GAPA reaching out!

It has just been incredible to see how GAPA provides a space to support various community members.

Yesterday a young man of 22 bravely walking into the centre to greet a room full of grandmothers working on projects. He had come to ask for support. He openly admitted that he was HIV+ and that he felt the community, including his extended family, were discriminating against him on this basis. The grandmothers and Vivienne did not beat around the bush, through discussions with him they established that his real concern was that the community did not want to forgive and accept him due to his past criminal activities.

A forum of open discussion was quickly established and he honestly spoke about his past and present challenges.

He had moved to Cape Town from the Eastern Cape when he was in his late teens. Upon arrival he realised that he would have to fend for himself despite the roof provided by his extended family. During this time he turn to crime as a means of support.

The way in which the grandmother handled this information was amazing, they were not accepting of the criminal activity but embraced him as a human being. An emotional session of singing a praying followed. Ayanda (project manager) says ' it looked like he felt great afterwards, he was thankful and was at ease when he left.'

The young man was advised to go to the YMCA, Khayelitsha, for further counselling services since they provide a space to meet with other young men who are trying to 'get back on track'.

Vivienne attributes the sudden influx of people seeking assistance from GAPA to the local radio talk shows she has been invited to speak on. As an organisation we are gearing ourselves up to learn to support people from the community better. 

The wonder of play

So much joy can come from engaging with children!

Yesterday I was outside at the jungle gyms with the little children and we started exploring the environment. We came across a hairy caterpillar creeping along the pavement. This resulted in high excitement and daring. After a lesson on how it could cause itchiness if touched we moved onto learning how it becomes a butterfly. The children were ecstatic with this find. As the caterpillar kept creeping along they jumped into a line and created an arch for it to creep under. The creativity for games is incredible!
Eventually the caterpillar was rescued and placed on a leafy plant in the garden and closely observed by the children as he became familiar with his new home.

Excitement bubbled up again as one of the children discovered another caterpillar. Unfortunately this caterpillar had been squashed earlier. We carefully carried it to the garden and buried it in the sand.

And this is what brought tears to my eyes...

All the children unanimously put their hands together and started singing a funeral song for the caterpillar. Some giggled while others took it quite seriously. The song was finally ended with an amen and the children spirited away to begin the next adventure.

It is an incredible experience to enter the world of children's play. As a adult this is a most privileged opportunity, not to be taken for granted.

We're still going strong!

This week we are proud to say that Vivienne, Kathleen and Mrs Hoza have gone to Tanzania to meet with grandmothers outside Dar Es Salaam. We look forward to all the news that they will bring with them.

Mrs Ngewu and Mrs Mavilo have been attending a St John First Aid training course this week. They say it was a lot of hard work, which included an exam. It will be of great benefit to the aftercare and the organisation to have level 2 first aid workers on hand. Well done to both of them.

Mrs Sishuba and Mrs Nkone have recently joined the aftercare team. A big welcome to them! Mrs Sishuba brings with her skills in conducting a choir and dance and Mrs Nkone is brilliant at beading and is quick to give assistance with homework. Both of them are on an office management course this week at the Volunteer Centre. We look forward the administrative tasks they will assist in in the future.

You may be wondering how we are coping with most of teachers and staff away....

Well, if there is one thing to be said for GAPA is that there is such a team spirit and readiness to assist here.

In the aftercare five grandmothers have volunteered their time and care for the week. We are so grateful to them and appreciate the wonderful job they have been doing!
From left to right:
Mrs Madzinga, Mrs Mase, Mrs Sohena, Mrs Tutu and Mrs Nkonqa.