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| This little guy kept a wary eye on Jim the whole time! |
Last week, I took Jim out to meet Muffy. We visited her at her preschool near Addo, to which children as young as 2 years old walk every day. As you recall, Muffy is the small dynamo who has been working in the Langbos community since 1994. The promising news this visit is that an American friend named Martha is coming. Martha is working with a non-profit in the States called Universal Promise, that Muffy understands may start trying to locate sponsors who would agree to support the education of each of "her" pre-school kids. Muffy's eyes shine as she talks about the possibility.
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| This woman was in the middle of washing clothes |
This visit, we went along with Muffy on visits to a few people's houses. What I haven't mentioned before is that Muffy speaks perfect Xhosa. Xhosa was actually her first language as a child. Just observing her respectful intimacy with the people as we walked, reminded me so much of the old saying:
Speak to a man in your language, and reach his head
Speak to a man in his language, and reach his heart.
As has been the case each time I've visited people in the townships, we went unannounced. Once again, we were welcomed. As we met with people, some would shyly ask for an item that they needed. Muffy never over-promised, but she would say, "I'll see what I can do."
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| A typical Langbos home |
Remember, these people have no running water, no electricity, no sewer systems. But, the list Muffy was asked for was fairly short. At one house: "The goats are coming in to eat my garden. Can you find me some wire to make a gate?" Another: "Do you have any size 8 shoes?" The last came when Muffy saw a man walking, and said: "Oh, no. I promised to try to find a soccer ball for you."
She kept repeating her mental list as we walked -- a gate, size 8 shoes, and a soccer ball. Once again, Muffy will try to see what she can do.
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| Size 8 shoes, please |
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