Red Cross Hospital

On Monday, during ward rounds at Themba Care, we discussed one of our patients who is 2 years old and has been in the hospital for 3 weeks now. His mother works and she has visited a couple of times (or so she says) but he has essentially been up there alone. The doctor said that she would really like it if we were able to make it a priority to visit him because as you can imagine, being in a hospital is never fun...especially when you are still a baby....and here babies/young children who are in the hospital have their needs met yes, but there is nobody to play with them and love on them if their families are not able to be there.

Well, since I've been there long enough to know him I was chosen to go! I was really excited to go spend the day with him but also pretty nervous. The driver for Themba Care was going to drop me off and then I was just supposed to phone them when I was ready to be picked up. Now remember...this is still a foreign country...and I don't have a cell phone while I'm here...and the only number I had on me was for Themba Care. Me being the worrier that I can be at times I was sure that for some reason the hospital wouldn't allow me to use their phone or the driver would get in a wreck and I would be left there!! Yes, I do come up with some fantastic "what ifs" at times. :-)

The driver ended up actually walking me up to the floor Elethu was on and said he would pick me up in the same place. PHEW! That was a relief...I didn't have to navigate my way around a hospital!

Once I was there I was able to speak to Elethu's doctor and find out was was wrong. It ends up he has a respiratory virus that sounds similar to what we would call RSV...where it's very dangerous for babies but if an adult were to catch it we would simply get a runny nose. So...this virus usually takes about 6 weeks to get out of the system and since he is HIV positive it can obviously take even longer than that. So they'll test him every week until the virus is gone and then he is free to go back to Themba Care.

He is being kept in quarantine with one other little friend who has the same virus but he looks great! His nurse was telling me that he is a very naughty baby! haha I spent a little over three hours up there with him...just playing with him as best I could in his little room...fed him lunch...held him while he took a nap...just loved on him and tried to get him enough attention until the Themba Care doctor went to see him on Wednesday.

It was one of the best days I've had I think. Gave him some attention that he was in desperate need of at this point and I was able to take in A TON while I was up at the hospital. The walls are all basically huge windows so I easily see into the surrounding rooms which all for the most part held 6 babies/children. I saw how the children's hospital runs in South Africa....an experience I'll always remember.

PS...I snuck these pictures because I wasn't sure if I would be allowed to take any but I HAD to take some!!!! :-)

Elethu's roomie...a one year old baby girl

The naughty Elethu

Puttin' on the Ritz

Last night, Angie, Tiffaney, and I all went with Nita into Cape Town for a fundraising dinner. Nita did not know much about the organization except they were a group that worked with families in the community. Like their mission was to make the family bond strong! Well, we arrived to the hotel that the event was to take place and found the restraunt, told the man that we were there for the event....and he told us that it had gotten POSTPONED!!

We had all gotten dressed and drove into Cape Town and NOOOOOO event! :-( The night was not lost though. Nita said that we were just going to have to find someplace to go now. haha So we went out to the car and Nita decided that we were going to try the Ritz. She said you normally have to get reservations but we were earlier in the night so maybe we could get in.

The Ritz is a hotel and on the top floor there is a revolving restraunt! So we went up to the top and we were able to get a table!! The view was so amazing! We saw the ocean, the amazing stadium that was built for the world cup....I ate delicious duck with butternut and sweet potato...and then topped it off with a fruit kebob that was flambed at the table! Mmmmm mmmm GOOD! Oh, and did I mention that there was live piano music while we ate??

It turned out to be an amazing night of us getting to enjoy delicous food, amazing views, and a great time spending time together! I FELT SOOOOOO SOOOOOO SPOILED!

My dinner!!

My dessert being prepared!!!

Waka Waka

AHHHHH! Today I was at Graceland and it was so much fun! The children have graduation in November...and at their graduations they put on a show for all of the parents. This year their program is full of songs about transportation like "the wheels on the bus", with motions and everything! This week is technically a holiday for schools but the children are coming until 12 everyday to start practing for their graduation. Needless to say...it is adorable and I can't imagine how cute it will be after they have practiced for so long and add props and everyhing. (Pretty sad I wont be here to see it)

However, the best part is that they are doing the Waka Waka dance as their finale! The Waka Waka is a song that Shakira wrote for the World Cup and there is a dance that goes to it...needless to say...it became extremely popular here. I watched as the children practiced today and then joined in...I couldn't resist. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! The graceland staff are all joining the kids for the dance and it is seriously too stinkin cute! I actually went into a mini-depression that I wont be able to see the finished product..because even just a couple of days into learning it...it's adorable...and the kids are loving it.

