Soccer GAME

On Friday afternoon, Refilwe played a soccer game sponsored by Protech (which is a local construction company that donates a percentage of their profits to Refilwe every year as required by the government). Some people came from Protech with ice cream for the spectators and shirts for the players. It was a fun way spend the afternoon, after doing government reports all morning with the team. The video is Refilwe girls and mothers cheering on the men and boys on the field.

EXECU training

Execu training was held this past week, for five of our care-givers. This is a course, taught by Thabo, who is a medical doctor (pictured in the front center), which gives a holistic view on dealing with chronic diseases. This addresses not only HIV/AIDS, but high blood pressure, diabetes, STIs, tuberculosis, and high cholesterol as well. Dr. Thabo will continue to be involved with our team as questions come up over the next year. As we begin to do counseling and testing for HIV, we are also going to test for these other chronic diseases in the community. To promote overall health and to reduce the stigma related to HIV. All five members pictured here gave a presentation to the rest of the team on Friday. They did a great job and clearly learned from their training.

ICE-SKATING!

The government recently gave us some money specifically for team-building for the home-based care team. It needed to be used by the end of March, so we decided to take them all ice-skating at a local ice rink. For most of them, it was the first time on the ice and that includes me! But, we had a great time, laughed a lot, and just had fun on the ice. It seemed to be quite motivational for them and that was encouraging!

Basic LIFE Skills

The Home-Based Care Team spent a week doing Basic Life Skills, which is taught by another department at Refilwe, called ACAT. Topics covered included starting a business, budgeting, healthy diets, how to grow a food garden, hygiene, and topics such as HIV/AIDS. These areas are important to develop both the team members and the people we assist in the communities. At the end of the week each person got a certificate and had to do their traditional dance to get it. Then we enjoyed a lunch together and headed off to our team-building activity, ice-skating.

My new Housemates

The residents of St Francis. I've mentioned the arrival of my new housemates, so here they are. Cliff and Kathryn Eberly, who are the dear friends that told me about Refilwe and suggested I prayerfully consider spending some time here. I'm glad I did... And Sarah Wells is pictured with Kathryn on the right, as we attempted to fish for dinner one night. Cliff is working with the ACAT program, the after-care program (assisting Refilwe children with homework), and multiple other administrative things. The ACAT program helps people in the community start businesses and assists them through this process. Kathryn is working with the Hands of Hope school that is at Refilwe. Currently it is grades 7-9 and is mostly Refilwe children. However, plans are in the works to expand the school. She is teaching and will be doing counseling (which will allow her to utilize her social work background). Sarah is from the US and is at Refilwe indefinitely. She is working with the Godparents' program and the Infinite Family program (which connects children here with mentors in North America via email and video conferences). We're adjusting well and excited to be a part of what Refilwe is doing in the community.

Basic Counseling

Basic Counseling--This was a two week course (March 2-13) held by an organization called "Right to Care". They are the sponsoring organization of our HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT) program that is beginning as soon as trainings are finished. This was the first course for the Home-based Care Team. They did a great job and we ended with a lunch on the last day. The pictures above are from that day--the first one is Evelyn monitoring the meat (she said the guys were burning everything, so she took over!). Claire (my boss and the head of the health and welfare department) is handing out the sun hats to the team. The group picture is our team--newly trained counselors! And the lunch line--all good events include food here.

The OFFICE

This is the Health and Welfare office staff that I work with on a daily basis. This is only part of the larger Refilwe office (which includes heads of all departments--I'll try to speak more on that another time). I work with this staff and the home-based care team under Claire Said, who is the head of the department (not pictured). Pictured from left to right: Myself, Richard (Office Administrator), Evelyn (Poverty Alleviation Coordinator), Annetjie (assistant to the Executive Director--not in our office, but works with us), Godfrey (Administrative Assistant), and Kanyisa (Orphans and Vulnerable Children's Coordinator). They are a knowledgeable and fun bunch of people...if I ever need a laugh, I head to the office!

Discovery

Last week was Discovery Week at Refilwe. Discovery is an organization in South Africa that does trainings and supports other organizations (they are very large--I'm not even sure of exactly what all they do here). They came to give First Aid classes to the Godparents, do tree planting with the students, and offer a team-building seminar on communication for Refilwe staff members (of which I attended). Then, at the end of the second day, they had a picnic lunch for participating Discovery staff and Refilwe staff members. We sat on blankets on the grass beside the Crocodile River. It was a relaxing and enjoyable time for all involved.

The STRUCTURE

As part of a recent new project, this structure has been erected. Refilwe is partnering with a local church to dismantle and reconstruct this greenhouse-like structure. It was purchased for a very good price, taken to pieces, sanded, repainted, and now reconstructed at Refilwe. Currently, they are working on putting screening over the top and installing an irrigation system. This structure will be used for growing seedling trees. Some of them have already been purchased. Refilwe will grow them until they are ready to sell to local nurseries. This is for the business part of Refilwe. The plan is to have projects that produce a profit in order to support other programs at Refilwe and to make Refilwe less donor-dependent. One Saturday a large group from the supporting church came and worked with a large group of Refilwe community members to sand, paint, and begin construction of the structure. It's been exciting to see the progress.

BRAAI

A BRAAI...a real South African BBQ. We had a braai at Refilwe last Thursday night for two reasons: to thank the Godparents for all their hard work with the children of Refilwe and to welcome Sarah Wells, who arrived Thursday from the USA to work with the Godparents' program as a long-term volunteer. We had chicken, lamb chops, and sausage on the grill, with salads and bread to with it. It was a relaxing evening. In the pictures above, you'll note an intense game of UNO with the ladies and Jaco, the Director of Refilwe, tending the meat.

Prayer WALK

On Saturday, February 28, we had a prayer walk at Refilwe. They are held monthly, on Saturday mornings, at 7:00am. It's exciting to watch the entire Refilwe community come together to pray for each other, speak scripture over one another, and commit each person and programme into the Lord's hands. Even the children are a vital part of this time. It is 2-3 hours of singing, prayer, and encouragement. A scripture that came up this time was Hebrews 3:4, which says, "For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God." We committed new and current projects to the Lord, for Him to work out the details for His glory. It was a refreshing way to start the weekend.

Team-Building Activity

Last Thursday afternoon, after taking an exam on the material they have learned recently, the HBCT took part in a team-building activity--a cook-off! Meredith, a member of the REACH team that is volunteering at Refilwe, planned the afternoon. They had to work with their new team (which have been assigned a certain area in the community). Each group was given a bag of grocery items and their task was to find a way to prepare the food. Two prizes were awarded, one for best nutritional value (balance) and one for creativity. It was a VERY difficult decision. We shared the food together after they presented their work. Then, we had chocolate cake and ice cream. It was a motivating time for the team and everyone seemed to leave with more energy! (from the sugar or team exercise, I'm not sure!)
Here are some pics: