THOUGHTS ABOUT SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa as it is now is a new country; it’s been about nineteen years since the end of apartheid and the ratification of a new constitution.  South Africans boast about having the best constitution in the world, and they may be right, at least theoretically.  It was written with the realization that for South Africa to succeed as a country, it must truly be for all the people, and all must participate.  In reality, existing problems preclude a quick transition into the free, productive, peaceful, commonweal-minded country that was envisioned.  These problems include (but are not limited to) the following:
    1. As of March, 2011, South Africa has the greatest income disparity in the world;
        the rich are getting richer, and the poorest are getting poorer.  In the last year ( I             believe), we went from having ten billionaires to twenty-four.
    2. There is rampant corruption at all levels of the government.  It seems that most            people running for office do so to enrich themselves rather than serve the people.
        Here is a quote from the Minister of Transport as he unveiled a new national                traffic intervention unit of “super traffic cops:” “Road safety in South Africa is             essentially about eradicating deaths, crashes and bribery.”
    3. HIV/AIDS.  Twenty to thirty per cent of all South Africans are now HIV +
    4. Unemployment -- now at 26%
    5. A bad public educational system, including more than 30,000 unqualified
        teachers, some of whom couldn’t read at a 4th grade level.
    6. A hangover of prejudices, biases, and ways of thinking from the time of white             supremacy and apartheid, not officially and overtly, but very real.
    7. A sense of tribalism that makes it hard for many to think of themselves as
        South African rather than Xhosa or Zulu or Venda, etc.
    8. A vast inequality of access to resources: water, fuel, electricity, sewers,                 government services, etc.

South Africa is a fairly large country.  Someone told me that if you were to eliminate the 3 or 4 largest U.S states, and the 3 or 4 smallest U.S. states, and pick randomly nine states from the remaining states, their area would approximate the area of South Africa..  South Africa is composed of nine provinces (roughly equivalent to U.S. states).  Their names are: Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, Western Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Northwest, Kwazulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga.  The country is large enough to have some variety of climates.  Winters are generally mild, while summers are hot in the low desert areas and nicely warm (70s and 80s F,) in the high country and coastal areas.  I should add that within the outline of  South Africa, there are two independent countries that are completely surrounded by South Africa: Swaziland and Lesotho.

South Africa has much natural beauty.  It has mountains, lakes, rivers, forests, jungles, savannahs, deserts, plains, and two oceans.  It has cities and suburbs, small towns and villages, farms and ranches, populated and unpopulated areas.  It’s known for its large animals: elephants, lions, rhinos, hippos, buffalo, giraffes, kudus, and others, but it also has hundreds of species of other animals.  It abounds in birds, flowers, and trees of all sorts.  South Africans like to pride themselves as being the most “European” or “Western” country in all of Africa, and this may be true culturally in the cities, but within a one or two hour drive from anywhere in the country, you can find yourself completely away from “advanced culture,” perhaps among people living as they did 1000 years ago, or perhaps in a jungle without a hint or a sign of “civilization,” or perhaps on a savannah where all you can see are the grass, the trees, and the animals around you, and not another human being in sight.

We live in Gauteng province, in the high country.  We came in July, in the middle of winter, and I never had to wear more than a sweater to work.  Summer just ended for us, and I don’t think we had more than a day or two when the thermometer got up to ninety or more.  We live in a semi-rural area, in the neighborhood of Everleigh, which is sort of a suburb of Boksburg, which is a suburb of Johannesburg.  Gauteng is the smallest of
South Africa’s nine provinces, but it has more than 50% of the crime in all of South Africa.  So far, we haven’t been victims of crime of any sort.

In a sense, crime is big business here.  Most houses have all their windows and doors covered by ironwork --business for the ironworker.  Most properties are ringed by high walls -- business for the mason.  Most wall tops and gates are wired for electricity -- business for the electrician.  Most homes (and businesses) have internal security systems -- business for people who install such systems.  Many (perhaps, most) homes and businesses hire security services to respond to the internal security systems and to patrol the area -- BIG business for security services.  Interestingly, I’ve been told by a number of people that the majority of people hired by the security services are ex-convicts.

