Adventures in South Africa: A Small Fieldtrip with an Incredible Woman

Hello again!

My Friday in Lynedoch was very emotionally and mentally draining this week. We began the day by walking to a nearby farm and visiting with an older woman named Kathleen Peterson whom Grant knows well. She has lived on this farm for most of her life and was actually the nanny of the current farm owner. She has a deceased husband, three children, and several grandchildren. One of her grandsons is fostered by Grant and has been living with him for the

past few years. Kathleen’s home consists of one kitchen, one living room, and one bedroom. The bathroom facilities and wash basin (which is essentially a spout and a concrete block) are outside of the home and are shared by a few families. Right now there are three people living in her home, but at one point there were ten people there. A few years ago Kathleen’s grandson Ashlek asked Grant if there was any way he could move out of the house. He felt very uncomfortable living in such close quarters with his mother, grandmother, and sisters when he was forced to bath and change in front of them. That’s why he now lives with Grant and Grant’s mother because he’s able to have his own bedroom there and his schooling is paid for by them. He now only has one year of high school left and then Grant will pay for him to go to university. Ashlek hopes to make improvements to his grandmother’s house once he gets a good job.

Despite the abject poverty that this family suffers from, Kathleen continues to have hope. Grant asked her to share with us her story and she was happy to talk about herself. Through Grant’s translation we learned that she used to walk 2-3 hours to school in the mornings because her

primary school was on the other side of the mountain. When she was 12 years old assaulted by some boys near the farm and was forced to drop out of school because she was no longer physically capable of walking the long distance. She also shared with us her duties as nanny for the current farm owner and she talked briefly about what has changed since apartheid ended. Kathleen collects R1100 ($140) per month because of her disability and she’s never travelled to anywhere besides Cape Town, yet she can focus on the fact that her life is rich in other ways. Her stories were incredibly sad, but she seems to have a sparkle in her eye regardless. Whenever she mentioned her late husband or her grandchildren she smiled ear to ear. Kathleen appears to be at peace with herself and her life, and she’s very proud that her grandchildren will have more opportunities than she did. Next week we are going to bring her a card, a picture of us, and some chocolate as a thank you (Grant said she has a sweet tooth). I’m hoping I’ll have more chances to visit with her this semester, perhaps once my Afrikaans improves.

Afterwards we went to the small chapel that’s on the farm for some quiet reflection. Grant gave us a chance to share what we were feeling if we wanted to and then we enjoyed our morning snack of cheese and croissants outside the chapel. I think the whole day was overwhelming and powerful for all of us. I’ve only known my classmates for three weeks now but I know this experience, both this day and the entire service-learning course, will tie us to each other forever. We all came away from that farm thinking about what we can do to help in any small way. My friend Malinda said it best when she shared that she’s never felt so deeply dedicated to a community before. The children of Lynedoch and the surrounding area grow up in a vastly different world than all of us, but they are so hopeful and enthusiastic about life.

I came away from our trip to the farm with many ideas in my mind of ways that I can help this community and these children. I’ve been thinking since last week and compiling a list of simple ways that I can make a difference and I want to share one small idea here. Some of the kids take the train or a bus to school, but many of them walk. The farm we visited is one of the closest to the school but it was still 10-15 minutes away. In the summer this is fine, but the winters in South Africa are very rainy and these kids don’t own raincoats. Grant said that many kids come into school each winter morning soaking wet from their walk, so I’m hoping to have some raincoats sent over here from the U.S. Any size would do as the school has kids from kindergarten through 8th grade, and obviously I’m looking for used raincoats so no need to go by any new ones. I’m certainly not expecting anyone to send coats over, but I wanted to put the option out there in case any of you have been reading my posts about Lynedoch and wanted to get involved. My address here is one of my previous posts, or you could give a coat to my parents and they’ll get it to me. Again, please to feel like you have to give anything, but I know some people were wondering how they could give something small that would mean a lot here.

Thanks to everyone who’s still following my blog! I really appreciate it!