And this year’s Spring party is at Paulet House, where the garden is awash with blossoms and sweetness, and we’re ready to visit the schools again! The bakkie resembles a veritable zoo – in the back, Jakkals (the jackal), Wolf, Skaap (the sheep) and Bok (the goat) are waiting, ready for the Wela Kapela theatre group from East London.
The schedule for the week has been printed and is stuck to the dashboard. It is no easy feat to visit 14 schools and 3 000 children in five days. Three shows a day, but the guys are undaunted. They’re not scared of hard work. What work? laughs Xola Mziwakhe, alias Jakkals. He’s never worked a single day in his life, he says. It’s all just fun and games. Yes, agrees Reggy Danster, with Uil (the owl) and Katarina Kraai (the crow) on his lap. He’s the leader of the group, the father figure taking care of the younger actors.
The production – presented by the Jakes Gerwel Foundation and Suidoosterfees – was created by Amanda Bothma, the head of Wela Kapela. It is based on the Afrikaans folk tale of Jakkals and Wolf, or Udyakalashe no Mvolufu for the Xhosa schools, to which Amanda has added several delicious twists. Jakkals is as sly as ever, and he and Wolf (acted by Sinovuyo Mbasane) give poor Skaap (Alizwa Majelman) and Bok (Luthando Blandile) a nerve-wracking time. Fortunately, Katarina Kraai and the wise Uil are determined to establish peace in the Animal Kingdom. In between, we sing and dance. “Waka Waka! This time for Africa!” The children’s dancing feet kick up a cloud of dust.
Everywhere we go, they want to touch Wolf’s long ears or cuddle poor, nervous Skaap’s soft, woolly body. Somewhere, a little one starts crying – Jakkals has come much too close for comfort. At one school in Cookhouse, the children huddle outside the hall while the actors are preparing inside. In their excitement, they even want to pick us up and carry us around, first Gilbert and then me! They know us by now; we’re the uncles who bring the books and the funny animals.
At all the schools, our carpeted reading rooms and the books are tidy and looked after. We keep on working, whispers Lubabalwe Sijila, one of the reading assistants, while the vicious dog is chasing Jakkals. Even though you are no longer being paid? Yes, he nods. Since the end of April, along with the 40 reading assistants, we have been waiting for the Social Employment Fund to renew the contract for the next cycle via Citizen Connect. What will happen if it isn’t? We’ll make a plan, says Nompumelelo, the project manager. As we always do.
The evenings in Paulet House are a festival in their own right, with Gilbert’s food, the laughter and the actors’ music. They’re actually singers, dreaming of the big time. I dream along: next year they should come again for the children, but also do a few shows. The townspeople are hungry for entertainment. We’ll do a festival for the kids, no worries, says Reggy with a laugh. After all, the children are the ones who will change the world.
It’s the last morning, and everyone is up early. Today we travel on gravel roads. The last stop is Bracefield, obviously. Because this is where everything started for the Gerwels. I plan to join the group after answering a few urgent emails. Then one arrives: it’s from the people at Citizen Connect. They want to meet. The contract for the next cycle has just been renewed. The assistants can continue their work!
Suddenly, I think of Katarina Kraai’s words to the animals: if you stand alone, you’ll break easily, like a twig. But if you stand together, you are strong. Thank heavens for all those standing with us, believing in us – Suidoosterfees, the Social Employment Fund, Citizen Connect and the DG Murray Trust. I close my laptop. Until next time, my dearest Paulet. As I rise, I look at the black-and-white photos from the past, as I have done so many times before. Did I imagine it, or was that a wink from Prof. Jakes?
