Lucky holding up our giant PEP reciept
The year began quietly at PCC with over half the children spending some time at their home villages with relatives. Midway through the month, all that changed with excited children arriving home and getting ready for a new school year.
The school uniform shopping went well, as you may well note from the size of the receipt we got from the local PEP store. Each child was able to start the year with new shoes, a uniform and a bag.
Vova and Ntate Khosana smiling after a good bandage change
The Pulane valley is green and bright after lots of rain, and the fruit trees on our property are providing some special treats for the children.
Vova, after his foot surgery last year, continues to walk a tough road to recovery. Two of his toes, as well as part of the outside of his foot were amputated, leaving a very large wound. This wound, due to its size and how deep it goes, is taking a long time to heal. We are grateful to Emily's mom, Deb, for taking lead on dressing changes, as well as communicating with wound specialists in the USA and getting the best advice we can. We are happy to report improvement, slowly but surely.
Sad news form a personal side of things, our wonderful dog Hannah passed away a week ago. Hannah was Emily's dog who started life with her back in the USA. After we got married Hannah followed and lived the last few years of her life in Africa. She especially had a great few months running free, chasing donkeys and rabbits in Lesotho. We will miss her daily, especially on our walks through the mountains where she would accompany us. She was a lovely, loyal dog and we were blessed to have her in our lives. It brings a tear to our eyes when Jane asks for her at night for a goodnight kiss.
Hannah on one of her favorite walks
A visitor who stopped in for a night at the end of last year has gone on to raise money for PCC in a very unique way. Wayne, from the USA, is a hard core geocacher (www.geocaching.com) and during January he set out on a power trail to find as many caches as he could. He raised support for each cache found and has pledged that money to PCC. We are so grateful for kind ideas like this that benefit the Centre, and are fun for the people involved. Thanks to Wayne and his gang of geocachers in Port Elizabeth and in the USA for the support.
The green valley of Ha Makaoe
In addition, we are grateful to everyone who has contributed to the Centre. Your donations, prayers and support go a long way in keeping things here running. Thank you so much.
Have a wonderful month,
Love Emily, Grant and Jane
Me and the girls