5/6 cont.

I wanted to add more about the first real day at the Khayelitsha health club. We arrived and had to wait outside for a while before SiSi showed up. Once inside we set up tables and chairs so that we could have a meeting before the club members arrived. We wanted to get a feel for an average day, and talk to SiSi about the club itself: namely, their goals and methods. We also wanted to share our ideas for the project, our timeline, and what we were expecting. Sybil was available for translation if need be, and to offer her input.

I will not be including much work stuff in the blog, except for the big events, so if you want to know more specifics, just ask!

Today we met the few members that came, and introduced ourselves and what we would be doing over the next few weeks. Then we sat to the side, and let them conduct the meeting as usual. It started with testimonies, people sharing how they were doing with the home exercises, with eating habits, and with taking their “tablets”. SiSi then led them in stretches in their seats. They began with neck stretches, then arms, then legs. They also did fingers and wrists since most have arthritis. Exercises came next. The radio was broken, so SiSi broke out into song and the others joined in immediately. It was enchanting. It sounded as if we were listening to a choir. They had the most magnificent voices, with SiSi taking the lead role and everyone else singing the second part. It was perfectly orchestrated and completely spell binding. We asked Sybil afterwards what they were singing and it was called “The Wonderful Name of G-d”, a church song. I will definitely be looking for it online. In the meantime they were doing their exercises. They began by stepping from right to left, clapping in time, while still seated. Then they clasped their arms and extended them as if stirring a large bowl. They stood after this, and began walking in a circle. At this point two of the older women had to sit, though they continued to perform the exercises enthusiastically from their seat. They marched their arms as though walking in a circle, and of course, continued to sing. The ones standing alternated raising their arms, and eventually changed directions.  In all it lasted about 10 minutes. While this was enough to get the blood flowing and warm everyone up, it was not sufficient physical activity for the day. I was very surprised that this was all. It was geared towards the older women with arthritis, but there were also young people (they seemed about our age) who would have been able to handle more strenuous exercise.

A memorable woman was Mildred, an old black woman, about 5’2”, with a long floral skirt, black and white striped tights, a brown sweater to her knees, and no teeth. She walked in with her cane and came straight up to us and grabbed our hands. She told Sybil to tell us “Thank you so much for coming. It is wonderful to see young people care about us old people. We are excited to see you every week.” She was sooooo sweet and excited to partake in all activities that the club had planned for that day. I can’t wait to see her next week. We gave SiSi money to buy fresh vegetables from a garden next door and to make soup for the members (a little bribe to get them to show up…).