Meeting Oumas, and a correction

"Ouma" or "Oma" is the Afrikaans word for grandma. On Thursday we spent time with about 25 of them, plus a few grandpas, at a senior center in Guguletu. This center, run by a truly amazing woman named Mary, is a day-care center of sorts for elderly folks. All of these people receive a monthly pension of about 850 Rand (R850), or about $115. From this they have to pay their rent (if they have any), buy food, pay for medicines, pay utilities, etc. As you can guess, it's not realistic. Mary provides them with a daily hot lunch, which is probably the only meal of the day for many of them, and all the love and support they could want. Mary is supported by a Catholic charity organization, but runs the center like it's all hers (and she started it, so it is hers).

We were all put to shame as the old folks danced and sang like they were 50 years younger. One man, probably 85 and definitely frail, stood up from his table, put down his cane, and proceeded to do a jig like there was no tomorrow. After we picked up our mouths everyone applauded and moved right with him.

One way Open Arms supports this group is to do mini food parcels twice a year, timed with the other larger ones. Each parcel will probably feed a person for 2-3 weeks easy, plus give them a couple "treats" that the probably don't see often. We hand them out in a Woolworth's shopping bag, which can be as highly prized as the food. People are bussed into the center, so getting the food home isn't a problem.

(A word about Woolworth's: It's not the 5-and-Dime you're thinking about. Indeed, Woolworth's is a department store on the order of Kohl's, with the addition of a food market like Dayton's used to have. It's THE place to go for specialty foods in a hurry, and the clothes and household items are good, too. I will be spending much money at Woolies.)

Yesterday was wine country day for the tourists, and I tagged along. We had a gorgeous day, sunny and relatively cool. I'll write more about this when I can post some pictures, because I can't possibly do it justice with just words. Before we went, though, we visited the home of our driver, Xolane (pronounced ko-lani, with a sideways click where the K is. More on clicks later). Xolane lives in Khayelitsha, about 25 minutes from Cape Town proper. He bought his four-room house in 1996 and has fixed it up nicely. He lives there with his wife and 3-year-old son, plus a cousin (many people live with extended familes here, for many reasons). The house has an outside toilet (an outhouse with a large bucket) and water faucet. He is on the waiting list for an RDP house, a government-built cinder-block house. He doesn't know when he will get one but he hopes it will be soon.

We also stopped by the local cemetery. I'll write more about this another day when I can post some pictures. Suffice to say you will not believe it.

One correction: When I last wrote, I said that Khayelitsha had only 500,000 residents. I've since heard that it has either 1.5 or 1.7 million. This is in an area about the size of Richfield, if that large (Richfield is a small suburb of Minneapolis, maybe 8-10 square miles). I don't think anyone really knows, because there's no census and people are pouring in from ZA's rural areas and countries to the north. I can tell you that the streets, such as they are, are packed to the gills with shacks and houses, and there are always dozens of people on the street. I'll be posting pictures once I have my permanent Internet connection done (hopefully Tuesday.)

(I'm also going to start referring to South Africa as ZA, its international abbreviation. It's a lot easier to type. Also, if anyone has questions about anything here, feel free to e-mail me and ask. If I don't know I'll find out and either post the Q &A or e-mail you back. Send it to tzappa1@gmail.com.)

More to come.