WRITINGS

Excerpts from Joanne's Journal on her recent trip to South Africa 

…the children lined up for their little gifts of toy dinky cars, hair barrettes and ribbons kindly donated by Tias Arms donors…especially meaningful was hearing our South African guide/driver say he had never done this before, this has changed him as a person, that he will now include visits to these children on his future tours…so little goes so far here in South Africa…spare change from Starbucks in the US buys a family a three- to five-pound food parcel…

We found Gugu again. I was so sure she would be dead by now….we embraced and cried. Potatoes, pots, blanket on a little bed and a sister close by. Her face has filled out and the translucence of her skin is more chocolate in hue. Nurse Mesh tells us they have traced Gugu's baby…Gugu shows a mixture of restrained anxiety and joy…she has yet to lay her eyes on the child. I ask her what she needs. An electric two-plate burner is a luxury but we decide to buy one. “What else do you want?” “Some spinach, butternut, cabbage.” “And what else?” A jersey and some underpants.” “Shoes too?” “Oh YES!”

In the morning, up on Cape Point, our bare feet on rough cliff, I am amazed at the trembling seam of white foam where the warm Indian Ocean meets the cold Atlantic . This land of contrasts, both high and low, stirs the brain and heart.

In the afternoon, the children in the mud. A two- and a four-year-old running outside. Skins cool from air still stung from winter's grip. Their bare legs and feet patterned with dirt from the floor of the shack where they live. One carries a broken shell of a toy cell phone. Hello, hello, as he holds it to his ear. Hello, hello.

The children hide behind a tree stump as we approach from the car, the foreigners, the careworkers coming to “assess” them. Granny—Gogo—lies thin and sick on her bed, unable to get up to do the daily chores. Bathe the children in the only basin that has collected the rain from the previous night…or is that the drinking water? Gogo twists herself up onto her elbow to greet me, smiles sweetly and calls me “Madam.” She is honored, she says, that this white woman is visiting her.

I grasp her bark-dry hand. How many little white bodies did she bathe over the years? How many floors has she shined, how many joints of meat did she cut up and cook for white suppers?

My mother used to send our maid home with bread and vegetables, and on the weekends a chicken, plump and bumpy-skinned. When my mother died, Gladys was locked out of the place where she had come daily for many years, a lifetime, to care for the madam. There's no more work, the women said. No more work, you hear? They cleaned out the freezer of meat, my mother's new best friends.

After a while Gladys went home.

Now, the dust sharp in our throats, we listen to Gogo and take notes. We promise great things: food and school and comfort. We care, we say. Gogo waves and smiles as the white madams leave. In the car Julia puts her palms to her cheeks and breathes very carefully. Her fingertips touch her closed eyes. I turn to look out the rear window.

Hello, hello, the little boy says into the broken shell of his toy cell phone.

A child whose sex I cannot determine for the wasting of its little body stands close to my leg. For now I will call this child a she. Her frail hands touch my warm leg as she comes closer, unrejected. She is cold. Her special features are lost to thin . I pick her up. Her grip is strong as she folds herself into the shape of my body as if escaping her own. The women guiding me on this ward walk say we must leave. I carry this child to her crib. She won't let go. I look around at the other moms and ask if anyone visits her. No, she has been left here for weeks now. No one comes. She is alone. The little child continues to cling to my neck. Her hold becomes stronger. She has mastered her octopus grip because she has been left so many times. She starts to cry out weakly, “mommy mommy” and purses her lips into a word I do not know. Huge tears stream like rivers from her eyes and drop off onto my clothes. She does not lighten her grip. I'm left with a sobbing, completely bereft, most-fearful-of-loss little girl, clutching on as though her life depended on it – and it does. For we cannot live without love. I feel like a traitor as I peel her off me one finger at a time and have to walk away, leaving her pleading behind the rusted bars of her crib.

2005 NEWSLETTER FROM THE FOUNDER - JOANNE BAKER

Dear Tias (Aunties) and Tios (Uncles),

This past year has seen much growth for TIAS ARMS and the children that we help bring comfort to in South Africa . This has been because of you, their extended family. To think that these very worthy children count to you has been an inspiration to me. And like the proud “Tia” that I am, I would like to share with you some of the joys of our efforts this past year.

Our most recent outreach has been to the GECKO (Give Each Child Kindness and Orientation) Uthando House project. An incredible woman, Jenny, has been feeding street children from the back door of her struggling restaurant near Howick Falls . TIAS ARMS now helps pay for salaries for care-takers in cooking, clothing and caring for these children. This helps in returning these children to a sense of dignity and belonging as well as providing the care-takers a small income in a community of around 80% unemployment. These now energetic, enthusiastic and loving young boys have a chance. I grew particularly fond of them during my stay in Howick last November. The sounds of their songs will be forever in my mind. Thank you.

