Living Waters (April 28, 2015)

This is a view of Brondal Settlement from the road. There are between 200 and 300 dwellings.

Today was unbelievable.  Last night I fervently prayed that God open hearts and the way to get potable water to these people. We went back to Brondal Settlement to see their water source. What we found was unconscionable.

To get water, the people must walk across the road and down a deep incline. So they walk down with empty containers and climb up with heavy containers of water.

This man had 2 large containers and had to stop for a rest before climbing the rest of the way out.

Next they must cut through the dense sugar cane field which is wet, uneven and slippery.

They finally get to the source of water where they draw it up to wash clothes and to take home for cooking and drinking.

This is not a spring. It is water run off the road down hill through the cane fields. Many people get sick from it. But it is all they have.

They carry it in back of the cane,

back up the hill to their settlement.

We stopped by to visit "Given" who wrote, "Never give up," on his door and asked to see the inside of his dwelling.  It was clean and orderly. We let him know we were inspired by his message of determination.

"Given" proudly shows us his kitchen.

And his bedroom. Though the floor is dirt, he has covered it with plastic. It stormed last night

which sent water streaming through all these little dwellings. Given had already cleaned his up before going off to work in the forest.

I heard wrong about their pay. Their minimum wage is 80 Rands a day which is not quite $7.00 a day in USD. And they do not get food. 

Given finished off by sweeping his yard.

Zanele's "house" is somewhat larger as she has 2 children and mother who live with her.

Her kitchen area. Again with dirt floors.

It is a amazing how they manage to keep it as neat and clean as they do with water being  such a problem.

We took 3 community leaders into Nelspruit in search of a well & pump company to inquire about a hand pump being installed on their bore head so they could have water IN the settlement and it be a healthy and drinkable water source.

A man named Peter answered his cell and I explained what we needed. He said he was on holiday 1 1/2 hours away in Hazy View. I told him it was urgent that we meet with him today as a water pump needed to be installed immediately.  He reluctantly said he would come meet us in 2 hours. We took the committee for a McDonald's which was a rare treat for them, while we waited for Peter, and discussed other survival needs.

Finally Peter showed and we met over bottled water. I plead with him to do the pump at a price we could afford and needed it installed within 2 days as we were leaving the area. We also showed him these photos. God touched his heart.  Peter knew the well and said it was a strong and good well. He needed to go call to see if he could get the necessary parts and if so he would come tomorrow and have it running in 3 hours. I told him to please take his water and go. He would call me soon.
Meanwhile, we went to a store to get 15 solar lights to give the most needy. I asked the store manager for a discount and told him what we we were doing. He granted us almost 10 percent.

Peter called. The parts had to be ordered, but on faith and his wish to help, he went ahead and ordered them without money from us. And, he said to meet him at Brondal Settlement at 8:30 am tomorrow and he would bring enough fresh water to fill their 1 or 2  5,000 liter tanks. I was overwhelmed by his generosity. Then, he also said he would not charge labor. The water he delivers tomorrow will get them by until he gets the bore head fixed. God answered all my prayers from the night before "pressed down and spilling over."

But that is not the end of the story yet!  When we came back to our lodge, the owners wanted to know how it went. After describing God's chain of events, Stephanie said to her husband Ian, "I Was going to speak to you about this, but I'm just going to say it."  She turned to me and said,"you, CJ and Wayne have come here and opened our eyes to what we have become too complacent to see. We
are going to give you this week's lodging as our contribution.  Your work has shown me what I as a Christian should be doing."  I was overcome!  God cannot be underestimated... He cannot be out given.

The 3 of us went to bed and fell into exhausted sleep.  Stephanie also will be go in the morning to witness the people getting the water. And, knowing how important photos are to our work,  she offered to take photos for us. I am still in a spin of wonderment. 

Brondal Settlement does not have water OR electricity. We got 15 solar lights and took to them to the people.

I explained how to set them in the sun during the day and they would have at least 4 hours of light at night.  They clapped their hands in amazement.  The 15 most needy were chosen. One will go to Given to reward his determination not to give up. Afterwards, we told them about repairing the bore hole. They couldn't believe it, as this has not been functional since 2012!  I also mentioned that they needed to clean up around the bore hole because it was overgrown with debris. Immediately, several got to work and cleaned it all out.

As a Mother, I am so very proud because helping these people with water and other urgent needs was CJ's idea. And donors to HHTH makes this all possible. The mark of American's generosity is flourishing here.

Brundal Settlement (April 27, 2105)

The Settlement committee L to R:
Sydwell-Spokes person, Percy (female) Community Structure Person, Thomas Khosa-Committee Member, and Zane Moengs-in charge of the youths.

Each person is allowed a tiny lot to build a structure. They are vulnerable to the winds a African storms.

This creative child had one flip flop and creatively fashioned a shoe out of a plastic bottle.

Many of these people work in the eucalyptus forest and make less than $1.00 a day and get one non nutritional meal. Fire raged through the settlement last year devouring 1/2 the dwellings and taking a few lives. (Our friends told us-they gathered clothes and food to take them). Please pray for these children of God.

This one took me to my knees. God shows up with hope just when you might think there is none. This settlement has been here for 20 years!

This is BELOW poverty level. Notice the size. There is an average of 4 people per dwelling.

Yet they can still laugh and love.

This is the bore hole we want to get a hand pump installed on so they can have water.

Percy stands on one "street" that is not wide enough for a car. The dwellings are literally right next to each other.

