2022 January February Newsletter
A new year, with new resolutions and plans. Thank you so much for the support toward our seaside trip, the gifts, food and special Christmas and New Year’s meal during the festive season. You made it so special for us! You provided the food for hungry tummies, the exciting gifts, and the filled Christmas stockings, and we topped it up with love and care.
Without your money, time, and compassion, it would have been a bleak Christmas indeed, made even worse by Omicron (more below). Photos of the children’s joy and excitement tell the story. The campsite continues to be super popular; it was not broken until the last possible moment – the weekend before school.
Sliding into January with Omicron
We slid down the 4th Covid-19 wave (Omicron) in January, landing with a bump. One by one, Covid infected us, sending people into quarantine, out of quarantine and sometimes straight back in. It became so confusing that we held a management meeting to determine who was in and who was out. Eventually we realized that the situation was almost impossible to control, given our setting. The villagers enter and leave BCDT in a constant stream, for work, school, hospital, and clinic appointments. How does one begin to control contact under such circumstances?
The truth is that as Omicron roared through the village, few residents were left untouched. Some (the minority) actually tested positive, but many others displayed some or all the symptoms though they were never officially tested (for a variety of reasons). It was chaos. We hunkered down to control what little we could, heal, and triage for the sickest and most vulnerable. Some were hospitalized, especially babies and the immune compromised.
We quickly saw both the government and hospitals were completely overrun, and out of control. The tracing system was also ineffective under such a siege. A few residents were contacted by tracers to check whether they were in quarantine. We assured them we were (in our own special way). Exactly how does one quarantine effectively, while surrounded with villagers, and often eight members in a two-room shack?
The hospital phoned to inform us Con, a founder member, had tested negative and been moved to a ‘green ward,’ while the government tracers phoned to say he was positive and were the family members in quarantine? Really! The hospital had mixed up his papers, and yes, he was positive after all.
Yet through it all, thankfully none of us died. Perhaps living on the ground, roughing it without creature comforts, really does make one tougher. Or possibly we were just very lucky that the Omicron variant was not as deadly as Delta, despite being far more contagious. Without a doubt, Covid-19 has had tragic economic and social consequences. Still, one couldn’t help but smile, watching our managers relentlessly running through the village with masks, sanitizer bottles, lists, and loads of admonishments to dish out, albeit most of it falling on deaf ears. Kudos to BCDT management; even when the avalanche was upon them, they continued to whip out that mask and sanitizer bottle.
All Creatures Great and Small
Dog stories: Michael, a BCDT manager, lost his terrier, Gigi. A severe lightning storm hit the village one evening and Michael believes she became disorientated and lost in the storm. We combed the ridges and tall grasses for her, an extremely uncomfortable exercise due to the grasslands being thick with ticks. We sent out photos of Gigi on different platforms. Sadly, we admitted the search for the Gigi had ended in defeat. Two weeks later, after all hope was abandoned, a kind soul from a terrier group contacted Leigh, a senior manager. She informed Leigh that the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) 55 km distant, had posted a photo of a remarkably similar dog.
Long story short, it was indeed Gigi, and Michael eventually got her back. Presumably, Gigi was picked up by a passing driver on the main road and taken home. She ran away and was eventually picked up by the SPCA.
The SPCA said that since it was two weeks after she disappeared, Gigi now legally belonged to them. Michael had to pay R700 to adopt Gigi, and an inspector came to check her “new” home. Naturally, all the children in the village hastily assisted us in cleaning up around Michael’s home to endeavour to ‘make us look richer’! This in a village where families live in shacks, under the poverty line, nutritionally compromised and dependant on the soup kitchens to survive, and unequal in every sense. The news that an inspector was on his way to inspect the quality of a DOG’S bed and dishes generated a great deal of astonishment and peals of giggles amongst the children.
The SPCA inspectors eventually approved Gigi’s living arrangement. Fortunately, they did not see the persistent puppy factories operating illegally despite best our best efforts, nor the vicious dogs chained illegally. Still, for now Gigi sleeps well - her bedding is of a higher quality and quantity than some children in the village!
Michael and Gigi’s joyful reunion was somewhat overshadowed by a subsequent traumatic event. A villager discovered his neighbour’s dog had attacked his newly hatched chicks. In a violent rage he slashed the dog and decapitated it, in clear view of all the children. Tears flowed, others staring unblinkingly. Happening back-to-back, these events left us struggling to explain the inexplicable to the kids. How could one dog be a valued friend whose owner left no stone unturned to bring it home, while the other was killed so cruelly? The managers demonstrated maturity and leadership as, swallowing anger and a need for revenge, they explained that the dog killer needs emotional intervention, not hatred. We strive for villagers and children to experience consistent drama-free ‘normality’ in their lives. We control what we can. But how many hours before the next trauma? No comment!
Snake stories: We had a den of snakes slithering amongst us – kudos to the snake catchers for relocating them safely. This is always a great spectator sport in the village, and the younger generation were more than generous with their critiques of the older snake catchers’ technique. What is not to love about armchair professionals?