Also this year we have been able to support two full time counselors who focus 100% of their time on counseling and case management service for Orphaned or vulnerable children who have been abused/raped or who are HIV positive. Board members and I visited this amazing organization, Ubuntu Education Fund, and witnessed the education outreach into the communities they serve. These salaries enable them to provide a safe place for traumatized children to express themselves in a loving environment. We are proud to be able to contribute so that they can provide this care. Thank you.

A huge smile is on my face and in my heart when I think of the fifty-six children now going to school in their uniforms, with back-packs and school fees paid for a year and because of you. “Education is it”, said Oprah recently. You've helped these children dream their dreams. Education is now a reality for them. Fifty-six of these children can now join their friends on their walk to school every day. Imagine the change in this township close to Howick, and the impact on this community if these children continue their education through High School. TIAS ARMS goal is to consistently provide for this. Thank you.

This year again we have provided for a hi-caloric food program for 65 children affected by Aids and also baby formula for babies who are unable to nurse from their HIV positive mothers to prevent transmission. These children, identified by the health care-workers at Howick Hospice, come to the childrens' clinic every two weeks and pick up their parcels of peanut butter, oil, skim milk, morvite and maize meal. Watching the senior volunteers on our visit to the clinic, packing these parcels and their joy at doing so and seeing the child recipient doing well, brought a deep sense of fulfillment that the time and energy spent raising the funds needed, have been worthwhile. I can still see the happy face of the little one peering out from behind his 5 lb. parcel of food – almost too heavy to carry home. Thank you.

And for the third year in a row, we have been able to provide to our original out-reach. That of HOKISA (HOmes to Kids In South Africa ). As the children thrive and grow, so do their needs in clothing and food and education. Our annual donation helps with this general funding as well as provide a salary for loving arms to hold and care for these little ones. Hearing from the founders of this home we follow the progress of these children who had very rough starts in life but are now being so well taken care of. We will not forget the love that these little ones so eagerly give in their hugs and tugs for attention. Thank you.

Our board has remained stable and our volunteer base has grown this past year. From our humble grass-roots beginning, our growth welcomes the new talent and experience of others. We have a lot of fun as well as work hard in creating ways to contribute and also have our annual “celebration” which is our primary fund-raiser for the year. We have formed friendships and enjoy one anothers' company as we make invitations, decorations, plan food and music and our often one-of-a-kind silent and live auction items. There is a lot of creativity in these willing people who give so many hours. It is because of their volunteerism that we can give more to our out-reach. We are also very lucky to have artists and kind friends who so generously offer us a myriad of exciting things for our auctions. Thank you.

This past year we also experienced new opportunities. We had an intern this summer who did so much during her time with us. Chico 's clothing store offered us three wardroble parties with 10%of sales to TIAS ARMS. Other participations included a panel discussion at the Pan-African Film Festival, and Awareness Evening in Africa by Be The Cause, a presentation to the Interfaith Council (with clergy from all religious groups), a presentation to the Unity Community Church and a very generous tithing from their congregation, as well as a thithing from Encounter Missions International church in Long Beach, a presentation to Gene Isaacson's “Dialogue” salon, our 4 th annual “clelebration”, a South African Wine Tasting and Food Pairing Evening, participation in Be The Cause “Walk for Hope” and named recipients of funds from that walk, a friend's 50 th birthday “ in lieu of gifts” donation, donation in the name of a friend's passing, donation as a thank you gift to a board member of a Corporation, a lemonade stand by grand-children on the East Coast, participation in the opening of a TV program with TIAS ARMS being named as recipient of silent auction profits, a day with “Celebration for Peace”, an interview on Charter Communications TV Channel, and a World Aids Day booth. Thank you .

Some of you participated in some of these events and some of you gave endless hours, some of you sent donations or advice or kind words of encouragement. Thank you.

On behalf of the children – thank you for caring, thank you for making these children count in this world, and thank you for bringing them hope and comfort.

