Christmas Day 2009

Russell and Precious marvelling at their new laptop!

The kids with Santa before they opened their gifts.

Fun in the pool!

Apologies for the delay, but at least I'm getting this in before New Year tomorrow!!

We've had a busy week with some friends from the UK who are out here with Lionsraw. The Flint family have been raising money and awareness all year for the work out here and especially for Sithembakuye Orphanage. They arrived on Christmas Eve and we brought all the kids, Russell and Precious (who run the place), and a couple of Gogos up to our house for Christmas Day for a party they'll not forget in a hurry.

The children had never been to our house and they were over the moon to see a swimming pool, and even more excited to be given swimming costumes and allowed in to play. Hardly any of them can swim but they enjoyed being in there. One of the boys got into difficulties in the deep end almost immediately causing Steve to dive in and rescue him, but that didn't keep him out of the pool and he was soon back in having fun.

The mist was moving in though and after a while we had to get the kids out of the pool and stick them in front of 'Santa Claus - the Movie' whilst the braai was cooking. Lunch was borewors, steak, burgers, baked beans and mayo mix (cold, but actually quite nice), salad and bread. It went down very well, as did the cake, ice cream and fruit for dessert. Every child finished what was on their plate and came back for seconds. Not a bit was wasted. No fussy children here!

Even small touches like letting off party poppers and pulling crackers were greatly enjoyed by the kids and they were very excited when Santa came in to give them all their presents. The whole group of children, with ages ranging from 2 to 17, got excited for each child as he or she went up for their presents. The joy in the room was almost tangible. However, nothing could beat the amazed reaction from Russell when he was presented with the one thing he'd been praying for - a new laptop. His old one had been stolen at knifepoint a short time ago and he'd been struggling to work without one. There was certainly a lot of celebration when he opened that present!

We'd taken Russell and Precious to ToysRUs a few days before to get a big present for each child (which was an adventure in itself!) and they also got lots of little presents from the UK. The brilliant thing to see was that each child shared their toys with others and also respected their own stuff. Even a few days after when we've been down to the Valley to see them, they are still excited at what Santa brought them!

To see the joy and happiness that this day brought to these children was quite overwhelming and the sense of euphoria and Christmas joy was everywhere in our house. It truly was an excellent day!

Feeding the kids 2 - Christmas Party

It's odd doing a party at 10.30am in the morning when it's blisteringly hot.

However, not if you are a primary school child on holiday with nothing much to do...

Yesterday I cooked up a big vat of beef curry and we served that to the kids today, along with bread, juice and cake for dessert. I've never seen those kids get so excited as when I offered them seconds of cake! Today we had 22 children come to eat, and some of them were new so my total of orphans on my list is now 73...

After they'd eaten, we played Pass the Parcel (an essential at any party!). It took a little bit of explaining but once they'd got the hang of it they loved it. We have children from Grade R up to Grade 7 and they worked well at helping each other. The little boy from Grade R was especially excited every time the parcel came anywhere near him and he managed to open it twice I think, winning 2 lollies.

After this we gave out their presents. We'd got a small bag of sweets, a balloon, an apple (keeping it healthy!!), bag of crisps and a 'lucky packet' which was either Disney, WWE, Spiderman, High School Musical etc and proved to be very popular. Not hugely expensive gifts but they were well received and the children went home happy.

Thank you to all the people who donated money to make this possible. It's great to see kids get excited about life and I'm starting to build relationships with some of the children which will be a good starting place when term starts to visit them at 'home' and see how I can help them further.

African Sunrise

People always say how awesome the sunrise is in Africa but up until this week I'd never experienced one myself. However, when we got in quite late from a Christmas Party on Tuesday we thought we'd stay up and see the dawn from the viewpoint (it's easy when you live on top of a mountain with a convenient 'tourist' viewpoint only a stone's throw away!). It's also easy because dawn here is at about 4am (so it's not really staying up all night..)

Anyway, here are a few pictures of the amazing sight, and it's true, African sunrises really are magnificent. We had the added benefit of being above the clouds with inspiring views over the Valley of 1000 Hills too. I really love living here sometimes...

Holiday Feeds - Number 1

The kids at Sithembakuye enjoying the left-over porridge, watched over by the Gogo!

Steve and Sean giving out many bags of porridge at the school.

One of the kids enjoying his porridge, he'd even found a newspaper to read and was relaxing as if in a cafe!

Today was our first attempt at feeding the orphans at Inchanga School. I say 'attempt' as we really had no idea who was going to turn up, but we were prepared for about 40 kids. When we arrived most of the children were already at the school waiting for us and in total we fed 27 children today. However, a lot of these were not the ones who'd come to see me on Thursday and so my list of children has now risen to 65! We fed anyone who was there today, even managing to give some to the older siblings who had come with their family.

