Mangwanani. Last week Carl and I went to Counsellor Training. Bev Laws the Pastoral Care worker for the diocese set us up. It is 3 different courses; beginners, intermediate and advanced. The course is run by the Christian Counselling Centre and the two women who ran it were Anglican; one Shona and one white, both women. During this training I met a man named Solomon. Solomon runs St. Joseph’s Home for Boys. It’s an orphanage for boys 10-18 and there are 50 of them. Solomon was raised at St. Joseph’s and has a special understanding for it. Statisically in a home with 50 boys there are going to be some gay ones. In Zimbabwe it’s against the law to be gay. This causes many issues. For instance gay people marry and have “normal” lives because it’s the only choice and is expected, which is unfair to the spouse and the children. Also many act out and abuse against other boys. It’s become a massive problem at St. Joseph’s. Boys are unable to understand what’s going on and are abusing younger boys. Most of them have been sent away to be “treated”. There are a few left and Solomon what’s to help them understand what’s going on and that it’s not the end of the world. That they are still loved and can still be contributing members of society. This is HUGE, someone wanting to help and accepting these boys for who they are. He asked if Carl and I would help talk to them since we come from a society where it’s accepted. However there’s another problem at the home. Since there are only boys at this home and no women, straight boys are abusing younger boys as well. Solomon would also like to help teach the boys how to interact and treat women. This means I can’t be alone with any of the boys as it is unsafe. A counselor from social services who is a woman has agreed to help out with the straight boys, and Carl has agreed to help with the gay ones. So if you could keep Solomon and these boys in your thoughts it would be greatly appreciated.
On a happier note…I’m in South Africa (SA)! Specifically Cape Town. Cape Town is a beautiful place to live, I am having a fantastic time. SA is like another world compared to Zimbabwe. It’s another world down here. It’s got an inner harbour which reminds me of home. I could easily move here!!! The population of white to black here is almost an even split. So when I walk down the street I don’t get comments or stared at which is a nice feeling. I can be independent here and walk to places on my own (don’t worry mum I don’t). I spent the day at the waterfront, going to shops, eating fruit and veggies and just relaxing. It took us 35 hours plus a 6 hour layover in Jo’burg to get here. We had 2.5 hours at the boarder. You stand in 2 lines; one on the Zim side of the boarder and one on the Africa side of the boarder. The bus gets checked and your luggage gets checked. I was surprised and impressed. It was a long journey but well worth the traveling. Until next time.
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