I am having problems uploading pictures to my own blog (go figure).  My daughter Katie is having more luck.

Her blog for this trip is http://thegreenbackpackingadventures.blogspot.ca/.

Em

We are in Africa

We have not had internet since we left Canada on October 29th.  Tonight we came to a mall close to where we are staying and found an internet cafe without the cafe.  We are busy from morning to evening.  Yesterday was the first time we made soap and it turned out good.

The weather is very nice and getting warmer every day.  Yes, the toilets flush backwards and the cold and hot taps are opposite to home.  I have lots of pictures but I can not up load them now.

We had Monday off and went to the zoo in downtown Pertoria.  It took 6 hours to go through.  We ended up renting a golf cart to finish.

Where we go every day is "to the program" at a school.  It is an all-black school.  The kids hug us every day.  They stand in line.  Very happy, happy, happy kids.  They have nothing.  Not even food!  Two women cook them a hot lunch every school day.  On Friday, 10 kids get a bag of groceries to take home for the weekend.

People get paid once per month and by the 10th they are out of money and food.  Most people make 300 Rand per month which is $150 Canadian.  Food is less here but everything else is the same.
Clothes in this mall are the same price as home.

People are dying every day from AIDs.  On Saturday, there were 20 to 30 funerals.  Five coffins roll into the church and when the service is over they are taken to the graveyard and 5 more coffins roll in until there are no more to bury that day.

The internet cafe is closing.

Sorry it took so long to blog.  We are glad we found this place so we can walk here again.

Em

Two weeks!!!

We went to a friends house to practise making friendship bracelets last week.  Katie wants to make brackets with the children.  Joshua is bring sketching paper and pencils to draw with the kids. None of knows what to expect but we are open.

Time is passing by quickly now.  We fly out of Halifax October 30th at midnight.  An over night flight to London,  we spend the day in London and another over night flight to Johannesburg. From the time we leave here to the time we land in South Africa will be 36 hours.  I am a little concerned about the amount of time sitting up right.  My plan is to sleep as much as possible.

The question people ask when I tell them we going to South Africa is "what organization are you going with?"  We are not going with any organization, We are jumping on a plane with our soap making supplies and equipment, flying to SA, teaching the women to make soap, and flying home.  We are staying with the couple that running the missionary.  Quite simple.

Africa, here we come!!!!

Less then a year ago Alejandra at a missionary in South Africa called the store asking for help to make soap.  There was a TB outbreak at the time and regular hand washing with soap reduces the spread of TB by 25%.  After months of trying to teach soap making over the phone I said in frustration "I wish I could see what is happening with the batch of soap".  Alejandra jump at that statement and said Yes, please come to the missionary and teach the women here how to made soap. So at the end of October with a suitcase of soap making equipment we are off to South Africa.  We have two goals.  The first one is to make as much soap as we can for the people in the townships.  Goal number two is to teach women how to make soap. 
I am grateful I have a skill I can share, excited to be going to South Africa to help the people there and a little scared the soap will not turn out right.  If the soap doesn't turn out they will know how not to make soap!