The alarm on the cellphone goes off about half past 6 in the morning. Carina “jumps” out of the bed, washes and starts to make breakfast and “matpakke”. About half an hour later Ole-Christian “falls” out of bed, washes, have some cereals and start up the car (a small, South African produced Toyota Tazz). We set off for Kalafong Hospital and the children´s home close by, in Attridgeville (a township close to our home, where Carina works), around twenty past seven. Carina is at work about quarter to eight, and Ole-Christan about eight O´clock.
(BDOCA office, Photo: OC Ostreng)
Carina plays with, helps the teacher teaching and follows the children to the doctor. Most of the children at the children´s home are unfortunately HIV positive. Ole-Christian works in the office doing all the works needed to be done for BDOCA, which is a certification organisation for organic production and trade. At about 12 O´clock noon, it is about time to enjoy the wonderfully Norwegian made “matpakke” (as close as possible here South of the Sahara). Hmmm….
(Making compost, "The back-bone of organics", Photo: OC Ostreng)
Five O´clock in the afternoon Ole-Christian knocks off from his work, fetching Carina at Kalafong around quarter to twenty past five. It is winter now. The days and nights are cold. And we feel it especially in the evenings and early mornings. At night we sleep underneath three layers of blankets… The temperatures can be as low as –5oC in the mornings (when the sun rises) and during the day (when it is mostly blue sky and sunshine) it usually is around +20oC. Ole-Christian actually uses his Norwegian long trousers made of wool, both at daytime when he is sitting still in an office room in a concrete building which is not build for even a South African winter, and in the afternoons at home (in another of these South African concrete buildings which are too cold when the temperature outside goes lower than +10oC). At the children´s home, Carina does not need to where long extra wool trousers, where she is together with children by the age from a few months to 12. Luckily for her! But in the afternoons, she also put on more cloths…
(Carina and Danger Boy in our kitchen, Photo: OC Ostreng)
After joining up at Kalafong, we either head directly home or via the shop for buying some food that we can not live without. That is, food we need to buy other than the certified organic vegetables and fruits that we buy form Wensleydale Farms every second week or so. The clock shows around seven or eight in the evening, and we are enjoying a self prepared dinner around the iron table that Jurie and Samson (our neighbours) have made for us.
(Making food the SA way, Photo: Carina Willumsen)
Zola, Lucky Dube or Bob Marley play their music for us on the CD-player in the evening and till we crawl into the bed for another night´s sleep…