Humanitarian Projects International

HPI Member Profile – LISA CLARK

admin — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 03:49:54 +0000

“The power that made the body heals the body” is the basic premise behind the chiropractic profession followed by Lisa Clark, who has been chosen to feature in this month’s Member Profile.

Lisa explains . “Chiropractic” comes from the Greek word Chiropraktikos meaning “done by hand” and is based on 3 scientific facts.

1. The body is a self-healing, self-regulating organism.

2. The nervous system controls that healing and regulation.

3. Any interference to the nervous system affects the healing of the body.

Chiropractors look for and correct an interference called a vertebral subluxation (misalignment of the spinal segments).

These alignments to the spinal column ultimately affect the normal flow of the nervous system and help her clients enjoy better health.

As both her parents were chiropractors, it was easy for Lisa to see the benefits of the profession and helped her choose her own career pathway. She studied at the home of chiropractic, Palmer College in Davenport, Iowa USA. She graduated in 1989.

Lisa has practiced in the Caboolture area since 1992 and in some cases has supported up to 4 generations within the same family. Her business is located at 196 King Street, adjacent to the Caboolture swimming pool.

She has travelled to a number of third world countries including Kenya, Haiti and Tanzania where she has witnessed first-hand how vulnerable children and adults need the help and support provided by organisations such as Humanitarian Projects International.

As regular clients, Ursula and I mentioned the work in which our members were performing and Lisa became interested in the HPI projects. She and her partner Derek came to the HPI launch last year and she decided to become a member because she believes in the humanitarian work in which we are involved.

Prior to Easter, Lisa filled a jar with Easter eggs and ran a competition at her clinic. For a gold coin donation towards the work of HPI, clients could attempt to guess the number of eggs in the jar. The winner, of course, won all the eggs. This competition, plus the generous contents of a collection tin she has had on the reception desk, has raised over $218 for our organisation.

Because of her care and concern for others I believe there is no doubt Lisa will join one of our project teams in the future where she can continue to support and help those in need.

Thank you Lisa, for your assistance with our work. We are indeed proud to have you as a HPI member.

Peter Mack

Taneen, Day 13 & 14: 21-22/2/13

admin — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 10:39:37 +0000

We spent our final day (Thursday)before leaving Tzaneen tying up lots of loose ends. Terry helped Sr Helen sort out a spreadsheet she was having problems with and Julie spent hours sorting out all the babies and children’s clothing into new, new complete sets and secondhand in the age groups from 0 to 12. There were heaps of clothing quite apart from the lot we brought over. The sisters are going to distribute them all at Easter time to the children in the villages. More repairs fixing doors and locks etc. We had a special send-off lunch with the Bishop and Srs Christine & Helen and then in the afternoon worked with the builder in planning major repairs to a building in the Diocese/Convent grounds which is used for storage of food, clothing and other supplies for the orphan families as well as garaging the Bishop’s car and Sr Christine’s car. The building roof has to be replaced as it is badly rusted and leaks like a sieve. (photo) Godwin listed and got prices for all the materials and then gave us a quote to fix everything – new galvinized roof, new guttering & downpipes, replacing water-damaged shelving in the storeroom, etc , etc . The job is expected to take 2 to 3 weeks and we were quoted R6800 (approx A$750) for the labour. We wish Australian building labour was so cheap! Total cost of renovating the building: R15,000 (approx A$1,700). So that job is now underway. We felt justified in spending some of the HPI funds on this because the building is used for the children’s welfare. The balance of our monies will be spent on the Day Care Centre and on few of the village homes for Virginia, Pauli and Geneva. Sr Christine will send us regular reports and photos of all the works.

On Friday morning we packed up, cleaned our ‘apartment’ and said our ‘goodbyes’. The ladies from the sewing school all dressed up in traditional gowns especially for the occasion. The girls wanted to show off the gowns they had been sewing during our time there. (photo) Julie on the left in her new apron Julia (standing next to Terry) made for her. We sadly left Tzaneen at around 11am and drove back to Jo’burg to drop off the rental car at the airport. Miraculously, we managed to remain accident free for the whole time but came within inches of smashing the car right at the entrance to the airport car rental return area because a driver in front of us decided he was in the wrong place and proceeded to back up. Julie jumped on the horn and fortunately he stopped his car about an inch from our front bumper. Phew!!!

Leaving Jo’burg today, Saturday morning, for our flights home. All in all it’s been an exhausting but productive trip and an important forerunner for the September team to do their major work here.

We certainly missed Zoe doing the daily internet reports! Thank you, Monique for putting everything up on Facebook and the HPI website and for adding the captions to the photos. You are AWESOME!

