Afro Becky

Went shopping in Durban yesterday for presents for the children. I bought sleeping bags, coats and blankets for them.

We have had a fantastic time and Alicia Keyes came to visit the children at Agape. She also put on a special concert for the children. The body guard wouldn't let me film but I have some pictures to so on soon. The kids loved it. She was great.

Over the weekend we took the Savannah Park kids shopping in Pinetown. 1 of the volunteers donated R300 per child which they could spend on clothes or shoes. Everybody loved it. Nosipho who is 14 i went shopping with and she really wanted some special trainers so we walked all over Pinetown trying to find them. We were looking for 1 shop in particular which as my luck had it had just closed. Nosipho was a bit gutted but we lightened the mood with our retail therapy. She kept the money for the shoes so she could go back another day. I hope she finally gets the perfect pair.

2 new girls and 2 boys came into Agape this week. Agape is already full and really shouldn't be taking in more kids but the need is so great there is little choice. The 2 girls aged 4 and 7 had been staying with an abusive uncle since there mother died. They were beaten on a daily basis and told they were not welcome there. The social worker begged Agape to take the girls because they were in so much danger. The 2 girls are the sweetest little pair ever you can't imagine either of them ever doing anything wrong, ever!
The 2 boys are 10 and 14 and they had been staying with extended family since there mother died but the family couldn't afford to send them to school, or even feed them on a regular basis. All the children don't have any identity documents so getting them into school were the other Agape kids are might be a problem. We'll have to wait and see.

Well I was lucky enough to be invited to Luscanda's 3rd birthday party which was so cool. We took the older babies to an indoor playground which was great the loved it. Even Sbahle was laughing and enjoying herself. Luscanda had a real personality clash with 1 of the waiters who might be the tallest waiter ever! Luscanda would just scream everytime this guy walked near us which was funny for us but obviously not for Luscanda.

Yep sick again and the latest diagnosis is tick bite fever!!!! which means i get really bad headaches, keep going hot and cold and i have a swelling at the top of my leg that is unbelievably tender so it hurts to walk, bend and basically move. The babies have developed the nak of standing directly on it which seems to enable them to fly!

Lean On Me dropped Agape as a project last month so i've been having to pay for taxi's to go and see them but i don't have the money to go as regularly as I want so it's hard. The housemother keeps telling me that the kids have been miserable and they really miss us. Siyabonga wants me to help him with his homework but I'm not there enough to help as much as he needs so it's really frustrating, and the kids are obviously suffering because of Lean On Me's decision but it doesn't seem to be taken into consideration. I can't understand why it can't be a project anymore.

Well I took 3 more Agape kids to the dentist on Saturday. When i arrived at Agape all the boys were standing outside. They were supposed to have gone to play football. One of the other volunteers had arranged transport to take the team there but it hadn't turned up so i ended up giving them R200 to get taxi's to the pitch. Pamela (a house mother at Agape) was giving us a lift to the dentist which is near Durban but she was an hour late coming to pick us up, I should know by now to consider African time when trying to get to an appointment. Also what i didn't realize is that the house mother had come here from Jo'burg so she didn't have a clue how to get there and although I had directions she didn't now any names of any roads. Flipping women drivers! Despite being 2 hours late for the appointment we managed to get the kids seen, and it was lucky we did, 1 of the boys needed 9 fillings and he is only 11 years old. When I talked to him and tried to explain the importance of him looking after his teeth, he told me he lost his toothbrush. Ironically half my tooth feel off yesterday and I have bad tooth ache so i need to be listening to my own lectures. 1 of the other girls needed 3 fillings and she was screaming crying the whole time she must hate me now. After toothbrush shopping they returned to Agape.

