Dirt Under my Fingernails

I have dirt under my fingernails, and no matter what I do it doesn't seem like it wants to come out anytime soon.Today I went back to Silwanetshe Primary School's food garden, this time with Phumlani, and we harvested spinach, beets, and lots of carrots for the caregivers of OVCs at that school. In the end, we put fresh vegetables at the dinner table for 11 families tonight, and they were so happy! And I was covered in mud. I tried some of the carrots and they were delicious.

After the food distribution I went with Phumlani on two home visits, I was amazed at how the dirt turned from brown into a deep and vibrant red. The houses were also much more spread apart where the red sand was, and there was what looked almost to be a mansion in the middle of all of it [some important government official lives there... there were even body guards]. This red sand area is where the second home visit was. There is a woman whose own child has already grown, moved away and is about to have her first baby. Her husband, who was a sangoma [traditional healer] passed away and left her with nothing. She takes care of her mentally challenged uncle and six children-- one is an orphan and the others the parents did not see themselves in a position to care for. Her house crumbled to the ground and now they are all living in the small circular room of sangoma hut, a small grill in the middle of the floor to cook on. And, she has no income. I feel like that is so much pressure on one person. Fortunately, she loves gardening. So we told her to just get her soil ready and we will bring her seeds-- this way she will at least be able to provide her own vegetables. She is an incredibly nice woman and I am glad that Thandanani is going to be able to help her out with the paperwork so she can at least get a foster care grant for the orphan she is raising.