School Supplies

So I went out today, list in hand, and bought the children's school supplies. They're going to a small, private school not far from the farm. Kalon picked up their uniforms yesterday and the children were so excited! Lucas immediately put his on, and wore it again today. Among the paper work we received was a list for each child of the supplies needed. Gracies was pretty long. Everything from 4 jumbo glue sticks, pencils, "exercise" books, (lined and unlined)a nature study book to tortoise shell superior scissors. They were very specific with brand and type. I had no idea what some of the things were. Fortunately, Susan Wadley took me to a store that had virtually everything we needed, and a very helpful guy who took the list and found everything for us! Then I had to get Grace's uniform shoes. Black lace ups. So we went to some other stores to find them in her size. We found them at a store in Stellenbosch. Lots of other people were shopping for their school supplies also, black families mostly. Gathering the same notebooks, pencils shoes and socks that I had purchased.

My total for everything today was 864.82 Rand. That includes lunch boxes and 2 rolling knapsacks to put all this stuff in. I'm talking a lot of stuff. With the exchange rate of roughly 7 rand to a dollar, that's about $125.00. For 2 children for the whole year, that's really not bad!

Yesterday we interviewed a house keeper for the farm. (I just listened in knowing nothing about interviewing a house keeper, let alone one in South Africa!) She is currently not working because the B&B she had been working at was slow and they wouldn't be needing her until February sometime. She has 3 children, a 20 yr old, 17 yr old and an 8 yr old. When Susan asked about her past wages, she said at this last job she was making 125 rand a week, the one before that, 84 rand. Do the math! We're talking like $15.00 a week. These are the same people who are in the same stores I was in needing to buy the same school supplies for their children. How on earth do they do it? Talk about a living wage issue.

Some of you may be familiar with Bridges of Hope's Market of Hope, where you can purchase things for people in need. Among the things you can purchase is school supplies. Other organizations do this as well, make your donation for a specific thing. Help however many children get school supplies. Well, this is it. Strange, I saw it with my own eyes. Something that I just go out and do, run this errand, not a huge deal. Actually, not a bad price. But these people are looking at weeks worth of wages, just for the school supplies!

I wonder how forward progress here is going to happen? I have only just begun to see what these people are up against. How to wrap my brain around it and have even a clue what to do (and how) is something different all together.