BOJANALA KALAFI PROGRAMME

I, my wife Ann and my Mother-in-law Marjorie all visited South Africa in November. Our friends Trevor and Christine took us to Manchester airport. We stayed the night at the Premier Inn adjacent to the airport. Before we left for SA we had sent 12 large boxes of clothes that had been giving to us by lots and lots of various kind people in and around the Sheffield area. The clothes had been sent via the shipping company Simpson’s who did a fantastic job. Before we left for SA I had a txt message from Mareza at “Touch the Heart of Africa” (www.tthoa.co.za) telling me that the 12 boxes had arrived at their destination of Rustenburg. Fantastic news - It means that all the clothes will be there upon our arrival. We took the early morning Etihad flight via Abu Dhabi onto Johannesburg, arriving the next day at 4.40am – Pick up the car hire and onto the family’s house for a three night stay in Johannesburg. We then moved onto our friend’s house Albert’s for a one night stay. We then travelled onto Rustenburg for our a five night stay at the “Pine Inn Lodge” – Once in Rustenburg we met up with Mareza (www.tthoa.co.za) Francinah, Dianah and our long lost friend Julia who worked for us when we lived in SA between 1984 -1986 – It was fantastic meeting up with them all over lunch at the local Dros pub. Whilst in Rustenburg we visited all the “Bojanala Kalafi Programme Projects” we also gave lots and lots of clothes away with the help of Mareza (www.tthoa.co.za) Francinah, Dianah and Julia – We had lots of fun – One of the places we visited was a school of mixed children. We gave clothes away along with lots of bread that had been provided for by “Touch the Heart of Africa” Once we had finished at the school we moved onto a soup kitchen and gave away clothes and more bread. We had a wonderful day, and on the way back we stopped off at the dam for lunch. Friday night was spent at the family’s house in Johannesburg then the next day Saturday I and Ann moved onto Albert’s for a two night stay. On Monday morning we drove back into Rustenburg for a seven night stay at the “Pine Inn Lodge” – Rustenburg is a lovely city that meets all your daily needs. We spent the week visiting the “Bojanala Kalafi Programme Projects” and giving away the remaining clothes and other gifts. On the Wednesday we picked up Francinah and Julia from the taxi rank in Rustenburg then we drove onto Koster and picked up Dianah from the “Tsholofelo Project” – We then took a lovely drive through the wonderful scenery. We took lunch together then drove onto the “Pine Inn Lodge” – We all spent the afternoon together around the pool then we had a Braai together and lots of great fellowship. Our African friends spent the whole night with us. This visit gave us lots of opportunities to spend time with all our friends in and around Rustenburg. We had a lovely evening with Mareza, her partner Johann and other people from “Touch the Heart of Africa” (www.tthoa.co.za) – We left Rustenburg on the Monday morning. Before we left we handed out gifts for the good African people who had took care of all our needs at the “Pine Inn Lodge” – We then met up with Mareza (www.tthoa.co.za) Francinah, Dianah and Julia for a farewell breakfast/lunch together – We gave them all a Christmas gift then said our goodbyes, which is never easy because we love them all and miss them when we are back home in Sheffield – Onto Johannesburg for an evening dinner with our family – Stay over then onto the airport for our flight home with Etihad airlines – Land back at Manchester 06.00am – Take the train into Sheffield, then take a taxi home – We had a wonderful time visiting everyone of our friends and projects. Giving away the clothes was very special, and hopefully by God’s grace we will send 15 large boxes of clothes for our visit next November 2012 – Paul…