At the advice of George the Principal we'd prepared a vat of porridge for the kids, which seemed to go down well. In addition to this we gave the kids some bags of porridge to take home. This mixture has lots of added vitamins and minerals and keeps the kids full for longer, which helps when they are not sure when their next meal is coming from. Also, it's really easy to make and requires minimal cooking, just adding milk or water. Another donor had given many bags of the stuff to the school so this morning we gave the kids from that supply, which means the 40 bags that I've bought have yet again travelled round for nothing (I will manage to give them away eventually!!)

Next Tuesday we're going to get some meat and bread and make it into a Christmas Party for the kids. We're just starting to get to know them and a lot of them were a bit nervous about English people giving them food, but it's a start and hopefully through these feeds the children will get to know me a bit better and then next term when I start visiting them and working with them in the school the relationships will deepen and grow.

Having a bit of food left, we took it down to our friends' orphanage - Sithembakuye - in the valley near our house. The kids there appreciated it very much, and the Gogo was very keen to be in one of the photos I took, so I had to put that on here!!

Last day of term!

Some of my lovely boys, ready for the long holiday!

View from the top of the hill by the church, the cliff in the distance on the right is where we live.

Inchanga Primary closed for Christmas today and there was definitely an air of 'end of term' excitement in the playground when we arrived this morning. They celebrated the last day with a Mass and First Communion for about 10 pupils and we popped up to the church to see the end of that. The church is a little further up the hill with amazing views over the valley. (see photo above) There's even a huge window along the side of the modern church building giving a wide and inspiring viewpoint over the valley below, inspiring praise to our Creator God, no doubt!

However, this end of term is twinged with sadness as one of the orphans in Grade 4 was tragically swept away in a stream during the most torrential rain on Tuesday night. We've had 4 major thunderstorms over 4 consecutive evenings, but Tuesday was much worse than the others, with what felt like hurricane winds, rain, thunder rolling round the hills and almost constant lightening for 2 hours as well as powercuts. Some parts of the valley still haven't been reconnected. Some of the children found themselves in trouble when the storm started and one girl sadly didn't make it. They found her body yesterday.

The storms here are impressive and because we live on top of a mountain, we see the lightening strike places in the valley and all around our property. They really do make UK storms seem a bit feeble! The storms can last up to 2 hours, sometimes longer. During the major storm on Tuesday evening we had rainwater gushing off our roof and creating a flood around the house and even dripping in through the living room roof!! But that is nothing compared to the devastation that it caused in the valley. Not only was that child killed, but driving past one of my children's houses today, it looks like large parts of the mud wall have been washed completely away leaving huge gaps in the wall and probably making the house unstable. Zulus are understandibly terrified of storms and you can understand why.

The roads are eroding too and the road to the school is getting pretty bad. As I'm looking for a car right now I'm rapidly coming to the conclusion that I need something bigger than just a car. I've hired a car for 2 weeks but after that I need to get something better. However, funds are extremely low for a car and at the moment I can't afford anything decent, except to rent for longer, which is expensive and counter-productive. Please pray for the provision of a vehicle. I've seen a reasonable one for 65000 Rand, which is about £5300 but would be perfect for the work here. It's absolutely essential that I get a vehicle somehow, so I know that God WILL provide, pray that He does so soon!! (and if you are part of that answer to prayer, please get in touch!!)

We wanted to give my 40 orphans some porridge to take away for this week. However someone else had donated food for all 300 orphans and so we're keeping ours for next week as they had enough to carry today. I gathered my kids together though and am starting to recognise them. The problem at the school is that there are lots of orphans and I am only working with some of the most desperate. I had several more children come to register with me today so we could be feeding about 50 next week. We'll see who turns up!

Christmas soccer fun

Yesterday there was a huge party for 500 orphans at a local orphanage organised by FNB (one of the main banks over here). We went along to run a 5-a-side soccer tournament for the kids. I say 'we', I mean the Lionsraw boys - but they made me official time-keeper for the matches. This was a brilliant job because I got to use the emergency hooter thing and give everyone around me a shock every few minutes! (next time I'd like a megaphone as well, just for the fun of it!)

We got there early to set up and watched all the marquees and jumping castles being put up. This was a big event, they had about 8 inflatables there, 3 of which were waterslides and involved much soapy water and mud. As the kids fell off the end they created a lovely pool of mud which was gradually carried onto the slides as they rushed back on. But they didn't care, it was baking hot and sunny and waterslides were very popular. Good job too that FNB gave each child a towel as they arrived!

There was also a marquee with a talent show stage, another place for face-painting and popcorn, and several clowns wandering around, one of whom was on stilts and too tall to get into the shade of the marquees!

We had almost as many girls wanting to play soccer as boys, but with all the excitement of the other attractions (notably the inflatables), getting the rights teams ready and in place was something of an organisational nightmare - but we eventually got some kids playing and they loved it. They didn't get as far as playing for a trophy though, as the lovely people from FNB had yet more gifts for them and then they were all packed off home. But all in all, the kids seemed to have a fabulous day and it was nice to finally be out in the sunshine (instead of the constant rain of the previous week!).

