7th March,2009
A Day Out with the Children
As I hadn't given the children an outing I took us all to "The Crafty Duck" where there are all sorts of animals, horse rides and a minature train. Savannah was not with us as she had opted to stay with her aunt and cousins.

The Crafty Duck is learly mainly interested in generating income although they do run a rehabilitation centre. Many of the cages are very small, there are no informative notices about the animals and worst of all visitor safety seem to be a matter of indifference. Children could put their fingers through the fence and touch the crocodiles. No helmets were provided forchildren on the horse rides. A poor young lynx was in a tiny enclosure right at the entrance to the rehabilitation area. She was being teased by a group of afrikaans speaking children. I told them nicely but firmly to stop.

It is a good outing for children as they can feed ducks, geese, parrots and numerous other birds. There are also rats, hamsters, gunea pigs, goats, snakes tortoises, antelopes, ponies and the afore-mentioned crocodiles.

The train ride was a complete rip-off and badly organizsed.

After lunch we went to Albert Falls Minature Railway which was constructed and is run by a friend of Donnette's father. I wa persuaded to take a ride and it was great fun. There is a properly laid track and the train goes over bridges and through tunnels.

We went to Albert Falls where there is dam. The cascades are beautiful but somewhat marred by the workshops right in front of them which are full of steel girders and abandoned machinery. We had bought lovely fresh mealies earlier and Donnette gave the worker enough so that they could roast them when they had a break. I thought that was a lovely gesture.

4th March,2009

Julie had invited me to accompany her to this slide show and talk which was held in Pietermaritzburg.

The policy of “Gift of the Givers Foundation is expressed as “Gift of the Givers Foundation is the largest disaster response NGO of African origin in the African continent. Coming into being in 1992, we have evolved into an agency that stands out as one of the best in the world. Entrepreneurship, job creation, bursaries, mosquito nets, blankets, clinics, counselling and life skills services are all facets of our expanding diverse activities. Building bridges between people of different cultures and religions, instilling hope and dignity and creating opportunity are all integral aspects of our philosophy. Our assistance is purely humanitarian and unconditional.

We assist irrespective of race, religion, colour, class, political affiliation or geographical boundary. We work with governments to get our assistance delivered, but do not align ourselves politically to any party.

Our credo is “The best among people are those who benefit mankind”.

The audience consisted of women. The ladies of Indian descent were wearing a variety of outfits. Julie was not wearing anything that identified her as a Muslim, others wore headscarves with traditional attire from the sub-continent, out lecturer wore a headscarf with a western style patterned blouse and white trousers. There was only one woman completely covered from head to foot in a black chador. Her outfit was decorated with black lace something I have never seen before and she was carrying a smart black handbag. She exposed her face on arrival and covered up again on departure. There were two “white” south Africans and a “black” South African woman in addition to myself. The latter was clearly a person of education and authority.

Zohra Sooliman, who is a psychologist, her husband and founder of “Gift of Giver” Dr. Imtiaz Sooliman, medical specialists and journalists had formed a party of about forty people who had entered Gaza about three weeks after the ceasefire at the beginning of this year.

Zohra and the whole team had worked in some cases almost literally twenty four hours a day to treat people and alleviate suffering. Zohra had been helping adults and children with post traumatic stress using a technique called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing).

The slides were a very powerful accompaniment to her words. Zohra made clear that the Israeli’s are clearly not following the accepted rules of war. They are using white phosphorous , a banned substance, for which there is no cure for those affected by it. The slides were a very powerful accompaniment to her words.

Zohra made a clear distinction between the policies and attitudes of the Israeli government and the Israeli people themselves. She mentioned that there are growing numbers of Israeli’s who are looking for a peaceful resolution to the present situation.

After the talk we were offered refreshments. Julie (who really is a wonderful Publicity Manager) started talking to Zohra about “Tales My Ghanaian Grandmother Told Me”. She had, with admirable foresight, brought along the publicity pack which Donnette had made up. Zohra was very interested and immediately started asking about what newspaper and radio coverage I had enjoyed. She expressed the thought that we were destined to met and said she would see what she could do to help with publicity. She has a husband, five children, works and regularly gives talks so she asked me if she could ring me in the evening in a day or two. Zohra really is a truly exceptional woman!


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28th February,2009

In a tourist office I picked up a glossy, attractively produced pamphlet entitled “Zulu-Mpophomeni Tourism Experience - Traditional Zulu hospitality”. Under history is the following information:
“The Zulu-Mpophomeni Experience serves as a unique metaphor for the miracle that is South Africa. Mpophomeni was founded in 1972 when the original settlement was moved under the segregationist policies of the apartheid government. There was much unhappiness about the move and the farmer whose land was expropriated committed suicide and has his ashes scattered over the land.

Mpophomeni housed most of the workers at the British Tyre and Rubber plant in Howick and in 1984, a massive strike was called to protest low wages. The entire workforce was fired and some of the shop stewards were subsequently shot.

A wall of Reconciliation was built to commemorate the 120 people who died in the violence and fittingly, is named after Nokulunga Gumede, the five-year old who was run over by a military vehicle during the cycle of violence”

There was mention of Township Tours which included visits to the Wall of Reconciliation , an old farmhouse, and income-generating projects as part of community development. As well as a visit to a Sangoma (traditional Healer), a cemetery, Shembe Traditional Church and cultural activities such as Zulu dance and township jive.

Accommodation is offered in thirteen private homes with comfortable en-suite Bed and Breakfast accommodation, which include double, twin and single beds.

Donnette had never visited the village so we set off with two of her children for our”Zulu-Mpophomeni Tourism Experience.” We were all full of anticipation as we drove through the breathtaking countryside. We turned off the main road when we saw a sign for the “Zulu Mpophomeni Experience.”

Suddenly we were in another world and for the first time on this trip I met Africa as I know it. I looked like everyone else. I was no longer a black face amongst a majority of white ones. No longer were the only black faces seen in town packing bags in supermarkets, cutting the verges, pushing and carrying and cleaning things. Donnette and her two children perched on the back set of the car were now a very obvious minority.

My heart lifted with delight at seeing goats and chickens and dogs with litters of puppies roaming around freely. Rows of neat houses lined one side of the road.

We drove confidently down the road for about two miles and then cam to what appeared to be the centre of the village. We saw absolutely nothing that gave any information as to the Mpophomeni Experience. We were very aware that we were being carefully observed by a very wary population. I wanted to photograph the long queue of people patiently waiting for transport but felt that this would not be appreciated by the villagers. So we turned roun and drove to the petrol station at the turn off.

I was automatically addressed in Zulu (a lovely language) and people looked bewildered when I said that I didn’t speak the language. Donnette managed to find someone who spoke English an finally a young man with a car said we should follow him. An inebriated man called Beki squeezed onto the back seat with the children. We drove back the way we have come and the car we were following stopped in front of the Community centre. We said a friendly goodbye to both men.

Truth to tell by this time we were all rather apprehensive and mystified. People we had actually spoken to were perfectly friendly but the general atmosphere was not. It was so odd that no one appeared to have heard of the “Zulu - Mpophomeni Tourism Experience which was supposed to take place in their village.

Donnette said she didn’t feel safe and I reluctantly had to agree. She got out of the car to ask some women for directions but left the engine running. We followed their directions which seemed to lead us further and further out of the village. No m