Nets for Life (April 25, 2015)

Malaria is still a dreaded disease and no one in the  villages is immune to it striking them down.
 One of our key initiatives is to provide mosquito nets to the 5 villages. HHTH met with the Head
Men to select the most threatened. Head Men are of royal lineage and are selected by the Chief.  Elders, children, and pregnant women were to get first consideration.

Alugumi (Al-oo-goo-me) resides over Dovho and Duluthulu. Here he and his helpers are selecting their second round of 25 people to receive nets. The Head Men must be involved in what goes on in their village or the projects could not be successful. We have been consistent following through with what we say will be done and are building trusting relationships with them.

The first round, 25 people from each of the 5 illages was chosen. We started out at 6:00 am
going from village to village where the chosen ones waited, and distributed the life giving nets.

Here we gave Chief William Mutale's wife a golf umbrella for him donated by my PGA golfing
son, Jerry. They LOVE umbrellas to protect them from the blazing sun.

The Tshikuyu recipients are gathering and feeling very fortunate to have been chosen.

This is the Dovho/Duluthulu group. A very chatty assembly.

Bileni is the most remote of all the villages HHTH works with. This elder was so old and
feeble, her great grand daughter led her to the kraal where we gave the nets.

Eventually, 50 people from 5 villages received one and they we joyful. As they walked away,
they danced and skipped.

This is Immanuel, who works at Awelani. He helped us as our interpreter. He also is teaching
us the Venda customs as we build our relations with them.

Two beautiful young women will receive a net to protect their unborn child.

Chief William appeared and gave his blessing. He resides in Mutale and because he is royalty,
his surname is Mutale. He instructed the women to perform a traditional dance for us.

Trust and Modester Chicken Ent. (April 23, 2015)

Helping Hands Touching Hearts' (HHTH) first chicken Enterprise.  We have told you about this family business and want to keep you updated. L to R are Charmaine, Modester, Trust and Craig. They are in this as a family business and everyone has a stake in its success.  Little Craig helped his Dad Trust put in cement for the chicken coup. It has become a "family affair" with all of them eagerly building and fencing in their chicken coup. How proud they are to have their own business!

Trust and Modester signed the contract to pay back the micro loan portion of their business.
They have already paid one quarter back. This will extend our ability to lend to other small
businesses.

HHTH took them chicken business shopping. Their obvious joy gave them a bright glow of
Hope in their future. Modester chose the feed to get their chickens growing. I

Modester chose the feed to get their chickens growing. Only 6 weeks before they go to market.

Trust, Modester, Charmaine, and Craig have successfully raised and marketed their first official brood of chickens. Now, they have reached the self sustaining point and have even started paying back on the part we loaned. They have a great sense of pride and accomplishment. What a thrill it will be to witness them starting their second "batch." Praise God, this business is a true success story for Trust and his wonderful family. 

The chickens are ready to be sold then the family will clean out everything, get 100 more chickens and feed, ready to start their second round. A beautiful example of self sustainability. 

What a joy to witness this family's joy and hope!

7 Men and a Garden (April 22, 2015)

Helping Hands Touching Hearts started this project with 7 men in Bennde Mutale in 2013.
They had chopped down trees and ripped out thorn bushes on 13 acres awarded them by their Headman. After several months of hard, back breaking labor, their land deal fell through and
they had to start all over again. Below, is Frank Guvani, chairperson and Nelson Baloyi,
treasurer of the 7 Men and A Garden Enterprise, clearing their new field.

Thomas brought his "African John Deere to plow the fields. These tenacious men brave the + 100 degree weather to grow a Garden. But there is one little problem. They had been at the Do Limpopo river's edge. Now they were over 1,400 meters from life giving water.

Through very good friends, HHTH was able to locate Johan on his wild game preserve where  they manufactured the 50 mm piping our guys needed. It is the African way. "One hand helps
the other hand. "

This is where the HHTH trailer becomes invaluable in delivering what the villagers would never be capable of doing. So... we drove our precious cargo over the mountains, through a double tunnel hoping the trailer would stay upright, down the "never ending road" back to Bennde Mutale. 

Nelson stands next to their newly  cleared land, post holes dug and poles set and barbed wire strung around about 10 acres of land that had  been in Nelson's family for many generations.
The smaller sticks are woven through barbed wire to keep out the mischievous little goats.

Thomas' donkeys made a good showing on their
plowing considering everything is done by
hand and most of the time, without adequate
equipment.

We took the piping to their garden so they
install the pipe to the water source. I

Next we needed to get the piping into their new
field and the 7 Men worked in unison like a well
functioning team. 

Big Boy on left and Sipho laid the pipe from the Mutale River across a field then dug a trench to lay the pipe under the road and over into their garden.  Notice the "crown of thorn" bushes in the foreground. 

Next the guys connected the drip lines to the piping so when they irrigated, water would go directly on each little plant thus conserve water.  This was all done in one day.  

We all gathered around Nelson's rondeval and he washed us each a beautiful glass, plunged a frozen bottle of ice in the bucket of water while they gobbled down spicy fish and bread. 

There are now little plants timidly bursting through the tough African soil. The 7 Men's hard labor is already paying off. They have planted a large portion of their garden in okra because it is a highly desired crop. They are in the process of planting mealie, tomatoes, Butternut squash, spinach cabbage and green beans. They will introduce many other crops. They will soon be feeding their families a variety of fine vegetables and selling veggies to local villages.

After such hard work we took Thomas and Big Boy to Thorhoyandou for a delightful ice cream. Since most villagers don't own a car, this is a big deal. Another interesting thing about this 7 Men project is that we made part of it a  micro loan which they will start paying  ack in June. This will allow us to help even more people.