Cow's stomach stew, anyone??

I'm writing this from my new home in South Africa, surrounded by cloud. It was quite surreal to arrive here after leaving Birmingham at 2 degrees, where they had to defrost the plane before we could take off. After going via the heat of Dubai, I arrived to rain. However I was happy because at least it wasn't cold. The temperature is in the low 20 degrees C. Nice.

Yesterday I was straight into Inchanga School to see what's going on there. It was the Christmas party for Grades R to 3 (the rest of the school get a party tomorrow) and there was much dancing and loud music blaring out. Thankfully the rain held off all morning as the whole event was outside.

Lionsraw had donated money to the school to buy a cow's stomach to cook for the children, which is a special treat for them. A small group of Grade 1 and grade R children gathered around me as soon as I got there, including Sanele and Nontobekho (whose house I visited back in August) and they insisted on giving me a tour of their school. However when we approached the kitchen, even they commented on the ghastly smell coming out from there.

When it came to eating it the children had to line up with their bowls and most of them ate with their hands. The smell was kind of like really really smelly cheese, and thankfully the staff knew that we English people couldn't cope with hardcore stews like that so we weren't given any! Most of the children seemed to enjoy it, although a few of the littler ones didn't really want to have it. We managed to retreat away from the kitchen, and therefore also the smell, but when the kids gathered around us afterwards with little paws fresh from lunch, the smell came with them and lingered on my fleece long into the evening yesterday!!

It was great to catch up with a few of my Grapevine children. So far there are 40 children who have filled in a profile and with whom I will start working. They weren't all there though and I also came across a few other children who looked very much like they didn't have much at home. As it was a day when they didn't wear uniform, it was easy to see whose family had money to buy clothes and who was still in the usual outfit they wore to school every day.

Little Sanele, who I visited back in August, was doing well. Although he did tell me that he is still ill and then went on to say he'd had swine flu recently. He looked reasonably well and nothing stopped him from dancing away to the music later on in the party. These children don't have meat often and there was much celebratory dancing before they went off to have seconds.

Sitting with a small group of kids, overlooking some kids dancing and other ones having an impromptu game of soccer on the school pitch, with the sun breaking through the clouds, I remembered how much I love being in this place and how excited I am to see what God is going to do in this place and with these children, each one precious to him.

Yet more radio!!

Well, it's all kicking off in radio land (in a good way!)

My interview with Tim and Marian is being repeated sometime on Sunday 22nd Nov between 1 and 3 pm on BBC CWR, so if you don't have i-player you can tune in and listen!

Also, on the 6th December on Saturday morning I'll be doing a live phone interview direct from South Africa to fill you in on how the first week has gone and what's happening down in the Southern Hemisphere. Am really excited about this opportunity and a chance to tell people in Coventry and Warwickshire (and further afield via i-player!) all about the everyday challenges, highs and lows of working with my wonderful children in Inchanga! I think it's going out quite early but I'll put it up nearer the time to remind you!

Grapevine on BBC CWR

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/radio/bbc_radio_coventry_warwickshire/

this is the link you need to hear my interview this morning with Tim and Marian at Breakfast.

Fast forward to 10 mins before the end of the show and you'll get me!

Happy Listening - but be quick, it's only up for 7 days!!

Lionsraw on TV!

Lionsraw (the charity with whom we are working closely for the new build during the World Cup 2010) are on BBC1 Inside out - but only the N.E. Edition...

Monday 16th November at 7.30pm

You can see it on Freesat/sky etc or on I-player

Check it out!

VISA!!

Hurrah!

Without much problem and just a short hold-up, I am now in possession of a THREE YEAR VISA for working in South Africa! This is great news as it will mean I don't have to worry about renewing and can come and go as I like from the country for a while.

Praise the Lord and thank you if you were praying for me to get that sorted.

Back to South Africa!

I wanted to put my newsletter on here like before but for some reason the computer won't let me this morning. I've sent it out to people via email and it's also on facebook, so if you would like one and can't get it via these routes (if you haven't received one via email yesterday you are not on my list yet!) then get in touch, send me an email to grapevinemanager@gmail.com and I'll make sure you get one!

In any case, I've booked my ticket and I'm heading back to KwaZulu Natal! I leave the UK on Monday 30th November and take a brief stop off in Dubai before flying direct to Durban and get there late afternoon on 1st December. The 1st December also happens to be World AIDS Day.

From there on in I will have 10 days until the end of school term in which to co-ordinate the plan for feeding our children over the holidays. My aim is to get them in to the school twice a week and arrange for a proper meal cooked for them and then to get them some extra food to take away to tide them over. Given that we don't have much money at the moment I'm not sure how much we can give them, but we'll use what we have and pray for a miracle that it will stretch to feed them all (God's good at expanding food miracles, it's about time we saw some more of it!)

I'm also planning to do some teaching for the children and some fun games and other activities so that they will be fed not only physically but also spiritually. They are quite used to praying and hearing about God, so we'll be giving them an opportunity to engage with God too as well as some fun crafts and learning about how precious they are to Him.

