Letters from the Field

September 9, 2004 - Johannesburg, South Africa

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Southern Africa, as I prepare to leave on an overnight flight to Dublin, Ireland.

My three weeks here have been very full with remarkable moments and inspiring people. Often when I awake in the morning I am not sure what country I am in. As I do the work of Capacitar in so many places and cultures, I realize daily how small the world really is, how much we share in common with each other, and how blessed to be part of the human family.

The rapid growth of Capacitar in Eastern and Southern Africa is something that amazes me. As I was doing trainings in Botswana, international trainer Mary Litell, osf, was graduating the first Capacitar-Tanzania trainers and team in Arusha. She then went on to work in Nairobi, Kenya with organizations working with refugee groups, while I worked in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Mary Litell was responsible for giving Capacitar the impetus to start formal work in Africa two years ago. For several years Mary kept after me to try to get funding to bring Capacitar to Africa. When we couldn't get any foundation grants, Mary decided to write a letter to her own network of friends who generously responded to the appeal. Mary's cousin gave us two frequent flyer tickets to Africa; another friend, Mary Duennes, connected us with several groups in Johannesburg; and the rest is history. It is just two years since our initial workshops in Africa, and the response has been very enthusiastic and positive. There are now literally thousands of people in Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland and South Africa who are using Capacitar methods for trauma, HIV/AIDS, care giving, work with orphans, children, families, women and many other kinds of groups. We have also established some valuable partnerships in spreading the work—CANSA (the Cancer Association of South Africa) and the AIDS Office of SACBC (Southern Africa Catholic Bishops Conference), among others.

BOTSWANA

My time in Botswana involved working with SACBC-sponsored Diocesan AIDS groups in Francistown and Gaborone. Botswana is a most interesting country with 1.7 million people. Until the early 90s it was a poor rural country, but with the discovery of diamonds life changed quickly. People speak very positively about the government and how supportive it is of its people, by contrast to corrupt and oppressive governments in nearby countries. I first learned about Botswana several years ago when I started reading the delightful series of books by Alexander McCall Smith: "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency." Through the eyes of Precious Ramotswe, the No. 1 lady detective of Gaborone, I have grown to love the warm friendly people of Botswana. There are now six novels out in the series and I just found the latest one in the Joburg airport bookstore: In the Company of Cheerful Ladies. (Other titles include: Morality for Beautiful Girls and the Kalahari Typing School for Men!)

Botswana until recently had the highest percentage of AIDS in the world with 38% of the population HIV positive. (Swaziland now by UN statistics ranks highest with 38.7%) Actually no one really knows what statistics are correct since it all depends on how data is collected as well as who goes for testing. Botswana gives, free of charge, the antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to all people who test HIV positive, with only a small fee that goes for the testing. At times the president has even been seen out in the communities giving out the ARVs. As a result of this policy of caring for its people, there has been a reduction in the number of HIV-related suicides in the country. People, especially the youth, now realize they can live quality lives with HIV if they take ARVs, where before they could only face hopelessness and a difficult death.

In Francistown I worked with 50 women and men who are involved in HIV/AIDS prevention, education, caregiving, work with youth, care of orphans and care of the dying. There had been a mix up in communication and two different groups were awaiting my arrival for workshops at two different venues. One group was the Catholic Diocesan AIDS Office with thirty men, women and youth working throughout the region. Mmallori Thabi, Director of the Diocesan AIDS office, graciously agreed to bring together everyone at her venue to solve our problem. The second group was the Matshabelo Development Association. This group consisted of 20 HIV positive former sex workers from different regions of Botswana who are working in education and advocacy for poor women who have to service the truck routes to support their families. Pedzisane Motlhabane, the MCDA founder/director, said that the women are helping over 350 women at 16 sites throughout Botswana. Besides HIV, many of these women also deal with abuse and violence.

The Capacitar workshop (all with Setswana translation) gave positive skills and tools to meet the different needs of participants. The workshop also included ideas on burnout and secondary trauma, which so many of the caregivers are suffering. Many of the participants who were HIV positive or had full-blown AIDS said how much better they felt after learning the Capacitar energy practices. Sr. Zora and a young man, Jerry, came a long distance from Botshelo, Serowe. They were excited to receive tools to use with the large groups of youth in their area, as well as with the San, indigenous nomadic people of the Khalahari Desert, who live difficult marginalized lives at the edges of the towns. Another young man, George, was administrator and youth coordinator of the Coping Centre for People Living with HIV/AIDS. He was delighted to learn the Capacitar methods and planned to teach them the following week at a large conference gathering together 8,000 people living with HIV in the northern region around Francistown. We are hoping to get the AIDS manual translated into Setswana to make our materials accessible to many more people.

In Gaborone I again met with SACBC AIDS groups with whom I had worked in October 2003. About two thirds of this group were from Youth Alive, ranging in age from 17 to the early 20s, many of them HIV positive. For me one of the very satisfying aspects of doing this work is bringing hope, joy and energy to the people. And this is especially poignant when I work with HIV positive youth, who usually arrive very depressed, burned out and negative about life. Within an hour or two you could see the change, as the young people brightened up with the fun and positive energy of the work. Many reported that their bodies no longer felt pain or discomfort and they did this all for themselves! They were anxious to share with their peers and groups.

