Last time

Greetings to all. This will most likely be our last blog entry.

I had to see what I (Sharon) last wrote. Things look a bit better now. Our Head of Department (Languages) had initially refused to act as principal, even though it is in her job description that she must in the absence of principal. However, she accepted the position and has been doing a good job, at least compared to previous Mr. Principal.
We received a circular from the Ministry of Ed. re-iterating the ban on corporal punishment, explaining further that it meant that learners were not to be forced to do physical labour as punishment. She is whole-heartedly behind the policy & further defined CP so that teachers understand that things like forcing a learner to drink 2L water at one sitting is no longer allowed. On top of that, the Deputy Minister of Ed. (2nd in command in the national education system) was here for a big school celebration & told the children “your teachers may not touch you” and “your teachers are going to be paid according to their performance, and if they do not put you first and teach you well, they will not be allowed to teach you”--you can imagine the response from the learners!! When he left the hall, they were clamouring to shake his hand. I was able to talk to him for a few minutes to express my concern that teaching & learning here seems to be aimed only at passing exams, not LEARNING, but he disagreed. He believes that, in most cases, if a child passes he has learned. Maybe. I then took the opportunity to thank him for trying to enforce the CP ban. The teachers’ ‘union’ here is trying to change the laws to allow for hitting the child on the palm of the hand with a ruler.

I had another Spelling Bee which went well. This year I had longer study lists and different ones for grades 5-6 and 7-8-9. The two top over-all places were taken by Grade 6--Jim’s English class, and Grade 5 hung in there up to the bitter end! The young ones take it seriously. I have organised all the materials, hoping that next year someone will continue the effort & expand it to compete with other schools.

We had a great between-term holiday the end of August. We went to Bushmanland to visit the San people. Did you see “The Gods Must Be Crazy”? It was filmed there, featuring the San. They are still hunter-gatherers--keep neither gardens nor animals, they literally hunt for all their meat & gather berries, fruits & roots from the bush.

They are semi-nomadic. When they run out of food in an area, they simply pack up their few tools & animal skins & re-locate, using sticks & grasses to “build” little shelters. There are certain grasses that they use to put on ground in the hut, cover them with animal skins & they have their beds.

They took us out into the bush & pointed out various plants that are used for food, medicine, tools, etc. Honestly, they all looked alike to me! One plant they use for poison on their arrows when they hunt animals and they also drink from the plant for upset stomach, but if they were to put it on an open wound, they would die. They look for another plant to give to someone if they have come under the shadow of a flying eagle, because otherwise they will die. They dug up the root of a plant that looked dead to me which was about the size of a basketball. They knocked the dirt off of it, cut into it & passed pieces around. It was very juicy, just a little bit sweet, and had the texture of a pear or maybe a potato. Before they ate, however, they diced some of it until it was a pulp, then squeezed the water from the pulp to drip over their hands to wash them & some drank the squeezed water. They showed us how they set traps for small animals & birds--using only the things they find nearby. The only tools they had were a spear & an arrow.

The father of a young man chooses a suitable wife for his son, a girl who is strong and knows how to gather & who will be useful to him. She has no choice--she must marry the young man. He, however, when he sees her, can refuse--although it would anger his father & would not be a very good idea! They have divorce, but it is rare & looked down upon. When one dies, there is no ceremony, they just cover him with dirt & if he has died inside their little settlement or near it, they will move a little bit away. Someone from outside the area said that they just let them lay where they die & let the animals finish them off--not sure what’s true. They believe in our God

They have educational opportunities, but refuse to go to school. There are 28,000 children in the region, of which 17,000 attend on at least a somewhat regular basis. Of the 11,000 remaining, only 1000 have been located. The other 10,000 are out in the bush somewhere, moving from place to place with absolutely no wish for education--both parents & children. During the 1st term each year, attendance is higher, then it drops for 2nd term, & by term 3, very few attend. And really, why do they need education? They love their lives, absolutely love them. If you could watch them in their interactions, singing, dancing & playing you would see their joy. They do not go hungry, they are always able to find food. Now, they may have to go awhile without, but they are used to that. They will, on occasion, seek medical assistance, but very seldom.

When they are in the bush, they dress as they have for eons (animal skin loin cloths/skirts). They have had contact with the outside world since 50’s, but for the most part they have not embraced modernization. They are kind, gently, non-fighting people. Their area is protected by the government, but the more aggressive (and wealthy, cattle-herding) Herero’s broke into their area to settle and let their cattle graze, the San themselves did nothing, but the government is pushing the invaders back out. The Ovambo’s (the largest tribe who pretty-much run the country) and the Herero’s look down on the San and treat them very poorly. Our guide (grade 7 education, but excellent English) was talking about the “blacks” and I finally said, “Well, aren’t you black?” He looked at me is if I had no brain at all and said, “No, I am BROWN.” OOOPS!! Granted, the San are not deep black, but they are a lot darker than many other Africans.

After returning to Ondangwa, we prepared for Term 3. I have been having a lot of ankle pain & swelling and had gone to a doctor before our trip. She gave me anti-biotics & pain pills. No improvement, so I had decided that I needed a cortisone shot. One of our Filipino friends knew a pharmacist who would give me one, but when he saw me, he said it would not be a good thing to do. I then went to a second doctor who put me on anti-biotics again, as well as pain meds & said that if it did not go away, it would be at least localised & he would cut into it to see what he could see. 2-3 days later I had black vomit & stools. BacK to Dr #2 who put me in the hospital for an over-night for IV & observation. Tests indicated that I had Stage 4 Chronic Kidney Disease, but he didn’t think that I was in danger of kidney failure, so sent me home with meds for stomach--ankle pain fell by the wayside. When our Executive Director found out, he insisted on taking me to a different doctor who is a highly regarded professor who lectures at South African medical schools. Dr. #3 re-tested & said kidneys are fine, but did a sonogram just to make sure. All okay there. But he wanted to be absolutely sure all was fine, so I had an endoscopy this morning & he found an ulcer and strongly advised us to go home. He was very convincing without scaring us, so I hope to be able to get a flight soon & we'll take it from there.

It’s an even longer story than I have related here, but it’s been fun (??) watching God working. While we are both disappointed, and leaving the kids is going to be hard…and I truly dread telling them…we are okay with it. When I talked to them before heading for hospital, I gave them work to do in my absence & they promised to be good, I saw the worry in their faces & I received many well wishes & prayers. When I returned, I couldn’t go to classes--I have to rest-- but they check up on me & know that I will be well soon.

Yesterday at a big school celebration, we, along with some other teachers, received certificates of appreciation. When they called Jim to come forward to receive his, you should have heard the cheers!!! It was pandemonium. No surprise, but it made him feel good since at times he is pretty hard on the learners.

Okay, that’s all.

Thank each of you for the support you have given us--whether prayers, money, thoughts or interest. We could not have done this without knowing that we had support from home. It will be a pleasure to share our experiences with you, although I think I’ve covered the basics through the blogs.

God bless you.
Jim & Sharon