This will be happening until the new term starts on 11th January. After that I'll be working on assessing each child's situation and listening to their needs with the aim of meeting as many as we can through our further work there.

It's all exciting stuff and I'm keen to get back as soon as possible. In the meantime I'm off to get my visa sorted. Travelling to London this afternoon (with only an AA driving directions map and no Sat Nav - should be interesting!) and tomorrow at 9.30am I have an appointment at the South African Embassy to apply for my visa. I really need this to go smoothly so if you can pray for that to happen that would be great. All being well I should be in and out quickly and in 10 days time be in possession of the longest possible volunteer visa.

The rest of my time is spent sorting things out and trying to earn a bit of money as well. There are so many little jobs to be done, my 'to do' list spans over 2 sides of A4 at the moment and there's no sight of the end! It will all be done in time though I'm sure!

Nearly there!!

Micky was in South Africa in September and managed to get together food for our children for the 10 day holiday at the end of the month because they don't get fed at school then. This is one of her pictures of the day she took that food in to be distributed at the end of term.

Notice the fog all around, this is more what I have to look forward to - it's not always wall to wall sun!

It was amazing to have Micky visit this weekend and for us to speak at a talk at my church about my trip to South Africa. A good time to inform people about what we aim to do and to share more with people as a group and individually, also for people to ask questions of me and Micky. It went well.

And, thanks for a generous donation, it's ALL SYSTEMS GO for me heading out there before Christmas. I'm hoping to leave the UK on 30th November, but have yet to finalise my ticket. The plan is that I will co-ordinate feeding these precious children over their long summer break which starts on 11th December. In my first 10 days out there I hope to arrange for cooks to come in twice a week to cook a hot meal for the children and to find extra food to sustain them in the other days when they are not fed. We'll celebrate Christmas and New Year and in addition to all of this, I want to provide more for them. Not just nourishing their bodies, but also their souls.

The plan is to give them food, and then some activities and a bit of teaching about how God sees them (precious, loved, chosen, children with a purpose and destiny in his family) and some ministry as well as a chance to play and have fun. All round good fun and nourishment! Jesus loves them and we have to celebrate His birthday too!

That's the plan. Pray into it for me. Also, if you have any extra cash around, please get it to us so that we can make this happen. It's cheaper to get stuff there so easier for people to donate money rather than other things at this time. Last Christmas holidays these children went hungry, for a whole 6 weeks! This year will be different for them. Praise God!

Help us make it a reality and thanks for supporting us so far!

Newsletter October-November 2009

TRAILBLAZING IN SOUTH AFRICA
Project Manager CAROLINE HORN
Newsletter OCTOBER – NOVEMBER 2009

The Story So Far… an update
In August I spent 2 weeks in KwaZulu Natal, getting to know the children and staff of Inchanga Primary School, with whom I shall be working closely over these next few years, and also linking in with the Lionsraw team who are getting ready for the World Cup projects 2010.
It was also a good opportunity for me to catch up with old friends, to see the children from God’s Golden Acre, where I used to work, and to renew contact with local people within the community who could help us out in our new venture.
I took some food to the 40 orphans. The school also arranged for me to visit the home of 2 of the children with whom I shall be working – see later on for what I found…

The Vision of Grapevine Foundation
Inchanga Primary School (near Durban) is a popular & thriving school. Yet for 63 of its pupils, school is the only source of food & clean water. They come primarily to get breakfast & lunch, as they sleep rough in the surrounding areas. The few clothes they have are washed by the teachers & at the weekend they struggle to survive in harsh rural conditions, without any family to help them. Can you imagine how vulnerable they are to possible abuse?
Two years ago, Micky Bailey learnt about these orphans & set up Grapevine Foundation (GVF) to provide specifically for them. Over the past few years, working with some local people in Inchanga, she has raised money to bring food to these children.
In June-July 2010, a group from the UK (www.Lionsraw.org) will be embarking on various projects in the Valley of 1000 Hills. The biggest of their projects will be to assist GVF in building the first phase of the Children’s Village. There will be 10 rondavels (traditional African homes), with a foster mother to care for a few children in each house, using the ‘cluster foster care’ method. Future plans are to build a clinic, crèche & community hall, which will assist the community by bringing help just that bit closer to the people.

One in every 2.5 people in Inchanga is infected with HIV/AIDS,
currently the highest rate in the world…
10 000 die here every month.
Over half of our children are potentially HIV+

The next step…
I shall be returning to KwaZulu Natal as soon as I can raise enough support to keep me out there. If I can get back before Christmas 2009, then the challenge of the school summer holidays lies before me, as the children face 6 weeks of no school, but also no regular meals twice a day either.

