EIL Intercultural Learning

Greetings from Cape Town!
 
Having a great time here so far. We spent our first weekend on orientation with ten other volunteers from all over the world. We had a fun filled week of sight seeing around the city, wine tasting, exploring the prison cell of Nelson Mandela on Robben Island, touring local townships and tasting their homemade beer in their local shebeens, so it has been busy and fun!  
 
We spent out first weekend with our host family in Bridgetown. We have been having the most amazing time with them. Consilia and Donnovan (our host Mum and Dad) have so warm and friendly and have welcomed us with opened arms. There are two children in the family, Nicole is 18 years old and Denzel is 21 years old and they've been so good to us and have included us in everything. Every Friday evening Donnovan lights a big fire in a drum outside and all the family sit around and have drinks and a chat. I'm getting on well with the animals too, the dog is really quiet thank God! Think I was more nervous about getting on with the animals than with the family!
 
I tried not to have too many expectations of what work would be like. I didn't want to be shocked or disappointed so I went in with an open mind, however, nothing could have prepared me for our first week at ThembaCare.
 
ThembaCare is a care centre for babies and children living with HIV and AIDS. Patients are admitted from hospitals across Cape Town and are cared for at the Centre until they are strong enough either to go home to their family or to be placed in foster care. Currently most of the patients there are babies and toddlers under the age of two.
 
We started work last Monday week and were greeted at the Centre by smiling, loving toddlers who were all fighting for our attention. The Centre is a bright and colourful place. There are two bedrooms that can accommodate nine patients each and a large playroom where the patients spend most of their day. Although the children are sick, there is a great atmosphere in the Centre created by the positive and friendly staff. It is quite easy to forget that these children are living  with HIV and the many side effects that this disease brings.
 
We spent our first morning at a ward meeting where all the staff members and volunteers discussed the condition of each patient. It was great to get background information on all of the children and while each case was very different, each case was equally as disturbing. Many of the children are waiting for foster homes; some because their parents have passed away, others because their parents are simply too sick to look after them. Some children have been abandoned and in some fortunate cases the children have their mothers there with them, caring for them with the assistance of ThembaCare.
 
One of the older children Chkwan* had arrived at the Centre a week before we arrived in a very malnourished condition. When we met him he was completely emaciated. His cheekbones were sunken. His big, dark brown eyes looked fearful. He moved slow and cautiously. He whispered occasionally, struggling to talk. At the ward meeting on our first morning we learned his parents had passed away from AIDS and he hadn’t ever been visited during his time in ThembaCare.
 
As he was the oldest child by seven years he looked lonely and bored so, with the help of many donations, Lynda and I were able to buy jigsaws, colouring pencils and stickers to help him occupy his time. Lynda noticed that there were no shoes in the Centre that fit him and bought him a new pair of runners. It brought him such joy and he was very quick to point out when his runners weren’t firmly on his feet!
 
Our time is divided between playing and feeding the children, driving them to hospital appointments, collecting donations and dropping social workers out to the communities. On one occasion Lynda and I brought Chkwan with us for a drive. It was great for him to get out of the Centre for a few hours and he got to explore a vast amount of the landscapes in Cape Town thanks to our poor navigation skills!
 
Many children come to ThembaCare in a very malnourished condition and, through the love and care that is provided there, come out fighting fit. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case with Chkwan and he passed away in the early hours of Thursday morning. He was only 11 years old. Lynda and I never expected to witness a young child passing away during our time here and the gravity of the HIV situation hit us both.
 
Lynda devoted most of her time to Chkwan, you didn't see one without the other! I've no doubt that her love and attention brought Chkwan some comfort and enjoyment to him in his final days. I don't think either of us will every forget him.
 
 * The names of the children have been changed to respect their privacy