Community Building...

Our first full week here at Refilwe has given us many opportunities to interact with the community here. The pictures to the left will give you a bit of an idea of the  view that we have from our front porch. The river divides Refilwe's property into two: in the top photo you can just see the green roof of the Community Hall on the other side of the river. On our 'side' of the river are the offices, the school and the residences. The 'other' side is 

where the community buildings are found.

The river is called Crocodile River, and we have been told

it has been aptly named. Apparently the 'big' crocodiles are further downstream, but there are still smaller varieties that are seen from time. No swimming for us!

Much of the week (especially for Cliff!) was centered around 

an Indigenous Plant nursery that is being constructed here on the property. The project is part of 'Refilwe Enterprises'; a group of projects specifically designed to be sustainably income generating for Refilwe. Once the Nursery is completed, the 'Enterprises' arm will also be complete; this means that over time Refilwe should have its own steady source of income, rather than having to be completely reliant on charitable donations and government grants. I'll write some more details about what it all entails at a later date.

While I got started at the Hands of Hope School, sitting in on some classes and starting to teach a couple, Cliff was given the 'special project' of working with the Site Team to get the nursery ready. The structure to the right was donated to Refilwe, along with one of those 'you can have it if you come and get it yourself' catches. Cliff and the men that form the maintenance crew here spent the week tearing the [very] large structure down from a nearby location and bringing the piles back to Refilwe.  It was a fairly hot and strenuous week for Cliff! 

Saturday saw a local church come and help to put the structure back up again. Cliff took a well deserved break and watched the cricket, while I helped with the painting of metal poles. Everything had to be sanded and repainted before being put back together. Although the group from the church was very large, most of the Refilwe community was out painting and building as well. It has quickly become clear to us that there is always 

something going on here, and that the community here is generally always involved in whatever it is. When I left our house on Saturday morning, I saw m

any of the Refilwe kids out with their paintbrushes, busy 'helping' and getting paint all over themselves. The boy to the left's name is Tabo. I spent most of the day with a paintbrush in hand, getting more and more paint on the rest of me. I am still picking silver streaks out of my hair!

This week is already well underway. Cliff has started his 'real' job working with the ACAT program, and I have started teaching and working one on one with some students that need extra attention with their English skills. We'll probably update again soon!