My main aims as Project Manager are:

To go and see where each child is sleeping at night in order to establish the actual needs of each individual.
To liaise with the school social worker to make sure each child has a birth certificate and then has access to whatever grants are available.
To make sure any children who are unwell receive medical attention and also help out with transporting children to the clinic as necessary.
To assist in providing food for these children at the weekends and during the holidays.
To assist in providing properly fitting shoes and clothes.
To get to know each child and be a source of love and friendship to them, as well as helping them to make the most of their childhood. They are precious to God and He loves them so much, I need to tell them!
To ascertain which children need to move into the Children’s Village and which need support within their families.
To assist in the preparations for the new build of the Children’s Village in June 2010, particularly in finding good house-mothers.

Sanele’s Story
This is me with Sanele and Nontobeko, 6 yr old twins in our project. I had the privilege of being taken by them to see their house not far from the school. They are blessed to have their mother and 2 brothers living with them, although their mum only has one day’s work a week so times are still hard.
These children will need supporting within their family unit, they will not move into the Children’s Village next year. However, Sanele is not too well and is often ill so help with medication and trips to the clinic will probably be a priority with him, aside from catching up with him and his friends on the playground. He has the most infectious and precious smile and it’s worth anything to see it!

How YOU can help… This is what I need to get me there and make this a reality

I need to raise £2000 to get me out to South Africa. This covers flights, visa and everything I need to get my visa, plus relocation costs of getting some of my things out there. In addition to this I need £800 each month which should cover living costs.

If the Lord is laying it on your heart to contribute towards my work, please copy, paste and complete the section below and return it to me. I know that He has called me into this project, and I know that God chooses us to help each other to fulfil His plans.

Is He calling you to help His work and His children at such a time as this?

Grapevine Foundation also needs a vehicle, to enable me to reach these children, and funding for the new build of the Children’s Village. The new build is estimated at £100,000 and a vehicle would cost from about £5000 (second-hand) up to £30,000 (new 4x4). If you would like to contribute to either of these, either go to www.justgiving.com/grapevinefoundation or contact me and I will put you in touch with Micky who is overseeing these funds.

I need financial support to be able actually to get there, but I also need support through your prayers as well and, even if you can’t give financially to the work there, please remember me before the Lord as I am heading out to this exciting and challenging next season of my life. If God has laid it on your heart to commit to interceding for me, thank you, and let me know so that I can keep you updated specifically with anything that might come up…
_____________________________________________________________
Can you help? If so, please indicate below in which ways you are thinking of supporting me. If you wish to set up a standing order, I will be in touch with my bank details. Please indicate how much you think you could give and how regularly. I don’t know how long God plans for me to be out there but should you wish to put a date to review your giving (eg: 2 years) please let me know. Cheques payable to ‘Caroline Horn’. Thank you.

£10-£20 □
£20-£50 □
£50-£75 □
£75-£100 □
£100 or more □
specify amount: ___________

Monthly □
Annually □
One-off gift □

Please complete your details:

Name:
Address:
Phone Number:
Email:

Please return to me as soon as you possibly can (current address below).

Feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or would like any more information.

I would also love to come and talk about the project to anyone who will listen - churches, women's groups, school assemblies, classes etc etc. let me know and we'll book at date!!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INVESTING IN MAKING THIS PROJECT A REALITY.
MAY GOD BLESS YOU MIGHTILY AS YOU SUPPORT ME AND THE CHILDREN OF SOUTH AFRICA.

Deuteronomy 31v8

‘The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.’

Getting in touch, staying in touch!

http://trailblazinginsouthafrica.blogspot.com
Email: carolinehorn@yahoo.com / grapevinemanager@gmail.com
Skype: caroline.louise.horn
Address: 2 Cross St, Leamington Spa, CV32 4PX

God provides!

So I've moved into my new and temporary abode in Leamington now, although there's still a fair number of boxes to be unpacked before I can see my bedroom floor!

Part of moving involved me working out what I needed in terms of furniture as my room was unfurnished. The only thing I needed to buy was a wardrobe and so I'd been eyeing up the wardrobe rails in the Argos catalogue because they involve the least amount of cash...

But before I could even set foot in a store, along comes an email through our church with offer of a wardrobe, desk and other furniture, all free!! Hurrah! And it all fits perfectly into my room too.

I was just reflecting on how God provides for my every need when the following verse dropped into my head:

Malachi 3v10b
'Test me in this, says the LORD Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.'

When I first expressed an interest in the furniture, I had no idea if it would fit in my room and was rather thinking that I'd have too many items to put in my room and that there would indeed not be room enough for it. Father God never lets His children down and He will provide even more blessings as time goes on. I'd been wondering how on earth everything is going to come to pass from my plans for the next few months, but this is confirmation that I need not worry as He knows what I need and will bring it along in His timing, never early and never, ever late!

some photos

(above) Children at Inchanga crowd round any camera for a photo!

(above) with N and S at their house

(above) some of our girls queue up to get food donated for them.