So here is the plan...I've decided that I will master the Waka Waka before I come home and then I will teach it to everyone back home and we can have a huge Waka Waka dance party...it will be amazing....I know it. :-)

You can click on the link to check out the Waka Waka if you haven't heard/seen it before...this video just has small chunks of the dance but you'll get the picture....it's pretty simple but sooooo much fun!

WAKA WAKA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGrfLQVVI8A

Future Graceland Graduates Practicing the Waka Waka

Smile Even Though

How many of us would be able to walk around without teeth because they had rotted out, with shoes that were barely being held together, stinky because we rarely took baths, and coming from a home where our mother is an alcoholic and still be able to brighten peoples day? I know for myself I could let a day turn sour just because "I don't feel pretty today". To be completely honest I could let something that trivial in life ruin my day at times and in the process lose any care I could have in regards to the people around me. Because I have a day where I don't feel pretty I'll become completely focused on ME and lose all patience if someone dares to ask me to do something I don't feel like doing.

You know what though? NOT FRANKIE! Frankie is a 5 year old little boy at Graceland Creche and he falls into each of the categories I described above. His mouth holds 4 molars that are brown and black, but surprisingly have not fallen out like the rest of his teeth yet....healthy children typically lose their teeth because their 'adult teeth' are getting ready to come in but rambunctious Frankie lost his because they were rotten. Frankie's shoes are really almost pointless because they are so full of holes and too small at that. It's safe to say that Frankie doesn't get a bath regularly....you can tell just by looking at him....and of course factoring in that he comes from a home where alcohol very negatively affects his mom...it's really not surprising that he seems...neglected...to put it nicely.

You know what though? Frankie without fail has a big toothless smile to offer you as soon as he sees you and a big hug from him is never far behind that smile. He is one of the children who have blessed me so much. He makes me feel like my time here in South Africa, away from my family, friends, and life, is worth it.

Even though people can look at him and understandably feel sad for how he is growing up, Frankie touches the hearts of every person who walks onto the premises of Graceland Creche. His obvious lack when it comes to basic healthcare and attention at home does not keep him from dishin out love through his hugs and smiles. When I think about Frankie I can't help but re-think the way I live my life....the way I allow the small things that are just simply part of life ruin my day.

I came to South Africa with the intentions of loving on kids like Frankie...and of course I've done that...and of course I knew that in the process of loving on Frankie I would benefit also....but it really is amazing how much this little guy has impacted me since I've been here. How much his attitude.... which I've decided is best described by the phrase "smile even though" has made me really look at how I approach frustrating days. I've come to the conclusion that if Frankie can smile even when he has no teeth.....even when he smells and is just plain dirty....even when he doesn't get the attention and love that every 5 year old deserves from their mommy...even when a sock would provide more protection than his shoes do.....then surely I can smile even when I have a day where I don't feel pretty....don't feel like going to work...

Just smile....bet you'll be surprised how smiling...even if forced at first can change your day.

Frankie :-)

Progress

One of the best parts of being at Themba Care is seeing the progress that each child makes! Phumlani is 10 and is the oldest child at Themba Care right now...and really probably the one with the largest variety of health problems.

When he first came he couldn't really even walk much less communicate. He has several health problems ranging from having seizures which have left him almost like an old arthritic man, having teeth that are basically rotted out, and recently finding out he was deaf...just to name three of a long list of ''problems". It is so amazing the progress he had made and continues to make though...even since I have been here.

It goes to show you how much nurture really does come into play...give a child the attention and CHANCE to be better than they are and more often than not they will blow you away with what they do.

I believe the Occupational Therapist says that he has been tested to be about a 3-4 year old level. Since being at Themba Care he has gotten very steady on his feet and walks well even on the really uneven surfaces outside....he feeds himself (although he does try to con people into feeding him because he can be lazy)....he has learned to communicate mainly by pointing and such....learned how to use the toilet instead of being in a diaper...how to throw balls...build blocks....and there is so much more.

Today I was doing some computer work with Angie and Eva comes through the hall with Phumlani to take him outside for a walk. When he was walking by I said "Oh, are you going outside Phumlani?", and he smiled and then leaned forward and planted a big kiss on my cheek and emphasized it with a big ol' "MUAH!!"...then he leaned over to Angie and did the same thing..it was adorable....you can see why he steals everyone's heart.

Then after the Creche kids came back we had our small group time with them and Eva was drawing with him and he usually draws circles in lines across the paper...Eva drew a smiley face and he copied her....and added legs to his! May not seem huge but it was the first time he has ever done that....he continues to prove daily that he is smarter than people have given him credit for...he may not be able to talk like other kids his age but he is a smart boy and given the chance he is going to continue to blow us away. We were talking about him and the people he drew on our way home and I'm pretty sure we were all holding back tears...it was just so exciting to see him make more progress.