I remain grateful,

Joanne Baker (founder)

Letters from the Organizations We Fund In South Africa

Dear Joanne, dear Friends, and Supporters at Tias Arms,

We greet you with warmth and immense gratitude in our hearts. When we look at HOKISA, at the children in our care, at the staff and at our new Peace House, we know that it is your generosity that has made it all possible.
The best news from HOKISA is that all the children are well – and are all growing fast! I have just had to take them off to buy new summer sandals for everyone. That was quite an undertaking, but fortunately the local shops all have e a soft spot for our kids which makes such expeditions a lot of fun. We have also had to install bigger beds in the nursery, as the little ones had outgrown their cots and were trying to use them as racing and bumper cars – while they were supposed to be having a mid-morning nap. Well, they have very solid new beds now and some of our neighbors with babies were very happy to take the old cots off four hands.
In the New Year there will be a change to better schools for some, and they are looking forward to that. We are now starting a holiday programmed to keep them actively busy – the normal challenge for families in school holidays! Among our volunteers there is a music teacher who does excellent work with the kids and now also a dance teacher who provides a wonderfully energetic outlet for their exuberance. They love their dance classes on Friday afternoons in the youth hall of the new Peace House.
Many thanks to you all. May the peace and tranquility of the coming festive season be with you and your families?
With warm regards, also from Lutz and the whole HOKISA Team,

Karin

A twelve-year old student at one of our schools came to her Ubuntu counselor after class in September 2005 with an urgent concern – she thought she might be pregnant. As the counselor listened to her story and probed gently for additional details…a disturbing picture came into focus. The girl was being sexually-abused by a family acquaintance who her mother was allowing to stay in their home since he contributed the lion's share of the monthly rent. The mother did not know of the situation as she was out of the home at work in the afternoon hours when the girl returned from school. Finally, we learned that the perpetrator's regular girlfriend was dying of AIDS. The counselor knows how to handle cases of childhood pregnancy, abuse and HIV/AIDS. It is also not unusual to have to deal with multiple issues in the same case. The girl was immediately escorted to the Child Abuse unit at the local hospital where she underwent a medical examination that confirmed the abuse and pregnancy. Due to her age, the doctor determined that she needed an abortion for medical purposes, obtained consent from the child and her mother, and terminated the pregnancy. The girl was put on a short-course of antiretroviral therapy (called post-exposure prophylaxis) to help minimize the risk of HIV infections. She is currently testing negative, but is in the window period. Her Ubuntu counselor went to her liaison at the Child Protection Unit of the local police, and the perpetrator was arrested and is awaiting trial. The counselor will testify in the case. The child is back in school and receiving intensive post-traumatic counseling sessions from her Ubuntu counselor and a psychiatrist and our referral partner Childline. Her mother is also receiving counseling and supportive services to avoid the situation in the future. We are helping them apply for income grants, and obtain nutritional supplements so they do expose themselves to danger due to poverty. When the child is ready she will be prepared for court by her Ubuntu counselor. The Ubuntu counselor who managed this case has her annual salary supported by Tias Arms

Jacob Lief

Ubuntu Education Fund

God bless and please thank everyone concerned.

With love, Louise, Howick Hospice

Jenny, Gecko Uthando House Project
Thank you very much for your wonderful news of funding. It has come at a time when I have been very stressed due to the fact that I am unable to meet the Salaries / Wages of the caregivers. My business has during the winter months not been providing sufficient income for me to provide for all the children's needs, and as a result I have not been able to meet the Salaries / wages promissed to the staff.
Thank you to all at Tias Arms for your generosity and interest shown in the plight of our needy children. A Special thanks to Joanne for her untiring effort in creating an awareness of this project, she is greatly loved by the children.

This grant will only be used to supplement the Salaries / Wages of caregivers employed on a permanent basis to care for the children. The majority of the children residing in the project are directly affected by the HIV/ AIDS epidemic, and your funds will therefore be used directly for the care of children affected by the HIV / AIDS epidemic.

The accommodation for the first five children in May 2005 was a few doors nailed together with black plastic as the roof. We now have a temporary wooden structure with a corrugated iron roof, this accommodates the larger boys at night and the smaller boys and girls sleep on the floor in the main building. This situation is not perfect, but it is better than sleeping on the streets, the children are at least warm and dry. There is stability, care, guidance and education for the children at Gecko, factors that were erratic or non-existent in their lives prior to their coming to the Gecko Project. The plan is to build cabins for the children, at the top end of the property, these will each accommodate 6 children and a caregiver / supervisor. The area will be fenced and structured with a play area, an education / homework area, eating area, a rainy weather entertainment area, storage and laundry areas.

Finance is desperately needed for a number of items the main one being the structures required for the children's needs, this we feel will come in time and with perseverance. In the mean time we will continue with improvements a step at a time, improving the situation as and when we can. The children do not complain about their present sleeping and bathing arrangements, however, their lives would be much improved if proper structures with adequate sleeping and bathing facilities were available.

These are mischievous little children who still have a lot to learn, and it is only with your assistance and perseverance that we will manage to give them the chance they need as vulnerable children in our community.

Jenny Uzzell

GECKO

Give Each Child Kindness and Orientation