Saphile!

...means "I am well!"
The days have become more and more interesting...
First things first:  Nonclanka, a woman I think I have mentioned previously in my blog (she was always really lively woman...very fun, a favourite...but I never knew this side of her, I only saw her when she had become very ill) passed away this week.  It was quite upsetting, mostly for Carina who was quite close to her.
The past few days have been rather disturbing, to be perfectly honest.  Wednesday was alright, went to the AGAPE orphanage and am getting to know the children a lot better.  They really lack supplies there -- I had to change Wandele's diaper, to discover, there is no diaper, just cloth...there literally was poo all over everything, including me...quite gross...I ended up just giving him a full bath and having to clean him myself before attempting my own little cloth diaper.  So gross.  Also went for a walk to the kids' school and down to the dams.  Very beautiful view...one girl that was with us had no shoes but proceeded to walk on broken glass, beer bottles, cans etc. with no worries.  It's so strange because we have been trained to see glass and freak out, whereas these kids walk on with no worries.  We also ran into a woman who was carrying two heavy crates of beer bottles (12 in each crate) up the hill...one was balanced on her head, the other in one hand, and she was old (52) walking with a cane in the other hand.  Carina and I offered to help carry them partway and they were so heavy.  We were struggling to carry one each.  I tried to balance it on my head and it hurt so much.  The sad thing was, she was walking for hours to get 36 rand ($12 CAD) for them.  She said she had asthma otherwise she usually walked to pinetown (20 km away).  But she was so pleasant and laughed heartily at us while we struggled to carry the bottles.  What system of justice forces her to walk such distances with such a heavy load and in such old age for such little pay, and then allows me to sit in some office building at a computer all day with a ridiculous amount of pay, comparitively?  How is it possible that I have been this LUCKY? 
Yesterday was an AWFUL day.  The morning was fine...learned that Wandele is probably deaf.  So strange, because I wonder how he knows to laugh when he is happy and cry when he is sad?  Is that behaviour learned or inate?  Strange.
Then I went to Dr.Davis's Centre.  It was fine for the most part, but then Chantal began to help the nurses change a woman's sheets and clothes because she had soiled them.  The room instantly smelled like rotting flesh, and the woman began howling in pain.  Chantal left sobbing, so then I went in...she had abcesses that were huge and all over her frail body.  You could see her ribs and her body was completely withered.  The abcess on her hip was so large you could see right through to the bone.  What kind of judgement allows this kind of pain?  Where was the fairness?  And the nurses there are so remarkable -- they are all volunteers.  They were so good to the woman...I can hardly believe such souls exist.  It really makes me realize that I am just a speck in a Vatican of paintings.  The small amount of *good* I will do here is a fraction of what these nurses do, and the amount they do is a fraction of the work that is being done in third world countries -- and that amount is a fraction of what needs to be done.  I challenge anyone to find me someone who has seen the horrors these nurses have seen, and who return voluntarily, everyday, with no pay, to help those who are dying, to die in peace and dignity.  Impending death is inevitable for these people...
After all that, we arrived at AGAPE to find that there was a massive fight with the older girls and one of the neighbourhood kids.  Tembeka (the house mom there) told them that they each had five minutes to fight with the neighbour girl (Angel was her name) to settle everything.  Clearly, my respect and admiration for Tembeka has declined considerably.  All the kids were crying when we got there, Zama was cut and others were injured.  They were all fine when I left them -- it is amazing how quickly things can go wrong, and how little you can do about it...
 
Phew.  that was a lot of writing.  Quick shoutouts:
 
Pravin Uncle -- whose birthday just passed on the 14th!
DAD and Ripal -- whose birthday it is today on the 16th!
Kunaal -- whose birthday it is on the 17th!
Sofi -- whose birthday it is on the 18th!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Roxy and Seema S -- who both called this week...I really appreciate the phone calls!  I can't really call from my place because phone cards are hard to find and very expensive but I love hearing from you all!!!!!
Derek -- who got a job at Workbrain, though he isn't sure if he is going to take it...congrats!
Kshama and Anand -- who got married last week!  Wohoo!
 
and to all -- thanks for the emails and the constant reminders of your support...it means a lot to me and wouldn't be able to do it if it weren't for you.  Lots of love!