No, sorry, no elephants at Endlovini! But once, in a very distant past, elephants roamed our area! Hence the name Endlovini ... Place of Elephants .... Ndlovu is elephant in Zulu! Of wild life, we have the occasional monkeys and wild boars, both of which do much damage to vegetable gardens and fruit trees! In the area! Of course there is the odd snake or two, or three. So far, thank God, none of our children have been bitten! We try to pick up the theme of elephants in our crafts, and for that matter in decor in the guest rondavel. We're busy working on an idea of elephants as decoration on aprons. Think this will work out well. Will share and offer for sale when that time comes. I came across some very special fabric, tan, with black elephants walking across... From this we made aprons and sling bags. Unfortunately, when I realized this would be a good sales item, there was only a limited amount of fabric available with no possibility of ordering more.
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Cultural highlights through the year are observed with great gusto! The teachers/caregivers are to be commended for their enthusiasm in making the children aware of their rich cultural heritage. A variety of rhythm instruments are made from what is at hand.... Outfits are made by the ladies and the children make their bead jewelry. Though very very brief, please enjoy the video of the children dancing. What fun! Maybe one of my most challenging and enjoyable tasks at Endlovini is working with the ladies. Since they do not have access to TV and do not spend their meager funds on magazines and the like, from which to glean inspiration, they are hungry for ideas that can be converted to new crafts.
Since there is little or no work for them whilst I am in Norway, they are eager and ready when I come, for whatever the task. My dream is for course to find the million dollar idea for something that we can produce that we will be able to sell in South Africa!! That they can continue with long after I am gone! One day, maybe .... Below you will see a pow-wow between MaNgema, Khanyisiwe and yours truly, discussing a new product - which in fact we have made and sold many 100s!! Through the years we have opened our doors and welcomed guests at Endlovini. Some arrive by bus and after a tour of the premises are treated to a lunch before they move on to Hluhluwe, one of the many game parks in KZN. Others come for a day or two or more, and are accommodated in one of the rondavels. There is always great excitement when visitors come. The children - and teachers - love to perform, the ladies proudly show their crafts, hoping for a good sale. Some guests stop by the hospice with a word of consolance and comfort as they admire the beauty of our area. The pastor graciously receives and shares history and culture of the area before sending them on their way with a prayer of thanks and God speed. My family members have of course been the most frequent visitors. and are always put to work, be it getting sewage tanks in place, assisting with repairs, or sharing ideas with the ladies, or just absorbing the peace and tranquility! .... and some of our visitors are our little ones who are now school children. Some come back as OVCs and enjoy the meals we prepare for them. When this little group of ex-crechers came to say hello, I showed them a photo of Nelson Mandela (the ladies used his image on some of our shopping bags), wondering whether they would recognize him. They certainly did and immediately started signing one of the praise songs, popular at that time.
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A project of hope... Archives
August 2020
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