laughter! Her son, Pope is a musical genius on the djembe drum and performed with a Peace
Corps volunteer at our host family farewell function.
I have had enlightening conversations with with all of the brothers, sisters, cousins, and even
young children of the Kekana family. Cousin Alfred may well be a future leader of South Africa.
His inquisitive mind has made him a sponge for knowledge, and he grasps concepts of great
social and moral magnitude with such grace that I can hardly believe he was only 15 when we
met!
Me and Koko. I am wearing traditional isiNdebele clothing, made by Koko.
Back in September, I departed from the Kekanas for my permanent work site. After a night of
dinner, toasts, singing, dancing, and spontaneous erupts of “Amanda! Awethu!’ (a play on my
name, discussed in previous posts), the family would see me off. To my surprise, the entire
family arrived on the morning of my departure. They thanked me and prayed for my safety. Just
as I thought it was time for goodbye, each member, including the cousins, scurried to their cars
and pick-up trucks (carrying multitudes of family members in the truck beds), and launched a
convoy to my departure point. As I stepped out of the car to wait for the Peace Corps van to fetch
me along the dirt road, I began to swell with love. Each member of the family exited their vehicles
and began dancing and singing songs of praise which serenaded me until I was packed into the
Peace Corps van and their images faded in the distance. The last thing I heard before landing in
Venda was the sound of Koko’s whistle she blew with triumph as I rode away to my new life.