It is a little hard to see his people but the ones in blue are what he drew and he was so proud of himself and kept drawing them over and over again....he will definitely be one I miss when I come home.

The things that feel like home...

It's funny the things that make me feel all warm and cozy like I'm at home! Angie and I went to see a movie Saturday night and it was awesome!

We saw Step Up 3..so yes it was an American movie...it was different though because when you buy your ticket you actually pick a seat...so there are assigned seats (and I actually was a fan of that..we should start doing that in the good ol' U.S.).

We got popcorn....but here you pick a flavor and so we had sour cream and onion popcorn and that was an experience..not too bad but do like my good ol' butter popcorn better.

But, what REALLY made it feel like home was a FOUNTAIN DRINK!!! Ahhhhh! Yes, they had fountain drinks....and I was sooooooooo excited! They have coke and stuff here but always in a can or a bottle....not gonna find fountain drink most places. But you seriously do not understand how AMAZING it was to drink from a cup with a lid and a straw and ice and coke that came from a fountain...mmm mmmm GOOD!

Oh yes, I do believe I will need to go to one more movie here before I go home...maybe try a different flavor of popcorn...but definitely get a good ol' fountain coke! :-)

I DID IT!

Ok, so a week after I arrived in Cape Town I had my first experience driving!!! And guess what? Driving on the left side of the road on the right side of the car really isn't too bad! I was pretty much scared out of my mind...I was more nervous about driving in Cape Town than I was about coming here! lol Oh, and of course to make it better I drove home from Graceland and on our way to Graceland that morning we literally passed a man who was covered up in the middle of the street because he had gotten hit by a car when trying to cross the street so I was pretty sure that I would run someone over! Thankfully, all has gone well and I've driven several times now and nobody has gotten ran over yet!

Pretty stoked after driving for the first time

They're Goin Home

This past week we had two kids from Themba Care go home! It was soooo exciting because that means they are healthy but at the same time I was surprised because I was holding back tears!! It's crazy how just working with them for three weeks can get you attached to them.

They all have amazing stories and it's exciting to see them improve....one of the boys, Imange, that left was a little over one and had very poor muscle tone in his leg and pelvic area and such and so they have been working on building that up so he can crawl and walk. One of the volunteers bought a little toy car that they could ride and he loved it!! He could sit on it and push himself around you could say that he had several proud mommas watching him has he learned how to do something new. And of course he was very proud of himself and he was getting to experience being up high and seeing/touching things that he had never been able to see/touch before! He went home to an amazing supportive family where his grandpa is going to be his main care provider....and boy does he love his grandpa!

The other little boy was around 3..I'm not very sure on his age. His name is Zandi though and he was able to go to a foster home type thing to be with his two older siblings...they said it is a very nice place and they basically have little families. We were worried that he would be sad to leave because he has been at Themba Care for some time now but he was soooo excited when he saw his big sister and he knew who she was and he was thrilled to go with her! It was great! He was all smiles! That day was hard for me though because there was another older boy who came over to me with his eyes full of tears and saying something over and over in Afrikaans and then the caregiver told me that he was saying that he wanted to go home too...that broke my heart...hopefully he will find a home soon...a family to love him.

With some kids going home beds are open for more kids to come in...and we are expecting three more kids to come in at anytime..whenever they are released from the hospital. I am looking forward to meeting this new children and learning what their story is and watching them get healthier and healthier by the day.

This is one of our Themba Care babies! Her name is Asanda and she is 13 months old and getting into everything and starting to work on pulling up! We can't show their faces because we have to respect their privacy since they are patients....just wanted to show you though...because she is adorable even from the back! :-)

Social Work

I've gone out with the social work team at Themba Care twice now. It has been an experience both times! The people we have gone to see do not live in environments that I am used to for sure and I could bet most of you aren't either.

The first time we were taking a mom to visit her child at Village of Hope which is another Thembalitsha project about an hour away from Themba Care. It was a whole day affair and there was a lot of going back and forth trying to find the mom! She was not home when she was supposed to be home for us to pick her up and we ended up going to the hospital to look for her and then back to where she lived and then checked another place and then back home where we finally found her.

Her other child came with us to visit the younger sibling as well and she has an adorable smile but an awful smell...once we were at Village of Hope the Occupational Therapist there said it looked as if the child had not been bathed in weeks. She also said that when she visited the mom at home in the summer when she first received the child at Village of Hope she had to walk through a wall of flies to get to the door. It is interesting to me because there is one child that was taken away from the mom and is not allowed to go back because the living conditions are too poor but she has another child that she is able to keep....and I know back home if one child is taken away then all are taken away.

