This is another clip that I think captures much of the essence of our trip to Zithulele. It shows the passion, the joy and the frustration, all rolled into one. I think that Anth’s experience with the hole can be extended to much of the work being done in the area. And his enthusiasm in spite of this frustration is also mirrored by all the people we met.

I must just add that I totally respect the work these guys did for a couple of days. Not glamorous, but absolutely critical. It will provide basic sanitation for the residents for many years to come. A real contribution.

I have started working through the video footage we captured during our time in Zithulele. I think it is going to be a while before I am able to make a real movie, but I thought you might all like to get a glimpse of what it was like for me during the building project.

In this diary entry, I reflect on a long day. I have not edited it, so you get to see all the concerns I was trying to take into account while trying to ensure that my team had the best experience possible. I discuss very practical issues, housekeeping, team dynamics, politics, relationships with our hosts.

I hope you appreciate this insight into my job.

Andy D.

Hey, all.

It has been a pretty hectic time back in Cape Town, and I have just managed to get around to posting a collection of photos on the web. Check them out here.

I think it is quite a good selection of photos, showing the work, the surroundings, the social time, and the locals.

Hope you all enjoy the photos.

Andy D.

Well, it’s all happening. The team assembled over the weekend, and work is moving along nicely. We have been fortunate to have a small building become available for most of our stay, so we are living in relative luxury (we have running water, and a solid roof over our heads).

Early in our stay, we received a warm welcome and introduction to the area. We had a safety meeting on site. And we handed out team t-shirts to the whole gang.

On Monday, Teak helped Pete complete the roofing. Anth and Jamie cleared a large part of the back yard, removing large inkberry plants, roots and all. Kaz and Cath started working on sanding and varnishing the window frames.

On Tuesday, the varnishing was completed, and we started putting the glass into the windows. The timber for the cupboards arrived (so that can happen in a few days). And we started on the wall lining in the one kitchen.

On Wednesday morning, a team started on installing ceiling in the bedrooms, and others continued on the kitchen walls. Almost all the glass is in, and the other kitchen has been prepared for the wall lining. There is much more work to be done. The next couple of days should see the floors being tiled, and the windows completed. After that we can install the kitchens and the bathrooms.

Our meals are prepared for us, so when we leave the building site, we are off duty. We shower, grab a cold drink, and meet around the dinner table. Then we chat until people feel like going to bed (which seems to be getting earlier every night. I think we’re getting tired).

I’ll keep you posted.

(a few photos)

This time next week, the first of our international volunteers arrive in the country, and we should have the full team assembled within a couple of days after that (we’re hoping the threatened strikes in the UK won’t effect our London contingent).

Huge thanks to everyone who has been getting involved in the fundraising. We have had a great response from around the world, and hope to see more people get involved with donations to assist with the cost of the building materials. We have not reached our goal yet, so please encourage your friends to contribute to the project. It all adds up.

The guys at the hospital are getting excited. Pete from the Jabulani Rural Health Foundation asked me to post this message:

I just wanted to drop the team a line to say thank you in advance.  That goes for those raising funds and for those coming out here to build.  Thank you for using your New Year holiday period, for raising money and for committing yourselves to helping us out.

The Jabulani Foundation are proud of what we do in Zithulele and we have big plans to further that, but accommodation is a big limiting factor.  We need badly to bring in skilled people to work alongside and train local people to develop this place in terms of healthcare, education, job creation.

It is difficult to raise funds for things like accommodation, as opposed to individual projects (like a pre-school or milk for malnurished children).  What you are doing is facilitating incredible change in Zithulele.  The accommodation is going to be able to house 4 health professionals and/or volunteers.  I have seen what just one person can achieve here.  Each one of those four (and the four after them) will make a sustainable difference on the ground and that you have seen the benefit in enabling that to happen is quite something.  It strikes me as selfless as you will not be giving the milk to the starving baby yourself and getting that instant, feel-good reward.  The baby will get the milk though and the child will get the pre-school education and more HIV positive patients will get onto anti-retrovirals and we will provide jobs and more people will learn how to grow more vegetables better and we will open a library and plant trees…

So thanks.

And for the team coming out here, we are going to work you hard.  Bring suncream and a hat.

Pete

We have a few more arrangements to make. Bags to pack. And then we will be heading for Zithulele. I will continue to provide updates, so remember to check back here. Have a great holiday time, everyone.

In order to complete the building of the new accommodation out at Zithulele, we are going to need some help with funding for the building materials. The volunteers have made some very generous contributions, and there have been other donations, but we are still short on covering the costs of the renovation. (Just to be quite clear, all the costs of travel, accommodation, etc. for the volunteers is going to be covered separately, by the volunteers.)

80 / 80 Vision
If we can generate enough interest in just 80 people, for them to contribute £80 in this project, we will be very close to the fund-raising target (if you would like to contribute more or less than £80, that is great, too. I am simply using this as an illustration of how the cash adds up when a few people work together). And we have made it really easy for people to contribute, using a wonderful online fund-raising system, called givengain.

There are two main ways you can be involved in helping us achieve this goal.

