kristiapplesauce

Beetroot

I don't have any kids yet but I can imagine and compare these moments that I have been experiencing lately of rejoicing and celebrating to those that parents must feel when their kids do something great.

Yesterday I tasted beetroot for the first time in my life and it was magnificent. It came from our community garden and it melted in my mouth. Not so much because of the taste. Yes- the taste was amazing and fabulous....but more because of the hard work and love and dedication and effort that the ladies in the HIV/AIDS support group have put forth to grow their own food to support their families.

I was so very proud of them and I beamed when Mama Nozake gave me a bowl of it to try. She was so generous to give me a taste and she herself was so proud to share with me her efforts.

I love how God has provided for us all.

Grew!

I love this garden. It is my favorite. Okay, well we have only been involved with two, but this one is my favorite out of them because the ladies from the HIV/AIDS support group peeps are growing it. You can read about the progress of it here and here but today we just went to visit it again and these are the latest pictures. The spinach is just ready to cut and eat so yay for them. We don't allocate any monies towards the adults within Oceans because everything goes to the kids but we do get a kickback at the local grocery stores which lets us buy food for "free" at the end of the month. This is what we have been using to help these (and other peeps that are so sick) but that money is slowly running out, so it is fabulous that they are now able to grow their own food. Another plus is that green leafy vegetables are really good for their sick bodies and something they don't usually buy because it is expensive and doesn't fill them up. Yay and double yay for food that is free and that is good for you...er, them.

Growing

A while ago Oceans helped start a community garden with some of the peeps who come to the support group in Motherwell (a local township that we work in).

I just thought you might want to see the progress as they have been working hard everyday. The ladies have sectioned off different areas for each person to plant, and already there are little sprouts of growth.

I am so proud of these ladies and for all that they have accomplished.

Grow.

So much of what we do here is "see and learn"...like thinking out to see if something might or could be a good idea and then going with it. Gardens are a no brainer though. Our peeps out here are able (with help from the local government) to get the land donated to them, then we show them how to garden, get the supplies and voila...food. Oceans doesn't really work the land or harvest the food, we just give advice and help out if necessary. It is so ironic to me how much I consistently take for granted though, like the ability to grow my own food or the knowledge of "how".

So for the past few months or so one of our support groups said they wanted a go at this (we never tell or advise people what to do, it is always up to the peeps what they want to do with their abilities and resources) and we started making a plan. They got the land donated and started clearing a field. This week a guy is putting up a fence and a lady from the support group is having her "new" shack put up in the corner of the garden so to be the "watchman" so nobody steals the food or the fence.

All of the time and energy from the people is donated - like we don't hire the people to work because the pay back will be in the food they grow. But some of the men who were working - clearing out the field were not a part of the support group so I asked who they were and why they were there. Nozake told me that they were just there to help and that it "Makes them feel fresh to work". Translation: It makes them feel like a man.

That day it made me feel proud to stand next to them in that field looking at all the possibilities of South Africa.