Pata and Dambuza Townships

Today I did 17 more home visits, this time with Agnes in the Pata and Dambuza townships. This place was a little different than Slangspruit-- the government houses were painted, there were more fences/barb wire, many more goats and chickens-- but very similar in need. it was crazy to see beautiful, comparatively large homes right next to a mud shack.

One of the homes we visited had a 22-year old caregiver [the same age as me]. Both of her parents had gotten sick and passed away, leaving her with her siblings and no where to live. They currently live in a house built of mud and sticks, but it is in terrible condition and falling apart [one room only has 3 complete walls]. Another house that we visited was in a similar condition, if not worse, and the caregiver and the orphan are both suffering with teburculosis. These are such hard realities to face, and it let's you know that no matter how hard things may have been for you, you probably were never actually poor. Not like this. And the saddest part is no matter how much I do-- how many miles I walk, houses I visit, people I talk to, food I give out, papers I fill out-- I know I cannot fix this. I feel powerless. But, I came here to do what I could do-- and what I can do is make things better for a handful of people and encourage others to do the same until things do change, knowing that it will take decades [perhaps not even in my lifetime]. As they say here, I will just do things "kancane kancane," which means step-by-step [but "kancane kancane" is surprisingly difficult today with the fast clicks, so I will stick to English].

Walking around these townships have also given me a chance to learn more about Zulu culture. I visited the house of a sangoma [traditional healer], and noticed she had bracelets of beads and chicken/cow skin tied around her wrists. Upon entering her house, there are cow horns above the door for the ancestors. Walking around the townships, you will see lots of circular buildings with grass roofs which are also built for the ancestors-- they are very impressive considering that the grass roofs do not leak when it rains!