Just before I left Clarens I did manage a day 'bumboarding' at Afriski - the ski resort in Lesotho. It was a lot of fun. The resort is at 3,300 metres which is the highest I've ever been and the air is defintely thinner there! It was my first time at a ski resort, but Miriana who practically grew up on skis assured me it was a very 'african' version. Here are a couple of pics to explain:
The cable supplying electricity to the ski lift - we sledged over it a few times!
The interesting apartments which have been built with balconies with no walls!
I've been back in Clarens for a week now and it almost feels like I've never been away....almost. But not completely as while I was gone Pippa, another English volunteer, left to go back to the UK to start her studies. Then 2 days after I got back, my neighbour, Miriana, also left to return to Germany to start her studies. Over the past few months Miriana and Pippa had become good friends, and Clarens and my flat are much quieter without them.
I thought I would share the stories of the kids I visit with you over the next few posts. I'm gonna change their names so that any confidential information is protected.
I'll start with Sam.
Sam is 6 we think, but we can't be sure as we've never seen a birth certificate. His mum died about 2 years ago of a 'heart problem'. I suspect this is code for 'AIDS' but can't be sure. There's no dad. So now Sam lives with his grandma. Grandma is a lovely old lady. She takes good care of Sam and the others who live in her home. There's her son and daughter, and various others depending on who happens to be staying there at any particular time.
The problem is that Grandma is HIV positive. She's beginning to look pretty haggard and she can't work. Thankfully because Sam's paperwork is in order she does receive a state child grant for him. But as yet I haven't plucked up the courage to ask her if she's made any plans for Sam when she dies. Because she will die, maybe not next week, maybe not next year, but it's looking unlikely that Sam will reach adulthood before she passes away. Her son who lives in the house is the father of another child I visit but has taken absolutely no responsibility for him so I very much doubt he would take Sam on. Her daughter is too young to care for Sam. So what will happen to him?
I'm also concerned about Sam's health as he has had a cold for the last few months - his nose is always running. This is not a good sign. But this week when we visited we were told that they had all had the flu but were now recovered. So at some point I also need to ask if I can do an HIV test on Sam. Apart from the cold he seems pretty healthy, so it could just be caused by malnutrition.
Well that's the beginning of Sam's story. Without the hope of the Gospel he's in for a pretty tough life. Even with Jesus his life is unlikely to be easy - like most people around here, he will have to survive day to day. But the Basotho people are a joyful nation. Even in the midst of her suffering his grandma always wants to know how I am, how my trip home was. If she comprehends that my life is much nicer than hers, she doesn't show it or make me feel guilty.
I pray that Sam grows up knowing God, knowing that He has good plans for his life, plans to prosper him in some way. I pray that even if he lives his whole life in Clarens, struggling through poverty, that Sam will know that he has a hope and a future through the grace of Jesus. And I pray that God will allow me to be a part of Sam's story.
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