Home Page: Willmore Adventures in South Africa
So here we are, 6 weeks into our adventure, and summer holidays and Christmas are on the horizon...
With Spring behind us now and Summer ahead, we have started the experience of having a hot Christmas. We have exchanged the indoors to embrace the outdoors by attending Christmas Carols by Candlelight in Lonehill Park. A relaxed event where everyone came with a blanket and picnic, listened to Christmas songs and joined in with carols. Father Christmas made an appearance arriving rather quickly, and very much enjoying himself, on a motorbike (we decided that sleighs perhaps aren't appropriate in the southern hemisphere...) The children ran around, jumped on bouncy castles and danced by the stage under falling snowflakes. It was a lovely introduction to Christmas in Summer.
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| The girls after meeting Father Christmas |
We have been enjoying all the different flora and fauna that South Africa has to offer, and arriving in Spring was an absolute pleasure. The flower that seems to be as common as daisies is the Agapanthus. But unlike the daisy, Agapanthus stands at about 3 feet tall and makes you feel a bit like a Borrower when you walk amongst them. Everything seems to be a bit bigger here in Africa! The blue flowering Jacaranda Tree has been truly vibrant as has the Bougainvillea. The Yesterday-today-and-tomorrow plant is just starting to flower in its three shades of purple and smells rather wonderful too.
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| The 3 foot Agapanthus |
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| An avenue of Jacaranda trees |
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| The lovely Bougainvillea |
With all these new experiences and all the learning going on, unfortunately my African naivety has really shone through. I'm sure you can forgive me when I confess that I have been dutifully watering a potted plant in our garden that has turned out, quite bizarrely, to be made of plastic! I often laugh at myself but this was a good one!
Joel has also made us laugh with his own take on nature. It's the abundance of birds that catches your attention. And one such bird is the Hadida. It's about 1 foot tall with a long beak, and makes a sound like a high pitched pirate saying "Aaarrr". It's a bit of a shock when this sinister looking turkey lands in your garden. Joel saw one walking around on the grass and said, "Oh look Mummy, there's a super tiny Ostrich!"
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| The super tiny ostrich! (Hadida) |
So Joel and I are both learning about the wonderful flora and fauna of South Africa.
If there was ever an excuse for McDonald's, we definitely found it. Mid cooking we ran out of gas, so we had to locate our gas cylinder round the back of the house and find a place to refill it. It's not that common to have gas in South Africa and most homes have electric stoves. I quote Laurence, "Only if you live in the bundus would you use gas" (middle of nowhere).
Whilst the children have been at school I have had the privilege of meeting the 23 orphaned girls, who I briefly mentioned in the previous blog, at their home. Initially homeless, they now live in a house loaned to them by a man who heard of their plight on the radio. The girls sleep 12 to a room and attend local schools. It is through the good will of the public that they have a roof over their heads and food to eat (not always), because the government do not support them. Through understandable frustration, local people burnt down the office that deals with benefits applications, and as a result, the local municipality have nowhere to work from to deal with all the people in need. So the girls rely on donations largely coordinated through Laurence's mum's church, and the nurturing of the dedicated house mothers who live with them, to survive. It's certainly a shock stepping out of the safety net of the UK to meet these lovely girls.
I have thought a lot about what the needs of the disadvantaged are, where my strengths lie and how I can help. I have often thought that I haven't got anything useful to give and felt frustrated in life about how to help. But the reality is that I have been given such an incredible education. And talking to people who have never been to school before has shone a light on, firstly the importance and power of education to change your circumstances, but secondly for me, a way I can help others. Our church in Lonehill has links with a school in the nearby township of Diepsloot. So I hope that a part of my adventure out here involves going to that school and helping out in whatever capacity they need an extra pair of hands. I will of course update you on this after Christmas when all the schools go back to start the new school year.
Amelie, Elowen and Joel break up for their summer holidays this week. Already? You hear me cry... and then cry! Yes, it's true. Summer holiday 2018 take 2. We will endeavour to stretch out any Christmas decoration making and baking and will report on this is due course.
I hope you are all wrapped up and enjoying festivities up north. We will miss Carols by Candlelight at home this year. Will Father Christmas appear on a motorbike there? Now there's a challenge!
Lots of love, Jess x
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