Books For Africa

After months of waiting, months of raising funds, and months of delay, the Books For Africa Library Project finally happened! The books were scheduled to arrive in the Port of Durban on the 11th of January. So I packed my bags on the 10th and prepared to sort books in Durban with my fellow volunteers. On the morning of the 11th we got word the books would arrive on the 13th. I set my bags aside.

On the 13th I grabbed my packed bags and caught a taxi to Durban. About an hour from Durban I received a text that said books were in the Port!, but in the long process of clearing customs. I would have to wait in Durban for a few days. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but not knowing how long and knowing how much, or little, money I have was concerning.

The 14th passed without the arrival of the books, as did the 15th. Late on the 15th we had confirmation that the books had cleared customs and would arrive the following morning, Saturday the 16th. We arrived early to a Primary School where parking lot space had been donated for us to sort out 28 pallets, over 20 tons, of books. We sat and waited.

About an hour after the stated time of arrival we received a phone call that the Port of Durban was without power. So we waited yet another day.

Early on the morning of the 17th, finally the books arrived in a huge lorry. It was a beautiful site. They had been fumigated, as they cleared customs from overseas, so we again had to wait! Only for two hours, but we climbed in the truck after just an hour. Anticipation conquered the fumigation warning.

We spent the next two days sorting piles of books, 20 each, for 25 different schools. Eight volunteers in all made the trek to Durban to assist in the project and we had two movers from the shipping company help us unload the books.

Up to this point I had not confirmed any transport for getting my books back to my village. It has been said, "its not what you know its who you know". I happen to know a man, the president of the local rotary club, who owns a logistics company. Brilliant. One simple phone call and my books were picked up, shrink wrapped and placed on pallets, (the other schools were not so lucky!) and carried away in effortless fashion.

Currently the books are sitting in the Drakensberg Logistics warehouse. Books will be delivered next week and hopefully I can assist in setting up the libraries very soon. Because of my connection to transport I was able to leave Durban and return to village life -something I am realizing I will miss greatly and cherishing my last days and moments here- but my fellow volunteers were not so lucky. All of their transport options either fell through or were delayed! They are still waiting in Durban, books have been sorted but not collected.

PermaCulture and Pride

Last week I went to town to spend a day at the office. School has yet to start so the village is quiet and I only have little things to do. I arrived at the office early to find it full of energy and people. I had slips waiting for me notifying me of parcels at the post office so I grabbed them and headed for the door before too much work got the better of time. As I left, one staff member asked if I was going to help with the perma-culture demonstration.

Such news had not been passed along to me. My first reaction was to get mad -How could I not have been involved in such a training when I was the one who brought Perma Culture to my organization......Quickly my pride subsided and I realized that this is exactly, exactly what Peace Corps Volunteers dream of: Sustainability! Something that I helped bring to the NGO is continuing without me, ...and it is not happening after I leave, it is happening while I am here. I get to watch it happen!

So after fetching my parcels from the post office -they were Christmas packages from my family- I returned to the office to find the staff in gum boots and hats. Garden tools were spread about and Baba Kubheka too the stage. He is the handyman at the NGO and manages our office garden. He was my counterpart at the Perma Culture workshop some months back and is a very friendly and kind older man. He grabbed his handbook and began teaching perma culture concepts like they were front page news. Within minutes he had the entire staff digging, raking, mixing manure, and asking questions.

I sat in the shade with my camera and watched my co-workers. The food security coordinator at the NGO decided that if we did not teach these concepts to everyone, and do it now, we would forget it before too long. So the workshop was staged and luckily it happened to be on a day when I was in town. I was blown away by this and so very happy. It is a luxury to see sustainability as a PCV, and to see it without any 'encouragement' on my behalf is an oddity amongst my PCV colleagues.