Animals (of a domestic variety)

Africa isn´t Africa without some animal stories... :)

At home we don´t have a guard dog (yet), but we do have 4 domestic rabbits who moved in to eat the grass and generally provide much amusement. Mostly because they actually don´t all get on with each other and 2 of them spend their entire lives chasing each other round. I´ve called them Mopsy (black and white), Flopsy (grey and always cleaning her ears), Topsy (tan coloured) and then there´s another black one that I am yet to name. Mopsy hangs around with Flopsy and everytime Topsy comes near, Mopsy goes quite literally psycho and chases Topsy off, not caring for any humans that might be in their path!!!

Their other favourite activity is taunting the 2 huge dogs that live nearby and can´t get at them. The more the dogs bark, the closer the rabbits lay themselves down in the sun near the fence as if to taunt the dogs! :)

We also had a rooster and some hens that wandered across our land. The rooster will attack if you get too close or try to hang washing out etc. When I was in bed the other morning he started crowing outside my window at about 4am and apparently I later commented to the Lionsraw boys that the rooster was going to die if he carried on like that.

Anyway, 2 days ago there were a lot of white feathers on the grass outside my cottage and all the way up to the front gate. Just under the orange trees there lay one very dead rooster.

IT WAS NOT ME!!!

Some animal had had a fight on its hands. Being English we didn´t really know what to do with the creature but before we had time to decide, something else had taken the decision out of our hands and the bird was gone.

The boys still think I am the chicken-killer though...

Visiting old friends

Am writing this from Cape Town, I cannot believe how fast the past 10 days have gone. I´ve been logging all of my dealings with people and progress this week in a book and on Monday I had to just stop and write a list of things to do when I get back because I just ran out of time!!!

It was a great week for networking and for travelling round to see friends all over the Valley of a 1000 Hills, most of whom have expressed a desire to work for me and get involved with Grapevine projects, so when God provides the funding we´ll have no shortage of Zulu helpers.

The most fantastic thing about working in rural Africa is that when you have a question, there´s always someone who knows someone else, who can put you in touch with them. I´ve spent some time visiting other local projects and everyone is willing to offer help and advice.

On Friday afternoon, I took 2 Zulu friends right down to Maphepheteni to visit Mdu´s family. For those who followed my blog before, this was where I filmed a local choir singing and dancing. It´s a stunning drive down past Inanda dam and along some questionable dirt track roads peppered with rocks and mud. My Hyundai Atos did better than expected under pressure!

We stopped en route to chat to another friend of ours who used to be in YZW choir. He was leading a small team of young men building a rondavel (traditional Zulu round house). Only the night before had I been in discussion with friends about how we were going to get British volunteers next year to build rondavels when they had never seen them before, and here was our answer!! The boys offered their expertise in helping out so we´ll see if we can get them up when the time comes. According to them, rondavels are much easier to build as there is only 1 wall (it´s just round that´s all!)

Mdu is not well. He was really very ill at one point and now is slightly better but has something else. As the family lives miles away from the nearest taxi point, it´s incredibly difficult for him to get to the hospital as he could hardly walk at one point. Their homestead that was once incredibly vibrant with lots happening was eerily quiet and showed the beginnings of falling into serious disrepair. The goat pen had gone and so had the chicken coop, although the chickens roamed free over the land. There were no vegetables growing. There were only women, children and Mdu at home. It was hard to see them as they are, this is the reality of poverty, illness and lack of employment. Ironically Mdu had just got his truck driver´s licence a few weeks before falling ill, so his hopes of travelling the country and providing for his family were dashed before they really got started.

We couldn´t spend much time with the family as darkness was closing in and it was a trek back, but we left them with some food and I prayed with Mdu and his mother (who is also bedbound with a broken foot!). Please pray for healing for that family and that things would turn around for them. I´ll visit them again in January.

I also met up with my ex-boyfriend and he told me that his niece Nolwazi passed away last year. She was 7 years old. I´d spent Christmas 2006 with that family and will never forget Nolwazi leading the family in a song of praise and thanks for the gifts that I´d taken. She sang terribly out of tune but it was precious all the same!

So, since I left this area, some things have changed for the worse, and some things for the better. Some, like Nolwazi, have left us, and others have grown up and are making good progress, like the children at GGA. This is life, I guess, and the happy times far outweigh the sad moments. Through it all God remains constant and I´m more and more feeling lead to pray with people in the Valley as they share their story and to encourage them on their walk with Him.

Inchanga Investigations

Yesterday morning Mike (from Lionsraw) and I went down to Cato Ridge and bought some bread, oranges, apples, biscuits and juice and headed to Inchanga Primary School to meet the orphans there. They came down to the playground to meet us, summoned from their various lessons, curious to see these white people who had come to visit them!

I'd taken a photo of them all along with me and they found themselves on it and wrote their names on it and then I gave each of them a little cross on which I'd written - 'Jesus Loves You!' and 'UJesu Nkosi' (Jesus is Lord), they loved them and eagerly wrote their names on them. I reminded them that Jesus does love each and every one of them and they must remember that whenever they look at this cross. It's a Catholic school so the children already knew this, but they liked their gifts as well.