Contribute
Simply visit ‘Old Clinic Renovation With igiveada.mn‘ and click ‘Donate to this Project’. It will take you through a very simple process, and you will be one of the wonderful people helping to make this happen.

This is a picture of me and all my friends contributing.

Become a Fundraiser
What would be even more awesome than sending us a contribution, would be for you to engage your family, friends and colleagues, and encourage them to contribute, too. Simply visit ‘Old Clinic Renovation With igiveada.mn‘ and click ‘Fundraise for this Project’. In this easy process, you can set a target for your own small fundraising campaign, send the details to all your friends, and then monitor their contributions and comments on a dedicated web page.

This is a picture of me and a few friends who have become fundraisers. Looks better, doesn’t it?

So, let’s work together to see how quickly we can achieve the 80 / 80 Vision.

I recently received the November issue of the Jabulani Rural Health Foundation newsletter, and really enjoyed reading about the various projects and activities going on in the community around the hospital.

I thought the rest of you might enjoy seeing what they are all up to. Quite a few cool stories jammed into a short newsletter. Newsletter Nov 2009.

Enjoy.

I had the good fortune to meet Anth while living in London back in 2003. It’s been a few years since I last saw him, but we have remained in contact. Last week, I found this in my inbox:
“If one was interested in giving a damn, and one’s wife was agreeable to the idea, would there still be an opportunity to join the team in December/January?”
I immediately replied, and am really pleased to report that Anth and his wonderful wife, Karen, have made all the necessary arrangements and will be flying into South Africa to spend two weeks working with us out at Zithulele.

I asked them the standard questions, so we can all learn a little more about them:

What do you normally spend your time doing?
Anth: I’m an IT guy, although I spend most of my time planning or training for my next sporting pursuit.

Karen: I work pretty long hours in a Finance role and have also recently been doing a lot of business travel throughout Asia which has been both wonderful and exhausting! In my spare time I enjoy running, going to the gym, trying new foods and just relaxing with my husband.

Where do you live?
Anth: In sunny Singapore. 35 degrees and 90% humidity on average every day. It’s resort-style living without the pool bar.

Karen: Tropical Singapore, in a lovely spot on the river.

Where else have you lived?
Anth: Mainly in Sydney, Australia, but with a brief spell in London.

Karen: Until moving to Singapore in July this year, I have only lived in Sydney. However, I have travelled to 22 countries throughout Asia, Europe and North America.

Have you built a house before?
Anth: Only with lego. Growing up I did spend more than the odd weekend being roped into some DIY project around the house but I can’t pretend that any of the work ever sunk in or stuck to me. Except for lawn mowing. If the building needs a neat and tidy lawn, them I’m your man.

Karen: Afraid not, closest has been some very minor renovations to our apartment!

Have you visited South Africa before?
Anth: Nope this will be the first time. I’ve heard great things about it.

Karen: This will be my first trip to Africa.

What interested you about the project?
Anth: I have wanted to get involved in a project like this for a while but have struggled to find something which inspired me. This project, the people involved, and most importantly, the people that it is aimed at helping, all inspire me.

Karen: A chance to experience something different and spend my Christmas / New Year holiday doing something productive

What expectations do you have about the project?
Anth: I am expecting to realise that the impressions that I have formed about Zithulele and the work that the doctors do in Zithulele are not even remotely appropriate or appreciative enough.

What do you think you bring to the team?
Anth: A constant stream of really bad puns and an ability to drink fizzy drink faster than anyone else around. More importantly though, truckloads of physical endurance and a steely determination (aka stubborness) to do whatever is required to get the job done. If we need to sand/paint/drill/carry stuff all night in order to meet a deadline, I’ll do my best to ensure we meet it as a team.

Karen: I have an analytical mind so hopefully I can apply that to the project. I will be increasing my weights workouts at the gym in the coming weeks to ensure I will have the strength and stamina to do what I expect may be repetitive physical tasks. I have no spatial ability so am glad to see the basic plans for the building have already been drawn up!

What challenges do you think we might face?
Anth: Apart from the weather, I think the biggest challenge that we will face is having a team comprised of people with lots of determination but not so many DIY skills. So while we will be the keenest, meanest, and most determined bunch of hombres you’re likely to meet, we might also find ourselves measuring twice, cutting once, cutting once again, getting a new piece of wood…. I’m sure that none of the challenges that we’ll face will be small-fry compared to the challenges that the good doctors face on a daily basis.

Karen: Heat, fatigue, having limited time and resources

Do you have any other plans for your visit to South Africa?
Anth: Just catching up with good friends and also to try an ostrich omelette. And knocking back a Castle or two on NYE.

Karen: Hoping to visit a game park and just experience some of the local culture

What are you most excited about?
Anth: Meeting and working alongside some fantastic people, and going to bed at the end of the day tired but feeling like I have achieved something that is tangible and might help make a difference, however small, to this world.

Karen: Meeting new people, seeing a new country and hopefully making a contribution I can be proud of

Anything else you want to say?
Anth: I’m super excited and am really looking forward to my time in SA and to meeting a bunch of fantastic people.

