The conversations included thoughts about what to make some of the complex issues which we have seen on the lives of the people who we have visited. All of us expressed admiration and respect for the volunteer Care Workers who do the costly job of caring for the most vulnerable children in their communities. We all were thinking about how to speak up for the children and care workers when we got home.
We paused.for.a final team photo on the steps of the Hands at Work Hub and then drove to Mercy Air whwre we will be staying until we leave to.come home.
Mercy Air is Christian aviation mission organisation, which flies people, equipment and goods to remote parts of southern Africa. It is also hospitality Base providing respite breaks for missionaries from Mozambique. The grounds and accommodation are beautiful and are similar to a holiday home in England... They feel luxurious compared to many of the places we have visited... This makes us realise how fortunate we.are to have the facilities we enjoy at home in the UK
On Wednesday some of the team went with Cathy Middleton (a nurse.at Mercy Air) to a mobile clinic at a banana farm. While a team.of nurses attemded to primary Cate needs of some of the workers some of our team played with the children of the patients while others respectfully watched the care which the nurses were offering.
The farm is not an easy please to live and work and the children there seemed quite withdrawn, as though they were not used to interaction with other adults. After a while, a bit of trust was built and so play could be enjoyed by the children and the team members alike.
It is sobering to visit a place where life chances are so limited simply because of where you are born... But this is true of all the communities we have been privileged to visit while in this region of South Africa
We have plenty to think seriously about as we enter the final days of our time in South Africa and prepare to return home.