. His daughter and I are now friends on Facebook ?
I am so ecstatic at the response that people have to what Isipho and the iNzinga people are accomplishing. Independence and self-sufficiency are really amazing things, and everybody deserves to have that in their lives. What makes me so sad is that most of the people here in the village aren’t even familiar with that concept. The very idea of independence was beaten out of them for years during apartheid, and even now the idea is scarce. How can you have a sense of independence when you rely completely on the government for the money and food you get? How can you expect self-empowerment when nobody you know has ever expected it? In the last few interviews of the villagers I have done, I asked them how proud they were of themselves for being independent. It took them all several seconds to answer that they were proud of themselves. They looked confused and speculative, but when probed for answers loosened up and got pretty excited and animated.
I love seeing kids my own age, as well. That is my real hope for our project; that the youth can grow up with a different view about themselves. They deserve to believe in themselves and in their future. I was talking with a few girls my age yesterday, who were asking about my age, my grade, etc. I told them, and then asked them about themselves. I was joking about how bad my Zulu was and we all started laughing. It felt so awesome to be standing there in the middle of nowhere, South Africa, laughing with a group of Zulu teenagers about how dumb I sounded. When I take a step back, I see the differences that I don’t see when I am with them. They’re just like me, and it only feels natural to joke around with them like friends. Even so, they have such a different life than I do. I have always been encouraged to follow my dreams and to go to college, and live my life the way I want it. Most likely, none of those four girls will even get to college. I know that I have the ability to help them help themselves. And I know that they have the ability to make it happen.
This morning my dad and I woke up and basically went straight into a pretty intense argument full of tears and aggressive attitudes. It’s hard to be a business partner with your own father, especially at 16. It’s hard to try and pretend like you know what you’re doing, even though you feel completely clueless a pretty decent chunk of the time. And it is definitely hard to live out here in the village, surrounded by poverty and an intensely different and foreign culture, even if it is only one or two weeks out of the year. But luckily, I’m pretty sure that I have the best parents in the world. As much as he gets angry at me and as much as we bicker through all of this, we always come to an understanding. We always help each other figure out what we’re doing, why we’re here, and what needs to be done. And my mom jumped right into Isipho, and is working her tushy off, let me tell you. (sorry for the wording, ma). And over all, we work pretty well together. We are a family half the time and we work together sometimes. But we help each other and teach each other. It’s pretty freaking cool.
Tomorrow is Sunday, and everybody is having a day off, so my dad and I are going to go see the famous cave paintings of the San people (they found out through crazy DNA testing or something that all humanity started with these people) (so basically we’re all South African) (YAY!). Pretty pumped. Monday were having meetings for planning and reviewing.
We’ll keep everyone posted on the shtufff that’s going on. Peace!
\m/,
Miranda

Back in eNzinga

We are back in eNzinga again. To spend the evening sitting on the grass mats around the fire pit in the middle of the main mud round and catch up with the Zumas again, is amazing. A few quick thoughts because we’re exhausted and have a long day tomorrow:
– Fantastic meeting with Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA) this morning before we left Jo’burg. Good organization. Real good partnership opportunities. Very exciting.
– Seeing Miranda and Patrick, the young program manager from FTFA, get excited about the potential future of young people, and their power to form that future was something I was very happy to be able to hear and watch.
– After alternatively spelling the name of the village we live and work in Nzinga, Inzinga, and iNzinga over the last 2+ years, tonight, when driving down the dirt road here, we saw a new sign that simply read eNzinga. Well, at least now we’ve seen it officially written somewhere…
– I know we were ready to get a break from the heat of July in Atlanta, but it is extremely cold here tonight, which makes the walk to the outhouse seem pretty far. It’s all relative.
– Talking to Nonjabulo tonight was awesome. She really has taken on the leadership role; she knows the people, the issues, has a great sense of the needs, the best way to solve them, and can really articulate it clearly. She is a strong, smart woman, and a great asset for her community, and our nonprofit. We could not have done better in our first and most important employee. The impact she will have on other women in this village through her example has the potential to fundamentally alter lives. Simply inspiring.

More soon!

MORE auction items — they just keep coming!

Art collectors rejoice!   Isipho has just received three awesome pieces of art for the Celebrating Hope silent auction next weekend.    

Choose from a 20” X 24” oil on canvas by Kim Karelson;

 a 23” X 30” acrylic on glass by Mark Karelson;

 or a 25 3/8” x 32 7/8” signed Itzchak Tarkay serigraph.

The Karelsons are good friends of ours (they’re attending the event!), and their daughter, Katie, is one of my close friends and is volunteering as the stage manager during the event! Be sure to check out the awesome art!

Miranda

P.S.  28 hours until Nonjabulo gets here!!!!!!!

Bono on Aid in Africa (Maybe we could get him to work with Isipho? :D)

“Aid, it’s clear, is still part of the picture. It’s crucial, if you have H.I.V. and are fighting for your life, or if you are a mother wondering why you can’t protect your child against killers with unpronounceable names or if you are a farmer who knows that new seed varietals will mean you have produce that you can take to market in drought or flood. But not the old, dumb, only-game-in-town aid — smart aid that aims to put itself out of business in a generation or two. “Make aid history” is the objective. It always was. Because when we end aid, it’ll mean that extreme poverty is history. But until that glorious day, smart aid can be a reforming tool, demanding accountability and transparency, rewarding measurable results, reinforcing the rule of law, but never imagining for a second that it’s a substitute for trade, investment or self-determination.”

- Bono   –  in an Op-Ed column in the NY Times

Wow. Well said, Bono! And we’re not only blogging about this because we love that U2 walks on, but because this is yet another person who realizes that giving a man a fish is not the solution! We must teach the man how to fish. This idea is spreading, and hopefully, very soon, people will learn to take the time, and work with the people in need instead of dropping bags of rice that postpones death one more day.

I am you and you are mine
Love makes no sense of space
And time…will disappear
Love and logic keep us clear
Reason is on our side, love…
   — U2 — Miracle drug. The first song that dad and I listened to leaving the village in 2008, and probably the reason I wanted to start Isipho. There is love, and power there that can break out!

To read the full article; http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/opinion/18bono.html?pagewanted=1&hp

Peace and love!

Miranda

Update….

Hello readers!

Two more weeks until Nonjabulo gets here! Two weeks and a few hours! We can’t wait, and were very excited for her arrival! I am counting down the days. It is worth waking up at 3 AM on a Friday morning to go to the airport

Silent auction items; autographed items!

Item #3!

Autographed Virginia Willis Cookbook! A cookbook of Virginia Willis, her daughter, and her grandaughter;                 Bon Appetit, Y’all: Recipes and Stories from Three Generations of Southern Cooking

Willis’ “simple is best” philosophy is what made her not only Atlanta’s favorite chef, but an international icon.

Item #7!

Get Slaughtered at the Beach! Ten of Karin Slaughters best-selling novels, each autographed, in a lovely beach bag to take with you on a trip to the beach!  “Karin Slaughter is one of the best crime novelists in America” — The Washington Post

Item #20!

Autographed John Smoltz Baseball! This baseball was autographed right on the sweet spot by Atlanta Braves superstar and Futire Hall of Famer John Smoltz. No certificate of authenticity is included, as this baseball was hand-signed at a game and handed directly fro John Smoltz to its recipient. Includes acrylic display case.

awesome!