Finally in South Africa!!

Hello everyone!! Well I’m happy to say that Mel and I finally arrived in South Africa after a 40 hour journey from Newcastle. I thought the traveling would never stop. But it’s so nice to finally unpack the bags and settle down.
I just have to think of where I last left off. I believe I was still in Ireland. It was very nice and relaxing there. The last night in Ireland Mel, Karen and I went to Dublin to check out the sights for a wee bit and then off to a pub to enjoy a Guinness. It was prime! So I’ve done 1 thing on my top 100 things to do. After my stellar beer we went off to meet Mable. I haven’t seen Mabel for over 3 years. I met her at TLC. Oh Mable (that’s for you Jen) she looks so good and it was sooo nice to see her again! We had some Italian food and enjoyed some fine conversation. She’s heading off to the Philippines to do some volunteer work as a dentist. All the best!
The next morning we got up very, very early to head off to our last destination before South Africa.
We arrived in Newcastle early in the morning to meet up with a very tired Linsay and Tony (Linday’s boyfriend). We got on the metro to go to her flat. Settled in a bit and Tony fried us some breakfast. It was very good, thanks Tony. We took it easy for the rest of the day. Linds figured Mel and I would be very tired from traveling, she couldn’t be more right! So we just took it easy for the rest of the night and caught up on life. It was very nice seeing her again.
The next day we saw a wee bit of Newcastle and then headed back to her flat while she went to work. She works at a call center and she had a few good stories for us. We visited a bit before we got ready for our journey to South Africa.
I got up at 3 am the next morning to catch a taxi by 5 for our flight. Linds got up to see us off . Thanks for everything Linds!
There isn’t much to tell about our way down to South African except that I thought it was never gonna end! It took about an hour to get to Heathrow and then over and hour to get to Frankfurt. We were in Frankfurt for about 6/7 hours and then we prepared for our close to 11 hour flight to Oberg. We arrived in Joburg and hung out for about 4 hours at the airport until we had to board our 1 hour flight to Durban. Let me tell you that that was the longest plane ride ever. I was so anxious and I’m sure if I continued shaking my legs on the flight I would’ve put a hold through the floor!
Finally we arrived in South Africa about 2 pm Africa time to see Ruth. Oh it was so good to see her again. I can’t tell you how nice it is to be back here. She didn’t bring the kids because Mel and I have two huge suit cases each.
So now here we are on the second day readjusting/adjusting to life at Sinakekele. I must say it doesn’t take long at all.
Oh the kids! Have they ever grown and for those of you who know the kids, is it ever odd to hear Mary and Jake speak so good! They’ve grown up so much! I would have to say that Jake has changed the most physically. He’s not as round as he used to be.
So Ruth (founder of Sinakekele) is living in a house not too far from Gateway (that’s for those who know where Gateway is). There are three bedrooms and Jay (Ruth’s biological son) made up his own room. It’s quite nice but the property has been put up for sale and Sinakekele will be on the move again.
For those who don’t know Ruth has been in and out of houses for the last year and half. She is trying to fundraise enough money to build a nice big place on property outside of Durban so she can take in more abandoned babies. I’ll just give you a general idea of the rising problem of abandoned babies due to AIDS, poverty and unemployment.
3 babies are abandoned every 48 hours in KwaZulu Natal. The situation is so critical that the newspapers have likened the dustbins in Durban to the graveyards of newborn babies and fetuses. I found the previous fact and statement at www.carteblanche.co.za.
Even though Ruth doesn’t have a permanent place yet, she is hoping to take in babies very soon. She is getting help from her church and everyone is ready and anxious to move forward, so it’s just a matter of time. I think this next year will see a lot of changes at Sinakekele and I’m looking forward to seeing it grow. Please keep your prayers going for Sinakekele. They are well needed;o)

Me again. I'm writting this a couple days later cause the internet went off. Umm, I usually don't like doing this, but I figure it's good enough reason. Ruth is in desperate needs of funds. She barely makes the bills (food, school funds, petrol/gas, etc..) each month. She is also working full time, so she's doing all she can. She is really wanting the next place she moves to finally be the property to stay and take in babies. She also would like to get a volunteer car to take added pressure off of her because they don't have school buses here so she's gotta find ways to get the kids to and from school, not only school, but two of the babies have HIV/AIDS and need to go to the doctor regularly, also basic running around like groceries and getting the kids out of the house. Let's just say it's really hectic right now for her and her kids. It's pretty lax for me right now, but hopefully soon things will start to pick up.

If you are interested in donating in Canada it is tax recieptable (sorry if I spelt that wrong). But the thing is with that is %15 is taken for the organization is goes through. I know of a previous volunteer that wires money to Ruth and would be more than happy to wire it for you if you are interested. If you have any questions please e-mail me at cindee@sinakekele.org.za It will take a couple days for that e-mail to be up and running. Today is March 29.

Will update when something exciting happens! Ciao!