Sunday Church-Goer

Today I made it to church! And the bishop is coming from Kimberly, I believe. We showed up a hour early just to get a seat. My host mother who is the Roma (Catholic) church treasurer just pulled out a little bag with an envelope filled with a 1,000 Rand gift ($130+ or so). I however, brought about 5 Rand with me since I'm poor. The church soon became thickly packed with all the villagers who had heard the bishop was coming and the crowd flowed out of the church even. I guess I was lucky to get a seat (scrunched in between my host mom and all her fellow church members dressed in the purple wool jackets and velvet black caps)!

As the service got under way and the dancing and singing continued, the temperature inside easily reached close to 100 degrees. I am still shocked how the villagers get accustomed to hearing wool and other knitted thick layers in such heat. All I wanted to do was rip off the cardigan I had one which covered my bare shoulders (scandalous - ke a itse / I know!) And run home and chug some water. Hours later I'm still feeling dehydrated!

What was most interesting about this service was the amount of money that flew out of peoples pockets. This is a village that is poor, not destitute, but the ability to just raise R 1,000 and hand it over to the Catholic church wouldn't be something I'd think possible. But it is. I watch groups of women and men each go dancing up to the bishop during the collection, each choosing to sing their own hymn as music to their announced waltz up the Bishop standing in front of the congregation and hand over a bag of cash. There must have been an easy R15,000 to R18,000 (about $2,400) made today. Money made within the village and leaving the village. It was sad.

The ideas began to race through my head about what that money could go to for the children at my school: 20 new NetBook laptops for the computer lab, books to fill the library, enough art supplies to bring in art classes for the kids, new uniforms for the orphans, subsidy for a school breakfast program to stop the children from buying potato chip breakfasts on the way to school...the list raced on and on in my head.

Though everyone had smiles on their faces and cheer in their step and voices roaring through the big room of the Roma Church Saint Thomas, I wondered if they would hold that type of enthusiasm for a school fundraiser.

I know that to even just get the parents to come and hand in form or any school event to draw people there it often means that it is a required incentive to feed your guests or provide "cold drink." I know it is more a cultural act than one thoughtfully put into the school budget, but the school last year spent several thousand on teacher farewell functions and school graduations, usually which requires killing a cow to feed everyone - costing a cool $700 and up.

I'd be interested to see how we could pull off a school fundraiser to raise as much money as the Catholic Bishop drew out of my village community...hmm room for thought!