Project COLORS - South Africa

Thank you Bill and Melinda Gates

2009-03-24T23:43:00.000-07:00

Charging through the chaos of the developing and developed worlds….. more balls are thrown to us everyday, making our lives ever more interesting…. it is with your assistance, the blessings that find us, and the amazing people we work with, that we inevitably find our balance, take a deep breath and once again see the impacts of our efforts, remembering to take note of the flowers blooming all around us.

Amazing scholarship news: THANK YOU BILL & MELINDA GATES

As an unpaid, full time volunteer, it is sometimes hard to take care of yourself while taking care of others. However, because of this line of work COLORS volunteers have always been accepted with open arms by the communities we work in plus lent a helping hand by like minded charity’s, family and friends back home . Every now and then, we are offered unique opportunities to speak to the international world concerning COLORS programs, projects and views on development.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has provided both Sunyata and I with a fully paid scholarship to attend the 4th Annual South African HIV/AIDS Conference in Durban at the end of March, 2009.

Updates from my Outreach Projects in Thembalethu

So far..........my outreach projects are moving along wonderfully. I have fully implemented a Art Therapy and craft session every Thursday for HIV positive adults at a local daycare center in the township of Thembalethu. A few of the crafts we have created are: wonderful beaded earrings, hemp necklaces (which is very popular), stencil and sponge master pieces to hang up at home, and beautiful African Mama "door stoppers" made of old beer bottles cloth and beads.

The Nutty Buddy food distribution program is running very smoothly. I had a couple of unpredictable circumstances at the beginning of the program, but we have come out with flying colors in the end. Myself and 3 Volunteers from Germany are hand making the Nutty Buddy ourselves in the Kitchen at Bethesda. We are currently providing 40 families consisting of 3 - 7 children at each home with nutrition allowing the opportunity to help improve their immune systems and make it much easier on the stomach when taking their ARV's.

The Home repairs out reach project has come to a bit of a stand still, as our head of maintenance has been on leave for the last month 1/2. I have headed out into the townships of Rosemoor, Cornwall, Parkdine, and Thembalethu to assess the homes as best I could. So far I have encountered a shack that needs the door widened, a wheelchair ramp, and a window. Windows are ideal in helping to prevent the spreading of TB. 3 shacks are in need of new roofing to try and prevent the rain from coming in.

Thank you to all of the people who made donations from Ontario and Vancouver Canada. It is because of your generosity that allowed us to make the Outreach programs and Children's Christmas camp a reality.

2009-02-03T02:56:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone, Just a quick update.
I am starting a brand new project with COLORS, and I am very excited about it. The project consists of 3
Part Part 1:
Assessing and improving the security and comfort of peoples homes in the township of Thembalethu. Little things like buying tarp to place on top of roofs, to prevent water and flooding or buying material to make a door for a shelter or an outhouse.

Part 2:
Distributing Nutty Buddy to patients of ours that are too ill to come to the clinic or hospice. Also to patients with small children who are not yet in Pre school and are in desperate need of nutricain.

Part 3:
Facilitating an "adult & child" day care for patients who come to the local township clinic to get there ARV's (Meds for People living with HIV/AIDS)This is really exciting, in that it allows me to provide patients with the knowledge of how to make nutty buddy, but it allows them to take food home with them in order to take meds and survive. This program's goal is to also implement workshops such as; sewing, art work, sculpting and bead work. Teaching skills, building relationships, and eventually turing it into a Micro-business. Which in return, will allow the patients to create and sustain a little income to help assist with basic needs.

I am here for at least another 2 months and i am extremely excited about this new project. It will be very difficult to find my way around the townships, as them roads, addresses and street signs either do not exist or are not clearly marked. But it will be an amazing experience.as always.

2009-01-06T01:45:00.000-08:00

2008-11-11T03:17:00.001-08:00

Homes for Chritmas

2008-11-05T04:47:00.000-08:00

What a great day! Meet Kate,
Kate is a sweet old woman in her 70’s who has spent most of her life disabled due to malnutrition & diabetes. Kate has had her legs amputated and spends her time sitting in an old chair in a makeshift little shack. Her daughter and grandson also live in this small two room cardboard and driftwood home.

Luckily Kate has been given a wheelchair, however, it impossible to use it in her home due to the rocky unleveled dirt and patchy concrete floor.

COLORS South African partner Bethesda has created an outreach program to help their home care patents like Kate, with basic but very important projects and home improvements such as wheelchair accessibility.

So here’s the great day part,…. Yeh!!!!
Bethesda’s Mario and Yappy to the rescue! Sunny and I were fortunate enough to be invited to meet Kate and get to be apart of making her life a little bit brighter. When we arrived we were greeted with big toothless smiles. The smell of propane was overwhelming, but the excitement of the pending home improvements overpowered the room even more.

Smash went Yappies sludge hammer!...out went the dirt and old concrete….in came Mario with the wheelbarrow… Kate’s grandson runs around the outside of the house in total excitement that total strangers are now throwing dirt around his house.
Maybe he’s a bit jealous that he’s not allowed to throw dirt around the house too.

Before long Kate, has the gift of a whole new reality…accessibility of her own home!

After assessing the need of Kate’s home, Sunny and I followed up with providing anti fungal cream to help treat the little boys ringworm infection, a good home 1st aid kit, dental supplies plus a warm blanket and some toys for the boy

I have arrived safe & sound

2008-10-23T03:26:00.000-07:00

Once we arrived in Joberg, we were informed that our flight was no longer available for us to take to George. (We still do not know the reason for this).....Welcome to Africa..... apparently these things happen on a regular basis. So Sunny and I decided to put ourselves up at a game reserver just on the outskirts of Joberg, in order to wake up at 5:00am to try and get onto an already fully booked flight to George. We were lucky and made it here safe and sound.

Sunny and I live 1 min walk from the Indian ocean in a little "cottage" outside of George in a small town called Klienkrantz. The cottage is really small, and comprises of the bare essentials. It's like camping, with electricity...sometimes. It has one bedroom, and I sleep in the living room, which has been converted into a separate bedroom. It is very cozy, and feels like home already. The entire place is made of cement. We do not have a stove/oven but a 2 burner propane stove. No shower, only a bath tub with no hot water. I am still working on my bathing system. I don't have it down quite yet.

The community is really neat where I live, it is comprised of a mix of people,,,black, colored, white, and Indian. ( yes - colored is the politically correct term, used to describe people who are not "native or black" Afrikaans) The houses are all very different- some small, big, mansions and shacks. There is a "community dog" the most gorgeous yellow lab, and I have adopted her to be my dog. I have named her Blondie, and she is the sweetest thing. Not to mention, incredibly intelligent. We run together in the mornings.

After recovering from Jet leg and acclimatizing to the environment, I had the opportunity to meet some of the children from the orphanage. I was given a tour by two of the older boys, and was relieved to see that the children do not live in poverty. They are fed well-balanced nutritious meals, and have comfortable living environments. Very similar to where I live. On my tour I was introduced to a couple of the "Tannies/Cares" (care givers) who look after the children, who were very pleased/relieved to know that I have come to provide support.

So far so good....once I have a chance to take pictures I will post them as son as possible.

Silent Auction - Fundraiser

2008-09-22T05:59:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to thank all of you for attending the silent auction fundraising event held at Shelia MacNaughton's house this past Saturday afternoon.

I can't begin to express how grateful I am for all for your support and generous contributions towards my volunteer project in South Africa.
We had over 50 people join us for the event and raised a grand total of $4000.00!

Please make sure to view the photos.