I found out last Wednesdays that Mlu had finally enrolled at school. I've been told that he is a lot happier loves all his new stuff and I will get to see him in March in the school holidays. MARCH! that is ages away and the other kids at the tree want to throw the ball instead of kicking it, whats up with that?! I don't now how to say 'footballs are made for kicking' in Zulu, but I'll learn! I've never really understood why all the kids in this country want to go to school it must be a weird culture thing. Maybe i can convince them to give him the day off on Wednesdays because its important for him to concentrate on his football! I did say to them once that education is not important and they just laugh at me.
Also a lot of the women at the tree are now asking me for school shoes for their kids and shirts, uniforms etc.. A wish i could afford to help them all out but i just don't have the money, it's a real shame cos i know they wouldn't ask me unless they really needed it.

One of the Lean On Me drivers went to see Sbelo and his mother and she is so much better. She went to the clinic and got the right drugs and now feels well enough to come and visit her other kids at the babyhome. Unfortunately Sbelo isn't at school because he is sole carer to his mother. I can't wait to see him when he comes to the babyhome which should be some time this week. I'm sure he will be happier than the last time i saw him. We are also wanting to get all the babies at the babyhome HIV tested but despite none of there families coming to visit them we still need consent from them to do the tests. Mbali's and Sanele's mothers whereabouts are unknown so its really frustrating when you see them get sick and you don't no if it's just a cold or it's a lot more than that. Last time i wasn't interested at all in finding out which kids were positive or not but now i feel like i need to know. I can't see anything happening anytime soon though.

Mlu is the best 6 year old footballer I have ever seen. I see him every Wednesday when he goes to the tree clinic. I got attached to him very quickly because of his love for football. He always looks so sad until i whip my football out and then we have a very different little guy. I asked the ladies at the tree why he always looked so sad and why he wasn't at school, and they told me that his mother had abandoned him and left him with his father and then his father left him as well. He is in the care of his aunt at the moment but she is not working and can't afford to clothe or feed him. He can't be enrolled at school because he doesn't have a birth certificate because they can't track down his parents. I made it my mission to make his life a little easier so i went on a little shopping spree. Spending R600 i got him completely kitted out from underwear to pyjamas, jumpers, waterproofs, shorts, vests, t-shirts, he has now gone from rags to the best dressed kid in Kwazulu-natal! I also got him toiletries and a towel etc... I got him a school bag and sewed Moyizela Mlu! Siyakuthanda, in the front which translates 'Smile Mlu! We Love You.' I can't wait to see what he looks like in all the clothes next week. I have also offered to help with his school fees and his uniform if they try to get him into school. I hope he remembers me when he's a famous footballer so i can convince him to come and play for the Boro!

I haven't had the chance to go back to see Sbelo and his sick mother because of the situation at Siyajabula. Sbelo is enrolled at school so i'm really hoping that he is there and not just caring for his mother. I'm really worried about what is happening there and hope to go and see how they are doing soon.

Sbahle is our sickest baby at the baby home. She has a skin infection at the moment that we just can't get rid of. Her skin is just coming off, if you hold her you will just be covered in skin. We have started taking her nappy off to let air get to her nappy area in the hope that it will heal a little because it is so sore and completely raw. The doctor has put her on pills for adults because she doesn't no what else she can do. It is awful to see her go down hill so quickly and there is nothing we can do.

I returned to the baby home this week to find the babies were completely bald. 1 of the past volunteers had bought clippers for them and well they work! Mbali looks so rough now, they look like a group of miniature gangsters.
The kids from Siyajabula have been moved back to the baby home as there has been a bit of a backlash from the community because the kids aren't originally from that area and the house mother they have employed turns out to be from a rival family from a different area. There are being talks held at the moment about whats going to happen but it looks like the 4 kids that were there will probably stay at Makaphutu and only kids from the area will go into the homes, and they will also employ a house mother who is originally from that area. We also can't go to the creche in the area until it has been deemed safe. The kids were never threatened or anything it was only the house mother and security guard that were aware of any danger. The kids also love being back at Makaphutu, so i'm sure it will all turn out great, but it's exciting don't ya think?!