A beader's story: Ntombi

Ntombi is a vivacious thirty-nine year old woman who is involved in the beading projects and is a home-based carer at the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust. She has two daughters, one of whom is twenty-four and the other thirteen years of age, and one granddaughter, who is eight. Ntombi also lives with her sister, and her sister's daughter and granddaughter.

Ntombi has been a volunteer home-based carer for seven years, and she cares or six clients in the community. She says that the job is emotionally draining, as she often finds that her clients' situations are heart breaking. Ntombi says that she copes by bracing herself emotionally before visiting the homes.

Ntombi has been beading since 1999, when she learned at the Hillcrest AIDS Centre. She says that she has been making Little Traveller dolls "since the beginning". In fact, Ntombi created the first Little Travellers to have long hair! Nowadays, she specializes in the large dolls that adorn Little Traveller displays in Canada and elsewhere.

Ntombi says that when she sees a Little Traveller, she sees a person. She goes on to explain that this is why she makes them beautiful - because she is creating a human being! Ntombi says that after making Little Travellers, she often lays them on her sofa and admires them for a while.

Ntombi has never been formally employed, so being involved in the Hillcrest AIDS Centre's beading project has really made a big difference in her life. She says that she can't even imagine her life without beading. In particular, she is grateful for the Little Traveller dolls, which earn her between R80 and R300 per week ($15-$60 Cdn), depending on the orders. Ntombi explains that her "entire house has come from the Little Travellers" – her fridge, her sofa, the plaster on her walls, EVERYTHING! It is no wonder that Ntombi admires the Little Travellers so much – and she grins from ear to ear when told about how these beautiful dolls that she helped develop have brought joy to people around the world.

A beader's story: Francisca

Francisca Mbele is a 73 year old granny who makes Little Traveller dolls. Of ten children she raised to adulthood, all but one have passed away, and she now cares for her five grandchildren, ranging from 6 to 20 yrs in age.

Francisca (who is affectionately known as “Gogo”, a Zulu word for “Granny”) has been beading for six years, having learned at the Hillcrest Aids Centre. She initially came to the centre when one of her granddaughters fell very ill. She explains, “Paula [the director of Woza Moya income-generation project] taught me how to bead. So I’m happy. I didn’t do beading before, but now I’m clever. [Jill of Woza Moya) gave me glasses and now I can do it fast.” In fact, Gogo says that if someone brings her tea to her, she can make up to 20 Little Travellers in one day.

Gogo is very happy to be part of the beading project at the Hillcrest Aids Centre. She describes her poverty before she started beading: “Before, I hadn’t got even shoes. Nothing before. I was too frightened to go outside. I was afraid people were going to laugh. I had nothing. Nothing to eat, no clothes.” By making Little Travellers, Gogo now earns approximately R300-400 (~$60 Cdn) per week, and she uses it to buy food and blankets. When asked what the Little Travellers mean to her, Gogo responds, “They mean that God helps me. God helps me to do these dollies. He looks after me.”

In addition to participating in the income-generation projects, Gogo receives a weekly food parcel from the AIDS Centre. Her gratitude in spite of all her hardships is inspiring. “I’m happy! I’m too happy!” she exclaims joyfully.

By purchasing Little Travellers, you are supporting people like Francisca and her family. In addition, all further proceeds help the Hillcrest Aids Centre to provide “unconditional love to all those affected by HIV/AIDS in a practical way”.

A morning with the crafters of the Little Travellers

What an emotionally filled morning! Ilan and I have been looking forward to meeting the beaders all week, and we were wonderfully surprised and moved to tears by the stories that they shared with us. Thankfully I had the help of Zama from the craft shop translating Zulu into English!


We were able to interview eight out of the hundred beaders involved in making Little Travellers. One gogo (Zulu for granny) shared with us that of her ten adult children, all but one have passed away, and she now cares for her five grandchildren. Yet, through all the pain that she's endured she is able to find joy and happiness in her life through beading Little Travellers. Before becoming involved in bead work and the Little Travellers, she was ashamed to walk out of the her own house because she didn't have money for food, or even shoes on her feet. Making Little Travellers has enabled her to support family, giving her and the hundred beaders added confidence and financial security, as the beaders are often the sole source of income in large households.


The beaders shared with us the love that they've experienced at Hillcrest AIDS Centre through being employed and the relationships they've made with staff. One male beader told us that he's recently been able to build a new seven room house from the money he's earned from beading Little Travellers. Listening to the hope and freedom that Little Travellers has brought so many people is encouraging, we know that what we are doing is making a difference in over 100 families lives. It's amazing to be a part of something so simple and beautiful. I hope this moves people to buy more dolls, because they aren't only providing people with income but empowering and uplifting people, making a difference in their lives as well as their families. It's true that something as small as a Little Traveller, is able to make a big difference in the world.

Visiting Gogos, the true heroes of Africa

Yesterday, Cwengi, one of the loving nurses of the Hillcrest AIDS Centre, asked Kristine and I to join her on visits to the homes of several gogos (Zulu: grannies) in the community. The reason for the visits was to complete a questionnaire regarding the living situations of those caring for children orphaned by HIV/AIDS, as part of the work of a researcher from Canada. Two years ago when I was here, I would often go out on home visits with the nurses, though usually it was to check in on patients or to provide support for the home-based carers.

We visited four gogos in the community of Molweni in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, and we felt so privileged to be guests in their homes and to be granted such an intimate view into the lives of these courageous women. All of the grannies were caring for grandchildren who had been orphaned by the pandemic, foregoing the relaxation that was meant to accompany their "golden years".

