Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Freedom Park

We spent today making home visits with the childcare workers at Freedom Park. Some of us went into the illegal squatter settlement, while others were in the "official" part of the village, which has permanent housing and slightly better conditions. We visited a few homes, talking with the children and parents about their needs (insofar as it is possible to talk with people across a significant language barrier with minimal translation). The poverty and illness is astounding. I still feel like I'm trying to grasp all the factors involved in the situation here...and I suppose I still will be when I return. The staff at Tapologo has been a great help to us as we struggle to understand the political and social climate here.

I had hoped to post pictures and videos as we went along, but so far the internet access has been quite spotty. Right now I'm sitting in an internet cafe in Phokeng, where I have fifteen minutes to do everything. So, I'm off yet again. Tomorrow we'll be working in the preschool at Freedom Park for part of the day. Then some of us will remain to work with women coming into the AIDS clinic there, while others will go to work in the garden project at Tapologo. Hopefully I'll get more online time to update you tomorrow.

PS - Carol desperately wants the Yankees scores if anyone cares to post them in the comments!

1 comment:

  1. Carol:

    Yanks swept Twins in 3. Angels swept Bosox. Yanks & Angels to meet in the Bronx on Friday for start of ALCS. Blessings to you and fellow travelers.

    Del

    ReplyDelete