Since we came here last July we (the clinic) lost phone service twice because thieves cut down and stole the phone lines along the street to sell for scrap copper.  After the second time, the phone company refused to put up any more lines, so we had to go to wireless digital technology,   In the past week or so, there’s been a rash of manhole cover thefts; they’re worth about $ 250.00 each, but I don’t know how much the thieves get for them.  Most car thefts are done by hi-jacking, and there are a lot of them.  Most street hold-ups are for cell phones and the money people carry.  Many of the crimes seem to reflect a kind of thinking that does not consider the good of the community as a whole.

There can also be humor in crime.  Consider these excerpts from stories in the latest local newspaper.  In a story headlined “Alleged bank robbers escape from prison,” a police spokesman said, “They allegedly dug through the wall of their cell and cut one of the window bars.  They then made a rope using their sheets to climb over the wall and escape.  We are still investigating how they managed to escape.  We tried to hunt them down but failed to find them…It is the first time we have seen this kind of an escape in our prison…This is the third escape  from this prison since January this year.”

I didn’t mean for this to be a “downer” kind of blog; I merely wanted to help all you who read this to get a better idea of what it’s like to live and work here.  We’re happy and contented and fulfilled with the work we’re doing and the people we interact with.  We invite you to be adventurous; come visit us and have a great experience.    T & C Marcy

Trust the "Reshaping"

Tim and I are blessed with many opportunities for prayer and reflection. Each week there is Sunday Mass in the big hall at the St. Francis Care Center. And on Thursdays and Fridays there is Mass at the Chapel at the Center. And the chapel is always open for private prayer and visits.

Yesterday Tim and I went to a day of recollection at the Cathedral in Johannesburg. The day was led by a Dominican Sister and was for caregivers of AIDS patients at various locations in the diocese. There were about 25 of us present.

The theme was Trust in God. There was a power point presentation, sharing among the large group, meeting in small groups with one or two others, meeting in groups of six, sharing the small group material with the large group, music at appropriate times throughout the day, and finally a meditative use of clay to be molded by each of us.

The theme of the day was coordinated with Sunday’s scripture readings with the theme that God will never forget us. So the theme of trust was emphasized with scripture and song and peoples’ shared experiences. The images were of  God as Abba or Father. And we as the clay to be molded. And this much was not new for me.

But the idea that struck me was that God not only shaped us, but he reshapes us. And we must trust Him in this process. Wow! What if we have gotten used to how we are after many years of life? What if we take our abilities of thought, memory, decision making, personality, physical well-being, general functioning and skills for granted? What if the reshaping  means that we have to accept many fewer gifts?

So as we age, the qualities that make up who we are will gradually change, likely they will diminish. But we need to trust God in this new, reshaped, person that we become? Scary? Is this where the “acceptance” comes in after the “denial”? And for the AIDS patients or anyone with a life threatening illness, this diminishing of abilites comes at all ages, some quite young.


Here are a couple of quotes that we were given and I am presently considering: “Your part is to trust God no matter what happens. God’s part is to take what happens and to turn it into something good.”

Another thought is “Thank God for what you have. Trust God for what you need.

I will be giving this thought:  Trust God in the Reshaping  in the weeks to come.

I hope that you have a good month of March.

Cecilia

Cecilia's experience working at the hospice

Tim has written the blog for the past couple of months. So we thought that I should share some of my thoughts and experiences. I have been working at the adult hospice of the St. Francis Care Center since early in December. My tasks have evolved a little in that time. But now I help with serving the breakfast, mid-morning tea, and the noon meal. Sometimes I help feed one of the patients.

But the majority of my time I have been massaging the patients feet and legs. There are several reasons why this is important and appreciated. The disease of AIDS can cause peripheral neuropathy of the lower extremities which causes pain and poor circulation. Some of the strong medications given to combat AIDS also cause the same leg problems as a side effect. Then there are also many of the AIDS patients who also have tuberculosis. A number of these people have tuberculosis of the spine which causes them to be paralyzed from the waist down. And some of them are then having problems with contractions of the muscles in their legs. So the massage is useful for them.


There are two or three women who massage professionally that volunteer at the St. Francis Care Center one morning a week. So I have had the opportunity to observe and try to imitate some of their helpful work. And since I am there five mornings a week, I am able to give some relief to the patients on a more frequent schedule.

