Farewell

After two weeks playing, wiping snotty noses, singing, dancing, bathing, reading, shopping, being climbed over, sorting cupboards and coming to love the kids of Cotlands, it was time for most of us to say goodbye (for now).

Bonnie, Jeannine, Stella and Rochelle organised and joined us for a lovely farewell morning tea and told us stories of kids, snakes, lizards and local delicacies. They also left us with some little goodies to remind us of our time at Cotlands, although there is little chance that we could ever forget the warmth, generosity, love and humour we have found here...

Last Night

7 girls, 1 shower, 1 minivan, 2x 7 hour drives, 42 meals, 65 kids, 14 days... the odds were stacked against us and yet we managed to pull through with only minor scratches (lions and kids), mild headaches (concert and pub) and no bruises!

What an incredible two weeks with such an awesome group of people to share it with. Jess, Gabby, Clare, Mary, Clare, Nes and Bec will definitely be catching up again once back on home turf (sorry Jess, looks like a drive up to the big smoke will be in order!).

To celebrate the end of an era we treated ourselves to an exotic African meal (on pillows with mood lighting and delicious food (thanks chefs) and then a night out for obligatory cocktains and to see "insert name here". It was a great show with samples of South African music and dance throughout many different periods and the dancers where hot!
(PS: the editor was tempted to add some illegal photos taken during the performance by certain members of our group, but will leave it to you imagination instead!)

More Gals and Kids...

Sanctuary

Sanctuary is an area within the orphanage where the children ‘live’– it is where they, bath, eat and play. Every afternoon before dinner all the children have free time in Sanctuary, it is a great opportunity for all of us to interact with the children and get to know them on a one to one basis. We have been taking turns to visit the children in the morning to assist them with bathing and getting dressed. Everyone has felt that this is a good time to converse with the children and build a strong relationship with them.

The girls and boys rooms in Sanctuary are kept separate and each child has their own shelf space where their clothes are kept. The kids are always excited to show you where their shelf is and the clothes they have on it. Today the children each did a painting, which was hung on the Sanctuary walls – the children were very eager to point out their paintings to us. The children’s enthusiasm while is Sanctuary never ceases to amaze us.

Hospice

Hospice at Cotlands is a place of mixed emotions. It’s the first place babies go when they arrive at Cotlands and it’s the place where babies and children go when they are sick. When it originally opened unfortunatly Cotlands lost many children to AIDS in the hospice department, however with access to new medications and ARVs, Cotlands now rarely loses any children.

Currently Hospice looks after 11 children who are aged 2 weeks to three years. In Hospice there is a place for children to sleep, eat and play. All of us enjoyed our time in hospice, holding the babies and giving out lots of cuddles. It is bitter sweet though because as you are holding the babies its hard to think that they might be HIV positive and what kind of an impact this will have on their life. What’s good about being in Hospice is that we know that the babies are going to get the care that they need. Here they have access to the Antiretroviral Drugs that can save their life, they will get the nutrients they need to stay healthy and they will get the love and affection from their carers that every child deserves.

A highlight of mine from Hospice was of one little girl who is quite sick, she is three years old but cannot crawl, walk or talk. Yet I got to see her smile and got to hear her laugh, which was really fantastic. To think that this little girl can still laugh and smile even though she is so unwell, is something really special.

Christmas Shopping

Christmas was coming... but what will the children wear? This year, lets let them choose! And so, in 2 adventures to the local shopping mall, we each took 1 child and hit the shops for his/her own outfit, choosen and paid for by the Cotland Kids. and what an adventure it was- there were moving stairs to investigate, and the toilets had strange machines that loudly blew out hot air.

Some of the braver and more experienced were not so concerned, but for others the moving staircase was a whole new experience in itself. "Big jump at the end where it stops', Id say in preparation for stepping off. The jump itself was a little to big, and the lady infront didnt seem so appreciative of our adventure. Sunglasses, headbands, shoes, jeans, and one favoured red shirt with a photo of a restling man in his underwear, not to mention the 20R worth of yummies at the end. While there where some obsticles to overcome, it was all smiles at the end.