The second time I went was just a short two hour trip to a Creche (pre-school) in a Township that was about 15 minutes away from Themba Care. We went to talk to the teacher of a child we are working with to see how his behavior is in the school (his mom has said that he is very naughty and wild and does not cooperate in regards to taking his medicine) and see if she had any information that could help us assess where he was developmentally. We had to be careful because we could not disclose to the teacher that the child was HIV positive....our Occupational Therapist simply said that she was assigned to the child to assess his development.

The Creche had holes in the ceiling and walls and the chairs looked like they were about to come apart. It was not an environment I would typically associate with a pre-school. But, it was clear that the teacher cares about the children. It may not be an ideal environment but these children were still learning colors and other things to prepare them for "big school".

It has been so interesting so far....I'm glad that I'm getting to be part of their social system here to some extent and see how it works.

This is Graceland...the Creche that I go to two days a week. On the left is where three classrooms and a kitchen are and on the right is the toilets and then a playground in the back.

This is the Creche that we visited in the Township...

I am a jungle gym

I've decided that my main "job" here is being a jungle gym! I have also decided that I am perfectly content being a jungle gym. Those are actually my favorite times of the days....

The children climb over me.....

The children hang on me.....

The children lay in may lap....

The children play with with my hair even (this tends to

be more of pulling actually)...

Yup....

I enjoy being a jungle gym for the children to enjoy...

Poverty

This weekend I was able to spend Saturday with Nita, the woman whose house I am staying in along with Eva, another volunteer who lives with me who is from Germany....and two other woman Abigail and Laura who were from Nigeria and Namibia who were staying at Nita's house this weekend.

We had an amazing day together, talking, having lunch, shopping....really an amazing day! At one point we were talking and the topic of poverty came up. It was such an amazing discussion to me. Here were 5 different women who all grew up in different places and we all had a different opinion on what poverty really meant.

How do we really define poverty? Do you tend to define poverty as a physical state or something bigger than that? As an American there are so many people here that I would say live in poverty.....but why? Simply because I look at them and see how little they have?

Abigail was talking about how a tribe close to her does not wear clothes....simply cover up with mud...but even if they were to be given clothes they would sale them. They are completely happy with how they live...they do not have need for clothes that we see as necessary...then there are the people who use animals for transportation...we may say they are in need because they do not have a car...but they have a way to get around....

I know my words are not even touching the surface of our conversation. But, I wanted to attempt to share it with you...maybe get you thinking about poverty in a different way. Is poverty really such a state of physical need or more a state of spiritual/emotional? Even to the level of being in a place where you do not think you can do better than what you have...a place where in America at least people will stay un-married so they can receive more government help?

Coming from Cape Town...

I've made it! After way too many hours on an airplane I am in Cape Town!

It was a little overwhelming at first...everything is really pretty similar but at the same time so very different. I'm on day three of being here now and I'm starting to feel more at home.

On Wednesday I was taken to the house I'll be living in and given the day to settle in/catch up on rest. I live currently with 3 other women. Nita, is the woman who owns the house and allows us to live there. Angie, is the woman from Midland, TX who will be here for a year, and Eva, is a woman who is here from German and she will be here until the end of Octover.

On Thursday I went to Thembacare, the hospice type place where most of the patients have HIV and got introduced to the staff and how things run basically. I will be going there on Mon, Tues, and Thurs at this point. Our main goal here is to stimulate the babies. The occupational therapist is also wanting us to help her get together a way for the older childeren to have some organized play basically. Ways to work on their fine motor development and such.

Today, Friday, I went to Graceland which is a pre-school and spent the day getting to know the crazy 3-5 year olds. I will be going to Graceland on Wed, and Fridays. These kids are sooo full of energy. I was talking to the principle of the school and she said most of these childern are delayed because of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. They are trying to educate the parents of the damage that alcohol does during pregnancy in hopes that the moms will not drink if she is pregnant again.

Well...I think this will be all from me for now! Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers while i'm here!

7 hours and counting...

SOOOO.....in 7 hours my flight takes off! I'm a bundle of excitement...and a litttllleeee bit of nerves...just a little though! :-)

This past week has definitely been emotional for me. I just keep thinking about the person who really gave me the courage to go for it...missing him is still so intense at times it seems like yesterday that I was forced to say "bye". Still don't understand the why but I do trust God's plan and know good has and is coming from Jeremy's death.

