Greetings from South Africa!
We hit the ground running Monday – landing in Johannesburg in the morning and visiting an Arts and Crafts collective at Nelson Mandela Square later in the day.
Tuesday we spent the day at Lesedi Cultural Village, learning about 5 different South African Ethnic Groups (previously known as Tribes), watching a rousing session of various dances with drums and singing, and then a South African buffet.
Fortunately as a vegetarian, I was able to refuse the Ostrich, Crocodile, and Caterpillars. I've had a few meals here, and the vegetarian fare always seems to include pumpkin or butternut squash, spinach, and halloumi. I had these with "soy chicken" and rice for breakfast – yummy!
Tuesday night we met several women from Clover Mama Afrika, and heard about the seemingly insurmountable tasks these women have taken on here. One young woman cares for mentally and physically disabled children, who are considered "throwaway" children in many poor African communities. Another woman watches primary students before and after school, and has anywhere from 300 to 1000 kids to watch at one time!
Many of these children are being raised by older siblings, because the parents have died from AIDS/HIV. We had a brainstorming session about how to help the Mamas and I had some fundraising ideas for the organization. When you drive through the town and then the countryside, and see the vast shantytowns, you realize this is just the tip of the iceberg.
We had 7 quilts donated before I left on my trip, so 4 will go to a care center for babies Wednesday, and the other 3 will go to another group on Friday. I brought them over in my 2nd suitcase, stuffed with fabric/notions/thread/magazines for the Clover Mama quilting collective.
I am taking lots of photos and will start posting them tomorrow, but for now I need to try to get a few hours of sleep!
If you are coming to the Quilt Convention Africa on Thursday, please come to my presentation at 11 am. I will also be at the Award Ceremony Thursday at 5:30 pm.
The collage above has a photo of several Kuba Cloth panels in the middle, surrounded by swatches of eQuilter African fabrics.
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