I value this opportunity to be of service in a manner that is helpful to others. I find that it is fitting my faith life at this time. I am grateful to be a part of the Franciscan Mission Service and to be working as a missioner.

Reflections at the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011 (Tim’s thoughts)

Greetings, friends (or Sawubona, abangane, as we say in Zulu).  Here I am a half a world away from relatives and old friends, from familiar places, from situations in which I am reasonably secure and comfortable, and from most of the comforts to which I had grown accustomed.  I’m  working with and for people of a vastly different culture, mostly the poor, the dying, and those suffering from HIV/AIDS, and in less than ideal circumstances, - - - and yet  somehow I’m happy from morning to bedtime; I’m living in a quiet kind of joy each day the whole day long.  This realization prompted the idea of  finding out what made South Africans happy.

    So, I asked ten people (white, black, mixed, relatively rich, dirt poor, highly educated, poorly educated, professional workers, menial workers, young, old) the following question, “What makes you happy; what gives you joy?”  Here are their answers. (shortened, but containing the essence)
    1)  Sitting and talking  with people.
    2)  Having a job that I like doing, and being able to do it well.
    3)  Being around people that I like and that care for me.
    4)  Waking up alive each day feeling good (healthy).
    5)  Serving other people; having a job that allows me to serve them.
    6)  Having my family (children & grandchildren) close.
    7)  Being close to God.
    8)  Having everything I need. (?) You know, food, cosmetics, money
               to do whatever I want, and friends.
    9)  Having time to do what I want instead of always working because
         I have to.
    10)  When we get together for celebrations, with food, and music, and
         story-telling and talking.

    There’s nothing very profound here.  Would people in the U.S. have similar answers?  How would you answer?  To me, these answers under-score our basic humanity; that despite our differences, our commonalities as human beings far outweigh those differences.  Our cultural, religious, political, economic, racial, occupational, generational, and individual differences merely add spice and variety to the beings we call the children of God.  We truly are all brothers and sisters.   Sala kahle. (Zulu: remain well)   

December Blog

      Yesterday we celebrated the World’s AIDS day here at St. Francis Care Centre and Clinic with hundreds of visitors who came to learn about HIV/AIDS, be in solidarity with our patients, support our staff, and celebrate the progress we’ve made in dealing with the AIDS epidemic  in South Africa.  There were educational and inspirational talks, tours, and questions and answer sessions during the day, and a special evening mass at 6:00 pm followed by a candle-light procession to (and prayers at) our St. Frances grotto.  Then, because December 1st  just happens to also be Fr. Stan’s birthday (he’s the founder and head of all that goes on here, and is known throughout South Africa as a leader in care for AIDS patients -- and is tickled and pleased that his birthday falls on world AIDS day each year), our day ended with a birthday celebratory “tea.”  I don’t know how many volunteers contributed foodstuffs to this “tea,” but in addition to the obligatory birthday cake, there were about 20 different other “sweets,” four different meats, chips, some fruit, and to drink: tea  coffee, wine, and soda.
    For those of us who stayed late enough to come to the party, the visiting, socializing, feasting, and general camaraderie served as an uplifting end to a worthwhile day.

    After working four months in the hospice (working intimately with 20 to 40 patients), Tim has been rotated this week to the outpatient clinic (2549 patients minus those who have died or transferred to other clinics).  We may now see each patient only every two months.

    I (Tim) would like to give some personal reflections on our hospice work here.  First, I am amazed at the results of the care we give with our meager resources.  Latest statistics show that 46% of our patients are now getting well enough to leave us and live productive lives again -- likely the best record in South Africa.
    Second, some examples of meager resources: a) for two months, we did not even have a pair of scissors; we had to cut bandages or adhesive tape with a knife or our teeth or nails, b) we have only one small, cheap nail clipper which just can’t cut the tough toenails of some of the patients, c) our one sphygmomanometer has broken twice -- for more than a week each time, we couldn’t take blood pressures, d) we continually run out of adhesive bandages, gowns, rubber gloves -- and must borrow from the children’s cottage or the clinic, e) there’s very little recreational equipment for the patients -- no books, some old magazines, no playing cards, 15 jig-saw puzzles (only 4 of which have all the pieces), no board games except monopoly which no one wants to play, no bingo cards, etc.
    Third, we have food shortages.  We grow our own spinach, cabbage, onions, beets, and some carrots, beans, and corn.  Much of the rest of the food is donated by large grocery stores, so we eat a lot of close-dated foods, or foods just a bit past their expiration date, or slow-moving foods (food that “regular” people don’t want to buy.  We have good cooks who make the most of what they have to work with: left-overs from one meal can be transformed into stew, left-over stew into soup, left-over soup into gravy; but they feed not only the patients, but the staff and full-time volunteers who far outnumber the patients.  Ceil and I get tired of eating rice and gravy or corn meal and spinach, or chicken hearts and cabbage, and so about 20% of the time we skip a meal.
    Fourth, the working staff (non-administrative) are underpaid.  The average ward worker makes the equivalent of about U.S. $ 300.00 / month, while living expenses are similar to the U.S.