Terry & Julie Gaughan

Tzaneen, Day 12 – 20/2/13

admin — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:00:35 +0000

Out early again, this time to return to the Day Care Centre to hang the new steel doors to the 3 pit toilets. Roy Glover and his handyman, Michael, came with us. But first, we had to purchase 8 x 50kg bags of cement needed for building the 4^th pit toilet. At the hardware store, there were 3 people involved in the actual sale and payment and another 2 in the loading of the bags into Roy’s bakkie (ute). Off to the Day Care Centre (DCC) over some terrible roads (which, by the way, could be a major problem when we have to transport a full team of 10 or more people). Once there, Michael unloaded the cement and carried it by himself into the lockable kitchen within the DCC because the owner, Natalie, was concerned that the cement would be stolen before the 4^th pit toilet could be constructed. Why the builder of the pit toilet couldn’t purchase and transport the cement himself is a mystery. Roy wouldn’t let us help Michael with the unloading of the cement and he was even reluctant to let us help Michael fit the toilet doors, but we helped anyway. (photos of ‘before’ and ‘after’) As you can see, the doors don’t fit properly because the hinges are welded to the wrong leading edge. However, we made them fit as best we could. The 4^th pit toilet will be much better as the frame and door were purchased as one unit. As Julie was not required on the construction site she just happened to wander in to the DCC while the children were having their lessons about the days of the week, month and year. Julie took some pictures of the children having morning tea (photo)

This afternoon, we checked out another possible ‘builder’, Godwin Matabula, the brother of Tsakani, a trainee sewing teacher at the convent adult training program. Godwin doesn’t have a trade certificate but is purportedly very experienced. We inspected some of his work, a couple of houses he built and some fencing. It seems of a fairly good standard, so Sr Christine will give him some jobs, commencing with repairs to one of the outbuildings in the convent grounds. We are anxious to get some decent fencing around the DCC as there is no security at all for the children, as well as fences around some of the orphans’ homes in the villages. We will try and have an early night as the past three days have been extremely hot and the high altitude seems to sap your energy somewhat.

Terry & Julie Gaughan

Tzaneen, Day 11 – 19/2/13

admin — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:53:52 +0000

Up early for breakfast at the Olifants “restaurant”; very ordinary food and service but wonderful scenery overlooking the Letaba River. (photo)

We left the Olifants camp and slowly drove south the Satara camp which proved to be a much better standard. Surprise, surprise! We met up with Sr Merrilyn who was touring the park with her friend Rhoda. Saw more elephants, giraffe, warthogs, zebra, and wildebeest – no lions or leopards. Maybe it was just the time of the year, but we didn’t see any large herds or group of animals; it was mainly individuals grazing on their own. Moved on to the much smaller Orpen camp of the west side of Kruger before exiting the park and motoring back to Tzaneen. We had no problems with the driving and navigating and are now both fairly confident drivers on the RSA roads. We always think that Qld drivers are the worst, but the RSA drivers have taken the title! Late afternoon, we checked out another possible accommodation place for the Sept team; Silver Palms lodge which looks like it will be just right.

Terry & Julie Gaughan

Tzaneen, Day 10 – 18/2/13

admin — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 23:12:39 +0000

Set off early for Kruger National Park, just 115 kms from Tzaneen through the Phalaborwa gate. The park is one of the largest in the world, 450 kms long and 150 kms wide on average. It now extends into Mozambique under a joint management program with RSA. We were only driving for about 30 minutes when we came across a large bull elephant (photo) He was no more than 10 mts from our car. Needless to say, we kept the engine running! We saw lots of other animals along the way (giraffe, kudu, impala, sable antelopes and even eagles) to Letaba camp where we had lunch overlooking the Letaba river. After lunch, we motored (speed limit in Kruger is 50kms/hr on tarred roads and 40kms/hr on dirt roads) to Olifants camp where we stayed overnight in a thatched bungalow. (photo) Kruger is very different from Murchison National Park in Uganda because it (Kruger) is so much bigger, the vegetation is much denser and the animals are far less concentrated, so you can often drive for a long time without seeing anything, but suddenly some animal will be there. Overall, I think Kruger is a great park, very peaceful and serene. The accommodation is calm style, not resort, so it’s less luxurious. However, the standard of the camps we have seen so far has deteriorated considerably from what I remember back in 1985. The camp facilities are generally looking rather tired, the restaurants are poor and the service sub-standard. Maybe it will be better tomorrow as we move further into the park before heading back to Tzaneen in the afternoon.

Terry & Julie Gaughan

Tzaneen, Day 9 – 17/2/13

admin — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 23:09:14 +0000

Disclaimer: I’m writing this in very poor light at 8.30pm at Kruger National Park, so please forgive any errors.

