30 more days in SA

I have exactly one month left in South Africa.  I really can’t  believe how fast this time has gone. It feels as if I have just arrived.  I relish the fact that I had an opportunity to spend 6 months in this beautiful country. I mean, not everyone gets a chance to do this!!  I’m going to soak up every minute that I have left here. I could have easily stayed here for another 5 months and been happy with it, but my time here is nearly up.  I know that I will be back here one day, but only after I’m married ;-) and there is a good reason for that just ask me if you would like to know.  

Teaching out in the communities is going really well, the children are learning more English, but they still have a long way to go. Six months ago they didn’t speak much English and they only understood a little. Children are like sponges, They learning so fast! . It was a huge challenge at first because they had no idea what I was saying, but now, at least they know the word "No" and they have learned to understand  basic English.  I’ve been teaching them English twice a week and it’s up to the teachers to continue with it during the rest of the week. It's been helpful for them to have support. The main problem we have been facing is that the the teachers need assistance in how to teach as well. The teachers can speak English but they were not teaching the children, manly because the were not really sure how to teach. The children are still really behind, it’s been a really slow process but there have been vast improvements.  I hope that they continue after I’m gone.

Sometimes it can be hard to go out in the communities because sometimes I feel so helpless. The other day I was out with Mama Julia in the communities and we found a mother who is severely handicapped and she has a two month old and a 6 year old. I’m pretty sure she has severe Autism and her six year old daughter does too. They're both non verbal and the mother has no clue how to take care of her two month old baby. She is feeding her pap, which does not have enough nutrients for a baby, she needs milk. She also gave the baby candy which she almost chocked on. Her friend was telling us that she had a 6 month old child that died because she does not have the skills to care for a infant. When we were visiting the mother was busy washing dishes and she did not recognize or acknowledge that  strangers were on her property!  The mother and her daughters are not getting the help they need, and obviously the mother has be raped as she is in no condition to give sexual consent and she is non-verbal.   South Africa does not have funding or support  for people with Autism who are not financially independent. We called welfare a few weeks ago and they finally came out this week and decided the children and the mother needed to be put in a home, so that’s really good news!  Many social workers don’t come out to the townships because there are so many cases they can’t get to all of them, sometimes the "poor" less fortunate families are ignored