    How do we get the results that we do?  I attribute it to two factors.  First, the workers and volunteers are here because they care; they want to be here, and they want to be part of something they can be proud of  -- and they’re willing to make sacrifices to do so.  Second, the general atmosphere of the hospice is that of family.  The patients, the staff, the volunteers see themselves more as members of a large family than as a patient or as a ward worker or as a cook or as a volunteer.  We’re all in this situation together; we laugh together, we mourn together, we work together, we play together; we care for and love one another.  We share the African idea of unbunto -- of caring, sharing, and loving those around us.
  
 
  

CHURCH MUSIC

In September Tim was asked to give a presentation for an all night vigil program which is held once a year for choirs in the area of the St. Francis Care Center. The Sunday before the event, all of those at Mass at the Care Center were also invited to attend.

The vigil was scheduled to start at 7 P.M. on Saturday, October 9, 2010, so Tim and I arrived at the hall about half an hour early. There were six people practicing singing in this hall that can hold over 400 people. Without any amplification they sounded like a full choir of beautiful voices in four part harmony. It was amazing.

Gradually more choir members came and the sound grew. Eventually there were at least two adult choirs and a youth choir. The only instruments for accompaniment were bongo drums of various sizes and a soft organ. All of the singing was in Zulu.

The Mass started about 8 P.M. and of course the music was great. After Mass there was a break during which there was the first rain storm in many months. After the break there was an inspirational talk by Sister Connie. More singing followed this and then Tim gave his Bible Study presentation. Tim and I left then during the break that followed. On the program for the remainder of the night was the Rosary, 3 hours of Spiritual Revival/Faith Sharing (probably all in Zulu), and from 4 A.M. to 10 A.M. praying was scheduled.

The Sunday Mass was celebrated at 10 A.M. with all the choirs in attendance. There has always been great music at the Sunday Masses since we have been in South Africa. But this Sunday's music with all the choirs from the Vigil was incredibly beautiful.

During the normal Sunday Mass every week there are three groups that lead the singing. One is a group of singers and drummers and an organist from Malawi. Another group also sings in an African language. The third group sings in English. There are 17 times that there is song during the Mass, and the groups take turns preparing and singing for these hymns by a pre-planned schedule. Most of the congregation joins in with voice, clapping, and body swaying. I have been asked to chose, post, and begin the English songs on October 31 since the usual leader of English songs will be out of town.

The Our Father that is sometimes sung is set to the tune of Kum-Ba-Ya. This may be a common adaptation known to many of you. But I will include it in case it may be useful to some.

OUR FATHER (KUM-BA-YA)
Father God in Heaven, Lord most high,
Hear your children's prayer, Lord most high
Hallowed be Thy name, Lord most high,
O Lord, hear our prayer

May your Kingdom come, here on earth,
May your will be done, here on earth,
As it is in heaven so on earth,
O Lord, hear our prayer.

Give us daily bread, day by day,
And forgive our sins, day by day,
As we too forgive, day by day,
O Lord, hear our prayer.

Lead us in your way, make us strong,
When temptations comes, make us strong,
Save us from all sin, keep us strong,
O Lord, hear our prayer.

PAUSE:

All things come from you, all are yours,
Kingdom, Glory, Power, all are yours,
Take our live and gifts, all are yours,
O Lord, hear our prayer.

______________________________________

Tim and I wish you well. We encourage you to respond to our blog.