The teachers distributed the food and it was well received. Then they selected 2 children who lived near the school and we walked down to their house to see what kind of living conditions they were finding themselves in. As it turns out, the children selected were the very ones I had identified from the photo as ones I wanted to find out more about.

The 6 year old twins, brother and sister, S and N, live right near the main road with their mother and 2 older brothers. It would appear that they are not complete orphans, but these 2 are both fairly sick and as the mother only has work for one day a week, they are still struggling. The little boy has been fairly ill recently and his brother told me that he had not been himself for a few days. When we first met him he looked sullen and miserable. However, after about 10 minutes of chatting to him (albeit in broken Zulu) and after taking photos of him and a bit of filming too, he suddenly warmed up and by the end he was smiling, laughing and hugging.

Their house is made of wattle and daub (the same as the Elizabethans used to make houses with) and the sunshine streams in through the holes in the corrugated roof. Great when it's sunny, rubbish when it rains! The 2 kids sleep in the same bed in the corner of their mother's room.

Someone came along and built new toilets for all the houses in that little area, but they omitted to dig the right pit underneath it and consequently the toilet is unusable and used just for storage. Instead, the kids and ALL the families in the area use a tiny shack of a toilet right next to the road that is crumbling and offers little privacy. I don't even want to consider how many bugs and bacteria lurk in there, not good for little children with compromised immune systems.

Back at the school it was lunch time and the kids in the playground eagerly gathered to be in photos or on film. I wanted to pray for S, as he's been ill, but it was impossible to get him on his own as kids just gathered wherever I went, so I got the kids standing round us to pray too and explained in Zulu, but prayed in English. What a privilege to pray with these children - they are so precious!

Oh, and some good(ish) news. The 2 children who died are not from our 40 children. Still sad that they passed away, but we are happy that it wasn't one of ours just yet!

Well, I'm off to enjoy what's left of the sunshine for today - it's still blue skies and warm but there's a vicious wind blowing! You can't have it all ;-)

Sunny South Africa!

Well, I'm actually here! Good journey, despite embarrassing myself by crying at the end of the film 'Marley and Me' (ahem..) It's always difficult when everyone has their own TV so no one is watching the same movies on a flight.

It's sunny but cold, but then I'm staying on top of a mountain so it's going to be a little chilly in the evenings. Have spent quite a few hours with the children at GGA, which is brilliant. They are all doing well and Patches, my dog, has remembered me and follows me round site when I'm there.

My sponsored child, N, is getting to know me a bit better and it seems the key to a beautiful relationship is pants! I bought her some new baby knickers as she's potty-training and getting through a lot at the moment, and she insisted on carrying them round with her all afternoon. When we went for a walk, they had to be put into a little rucksack and come with us. As she bounced on the trampoline she turned round and shouted 'Where's my panties?' very loudly... hilarious!

I also went into Inchanga on Friday and met the Headteacher and one of the teachers who looks after the orphans in the school. Tomorrow I'm going into the school to meet the children themselves. Sadly 2 of our children have recently passed away though. More on the children in my next post, after I've met them and hopefully been to see where some of them sleep at night.

Back to South Africa!

I'm getting packed and ready to head back to SA on Wednesday. Please pray for a good journey and that I'd recover from it quickly and get on with the exciting adventures I have planned... I'm hoping to meet the children in Inchanga and get some photos and footage of what their current situation is. I'll also be re-visiting my little friends at GGA where I used to work, am looking forward to seeing how they've all grown!! Finally, I'm heading down to Cape Town for some relaxation before flying back to the UK at the end of August.

Pray for protection for me whilst I'm out and about and for God's leading on everything I do. He goes with me and before me. At New Wine last week I was struck about how it's important not to run ahead of God and to let the Spirit lead. So I intend to spend time listening and observing where He's moving and attempting to walk in step with the Spirit over these next few weeks...

I'm hoping to find an internet cafe and report back from there at some point during these next few weeks, so watch this space for updates!

How YOU can help…

Micky Bailey had an incredible vision from God to build the Children’s Village, Community Centre & Church. We are trusting that He will also give us the funding to make it a reality & to change these children’s lives for the better, so that they can live in a safe place with loving people around them. Currently, GVF is being branded & the new logo & website will be available shortly (www.grapevinefoundation.org.uk).

Micky will be based in the UK, raising awareness & funds. She is seeking to raise £100,000 to start with, but the project will need a staggering £1Million to complete. Phase One will be the Children’s Village with the aim to start building in July 2010.
She will also be trying to raise money for a salary for myself & for the purchase of a vehicle. We absolutely need a vehicle for this work to enable me to get around safely, to get to where the children are & to take them to a clinic/hospital when they get sick or hurt, or to take food to them. Without a vehicle, we can’t do anything as it is generally inadvisable to travel by any means other than a reliable car/4X4 in rural South Africa.