As I entered the home of the first gogo and took in the familiar smells and images, it was as if I was transported back two years ago. I could suddenly vividly recall the feelings of admiration, humility, and impotence of the home-visits on which I accompanied the nurses at that time. On the wall was a large framed photograph of her adult daughter, visibly within the terrible clutches of AIDS. Gogo had cared for her dying daughter and then her son, the latter passing on just 3 weeks ago. Now, looking after her granddaughter presented a new set of challenges. For example, she wasn't sure how to deal with some of the questions that she was being asked, such as "Why did mom die? Am I going to die too?", and "why don't the other children need to take medicine? Why am I different?". While she said that she was receiving advice on dealing with these questions from a counselor at her church, she still found it very difficult to handle these issues. Her granddaughter was currently being cared for at the Hillcrest AIDS Centre's respite unit, where she was recovering from a bout with illness and awaiting some tests from the hospital before starting anti-retrovirals. Gogo was too poor to be able to visit the child daily - she could not afford the R5 (~$0.70 CAD) for the taxi ride to Hillcrest. She was looking forward to her child coming home soon. After completing the questionnaire, we thanked her, and left her with several blankets for the winter.

The next two gogos that we visited presented stories equally as heartwrenching. For the sake of brevity, I will only recount the story of the final gogo that we visited. This granny was caring for several grandchildren. She was very poor. One salient storyline in her situation was that the mothers of her sons' children had abandoned the children to her care. To make matters worse, these women would continue to collect child-care grants for the children, so that Gogo couldn't collect the grant herself! This has happened not once, but three times! She was an incredible sweet woman, and embodied so many of the features of the strong, resilient grandmothers who former UN Special Envoy to HIV/AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis, rightfully acknowledges as "the true heroes of the continent of Africa". Learning their stories and being allowed such an intimate peak into their lives was an immense privilege that neither Kristine nor I will soon forget.

Kristine joins Sister Cwengi and Besda, a home-based carer, on a visit to the home of a granny.

Ilan with Cwengi and Besda.

A home-based carer with some children outside the home of a granny.

Kristine & Besda, a home-based carer, prepare to travel in the back of the "bakkie".

One of the Gogos with two of her grandsons.

Emiso, my Nunu

Last summer as I first walked through the doors of the Respite Unit of the Hillcrest AIDS centre, my life was touched by a small Zulu boy named Emiso. He was terribly sick, but still managed to be a cheeky 5 year old boy. We quickly bonded and became the best of friends during my six weeks in the unit. Although I know only a few words in Zulu, we managed to develop a special relationship. As I would do rounds in the unit walking from patient to patient, Emiso was always at my side. He even became quite the gentleman, kissing me on my hand throughout the day! When I returned to Canada, Emiso was moved from the Respite Unit to Lily of the Valley, a home for children who have been orphaned or abandoned because of AIDS.

Yesterday, Ilan and I travelled to Lily of the Valley to see Emiso. I felt nervous but also excited to see him after nearly a year. We arrived to find him having his afternoon nap, but his house Mama woke him up from his peaceful sleep for us! Emiso was groggy and unresponsive at first, but after a biscuit and some fun presents, he perked up and became the Emiso I remembered and loved.

This past year, I struggled not really knowing if Emiso was well cared for. Not one day passed where he wasn't on my mind. All those worries were quickly dashed, as we saw the love that each child is given at Lily of the Valley. The children live in homes with five other children and one house Mama. They eat, sleep, play together as one family. It truly is a beautiful place, where children are able to be children and feel loved and cared for in a family of their own.

I left Emiso with tears in my eyes, hoping I'll see my Nunu again soon.

Surprise! Sibuyile

Honestly, I don't know how these Little Travellers do it! The gruelling trip from Canada to South Africa took an agonizing 53 hours of airplanes and airports, but it was finally worth it when we stepped off the plane to breathe in the air of our beloved country, South Africa.

Kristine and I flew into Johannesburg with the intention of continuing on to Durban, but several major obstacles stood in our way. The first one was to somehow manage to get all of our oversized luggage on-board, in spite of having twice the baggage allowance. Before we left in a mad dash, several generous friends brought over some clothes and toys that they wanted to donate to the Hillcrest AIDS Centre. The old hockey bags in my house were hardly getting much use otherwise, so we packed them until they could barely be lifted and off we went. Sure enough, however, with a bit of heavy lifting (that was me) and a little eyelash batting (thanks Kristine!), we were allowed onto our "1time" flight from Jo'burg to Durban without incurring additional costs, in spite of being 41 kg's overweight! I love South Africans!

But no one ever said that the trains (or planes) run on time in Africa, and our second obstacle was patience as we ended up being bumped from our flight because of "operational' reasons; we had to contain our excitement and bridle our impetuosity for another seven hours in the Johannesburg airport. Finally, around 7 pm, we touched down in Durban, a mere 32 kilometers from our beloved AIDS Centre.

Since we hadn't told anyone about our arrival, we rented a car and set off to surprise our dear friends, Paula (the director and heart & soul of the Woza Moya craft project at the AIDS Centre) and her husband Bruce, and her mother Jilly. We were banking that there would a spare room for us, and thankfully, we were right! We did cause quite a bit of commotion, greedily gobbling up the looks of udder bewilderment and bemusement that we had eagerly anticipated. In spite of our profound fatigue and circadian confusion that naturally followed our erratic sleep-wake cycles on our travels, we could barely contain our excitement for what lay ahead the following day: a return to the Hillcrest AIDS Centre.

The next morning, we walked into the office of the Centre to squeals and laughter: at last, sibuyile ekhaya (Zulu: we have returned home)!