I cannot believe I am writing a post about my final two
weeks at the Home. Although it feels like I have been away from home for a
while, I cannot believe that I was there for nearly 7.5 months! Despite this
long period of time, I was still getting involved in new things at the home...
Home visits
As usual when there is a school holiday, the children leave
the Home to spend time with their relatives or foster families. Although this
meant the week commencing the 31st March was very quiet, I was able
to assist the social workers in their house visits. This is when the children
receive a visit from the Saint Anthony’s staff to ensure everything is going
well and running smoothly. Since starting my voluntary work, I have picked up
the children from their time away as well as dropped them off however I have
never officially “visited” them. I have wanted to do so for a while now however
I wasn’t able to in December, so this was really my last chance to get involved
and I am very happy that Mlondi let me come along!
So on the 2nd April, myself, Mlondi (family
reunification), Sis Mooi (social worker), Sis Jabu (care worker), sis Thuli
(care worker) and Sis Khanysile (care worker) headed for Ladysmith at 6 am! The
reason for this rather early start is because a lot of the Saint Anthony’s
children stay in Ladysmith therefore we wanted to visit as many of them as
possible.
So after a good two hour drive, we arrived in a township Colenso
where two of the teenage girls (Nompilo and Philile) were staying with their
relative. This visit was one of our top priorities because one of the girls had
misbehaved last time she stayed with this particular relative (Christmas
holidays) and so Mlondi wanted to address these issues. Mlondi led the
discussion with the relative, her husband and also with the girls.
Our next stop was Siyabonga and Thokozane. The two boys were
removed from their mother due to her alcohol problems which led her to neglect
her boys. They now spend their school holidays with their biological dad and
step mother. Mlondi is currently in the process on reunify the boys with their
father and is hoping to have completed this by the end of the year.
We then drove another 40 minutes to a township called Wenen.
I later on found out that this was actually the place where Malume, the
director of the Home, was born and where he spent a big part of his childhood!
Here we visited Siboniso who is one of the teenage boys, who wasn’t with
relatives but with a foster family. The area, where the foster family were, was
very isolated (although absolutely stunning!), which couldn’t have been very
easy for him considering he is 18 years old! However when Mlondi asked him
whether he was enjoying his time there he replied “yes, it’s nice to be in a
family where there is both the mother and the father present.”
After this visit, we went to other foster families, which I
had been to already in January to pick up the children. As always they were
very welcoming and offered us drinks and cake! We also received some very good
news... The neighbours of Simelokuhle (I wrote about him in one of my previous
posts) have said they would like to become Simelokuhle’s official foster
parents! Mlondi will therefore get the ball rolling and assist them with the
paper work. Hopefully he can return to his community and home by the end of the
year!
As you can see, going along to the house visits meant I was
not only able to see where and with whom the children were living but also get
a better idea of their story and the challenges they are facing. I was also
able to see some of the beautiful scenery in KZN which you wouldn’t really see
if you kept to the main roads...
Picking up the children
As the school holidays we just one week, it wasn’t long
before we had to return to Ladysmith to pick up the same children we had just
visited and bring them back to Saint Anthony’s. It was really nice to accompany
Mlondi (in the brand new Ford Ranger!) and go not only to the homes we had
visited that week but also return to the homes I had picked the children up
from back in January.
Movie night with the teenage girls
By this point, I just had one week left with the children
therefore I tried to spend as much time with them as possible. If you remember,
the teenage girls were the first children to approach me and invite me into
their cottage. Ever since that day, I have spent 85% of my evenings with them.
Therefore to thank them for looking after me and to make them feel special, I
invited them to my house on Friday evening (12th April) for a girly
movie night. I put blankets and cushions on the floor and bought some goodies
for them to enjoy during the film like marshmallows, popcorn (they love the
stuff) and choccies! So after dinner all 16 of them and their care worker
marched over to my house singing their heads off and together we watched two
films: 13 going on 30 and Stomp the Yard. They had an amazing time and were
still talking about the dance film days later!
My farewell
So after 7.5 months, it was time to say goodbye to the
amazing Saint Anthony’s Home and the beautiful country that is South Africa.
The goodbyes started in the morning after mass (Sunday 13th April)
when I was called to the front of the whole congregation (just like my official
welcome, the church was PACKED because it was Palm Sunday!). I greeted them all
in Zulu, explained to them the amazing time that I had had and thanked them for
making me feel so welcome and safe. I had to fight very hard not to cry however
as soon as I returned to my seat and saw Sindi cry, I burst into tears myself L not the best of
starts!
I spent part of my day with the toddlers and the teenage
girls. We ate together outside and played games. I was then asked to go to the TV
room where all of the staff and all of the children were seated to official say
farewell. The ceremony started with a prayer, then a hymn during which Auntie
Phumi and Sis Mabu dressed me in a woman’s traditional Zulu outfit. It was a
gift from the Home to me:
Malume then went onto making a very moving speech which very
quickly brought me to tears (AGAIN!). Each member of staff then said their own
message; they all thanked me for the work I had done and the time I had spent
with the children. It was then the children’s turn to sing/dance. The teenage
girls even sang a song about me! We also danced together for the last time the
hip hop routine I had taught them J
After the activities, two children from each cottage came forward and said
their own little goodbye message to me. As you can imagine, it wasn’t long
before I was in tears again! It was then my turn to say my goodbye speech. I
again thanked them all for making me feel so welcome and for allowing me into
their big family. It was all very emotional but the best send off I have ever
had.
Final words
I would like to take this opportunity to again thank Saint
Anthony’s for allowing me to be with them for the past 7.5 months. All those
who know me will know that I have wanted to be a volunteer in an orphanage
since the age of 14. By letting me come to Saint Anthony’s, they allowed me to
fulfil my dream! This experience has been more incredible than I ever thought
it would be. I feel so blessed to have been given this chance and will cherish
the memories made for a very long time. I would like to thank everyone who has
supported me throughout my stay. Thank you for all of your kind messages of
support, your prayers and your generous donations. Thank you so much for
reading my blog, promoting it and sharing the link. Together we are making
people around the world aware of the amazing work that Saint Anthony’s is doing
to the children and the surrounding community.
If my adventure has inspired you to something similar,
please do not hesitate to contact me! My email address is isabel@cwgrain.com. I have had the time of
my life and would really encourage everyone to do it! If you would like to make
a donation to the home, please visit their website: stanthonyshome.org.
Although this is my last post, you can keep up with the Home
by liking their Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Saint-Anthonys-Home/1417965511759540?ref=br_tf.
I am also very pleased to announce I will be talking about Saint Anthony’s Home
and my experience there on BBC Essex on Sunday 11th May at 8:00 am.
Again thank you so so so much for reading my blog and for
your amazing support.
Isabel x
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