In Gaborone several other opportunities developed for Capacitar. In July, Francoise Horenburg, who has been part of the Johannesburg training, officially registered Capacitar as an NGO, nongovernmental organization (nonprofit), and there is a small, but growing network of advisors to Capacitar-Botswana from different parts of the country. One short workshop was offered for professionals, teachers, political leaders and ex-patriots with lots of interest. Francoise and her daughter Nancy live by the villages of Modipane and Mokatsi, so another short workshop was offered to 30 village people. This was the first time that these villages had ever gotten together for a public educational function. Present were the chief and elders of Modipane, the teacher, a social worker, a number of youth and several mothers with their infant children. About 2,000 people live in these two villages. Many at the workshop described themselves as "out of school or not working". People especially loved learning the acupressure points for headaches, stomachaches, and pain. Francoise and Nancy plan to train some of the youth and adult leaders who could then work with the different groups in the villages.

SOUTH AFRICA

My time in South Africa is always filled with warm moments in the company of dear friends and the growing network of Capacitar. I usually stay for a couple of days with Joel and Sandy Perry and their two small sons, Dharma and Chathan, who have become my Joburg family. Joel is the national education director for CANSA (Cancer Association of South Africa) and Sandy is administrator for the Mayor of Johannesburg. This time when I arrived, Dharma ran down the front steps gleefully shouting "Auntie Pat, Auntie Pat!" This was a great surprise since Dharma is just learning how to speak!

Capacitar work in South Africa continues to blossom and grow. We graduated our first group of 12 women and one man from the Multicultural Wellness Education (MWE) training. Participants in this training were from: Johannesburg, Capetown, Soweto, Pretoria, Durban, KwaZulu Natal and Botswana. Our second Joburg MWE group will complete their training in November. A number of these participants come from AIDS, caregiver and orphan groups and are being sponsored by SACBC. One woman who runs a center for caregivers of children described how everyone was ready to quit on her because of burnout and exhaustion. After teaching them the Capacitar practices they felt so much better that they decided not to quit. These trainings and other events, including radio and TV presentations, are well coordinated by Sharon Ries and a very committed Joburg team.

One of the presentations I gave in Joburg was for the top leadership and regional directors of the Cancer Association—CANSA. Vimla Pillay, regional director of CANSA-Cape Town, was the first graduate of our MWE program, along with 3 other CANSA trainers from Soweto, Joburg and Pretoria. Vimla is now developing Capacitar as an integral part of the CANSA program for all of the Western Cape. In 2005 I will offer a large retreat workshop for CANSA leadership and staffs at large. CANSA will also publish an English edition of a new Capacitar Living in Wellness Manual for Caregivers, Families and People with Cancer.

Capacitar is also growing quickly in Cape Town with the leadership of Sharon Johnson and an enthusiastic coordinating committee. A group of 35 men and women from many professions will be finishing the MWE training in October. The Capacitar outreach that these participants are offering through their internships is amazing and includes: work with children and families in the townships; work in Polsmoor Prison; outreach to refugees; work in the schools; international forgiveness and reconciliation workshops; police trauma work; work with San people in the Khalahari; work with marginalized youth; and many other applications. Detective Tony Penso, head of the Rondebosch Police and Trauma Unit, described how his trauma counselors use Capacitar with victims of assaults. The day of the training, there had been an assault on a group of employees at a clothing company. Tony and his counselors arrived at the scene of the crime and immediately taught the Finger Holds and Emotional Freedom Technique to stabilize the victims.

Through the vision of Greg Johnson, a Rotary club leader, several participants from the Rondebosh Police Trauma Unit have been sponsored by local Cape Town Rotary Clubs. Because of Greg and Sharon Johnson's leadership and inspiration, Newlands Rotary has agreed to sponsor 20 participants in the 2005-2006 Capacitar MWE training, with representatives working in the fields of AIDS, schools, police and prison. Greg's strategy is to offer a pilot project for Rotary that could then be replicated by other clubs throughout South Africa. In a presentation to his fellow Rotarians, Greg said that besides supporting bricks for buildings, Rotary must be involved in building up the spirits of the people through the Capacitar program.

Port Elizabeth, a picturesque city on the Indian Ocean, was my last stop in South Africa. I again offered an SACBC-sponsored AIDS workshop for CARE, a large outreach organization with over 150 volunteers. Nearly half of the 30 participants had been part of my training in October 2003, and many reported how they used the practices in their outreach with families. Caregiving has become a major institution in the entire region, with people constantly facing death and funerals of family, friends and neighbors. Currently nearly 6 million people in South Africa alone have HIV or AIDS. Unlike Botswana, South Africa has only very recently started a program to make antiretroviral drugs available. One news report said that only 500,000 dosages will be available, which leaves most of the people infected with no possibility of ever getting ARVs. Several participants said that under current policy by the time you are accepted as an ARV recipient, you are almost ready to die. Most caregiving in South Africa is done by volunteers, and many are unemployed, with very few resources. Caregivers do the difficult work of assisting the sick and dying and their families with love and commitment, but usually with no remuneration or economic support. In some cases caregivers receive a small reimbursement (200Rand--$30US per month) for transportation or food. One government official recently announced that well-trained caregivers could qualify to receive up to 1000Rand (approximately $150) per month. But several caregivers angrily remarked that this has not been forthcoming. When I am with caregivers I like to remind them that they are the angels of South Africa, channels of love and grace accompanying the dying and the grieving. And for that reason I am especially committed to walk with these valiant people to be of support and to give them the skills to continue to do their important work. For me, and for Capacitar, this accompaniment of the caregivers is a great trust and privilege that is teaching us all so much.

When I look at the enormity of the AIDS pandemic, I often think that this experience is pushing the human family to the edge. As with any crisis, overwhelming challenge can bring forth either desperation and hopelessness, or deep compassionate love and grace. Perhaps as the pandemic and the number of orphan children grow, we will all better learn the deeper values of love and care for each other as part of the human family.

Thank you for your continued support of me and Capacitar.

Peace and blessings,
Pat Cane