We went to church at the Tzaneen Cathedral. It was unusual in that they conducted the service without a priest or bishop; and it was very well done! This happens one a month because the bishop and/or priest has to be at one of the outlying churches.

We then visited 6 different possible accommodation places for the Sept HPI team. Only one was really suitable but we will try to look at more.

We then spent some time with the sisters handing over R60,000 (A$7,000) to be used for various building and infrastructure works for the orphan families in the outlying villages. The most urgent works are putting doors on existing pit toilets, building new pit toilets for some families who have no sanitation facilities, fixing fences and erecting new fences and, if funds suffice, getting the renovation and construction works underway at the Day Care Centre about which we wrote on 12^th Feb. We also presented Sister Christine with the Prayer Quilt especially made for her by the ladies at St Andrew’s Church , Caloundra. Sister Christine was absolutely delighted and very thankful for the quilt and all the prayers (check gallery for photo) L to R Sr Helen, Sr Christine & Sr Merrilyn.

After lunch, we visited the Holy Family Orphanage, about 30 kms from Tzaneen, run by the OLSH Sisters and is now receiving some funding from the SA government and from donors. The orphanage has 68 orphans at present and can accommodate 70. It is very well equipped and run with a staff of 20 including a number of volunteers. One such volunteer is a Vietnamese Australian from Sydney who came through the Palms program and who is responsible for helping the children with their after-school homework and giving them extra tuition where necessary. The school-aged children are all bussed to and from the local government school Monday to Friday in the orphanage’s own bus. The Director of the orphanage is Sr Sally who told us of some of the stories of the children but all of them have horrific backgrounds of abuse, of loss of their parents to AIDs and violence, etc. In spite of their backgrounds, the children seem happy and are certainly loved and well cared for at the orphanage (check gallery for a few photos of orphanage) Note the children playing “Bob the Builder! There are plenty more photos but too many for this short missive.

Terry & Julie Gaughan

Tzaneen, Day 8 – 16/2/13

admin — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 03:59:56 +0000

We set off at 7.30am with Sister Merrilyn to Louis Trichhardt, to do some currency exchange (we couldn’t do it at any bank in Tzaneen) and then onto Nzhelele, 175kms north from Tzaneen , not far from the Zimbabwean border, to attend a farewell function for a priest who has served in that parish for the last 14 years. The function was basically a church service without the Eucharist, beautiful singing and harmonising by the African congregation, which is mainly of the Venda tribe and language, and followed by 2 hours of tribute speeches and then lunch indoors, prepared by the African women outside the church in huge wood fired cauldrons. In the middle of it all, the heavens opened with a very heavy downpour. Just how the women prepared the hot meal of chicken, pap, rice, mashed pumpkin and beautiful salads for over 200 people in the rain, we don’t know. (photos)

It was a very happy occasion and we just loved the interaction with and infectious enthusiasm of these Venda people, in spite of their desperate circumstances. From there, we travelled to see the OLSH Mission station and clinic run by the sisters where the priests’ residence is also, in a spectacular setting looking towards the Drakensberg Mountains. (photos) It was a long but very rewarding and inspirational day, particularly to see for ourselves the fantastic work being done by the sisters and the church to bring hope and relief to the poor people.

Terry & Julie Gaughan
*See gallery for all photos

Tzaneen, Day 7 – 15/2/13

admin — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 03:54:06 +0000

Visited a friend of the sisters named Roy Glover who is a retired agriculturalist and former owner of large plantations of tea & coffee but also a man with a lot of contacts. We visited him to see if he knew of an architect and a builder and handyman who could help with the re-building of the Day Care Centre. He was so impressed with HPI and what we are trying to do that he will be going with us to the Day Care Centre on Wednesday next week to see for himself what needs to be done and he will bring his own handyman to help us install 4 new steel doors on the toilets there.

We then headed for the hardware store to purchase the steel doors. What should have been a simple task involved 7 different people, 3 men to select the items from stock and key in the order and then 4 more ladies to process the payment through 3 different checkouts. Even then the order was wrong and we had to get it adjusted and obtain a refund. Then they told us they couldn’t deliver because their truck had broken down; this from a huge hardware store almost as big as Bunnings. So we had to arrange delivery (at a fee) with a friend of the senior salesman. Fortunately, the order was delivered this afternoon.

After lunch we visited Geneva’s place again to drop off a 25kg bag of mealies (corn flour) and some school stationery. Forgot to tell you yesterday that when we went to Geneva’s place, the sisters’ 2 Jack Russell dogs who almost always travel with us, ran off and chased a group of goats and actually attacked a young kid and would have killed it if we hadn’t pulled them off.

