2021 December Update
We hope you and your families are well and looking forward to celebrating the holidays. As you may know, December is the end of the school year and the beginning of our summer break here in South Africa. We will be spending our holidays in Ballito again this year. Despite the unfortunate travel bans recently imposed due to Omicron fears, there are no lockdowns or further restrictions here in South Africa. Life continues. We pray for both our countries as Covid numbers increase both here and there.
We have been busy at the preschools with graduations and end of year parties, and there has also been substantial progress in community development growth in Ndwedwe. We also had the pleasure of hosting a team through Afrika Adventures over the "Thanksgiving" holiday.
KYA SAND
The graduations and end of year parties at Kya Sand are always a great source of pride and celebration for the children and their families. Twenty-eight students graduated from grade R (kindergarten) and are moving on to 1st grade. Always grateful for the blessing of loaves and fishes - although we have 100 learners on the register, 150 kids and another 100 adults enjoyed a hearty celebration meal. Elizabeth hired a photographer from the community to photograph the graduates and their families. Covid and the economic fallout has been hard on the community, so in place of magicians and bounce houses, we provided food parcels to our families to help take them through the holidays. It was a joyful, festive day.
NDWEDWE
The Afrika Adventures team arrived on November 20th to work with us in Ndwedwe. It was a fantastic week filled with laughter and a lot of fun - including the end of year parties for our three preschools. We'll let some of the photographs from the week tell the story.
After 25+ hours of travel, the team woke up to a beautiful morning by the sea in Ballito. After breakfast on the veranda, we headed out to the Nelson Mandela Capture Site. This team is the first to visit the site and see the new museum that opened just as Covid came along and shut the country down. Everyone agreed, it was worth the trip. We stopped for pizza and a little shopping at Piggly Wiggly on the way back. (In South Africa, Piggly Wiggly is NOT a grocery store chain, just a fun place to visit.)
The next day we took the team on a tour of all our sites in Ndwedwe. It's incredible when we stop to realise all the change and progress since the last group was here in November 2019. Here was Phillip's view for most of the week, the rear-end of Clive's new truck. Crossroads generosity in celebrating their 25th Anniversary enabled us to upgrade Clive's truck to one more suited for the terrain and hauling needed for our projects in Ndwedwe.
Our first stop was our newest preschool, Preschool #3. The site has already been prepared with fencing, toilets, a playset and a covered area to meet during warm days. And a few weeks ago, the classroom container was delivered, shipped from the U.S. full of supplies. We're grateful to Master Provisions, M&P Logistics and Dreams Unified for all their work to get the container here. The preschool is looking forward to beginning the new year in their new space.
Our next stop was Thobini's block-making start-up. The men have worked hard, learning what it takes to make their blocks consistent. You'll spot their blocks in use at our new bakery.
Then it was onto Preschool #2, where we had some time to hang with the kids. They love doing races with Marty. And maybe time for just a little gardening?
Then Preschool #1 at Waterfall. More time to play and read to the kids. And a little plumbing work. We were so blessed to have a plumber on this team. He spent the week working on several plumbing projects, including a shower for Thembe's family.
Our last stop of the day was at Thembe's property. There's so much happening here, so much to see! There is a bakery being built with blocks from the block-making business. We have purchased an oven and are looking forward to its first loaves of bread. The team saw Thembe's new home and his new bathroom under construction. We walked through the multitude of banana, avocado and mango trees to the growing beehive, continued down to the fields of chillies and other produce, and on to the dam. As the number and depth of projects grow, so does the hope of those who live here.
Our next workday was mostly at Preschool #1, Waterfall, giving toys a long-overdue cleaning and scrubbing down the inside of the container where the ladies will begin craft-making. And, of course, time to play with the kids. Bob, our plumber and his wife Beth went with Clive to connect Thembe's shower. While there, Beth became the first visitor to help Mama, Thembe's wife, cook for the feeding program she started during Covid. Mama doesn't speak English, and Beth doesn't speak Zulu - but there was a lot of laughter and joy in the process.
Today was the End of Year Party for all three preschools, and the first year we've had a team here to be a part of it. All three preschools came to Waterfall to celebrate. The day began with singing and games, and then there were animal balloons, face painting and glitter tattoos!!
The kids enjoyed a special meal with new bowls, spoons and cups. Every child received a set with their name on it. Then it was time for cupcakes!! Not little mini cupcakes, but "big-as-your-face," swirled icing and sprinkles cupcakes! It was quite a treat - as much for the people passing them out as for the kids. The day ended with the teachers, cooks and staff singing to the team as a thank you - I'm not sure either group knew how big a gift they had given the other.
We spent our final workday picking chilli peppers to sell to a local restaurant chain, helping create a sustainable future. We also gave out soccer balls to the three preschools - these are unpoppable balls purchased through the soccer ball campaign last year.
It's always a joy to end our week with a game drive. And Thula Thula's elephants never disappoint. If you've never read "The Elephant Whisperer", we highly recommend it. It never gets old to sit amid a herd and be awed by these majestic creatures.
2022 TRIPS, QUARTERLY UPDATES & U.S. VISIT
This December marks the second year we have been unable to come to the U.S. for our usual visit due to travel bans, and we miss seeing everyone. We've been grateful to stay connected with all of you during this time through these update letters. We are very excited about more trips returning in 2022 and looking forward to seeing you. With that, we wanted to let you know we will be scaling back to quarterly updates in 2022, but please don't hesitate to reach out if you ever have questions. And we hope to be in the U.S. in October of 2022. We will keep you updated.
YEAR-END GIVING
There is no doubt that God has used you to provide for us and those we serve throughout this unprecedented, unexpected time of a pandemic, with no teams, lockdowns and food shortages. We are so grateful to you who felt called and gave, who continue to give.
For those of you who make year-end gifts, Build the Future USA certainly appreciates your consideration. If you have questions or need more information about giving by check, donating stocks or need information for an employer matching gift, please contact Susie Campbell at susie@buildthefutureusa.org or +1 513 484 1676 (text, call or Whatsapp).
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Please stay safe, and keep in touch,
Phillip & Clive