June 2022 Newsletter
I hope this finds you and yours well. Writing from Puyallup, Washington, we're looking forward to more sunshine and warm temperatures. I don't know about you, but I am so thankful for the warm weather and summer on the horizon! KwaZulu-Natal province has experienced a crazy-wet year so far this year with way-above average rainfall, landslides and flooding. As the dry winter sets in, the seasonal lack of rain is a welcome reprieve from all the mud and soggy conditions.
This mid-year newsletter is going to take a slightly different direction than previous ones. I have often equated Zulu traditional culture to an onion; the more layers you peel off, the more you realize you have still to understand. I would like to help "unpeel" a bit of that onion for you to help you understanding some of the underlying issues and challenges that we face in our work.
This mid-year newsletter is going to take a slightly different direction than previous ones. I have often equated Zulu traditional culture to an onion; the more layers you peel off, the more you realize you have still to understand. I would like to help "unpeel" a bit of that onion for you to help you understanding some of the underlying issues and challenges that we face in our work.
Why we Care about Violence against Women
and why you should too
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South Africa is another world from the US and Europe in so many different ways. If you have done any international travel, you will appreciate how widely different people's lives can be from our own realities. In South Africa, femicide, or the killing of women is a widely recognized problem. According to reports, 51% of South African women have experienced violence against them, and every three hours across South Africa, a women is killed. (See the article here.) These statistics are shocking, but each one represents a precious life with dreams, stories, families and friends who
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loved them and grieve their loss. Unfortunately, too many of the girls and women who we work with are represented in these numbers.
A few years back, we were distraught to learn that one of the orphans that we cared for throughout her teens, and for whom we had built a house, was tragically killed by her boyfriend before she reached her 22nd birthday. Another vulnerable young woman we supported was killed just last year by her partner. And that's just the beginning of the list. And South Africa's strict Covid lockdowns and economic downturns have only made the incidence of violence against women and children even worse.
A few years back, we were distraught to learn that one of the orphans that we cared for throughout her teens, and for whom we had built a house, was tragically killed by her boyfriend before she reached her 22nd birthday. Another vulnerable young woman we supported was killed just last year by her partner. And that's just the beginning of the list. And South Africa's strict Covid lockdowns and economic downturns have only made the incidence of violence against women and children even worse.
