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News
December 15, 2003 posting
We have had trouble getting the donated used clothing released to us. South Africa has banned all imports of used clothing because it has been coming in for sale rather than for free distribution, and it has seriously impacted the clothing industry in South Africa . Now we have been able to make contact with the right person concerning release of the used clothing to us, and it appears that our work is considered legitimate and we will get the clothing after all.
We also have made contact in Ndawana through a woman activist in the community named Zanele. She has agreed to work with us, and we agreed to meet soon to begin planning how we can work together .We visited the beautiful valley(s) where the community is located, talked with a school principal and saw his school, talked with a woman dying of AIDS (Zanele's next door neighbor), an old man with TB living next door, some children, other adults including a white rancher, and it was an amazing experience. Zanele estimates that half the people there are HIV positive.
There is so much to do that it seems overwhelming, and on the other hand there is no end to what can and needs to be done. We could make a project of helping that young principal by providing what his students need, like a decent privy instead of the one falling down 50 meters down the slope, like pens and paper, like another classroom, like food for some of the most needy children, like patching for the outside of the building that is washing away each time it rains, like some school prospects beyond grade 6, projects not necessarily related to our primary goals of supporting children affected by AIDS, they just suggest the huge needs that exist.
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