Day 24

Day 24 started with an incredible amount of rain.  It also started with no power - our fourth consecutive day of power cuts.

After running a few errands in town, we shot out to Willow Park.  We arrived at 1 o'clock, which conveniently happens to be the same time that lunch is on.  Fortunately enough, today's menu for lunch was sudza and chums (which is like mince).

The firewood tied to the back of the car

By the time that lunch was finished, the sun was out and shining in full force.  As a result, we ended up sitting around outside in the shade talking, playing guitar, shooting nuts from the slingshots we purchased this morning and listening to iPods.

When it was a little cooler, Jonno and I headed downstairs to pick up some more firewood.  However this time around, we lashed the timber to the car and drove it up.  This was much easier than carrying the wood.

It occurred to us that some people reading the blog may not know our host, the organization that we are working with and what we are actually doing.

We are staying with my auntie, Debbie Brennocks, who is the director of the Sandra Jones Children's Village (SJC) in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.  The SJC is a not-for-profit organization that is a place for kids who have been abused, abandoned and neglected.  They take boys from birth to 10 y/o and girls from birth to 18 y/o.  The aim of the SJC is to reunite these kids with their family as within the African culture, everyone has family, it's just a matter of finding them.

As a result of this ideology, the SJC have seen over 800 kids pass through their doors in the last 10 years, and are one of the most respected organizations of their type within Bulawayo (there are several others within town and more in the surrounding areas).  However the SJC are increasingly feeling the strain financially and are constantly looking for sponsors for the kids to aid in the upkeep of the centre.

We are going out to the centre each day and spending time with the kids.  As simple as this may be, it is proving to be very effective.  It is often a concern of those coming here to work that they won't be of any use.  Simply by turning up and giving a little of your time and attention is enough for these kids as no one ever comes to see them.

This is just a very brief overview of what the SJC is about.  For more information please see www.sandrajonescentre.org.  Also, don't forget to see the Google Maps link to the right to get an idea of where the places that we are talking about are.


Alex