I need funds to enable me to get out to South Africa & then to live whilst I am there. I haven’t worked out the exact amount that I need per month yet (I will make enquiries whilst I am there as things are more expensive since I was there last!) but I also need an initial £600 for a visa deposit & about the same for a flight. There is a cottage for me to stay in but I’ll need to find funds for everything else. I am not permitted to take a paid job in South Africa if I apply for a volunteer visa. If you feel led to help, please get in touch.

In addition to this we need prayer cover, as South Africa is not the safest of places. I felt very blessed & supported when I worked there before, due to my supporters remembering me before God & praying for me & my protection. Even more so I will need this, as I seek to care for children who need a lot of love & care. Dealing with a terminal illness is never easy, yet it’s something that these children have to live with on a daily basis. We need your help to be more than conquerors in these trials!

Thank you for reading. Knowing that you are standing with us, through prayer &/or financial help, will mean the world to me & to these precious children as I walk alongside them…. no longer orphans, but dearly-loved children of God.

Getting in touch, staying in touch!
Email: carolinehorn@yahoo.com

The Plan.

In August 2009, I had already planned a holiday to KZN to visit friends & children at God’s Golden Acre (where I worked previously). I shall be staying in the GVF cottage, in a village called Monteseel that’s situated on a mountain 810m above sea level with stunning views over the Valley of 1000 Hills. This is just 5 minutes from the school by car. I shall be meeting up with the school staff & the children themselves & I will discuss the progress of some of the children & also reassure them that of January next year I will be on the case full time to help where I can.
From September to December 2009, I shall be in the UK, living in Leamington Spa, seeking to raise support & funds for this new venture. I have no employment for September & so I will possibly do supply teaching for a term. This is very much a step of faith for me, trusting God to provide absolutely everything to see His work done in South Africa.
I hope to move out to South Africa in January 2010, at the beginning of the new Academic Year.

My role

As full-time worker, my role would be to liaise with the local social worker to get the children registered & get them access to medications that they need. We also need to try & track down any of their family that may still be living somewhere in South Africa.
Working with the Primary School & other individuals, there is also potential for me to teach English & to develop a Children’s Club for them to learn more about how much God loves them. In addition, these children currently have no food at all at the weekend, a situation that needs to be addressed as soon as possible. Thankfully, Inchanga is only 15 minutes away from where I worked before & I managed to build up many contacts there when I was living in KZN a few years ago. My increasing knowledge of Zulu & of this area will be a massive benefit as I embark on this new & vitally important role within this project.

The Vision

Inchanga Primary School (near Durban) is a popular & thriving school. Yet for 63 of its pupils, school is the only source of food & clean water. They come primarily to get breakfast & lunch, as they sleep rough in the surrounding areas. The few clothes they have are washed by the teachers & at the weekend they struggle to survive in harsh rural conditions, without any family to help them. Can you imagine how vulnerable they are to possible abuse?
Two years ago, Micky Bailey learnt about these orphans & set up Grapevine Foundation (GVF) to provide specifically for them. Over the past few years, working with some local people in Inchanga, she has raised money to bring food to these children.
In June-July 2010, a group from the UK (www.Lionsraw.org) will be embarking on various projects in the Valley of 1000 Hills. The biggest of their projects will be to assist GVF in building the first phase of the Children’s Village. There will be 10 rondavels (traditional African homes), with a foster mother to care for a few children in each house, using the ‘cluster foster care’ method. Future plans are to build a clinic, crèche & community hall, which will assist the community by bringing help just that bit closer to the people. A future feeding scheme for the valley will help around 2000 people a month with food they so desperately need & medical care for the infirm.

One in every 2.5 people in Inchanga is infected with HIV AIDS, so far the highest in the world…10 000 die here every month.

We hope that these children will be in their new homes by Christmas 2010. Before then, amongst other things, they need:

Birth Certificates
Properly fitting shoes & clothes
Food & water
Medications if they are HIV+ & need Anti Retroviral treatment (ARVs)
Love & opportunities to enjoy childhood

Over half of these children are potentially HIV+

The Story So Far…

Just before I returned from South Africa in February 2008, I had a few conversations with a lady called Micky Bailey about me taking a position with Grapevine Foundation in South Africa. However, it became clear that it was not the right time at that moment.
Back in the UK, I spent a while teaching again in various Secondary Schools, an experience that I found extremely challenging, due to falling standards of behaviour fuelled by a widespread lack of respect.
At the same time I developed my leadership skills as COSMIC Co-ordinator at St Paul’s Leamington Spa, overseeing the Sunday morning ministry with 0-11 year olds. I also completed the ‘Growing Leaders’ course, during which it became clear to all that my ideal ministry involves ‘Children’ and ‘Africa’.
During July 2009, as my teaching job drew to a close, Micky and I got back in touch and it suddenly seemed that this might be God’s timing for me to become part of Grapevine Foundation.

Welcome!

Welcome to my new blog!

I hope you find it interesting and full of challenging and inspiring information and wisdom, to brighten your day or to make you think...