Community Fund – Siyajabula- project South Africa – January Update

SANIBONANI!!

 

Our team is lovely and consists of mostly black south afrikans living in townships. Sisu is from Soweto. Mr Fish needs to get up at 04.00AM to get here from his town ship. He is on his own at the moment as his wife works in another city and its too far to travel. They see each other on Friday. He finds it very hard, as cooking and taking care of himself is usually done by his wife.

Bonghe is a lovely woman who needs her time with new people. Today she smiled at me for the first time which was amazing! She also invited me more in play. She shared with us this evening that it was a very hard night for her, because she remembered her little brother getting stabbed and he died soon after.

Phooo. The lives here are so different…

 

Playing together is wonderful. It feels we are becoming a strong team and little moments of magic are happening. It feels the south Africans are letting me in more and more. It is a very different culture with respect for elders and the looking in the aye is sometimes a challenge. Any relationship takes time.

 

I am going to the sea now. Eat and hopefully sleep because today I am very tired because of the heat. My feet feel like an elephant’s. But I am very happy with the progress and work we have done already.

 

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Thank you SOOO much again for supporting me. I am learning so much. New routines, rhythms, new songs. Mr Fish is a skilled circus performer. I have learnt new hat routines already, so much I can bring back to the UK!

 

Elizabeth van Zwet

Durban, South Africa