July 2008
by Celia Fenn
It has been a while since I reported back on our "Children of Africa" Project and the work of the Starchild Children's Foundation. After I returned from my trip to South America, we started working with our Children's Group on the topic of Food Security and "Enough for All". We also started a food parcel program to assist those poorer families who were struggling to feed their families. And somewhere in there we also sponsored a special celebration concert for "Youth Day" on the 16th of June!
The Children were interested in the classes we did on Food, especially since food has become so expensive in South Africa, like everywhere else. We showed them how working in our garden to help to grow food was helping them to have enough to eat. The first class we did with them helped them to understand the cycles of growth, planting seeds, watering the seeds and then harvesting the food to eat. Here is a composite of the work they did on this topic:
The composite picture at the top was done in the second class, when we asked them to cut pictures out of old magazines and create a picture of food that they enjoyed. The purpose of this picture was to create a visual message that there would be enough food for everyone in Africa. We wanted the Children themselves to know and believe that there is enough for everyone and that hunger and suffering are not necessary.
It is winter in Africa now, and here in the Cape it is wet and cold. Our winters are characterized by rain and wind and the occasional snow on the high lying mountains. At times like this the poor people feel it the most. In our community at Sun City, we have to confront the problem of HIV/Aids. South Africa has the highest rate of infection in the world, and in this community it is an everyday reality that must be dealt with. Now, HIV/Aids can be treated and people can live healthy lives, but one of the prerequisites is that they eat well and maintain the health of their immune systems. When you are already poor, this is not easy. There is an HIV/Aids kitchen that supplies a meal a day in the community, but we also noticed that in some cases, these people were stuggling to feed their families and to maintain basic health. So, Wilma and I decided to begin our new program by selecting those people in the community whom we felt would benefit the most from our help and the help of the Starchild donors.
In our first month we made up 5 food boxes which were delivered to five families. Of these, one woman had just lost her husband to Aids, another was a married couple who both have HIV/Aids but their children do not, and another was a young mother who is HIV positive, as well as her child. This is Natasha, with her child Enrico. The picture was taken when Wilma and I dropped off the food parcel at her home.
Natasha is struggling to deal with the two issues of poverty and HIV positive status and what it means for her and her child. She is depressed, and often feels that she cannot cope with life. Wilma is trying to support her, and to support the life of her child as well. We would like, in the coming year, to train a young person in the community as an HIV/Aids counsellor and extend the range of our program to include this kind of emotional support as well. We hope that you will continue to assist us by supporting our work in this community.
I must say that this was one of the most difficult parts of the work I am doing in this community. It is often difficult to confront the harsh reality of poverty and disease. Most of us would rather not go there, but I have experienced that working with Starchild and with the children has enabled me to deepen my compassion and love for all Humanity and to want to hold the energy for the Highest Good for all the people here. It is only if we start right here in our own back yards, that we can then think of Global Peace and Compassion. The two energies seems to go together. If you can feel moved by compassion for those who are in your Community, you will probably be moved by that same compassion to hold the Highest Good and make changes for the Global Community. It is a facet of being awakened and conscious in this time.
It was also really hard work physically! I sometimes get mails from people wanting to know how to "get into my line of work" because they think it is all glamorous and world travel. Well sometimes it is, and other times you spend your time hauling bulk shopping from wholesalers and chopping vegetables for days. My living room looked like a refugee zone for a week, with piles of food, and on the last day I could not get into my own fridge because it was full of vegetable packs. I had to laugh at me going hungry because my own food was way at the back somewhere under all the other stuff! The best part of it was that we were able to include some of our own organically grown vegetables in the vegtable packs that we made up for each family.
So...A Big Thank You to Everyone who donated to the Project and made these things possible! You send the money.....I do the work with my Team here!
And now, some fun images from the Youth Day Concert that we sponsored.
The Children love to dance. These are two of the boys from our Friday group. I love their outfits!
More dancers......the costumes are simple but effective!
Here, Wilma as MC talks with some of the young performers!
So, no matter how cold it gets and how hard life can be, here in Africa we also have time to dance and sing and smile!
So, from all of us to all of you who have donated to make this possible, a very big THANK YOU and a HUG of LOVE!
If you would like to donate to our Project please click on the link below. You can donate in Us Dollars, Euros or South African Rands.