Hippo stories: Little cabals of whispering villagers can be a fount of knowledge; you never know what you will hear. This one was interesting - a Malawian explaining to a South African how to listen for a foraging hippo at night, and what sounds it makes. Why? Because there is a random hippo in a nearby dam. Where did it come from? Do not know, why does it continue to live there? Do not know, should it be reported to somebody, anybody! Do not know. The only information is that the squatters living around the dam, say that they avoid him but when he sees them, he blows water for them! It seems obvious, doesn’t it?
Potholes - the new normal on South African roads
Michael’s joy of finding Gigi was dented by going head-to-head with an enormous pothole in his new car. He survived; his car was less fortunate. Tough month for Michael. There are so many potholes that pothole signage has become very normalized here.
School Re-Opens
School re-opened, and with it the attendant frenzy of activity. Though we have done the same work for over thirty years, it remains heart rending to hear the stories of deprivation and sorrow. This year, the parents’ queries barely conceal their desperation following the pandemic’s economic devastation.
‘We hear it is safe, and there is a soup kitchen, is this true?’ We have become accustomed to doing interviews with eyes ‘watered over,’ blinking back tears. Despite government policies and social programs, we wonder at the thousands of children, youth and women who continue to fall through the cracks.
A small, thin child, almost 13, stands before us, his eyes mutinous, thinly masking his fear. “Yes,” he answers, he has had problems with the law, he stole food because he was constantly hungry. He and his older brother lived with two men who cared for them. He is not sure of the lineage connection, possibly uncles, but he has lived with them since he was young. They have his mother’s death certificate, but no, he does not know who his father is.
Constant badgering by the police forced the uncles to find a grandmother in Johannesburg to take the boys. She lives next to a dump and has provided them a small shack next to hers. She is constantly drunk; they are grateful for any food or clothing. His brother, still at the dump, has joined a new family, a gang.
They heard about BCDT from two children who had joined the BCDT campus for schooling several years ago. One of these boys had become too wild, aggressive, and unmanageable for his school or his mother, and we offered to help. We are pleased to report he has been attending school at BCDT for three years, academically caught up, no longer a fighter or thief. Yes, he is damaged goods – he remains socially inept and cannot spontaneously speak to adults. But he has found himself, and more important likes himself.
Some people view BCDT’s achievements and positive results with troubled youth as almost magical. They see angry incorrigible little adults; we see youth who first require safety, space, and respect; only then can the magic happen. We follow Oprah Winfrey’s home-spun philosophy; don’t ask, ‘what is wrong with you?’ but rather ‘What has happened to you?’ With constant mentoring and intervention, we expose the children to new possibilities in life, and allow the children and youth space and time to make wise decisions about finishing school, and staying out of gangs, prison, or a mortuary. We allow the depth and richness of their own characters to emerge and blossom.
These are the children who need additional shacks to live in with a family member during the school term. There is a wait list for impoverished parents and their children for a space in the village. Thus, building acceptable chalets, rather than zinc (tin) shacks is high on BCDT’s priority list. Anyone who would be interested in providing a home, please contact Nicole or Leigh. Construction material cost for a new home is approximately R13,000 - R15,000 ($850 - $1,000 USD).
All 20 of BCDT’s grade 10 students have passed their academic evaluations in surrounding schools. Our teachers tutor them for several hours a night to maintain their grades and homework. We had to scramble to find two sets of uniforms each, school bags, stationery, and school shoes. We ensured they had accurate and complete identification for school administrative purposes. The latter is not always an easy feat, and remains a major stumbling block to graduation, and a major reason for scholars leaving school. This is understandable in a land where not all births are legally registered, parentage is uncertain, or where an illegal parent or parents complicates the process.
The grade 11’s and twelve [matric] are also tutored at night. Unfortunately, the two schoolgirls that fell pregnant during 2022 are turning 20 so are considered too old to continue formal school and must continue with adult education.
Looking towards winter, BCDT will soon begin to seek funds for blankets and pillows. Sheets are an added luxury. Blankets barely survive a season before becoming threadbare. Additionally, the children and youth often give away their own meagre bedding to new arrivals who have nothing. Stretching so little so far, and compassionate generous sharing among those with so little, remain the hallmark of BCDT. Material goods may be important and in short supply, but character is more important, and fortunately in greater supply. We are encouraged for the future as we witness these acts of compassion and humanity amongst the most disadvantaged of children.
Soup Kitchen Update
The Soup Kitchen operated throughout the festive season into the opening of school in mid-January. It was wonderful to see the excitement and gratitude of parents on discovering breakfast was now available at the Soup Kitchen. Our first morning we served 193 children and youth. Nothing fancy, it is just two ladles of porridge with sugar, but for parents and caretakers on a tiny disposable income, it is a huge gift. As of January, the Soup Kitchen provides breakfast, tea-time, and a basic lunch. Unfortunately, supper is still for the inner core only, thus our next goal is a more wholesome lunch and supper for everyone. But such an achievement already - from nothing to what it provides now! Donors - please take a moment to receive the gratitude and love coming towards you. The photos below show how this nutritional input has put on precious grams and kilos.
Tons of love
Once more thank you for all your assistance with BCDT and we hope that you all had a wonderful and safe holiday. Love and blessings from all the children, youth, adults, and animals. Also huge thanks to Graham for building this, our new updated website! Please be sure to check it out, it tells our story beautifully..