Over some of the worst roads we have ever seen, off the main tarred roads, we visited 2 other village homes about 25 kms away from Tzaneen. Both were occupied by orphan children under the “Head of Family” program managed by the sisters; the head of the family being the oldest child.

At the first house, Virginia and 2 sisters and a brother and 3 babies live in just 2 rooms (photo) with million dollar views (photo) looking towards the Drakensberg Mountains. They are fortunate to have an outdoor tap and electricity and a TV!

At the second house, the head of the orphan family, Grace, was not home but her brother and other siblings and at least 1 baby were evident. We dropped off a 25 kg bag of mealies, some vegetable oil, sugar, salt, tea and some soya pasta mince (photo) This house also had electricity and a TV but no running water. The front gate had been demolished so we measured up the space to buy a new gate.

Terry & Julie Gaughan
*See gallery for all photos

Tzaneen, Day 6 – 14/2/13

admin — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 10:20:08 +0000

Natalia from the Day Care Centre paid us an unexpected visit so we took the opportunity to give her the bed quilts so beautifully made by Eunice Prickett of the Anglican Church at Glasshouse Country (photo). Natalia was very grateful as the children need quilts to lay on or cover them when they have their naps. Eunice, Natalia sends her grateful thanks to you. We spent the rest of the morning doing cleaning (Julie was in her element!) and minor repairs to cupboards and taps. Then visited the Tourist Information Centre to get some info on accommodation, tourist attractions, etc , for the team to visit in September.

The Bishop and the other Diocesan priests and some of the nuns had a conference at the centre this morning followed by lunch prepared by the nuns and their cook, Maria. This meant that we had to wait for Sr Christine before going to see Pauli’s place. Pauli, just out of her teens, is another of Sr Christine’s orphans who is now looking after her 2 teenage brothers, her own child (2), her grandmother, her aunty and her child. Added to that, 2 ‘uncles’ have moved in. All 9 are crammed into 3 small buildings with a total of 4 rooms; no running water, no toilet, no kitchen (cooking is done outside in the open. Her house is at the village about 25 kms from Tzaneen. Again, extensive repairs are needed. In the photo below, this 2 room building, very poorly constructed, is missing a front door. (See photos in the gallery)

Next, we visited the home of Geneva, not far from Pauli’s home. Geneva is studying to complete her Grade 12 while at the same time caring for her 3 siblings and her own 2 babies. The brothers, Gift 19 and Adolph 17 are also completing their studies, Gift to become a Civil Engineer and Adolph to complete Grade 11. They all live in a 3 room house (photo) ag

Again with no running water but at least they have a pit toilet (without a door) (photo) The kitchen is outdoors (photo) but there is no firewood to cook the next meal.

These are just 2 of over 40 such orphan families being cared for in the countryside villages by the nuns. All stories are tragedies in themselves: HIV/AIDs, poverty, abuse, lack of education, etc. In the 3 places we have visited so far, there are a total of 8 doors missing from toilets and other buildings. We will be ordering doors today (Thurs) and trying to find someone who can hang them.

Terry & Julie Gaughan

Tzaneen, Day 5 – 13/2/13

admin — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 10:10:57 +0000

We spent most of the day doing minor repairs at and around the Convent; first setting up Sr Christine’s new computer and then fixing locks and jammed doors etc. Problem: few serviceable tools, so we had to go buy a rasp, screwdriver and spanner, sandpaper, etc. While we were out we priced 4 steel doors to be fitted to the Day Care Centre toilets. Sr Christine asked us to replace some warped wooden shelving in an external storeroom but when we inspected it we found the storeroom very damp because the roof timbers were rotten and the downpipe itself was not connected to the underground drain, so the water was entering the storeroom through the roof and at ground level. All that will need to be fixed before the shelving is replaced. We tried to buy steel shelving units but it seems these are not available in Tzaneen.

The sisters have set up a skills training centre at the convent. A garage has been converted into a sewing classroom (like Living Hope in Uganda) originally funded out of the sisters’ funds but now

equipped with 24 new sewing machines purchased from a grant by the Irish government. The ladies get to keep the machines at the end of the course. (photo) The course was set up to give the orphan girls

some skills to earn a living by setting up cottage industries but the course is also available to other ladies from the local communities.

There is also a course in Finance about which we are yet to get more detail.

At 5.30pm we went to the Tzaneen Cathedral for Ash Wednesday mass. The Bishop of the Tzaneen Diocese presided and delivered a brilliant sermon. He has his house within the grounds of the Diocese headquarters. next to the sisters’ convent.

Terry & Julie Gaughan