Longtom

tThe nine month mark of living in South Africa will be here in a week. . .

So on the 28th of March I participated in the Longtom Marathon! Walking 21,1km is by far the longest officially measured distance I have travelled by foot thus far in my life. I had intended on running at least a few kilometers. But so early in the morning, with thousands of bodies side by side, I decided I was going to enjoy the view and participate in “21km talk” as Leah called it. With 3 other volunteers I kept a brisk pace along the route that was a constant series of hills through the mountains. For the most part we were heading downhill, you may think this is easier- talk to my shins and see what they have to say. Throughout the 3hours and 45minutes we were met by truly African buffet stops. In the states races have stops with water, maybe Gatorade, oranges, bananas. . not in South Africa. Here we were handed packets of water, which I found to be much more efficient- as much water isn’t wasted spilling over the top of the cup. But beyond bananas and oranges there were people holding plates of gummy bears, chocolates, hard candy, and my favorite- Coke!

I must thank all the people who were able to generously donate to the KLM foundation in my name! I raised just over 400 dollars, which will go a long way here for the learner who is chosen to attend Uplands College. Considering the state of the economy it’s amazing that as a group of about 60 volunteers were able to raise a considerable amount of money. . nearly 15,000 I think?
Two volunteers chose to train their bodies and ran the entire 56km ultra marathon that spanned the entirety of the Longtom Pass, from Sabie to Lydenburg. Both finished under 7 hours! Plus, many of volunteers chose to run the 21 km, so congratulations to all of them.

Now is the autumn/Easter school break and in a few days I’m going to be heading down the coast, taking in the garden route, wine country, and ultimately the Cape Town experience. I will be returning on South African election day. . so let’s all hope that the I’m not met by chaos.

Also, I have thought long and hard about my choice to teach. I created a list of why I should continue and why I should not continue to be an educator here. Why I should: I committed myself, the teachers may not respect me if I stop teaching, I may burden the teacher who will take over. Why I should not: it’s stressful and emotionally draining, I was never a teacher in the states and will not be a teacher upon returning home, I feel like I’m not teaching the learners enough, I could be using my time better if I could focus on one project instead of having teaching hanging over my head. So I talked with my principal and he agreed that next quarter I should not teach. For me and hopefully for my community this will be the best choice.

Yesterday I went to town and received quotes on the pricing of various materials (sewing machines, beads, fabrics) for the Wonderboom Women’s Club. Today I am beginning to write a VAST grant proposal that I must submit by May 1st. The VAST (Volunteer Activity Support and Training) Program gives up to $5,000 for small scale HIV/AIDS projects though PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for HIV/AIDS Relief) grants. If I am able to receive this money then it is our hope to get the program started by June. I will certainly give updates about the details of the club as I develop them.

On another exciting note a nearby PCV from SA16, Nathan has generously supported my community. His community, Ga-Matabata, has a drop-in center that was funded by the Netherlands Nelson Mandela Foundation. The Foundation wanted to give his community a high-tech water filtration system, the Perfector-E. He insisted his community did not need such a product but after hearing about the water issues in my community (Remember: people fetch water from the river) he was able to convince the foundation to give the product to my community! So yesterday I went to town and picked up a water testing kit, tomorrow I will collect samples and bring them in. Once I find out the electricity connection costs and determine a way to build a secure shed we should receive the Water Purification System!! The women in the Netherlands are hoping to have the project completed by 10 May, so fingers crossed all will go as planned.

I will post photos from the Longtom and Cape Town when I return!