Expecting the unexpected in South Africa

One of our child sponsors, Cara, stopped off in South Africa on her world travels to see her sponsored child, Dipolelo. What makes this visit truly unique is that Cara would be there just days before Dipolelo was due to give birth. Here’s Cara’s remarkable account of her trip:

I had already made 3 previous trips in South Africa to visit the children that I sponsored. I wondered if I could make another trip to my current sponsored child, but looking at the map of South Africa, it looked more challenging though it came together in the end.

On the morning of my visit, staff from the World Vision office came to get me for my special day. Our first stop was at the Area Development Programme offices where I was briefed about the visit. We then went to the school, arriving at mid-morning break, when all the children get a hot meal thanks to a government initiative. They all looked fit and healthy.

Meeting Dipolelo

Eventually we were ushered into the school office and waited for Dipolelo to come and meet us. Now this was going to be a different visit as in January, World Vision had contacted me to tell me the child I am sponsoring, who was aged 16, was expecting. This isn’t that unusual in South Africa as 20% of 15 – 17 year olds get pregnant. Dipolelo looked quite anxious meeting us and possibly didn’t feel comfortable with the attention.

We all set off to her home to meet her family. Her parents, grandparents, siblings and even her great aunt who was in her 90s, were all there to welcome us. Dipolelo’s father was a real character, with a good command of English. He was very grateful for the sponsorship and explained how it helped lots of different communities in the area. He also told me how he had read all my letters and even remembered things I had written. I got the impression he did the translating to his daughter who didn’t appear to speak English!

The family lived in two small houses surrounded by maize fields, mango and paw paw trees, with goats, cattle and chickens providing them with plenty of food. Gifts were exchanged and I was given a huge bag of monkey nuts, a gourd drinking vessel, a grass brush and, much to my amusement, a huge pumpkin. I could barely carry it, let alone work out how I would take it anywhere!

Eventually it was time to take Dipolelo back to school, where the principal also expressed his gratitude for the sponsors and the impact the money has had on the local community. Then it was time for us to go and see the projects that have benefitted from the programme.

Seeing the work at first hand

Having left Dipolelo to return to her classroom, we set off to visit the World Vision Projects in the local area. Arriving at the piggery, we were shown around the pig pens with some very happy pigs and piglets. The business has become very successful and pigs are a very valuable commodity. We met the pig that has fathered numerous piglets with his many wives but learnt that once the wife is pregnant, she loses interest in her husband. Sounds familiar!

We then went to a craft and community centre, where older ladies of the local area were gathered. There was also a nursery for younger children, who were happily playing outside and waved at us as we arrived. Inside there were beading and sewing activities with lots of beautiful examples of work.

Next door was a kitchen which is where a bakery business has been set up and has provided extra income for the local women. There were also chicken sheds outside. The whole place seemed to be an amazing, thriving community space, catering for all ages.

Our next stop was at a Stimulation Centre for disabled children. They were so excited to see us and all of them wanted to shake my hand. As we were taken inside, they all began singing and dancing. The construction of the centre had come about after a visit from some World Vision sponsors from Cholsey in Oxfordshire.

The local community in the UK got together to help finance the building with the aim being to help disabled children become integrated into mainstream society by teaching them life skills….like shaking hands with visitors!

Our last stop was a drop-in centre for little school children where they come after school to get a hot meal. They all queue up to get their hands washed before receiving their meals, then go inside and sit at their little tables and chairs to eat.

We too, were given a lovely hot meal. This is also where some of the older children get to write their letters to their sponsors. They were still receiving Christmas presents from the UK so were then sitting down to write their thank you letters.

Reflections

Sadly our day was coming to an end. We returned to the ADP office to say goodbye to Maite and all the World Vision staff before returning to my accommodation.

I came away thinking how we are wrong in how we measure poverty and wealth. Everyone I had seen that day had been happy and healthy, despite their lack of material possessions. In fact, this may have been why they seemed content.

There were strong family bonds and a great sense of community and belonging to an area…all qualities which are often lacking in the UK.

I envied their lifestyles in many respects, their striving for self sufficiency and the way they could produce so much of their own food. They may not be wealthy by our standards, but their lives seemed to be very rich.

Epilogue

After my return to the UK, I received an email from World Vision saying Dipolelo had given birth just four days after I saw her, which explained why she had other things on her mind! I had no idea her pregnancy was so advanced, especially considering she was still attending school.

Amazingly, she has named the baby Cara, after me, which is a real honour. I hope I can go back again in the future to see my namesake…

Thanks to Cara for sharing her story with us. You can see more photos and leave your comments and questions on our Facebook page here. We love hearing your thoughts on our sponsors’ stories.