Pelisa Welemu - A Woman And Her Dream

Pelisa Welemu is dreaming of a better society. 

She is dreaming of a society where old people are respected and treasured. 

She is dreaming of the old African ideal, that the elders are kept safe and protected in the last years of their life until the day comes when they leave this world and become our ancestors. This ideal was once a collective ideal and can be found all over Africa but it degenerated in modern South Africa. 

The situation of many old people is far from rosy. They are subjected to neglect, poverty, emotional abuse and physical violence.

This undeniable fact made her dedicate her life to the creation of a non-profit orgnization and the establishment of the only old age home in Mdantsane in N.U 1. 

Ethembeni - Let's Help Each Other is home to close to 50 old people.

I have been visiting this home since 2005 I owe it to Pelisa Welemu to give her an opportunity to voice her quest and to share her experiences. 

Pelisa Welemu - A Woman And Her Dream is part of "The Mdantsane Tales" a series of short movies and interviews about people from Mdantsane produced by us. We invite you to listen to the interview, that we have recorded last week with her and that shows how one person can make a significant difference to society. 

Power

You Are Poweful - through your kindness

And Love....... for the ones who can not take care of themselves

Words are not enough to describe the power inherent in a determined woman. But a photograph can show you the emotions, that unfold in a human being in a split second. It can show you a facial expression, that would have been lost in the universe or that you would have never even perceived in the first instance.

A photographer from India wrote the other day on our facebook wall: I believe, the camera is the most beautiful thing ever made by man.We do agree! The camera is the reason, we can show you love, emotion, sadness, despair and each and every other emotion, the cretuares belonging to the human race have lived through through the centuries. 

There is power here. It takes power to take care and to attend to the needs of more than 60 old and frail human beings.

Reflections On The Past

IT SEEMS LIKE THE FUTURE HAS OVERTAKEN THE PAST AND LEFT IT BEHIND.

A SOUP OF BUTTERNUT

Wherever you are in this world there is nothing like laughter to make you feel good.

And a soup of Butternut in South -Africa.Good for old and young.

Butternut - Pumpkin soup - is cooked, served, loved and eaten through all segments of South-African Society. With a little bit of cinnamon.....and butter, sometimes thick or if you like it smooth. 

IF YOU CAN NOT DANCE

IF YOU CAN NOT DANCE YOU CAN STILL CLAP YOUR HANDS

                               RIGHT ?

OLD AGE

    Resident of the Ethembeni Old Age Home

There is a West-African proverb that says : " If an old person dies it is like if a library burns ".

IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS THE THOUGHT

Pelisa Welemu and me met in 2002 in Mdantsane.  Our paths had crossed through work, she being the founder and director of the newly created Ethembeni Old Age Home and me working for an International Development Organisation assisting NGO's in the Eastern Cape. 

We became close friends and three years ago we decided that we would like to do a coffee-table book  together about Mdantsane the second biggest African black city in South- Africa.

Pelisa in the new car of the Ethembeni Old Age Home. Her efforts were finally successful and she received funding for a car.

After having worked a long time on the concept, the articles, the lay-out and after having taken pictures and collecting stories for over 4 years we decided that we are going to write our book and publish it. And here it is.
We are introducing parts of ' THE MDANTSANE WAY " to you on this blog.
And we hope that you will enjoy what we have to tell and show you.