HHTH has been working with 5 Venda Villages for over 5 years: Bende Mutale,
Tshikuyu, Dovho, Belini, and Mutale. We have learned the way of life here and
the line of royal power. Chiefs who
reside over these villages are chosen by "blood line," and each Village has a
Headman from the royal family, appointed by the Chief. While here, we take a step back in time
where traditions rule the behavior. Chief William rules over these five villages
as well as others.
Chief William
(Chief William is revered and respected.)
The chief is a lively and healthy 93 years old. With
the air of wisdom and authority, Chief William carries himself with regal
dignity. His bearing is elegant and confident, yet he is approachable. He is well aware of all the work HHTH
Charity has done in his villages and it is custom to bring him a gift each
year.
Chief William and his entourage has attended all the
yearly Recognition/Celebration affairs
at the end of all our projects. He is totally aware of our movements and
everything we are involved in with his people. In fact, without his blessing, we
would not be able to do our work here.
I share all this with you to set the stage for this
communique...
HHTH has worked with Tshikuyu Primary School since we
first came to the Venda homeland. We furnish them with a lot of school supplies,
shoes for any child who does not have a pair, and HHTH feeds and clothes 7
orphans the teachers and Principal chose from their school.
Principal Edson at Tshikuyu.
(Principal Edson is a good and selfless man.)
He has never asked for anything for himself but for
his school children's needs.
We have 7 Sponsors
for the orphans,and these sponsors provide the resources to feed these
hungry children and provide bare essentials.
When we arrived at Tshikuyu School this year we were
told there was a lot of trouble over feeding the orphans. Through a
misunderstanding, the teachers and some parents felt we should not feed these
orphans, but feed ALL the other children in their school. This we could not do because of limited resources,
and our Mission is to feed and clothe the poorest of the poor. Jealousies were
creating a major issue. Sponsors have paid for these orphan children to be taken
care of.
We investigated what was going on and asked our good
friend Principal Gilbert Mbedzi of the Fethani H. S. (Who we also help yearly)
for his advice. He went with us to speak with Principal Edson and the teachers.
Gilbert reminded them all that the government provides food for all the children
for lunch and that the food is a sufficient amount for all children to be fed
lunch. He was able to see into the heart of the matter and he called to get us
an appointment with Chief William. Unbenounced to us, he finally got through to
the Chief and explained that the parents and teachers did not want the very
children they chose to receive the food but the whole school instead. The Chief got quite agitated.
Then one day, we heard a knock on our chalet door and
there stood Chief William! The Chief
DOES NOT make house calls!! Everyone
GOES TO HIM. Not knowing why he came, we quickly invited him in
and rushed to get Jabu, our cook, to interpret for us. We exchanged
pleasantries, gave him refreshments and a small bag of Mealie as a gift. Still
puzzled, I finally told him we needed his help with the Tshikuyu situation. We
shared our dilemma with him (we had to find a way to get these children their
food, clothes and shoes). He listened intently. Silence... Did he understand? We knew we must wait for his
judgement. He thoughtfully said, "If
the teachers originally chose these children to receive help from sponsors, the
children should receive it."
Chief William gave us permission to care for
our orphans.
He signed permission statement that we could continue
to work with our orphans. We took this statement back to the school and like
magic, everything cleared up! The
Chief must be respected and obeyed. Edson said, "You have been coming here many years and
always helping us. We will take care
of this."
We gave the school 2 huge bags of school supplies
valued at over $500. We then proceeded
to our orphans' homes. Our
housekeeping lady came to guide us. We raced to get these dear children their
desperately needed food and clothes.
Soko Thaidzo
(Soko's siblings' clothes were ragged as well, but they were happy for
her.
Soko is one of six children that Betti Alessandri
sponsors.)
Rejoice helps Soko try on her new
dress. She felt so pretty.
Tshiwandacani Hudivhanni.
(Hudivhanni loved the hat Audrey Diaz made for all the children.
Phyllis Washburn and Donna Pitcher sponsor him. )
Minzinhelele Sandani.
(How sweet she looked in her new dress and hat. She is sponsored by Dennis
and Rochelle Fletcher.)
Sandani could not hold back her tears of joy for the food, clothes and
shoes.
Kweranda Rokunda wanted to thank his sponsor Terese Pohl for helping him so much. The food and necessities mean everything to these children.
Rokunda held on tight to his gifts.
Matholi Maphari.
(Maphari' sponsor is Patty Laskowsky. Her guardian carried her food home for
her.)
Maphari was thrilled to find a brand new dress hidden in her cherished
school bag.
Rejoice with Mealie on her head.
(We
thank Rejoice for helping us deliver this prized cargo.
Rejoice, true to her name, rejoiced over
the Mealie she received.)
To sum all this up, the Chief is truly powerful and
wise.
Chief William entering The Palace of
Mercy.. How phrophetic... and that works for us for how he treated this
situation.
Though Gilbert had explained our trouble, Chief
William took the time to hear what we had to say. Seeing that the stories were
the same, he righted the situation.
So! Chief
William is our Hero! He wisely
listened to both sides, he sought out information, made a thoughtful judgement
and made "just" the situation. He became the powerful voice for our vulnerable
children who could not speak for themselves.
All is well once more...
Until next time, From the Bush with love, Sidney
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