Monday...

Monday, July 28,2008

All the things that have not worked out are starting to wear thin with the team. I have never experienced a group so flexible and accommodating, but there comes a point where you start to see the cracks, and that was today. The rental company has daily promised the delivery of vans, but no vans as of yet. That means we are still cramming ourselves into Toyota Corollas and I am still one of the drivers. I am getting accustomed to the left side of the road, but it is still surprising to have to stop for cows and goats on the road and negotiating passing lumbering sugar cane trucks creeping up the frequent inclines. 3 of us are still missing luggage and the exhaustion from the trip is setting in.

On a positive note, we were able to visit with Make Elizabeth today. We came to know Make on our last trip when we visited in her church and school. Make has dedicated her life to caring for those infected with HIV/AIDS and she herself has been HIV positive for 7 years now. She was one of the first at Kukhany O Kusha to publicly declare her HIV status and continues to advocate for fair and equal treatment of those infected. Amazingly she has been able to obtain ARV’s and her health is holding. Her previous church was condemned by a water project in response to the drought and will be under water as soon as the dam is completed. She has a brand new church she was very proud to show us. There is no electricity yet, but compared to the previous building, it is very nice.

Another disappointment… Through a miscommunication the children were not at the church. We had brought games, clothing, and fruit and had planned to spend time with them. However we left all of the supplies in Make Elizabeth’s care. We were able to visit Make’s homestead, which is deep in the bush. She has 3 thatched huts, one of which is her kitchen. She has no electricity and carries water from a nearby well. Her situation helped put in to perspective my temporary inconvenience of not having all my luggage.