I'm really looking forward to this journey...I keep hearing the word "rejuvenation" when I think about what my time will be like in Cape Town, South Africa. One definition of rejuvenation says, "the phenomenon of vitality and freshness being restored". I like that and I can't wait to see how rejuvenation happens while I'm there.

Well, guess I better get going...the next time I write it should be from the beautiful Cape Town!!!!

The reason I'm going for it...livin my life

The countdown is on!

Only 4 weeks until I leave! That seems like it's still a ways off but I know it will be here before I know it!

The last-minute details are what I'm having to take care of now. Along with last-minute details have of course come unexpected costs. The unexpected costs have caused a bit of a stress to the planning of this trip which has for the most part been stress-free. I know it will all work though....so I am trying my best not to get too worked up. :-)

Getting excited!!!

Why am I doing this you ask??

Here is the letter that I sent out to a few people to try to raise some money for the Thembalitsha Foundation as I get ready to go to Cape Town, South Africa in August! It gives a little background on why I love it and why I want to be a part of it. I hope you enjoy it!

I’m going to South Africa!!!
It’s still hard for me to believe that I will be in Cape Town, South Africa, in less than two months. I’ll soon be embarking on adventure that has been a dream of mine since high school when I first heard about the Thembalitsha Foundation.

However, there always seemed to be a reason to not make this dream a reality. The thing that finally gave me the courage to go for it was losing my baby brother, Jeremy. May seem weird, but as we all began the grieving process, it seemed like something everyone agreed on was that Jeremy had definitely LIVED his life. The phrase “Live life like Jeremy” became an anthem of sorts to all of us who loved him so much. My brother’s life challenged me to stop simply going through life…to start actually living it…to stop over-thinking….to listen to my heart and trust God with the desires of my heart. So, in January, I put in an application and basically told God to make it happen if that’s what He had for me.

So here I am, mere weeks away from being in South Africa to work for the Thembalitsha Foundation. There are several branches that make up the Thembalitsha Foundation. I will mainly be working with ThembaCare Athlone, an 18 bed facility dedicated to providing care for babies who are HIV positive. They give these children a chance to live and do not allow this diagnosis be a death sentence. Since opening their doors in 2002 the death rate has decreased from 66% to 4% in 2008.

Along with providing health care, they also provide emotional support for the parents, follow-up home care once the babies are released to go home, and community education on HIV/AIDS. If you go to the Thembalitsha website at www.thembalitsha.org.za/ you can view a video that gives an overview of ThembaCare and can also browse the website to learn about the entire foundation.

This journey has already been amazing. I will be working with Thembalitsha as a volunteer, which means that I receive no pay while I’m there and I am responsible to cover all expenses for myself to be there. Along with my acceptance, I received news that a place was secured for me in a home of a woman who houses female volunteers at NO cost! I was also told that there was a car that I would be able to share with at least one other volunteer so I would not have to rent a car while I was there, which many volunteers are required to do. Then, to top it all off, I was informed that there was another woman from Midland would be there while I was there. We were able to contact each other and meet before she left in May to be there for a year. It is going to be great to have a friend there from “my neck of the woods”.

So here are some details…
v I will be traveling to South Africa by myself!
v I leave the states on August 23, 2010, and return on October 20, 2010.
v I’ll be living in Cape Town, South Africa, in a woman’s house with up to eight other female volunteers.
v I’ll be spending most of my days at ThembaCare Athlone.
v I plan to set up a blog to keep everyone updated on what I’m doing while I’m there! I have not set it up yet though. If you would like the link to the blog please e-mail me and I will send out an e-mail with the link once it is set up.

What I need from you…..
v The most important thing is prayer!
o Safety during traveling
o Good health for myself
o Safety while living in Cape Town
v Of course, finances are also important in this journey.
o I have been working and saving money, and I plan to cover all of my personal expenses. (Travel, food, required cell phone, gas, comprehensive insurance)
o I would love to be able to raise money to give to the foundation. They are a non-profit organization, and their existence depends on donations. The expenses are outlined on the website and range from formula and diapers to staff salaries and oxygen and everything in between. (*Monetary donations are a must because it would be hard/impossible to travel into South Africa with supplies)

I hope that I can count on you to back me up with prayer during the time leading up to my time in Cape Town and of course while I am there also. I also hope that you will consider financially supporting Thembalitsha so they can continue doing the work they do.

If you are able to financially contribute, please make a check out to REAL LIFE CHURCH to receive a tax deduction, and one check will be written out to the Thembalitsha Foundation!! You can send your check to me at:



If you have any questions for me please e-mail me. I would love to hear from you!

Thank you!



Tabitha Brannon