Looking to the Hills

Wednesday, August 5

Today is a traveling day.  Up for breakfast at 6:00 in order to get on the road by 7:00 (quite a feat for a group of 22).  We did it, though.  We needed to be in Fort Beaufort by 9:00 to start our work in some rural schools.  Actually, we divided our group so that half of us would work in the Newtown Township primary school (outside of Fort Beaufort) and in the village of Hopefield (about a 50 minute drive from Fort Beaufort).

Even though we got started on time, we ended up being 30 minutes late in Newtown and then an hour late in Hopefield.  Headmaster Neville McDonald greeted us warmly in Newtown.  He quickly gathered the entire student body to greet us.  A choir of the older learners (they do not call them students) regaled us with song.  Those of us that were going on to Hopefield then piled into our van and headed farther up into the hills.

The Hopefield group was greeted by the leader of the student body, 13 year old Sibonekuhle Mabandla.  She took us to greet the headmaster Xolani Koti and his staff of teachers.  Since we were late, classes were well under way.  Therefore, we filtered into different classrooms.  Of course, our relationship with the children and teachers was a little stilted at first.  But soon everyone seemed to get used to being together.  After lunch, we became much more adept at relating to the children.

I walked into a room to pick up my backpack that I had left when we met the teachers.  It was quiet and dark, so I was surprised to see about 10 learners sitting there. They were waiting for their teacher.  So, I sat down and we started to chat.  They asked me questions about New York and the US.  I also asked them about their life. 

One of our group, Kristina Frenette from Amherst also came in and joined the conversation.  She asked them what they wanted to be when they left school.  Each of them had a ready answer (they had obviously been thinking about it).  Two said they wanted to be nurses, two more said they wanted to be social workers, another wanted to be a policeman, another a journalist, another a veteranarian and the last an attorney.  Later, I asked their teacher about the chances of them realizing their dreams.  He said that a couple of them might be successful.  I still had hope that more than some would become the people about whom they dreamed.

This small country school has a great choir, well rehearsed in the songs that they sing and in the dances that accompany the singing.  We were given many examples of their work.  And were amazed and grateful.

Our group of 12 (including our driver, Monte) then divided up again to go with our hosts for the night.  Supper was to be with our hosts.  My group of four (two Germans -- Josephin and Isabelle -- Sarah and I) stayed with one of the teachers.  We were so exhausted by the time we arrived at dusk that we were all falling asleep before supper.  We ate, then went right to our rooms by 8:00.  Everyone, host family and guests were in bed with the lights out by 9:00.

What a great day!

Blessings,

Rick Cowles