Willmore Adventures: July 2020

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Apart from Bill Gates and many scientists around the world, who would have predicted a worldwide pandemic in 2020…? In South Africa, we watched on as China suffered, thinking that, with the close trading ties between China and South Africa, we would be next. We then watched Europe struggle to contain the virus, and still we waited. But then, as the half term skiers returned from Europe in early March, the inevitable happened, and South Africa announced its first case of Covid-19. By the 18^th of March schools were closed, and by the 26^th of March the country was in lockdown. This meant that everyone had to stay at home, only to leave for medical supplies and food (unless you were a key worker); there was to be no movement across provincial borders, and no movement into or out of South Africa, national borders were (and still are) closed. It has been one of the strictest lockdowns in the world and it has also included the banning of alcohol and cigarette sales (cue the choking/spitting out of coffee in shock at this last restriction!).

So, with friends in the townships of Cosmo City and Diepsloot, in Johannesburg, I have had a glimpse into how lockdown has affected many people living in South Africa.

Tari, my lovely friend who runs the Buttercup 2 Preschool in Cosmo City, was visiting her daughters in Zimbabwe, one of whom she had not seen for a year, when the closure of schools was announced. She quickly came back to South Africa to deal with her preschool closure, keeping on a few children of key workers. In fear of the virus and the government, local residents near the preschool saw these children being dropped off and protested (which in SA is called a toyi toyi) outside her house. Buttercup 2 was forced to completely shut its doors. Like so much of South African business, the preschool is informal, and Tari was and still is, unable to claim any compensation. The government immediately began handing out food parcels in the townships, but this hasn’t helped much when Tari has had to pay rent; pay the helper at the preschool; and pay for her own children and elderly mother in Zimbabwe. We hope that July sees a relaxation of the lockdown rules to allow preschools to start again, and for Tari to get up and running once more.

Me and Tari during the Buttercup 2 Preschool build.
From the post, "When building a wall is a good thing"

Tari and the children at Buttercup 2 Preschool,
before lockdown.

Playing in the new outside play area at
Buttercup 2, before lockdown...

Nelson, who was our handyman during the Buttercup 2 play area build back in August last year, was also forced to stop his building work without any means of compensation. Like Tari, he too is originally from Zimbabwe, and relies on informal work because he is unable to find a job despite his truck driver qualifications. He rents a little room built behind a government-built house in Cosmo City, where he stays with his wife and two boys, aged five and one.

Nelson lives behind this house on the right.

Nelson at the preschool build in 2019.

Our dear friend Shepherd, who I wrote about in my last post, “Shepherd’s Dream of Chickens”, made it home from Diepsloot to his rural home in Limpopo Province just before lockdown was implemented. There he spent ten weeks with his five children, and reared chickens, which is a new business venture of his. Shepherd’s usual gardening work in the city is regular so he was paid during lockdown. He was therefore able to enjoy his time at home despite government food parcels not arriving in the rural areas by the time he returned to Diepsloot for work, in June.

Shepherd back in Jo'burg after lockdown in Limpopo

The government, like elsewhere, has had a very hard job of doing what it thinks is best for South Africa. The early and extreme lockdown meant that the virus almost completely stopped spreading and our rate of infection curve was well and truly flattened. With no alcohol on sale, the numbers admitted to A and E dropped dramatically and hospitals were quite empty. We chatted last week with our friend Yvette, who we went skiing with last year, and as a doctor she was able to tell us that lockdown gave hospitals time to establish Covid-19 protocols in advance of cases arriving, and it gave them time to order PPE from China, which took two months to arrive. After lockdown was relaxed and people started to present with symptoms, Yvette’s hospital was able to successfully isolate people who tested positive for the virus, and successfully track and trace the virus, and quarantine those who had been in contact with it. As it stands today on the 1^st of July, South Africa has had 2657 Covid-19 related deaths, during what has been a bitter winter.

So there has been an incredible economic sacrifice by the people living in South Africa but some real successes too. And where the government has not been able to help, charities and churches have stepped in. We are very much in the thick of it as I write, and hope that by spring we might start seeing a reduction in cases. We will see…

It appears so easy and indulgent when compared to what our friends have faced, but finally, what have the Willmore’s been doing in lockdown? Joe Wicks workouts of course! And plenty of online quizzes and online church, with family and friends. The girls were thrown straight into online schooling, which I found very stressful and quickly learnt I shouldn’t be in the room for, (for fear of shouting when their microphones were on…!), and Joel has had some creative activities sent home from his Waldorf school. Laurence has managed to employ four people in lockdown, still having never met two of them, and his team is working out extremely well. We have had some secret alcohol drops as Laurence’s mum kindly shared her wine with us once ours had run out, and our first day of being allowed out in Lonehill after seven weeks in isolation was described as being like a Christmas Day. And with duty and satisfaction, (and help from our friend Mary in the UK), we have also taken on the role of looking after our dear friends Tari, Nelson, and Shepherd, who have suffered so terribly during this pandemic and will continue to do so until we all get back on our feet as a country. If ever there was a place to see how the pandemic has dis-proportionally affected people, it is here in South Africa. Once again, we are reminded of how lucky we are.

Thick as thieves during lockdown.

As I’m sure, for everyone, it has been an emotional roller-coaster with the pandemic and lockdown. 2020 will truly go down in history. I hope we get through it one way or another, and are able to help, or be helped, along the way. Our little family unit should be back in the UK at the moment, which is really sad, but we’ll get home at some point, and it will be all the sweeter when it finally happens.

Please keep South Africa in your thoughts as the virus continues to spread here.

Lots of love to you all, Jess x

Next post: Guns and Masks...and School?!

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Here are some photos from our Willmore Lockdown...