Our Mission Diary

July 6, 2006

The workshop that was planned for today was quite unexpectedly cancelled at the last minute. Shamin and Betty decided to take a tour of the city with one of the children from the Abraham Kriel Children’s Home in order to make the most of the time they had. Hein showed them to the African Trade Centre, also known as China Mart. This establishment is part of the Chinese community of South Africa. According to one of the shop owners Betty and Shamin spoke with, there are around 200,000 Chinese people in South Africa. (The numbers may actually be smaller than this, however. According to Wikipedia, there were approximately 100,000 Chinese people living in South Africa in 2003.)

In order to get a taste of South African life, Betty and Shamin opted to shop in local stores, markets and areas rather than in developed malls. So, after visiting the African Trade Centre, they headed to Melville, on a street called “7 de Laan”, where they bought handmade key chains made from wire and beads. Then, they headed to the Brightwater Commons where members of the community sell their handmade crafts. At the centre, they met a boy who had found a bird whose wing had been run over by a skateboard. Shamin and Betty helped the boy to take the injured bird away from danger and give it to the correct officials. The pair later bought more handmade South African crafts. For many of the vendors at Brightwater Commons, selling their crafts is their only source of income.

Shamin and Betty then went to the Cresta Mall in order to upload their pictures. They did so at the “Mugg and Bean”, a shop that seemed like a South African equivalent of Tim Horton’s. Once the pictures were uploaded, they went grocery shopping to prepare a big feast for everyone living in the house they are staying at (the Abraham Kriel Children’s Home). Since the children are very limited in the amount of food they receive and the meager amount of pocket money they are given (R11.60 a month; the equivalent of $1.90CDN!), a feast was an extra special treat for them.

Tonight, our pair must prepare for the next step of their journey. They fly out to Durban at 8:00 tomorrow morning. If all goes well, they should be returning to Johannesburg near the end of their mission.