Kruger 2

Still high from our amazing first day at Kruger, we headed out for day two, despite the blistering cold. We came across a pride of lions in the morning, snoozing in the grass. It was so exciting to simply watch them. Glee and bouts of excitement followed every minuscule movement of a lion, followed by shushing, and then instructions to our guide Nelly to move a little forward, or slightly back so we could get the perfect shot, or to do his famous baby buffalo call to get the lions attention.

Next find was a white rhino with her baby, only 15 metres away. This was huge, as most rhinos are only spotted in the distance. The remainder of the day was spend on the hunt for the notoriously aloof leopard. We failed, but the mood was maintained by the Viva safari choir, headed by Mary, singing anything from Frere Jacques to Madonnas holiday.

Kruger 1

We woke up early in our “rustic” African safari huts, showered outside with centipedes and beetles and enjoyed a three course breakfast before setting off on Safari. Our guide Nelly, alias Nellyphant, explained every bird, tree and blade of grass along the way but it was the Big Five we were keen to see. After the initial sighting of an Impala, nicknamed “Mc Donalds”, there was much excitement and photo taking, however after the 3824th sighting of Impala, Kudu and Nyala we no longer stopped. As we moved further into the park the sightings became more varied - Warthogs – grumpy little characters, graceful giraffes and a rare sighting of two cheetahs by the waterhole, elephants, sleeping lions, zebras, baboons, monekys, ostrich, water buffalos, the tip of a hippo and the tail of a croc. Bec took over the wheels of the safari truck and surprised us all with her professional driving and spotting skills. It was an extremely successful day and we were all on a high by the time we left the park at 5.30pm. Driver Bec shouted us all a round of drinks for the ride home and we left satisfied and happy.

Not far from the park we found a group of men dancing in the streets and all jumped out to join them – everyone gave the traditional “ bum dance” a bit of a go and we laughed and sang together. Another car pulled up and we were told that there was a pride of lions just down the road – thinking it was just a ploy from our driver to get us to go home – we piled into the car without any expectations. Literally a 2 minute drive away we came within 2 metres of two lions and two lionesses. It was amazing to be so close to these amazing creatures! A little further down the road 2 huge elephants were waiting for us and so naturally this deserved another street party as the sun set over Kruger on our first day.

Soweto 3

Bec, Gabby and Clare O where fortunate enough to tag along with Loratta for an afternoon in Soweto. Firstly we headed to the new Cotlands Soweto house to deliver food for the Christmas party. The ladies where busy, elbow deep in food prep, chatting happily in Zulu and singing along to the radio. Loratta then lead us on a shopping expedition to buy groceries for a mother who is part of the outreach program and in particular need of a little extra help. 200 rand enabled us to get some cleaning products, a bag of frozen chicken and a few cooking products. Delivering the groceries was a new experience. We arrived at a house in a neighbourly part of Soweto. the “young mum” was living in a hut out the back of this house, with her child and 7 younger siblings she has to care for after her own mother lost her battle with AIDS. The small hut was immaculate and held a large bed and couch, tv, stereo and one chest of draws. This was the living space for 9 people. A young girl ran and hugged Bec as we carried with the groceries. The woman was shy but grateful.

World AIDS Day Concert

Prime, front row seats to 46664.

The man himself!
Soweto Gospel Choir... amazing!
Groovin' Gals

46664- Nelson Mandela’s Prison Number and the name of the concert we were about to enter. Not only would we be seeing world artists such as ‘Live’and ‘GooGooDolls’ we would also see local performers, dancers, and the Soweto Choir. But it was Nelson Mandela’s appearance that would silence 35000 people around me. Standing in awe as he left the stage, in one movement we all raised our left hand, “its in our hands” we chanted together. This was not just the Concert ‘motto’, it had become the one line that ended each act, a reminder that we weren’t just there to enjoy good music. The 4triple664 concert was about raising money for HIV prevention, education and awareness. And as the concert proceeded we were constantly reminder of the need to raise these issues. However, we all managed to shake some Booty and the concert was enjoyed by all.