A few weeks ago, Cath sent me this link to a video of a Seth Godin lecture. In the lecture he discusses the difference between having an idea and talking about something, and actually doing something about it. It is this tension that I have been wrangling for the last few years, in both my personal and professional lives.

In software development, we often run into difficulties with the constraints of limited resources and unlimited requirements, and many teams stall when they have reached the end of their time or funding. The trick is to anticipate the end of time and funding, and plan to release the most complete product within those constraints.

We are currently facing severe constraints in our funding, time and labour resources to build accommodation for the doctors in the rural area of Zithulele, but we are determined to do what we can within those constraints. Doing nothing is not an option. And we can’t do everything that is required right now. So we are doing what we can with what we have. Not waiting until we have more people, time and money.

And that is what the doctors are doing. And what makes me want to help them. They have not waited until the conditions were perfect for them to provide health services to their community. They have gone in there, and are shipping as much as they can right now. And building and adapting as they go.

And this is one of the hardest things for me, and something I work on constantly (I even have a little reminder tattooed on my wrist, but that’s another story), to deliver what I can now, and trust that it will be good enough. Or that we can improve, adapt or replace it later.

In the lecture, Seth invites us to tell him about status quo changing work we are shipping. So I decided to send him an email with a couple of stories about the work we are doing. And then I paused, and hesitated, and reworked parts of it, and procrastinated, until I realised that the email was good enough for now, and that I didn’t have any more time to spend on it, and just needed to ship it. So I did.

And the same goes for this post, but not writing anything would have been significantly less effective than publishing this (perhaps imperfect) post. Come on, people. Whatever it is that you are passionate about, stop thinking and talking, and ship it.

I am excited to introduce another wonderful team member. Cath Duncan (my wife of ten years) brings an amazing energy to any project she engages. Cath’s talents range from a masterful command of colours and shapes, to a depth of insight and understanding that makes every day a transformational experience.

I gave her the stock interrogation:

What do you normally spend your time doing?
I have an online business helping people with learning and changing easily so they can be more agile and thrive in a high-change world. Other than that, you can probably find me in my garden or visiting friends and family, reading or pottering around doing some form of art-making.

Where do you live?
We’re in Cape Town, South Africa for a few months and still deciding our next location that we’ll head off to in the new year.

Where else have you lived?
London UK, Philadelphia USA

Have you built a house before?
I’ve helped to build houses with Habitat for Humanity, in Cape Town on a few occasions. It’s tough work, but very fulfilling knowing that you’re creating adequate accommodation for someone and they won’t be rained out of their shack in the winter anymore.

Have you visited South Africa before?
I’m a born and bred Capetonian and, while Andy and I have spent a few years living in the UK and USA, I think we’re both “proudly South African” and we’d love to create a way to spend 3 to 6 months of each year in South Africa and live in other places and have exposure to other ways of life the rest of the year. I think we might have already started doing that…

What interested you about the project?
While I’m helping other people improve the quality of their lives through my business everyday, those are all people who already have a pretty good standard of living. I’d like to do what I can to help people who are struggling with more basic challenges to their quality of life, and I’d like to support the work that the doctors at Zithulele are doing. Having worked as a Social Worker in South Africa, I really appreciate the hardcore contribution they’re making at Zithulele, and I’d love to do what I can to help them further expand that contribution. It’s just a drop in the ocean, but I’d like to do what I can. And whenever I’ve done projects like this in the past, it’s been incredibly fulfilling and memorable and I’ve formed some wonderful friendships.

What expectations do you have about the project?
I’m looking forward to enjoying some really great, enriching conversation and quality time getting to know the other team members, being stimulated by their perspectives, bonding while we work together as a team, and deepening existing friendships. I’m expecting to be blown away by the beauty of the area (going on photos I’ve seen so far). And I’m expecting to leave inspired to find more ways to help build South Africa.

What do you think you bring to the team?
I’m happy to do whatever needs to be done to make this project a success – even the crappy jobs. I’m just plain stubborn and I can persevere through hard work in tough conditions, and hopefully my positive “can do” attitude will contribute to a motivated and positive team vibe throughout the project.

What challenges do you think we might face?
It’s going to be hot and humid. And building is hard work physically, so for me, being someone who spends most of my day at a computer exercising myself from the neck up, the physical exertion is going to be good for me, but probably also quite challenging.

And even though I’ve worked with South Africans living in poverty and spent time in villages around rural South Africa, I expect to have a few paradigm-shifts as a result of just being there with people who have a very different experience of life to what I have. I love paradigm-shifts when you get to the “ahah!” part where you connect with the lessons and all, but the process of having a paradigm-shift often takes you through some difficult places before you get to the lessons.

Do you have any other plans for your visit to South Africa?
Mostly just soaking up sun, good friends and family before we head off again.

What are you most excited about?
Doing something meaningful with my holiday, rather than just sitting on a beach, and going by the people who’ve gotten on board already, I’m really excited about the possibilities for personal growth and building into each other’s lives over the duration of the project and beyond.

Anything else you want to say?
Bring it on!