Hey everyone. The past few weeks has been a crazy turn of events. About two weeks ago, The local government and police in Mthatha decided to bulldoze the Itipini community where I would have been working. Itipini had been built on top of an old landfill and the government made the choice to force the people off the land. Whether or not the government had good intentions in doing so is up for debate, but that is irrelevant right now. Itipini had been home to thousands of people for nearly 30 years. Many of these people relied on the health clinic to provide the drugs that kept them alive, and now this community is gone. Initially, the thought was that the clinic and the community center would stay open and continue to administer care to the displaced community, but that is no longer the case. I just found out today that the clinic and community center were shut down the the local police. The people of Itipini need your prayers and support more than ever right now.
Due to these recent developments, I will no longer be going to Mthatha in August. The YASC office is working on finding another placement for me, but this will take some time and I will not know for a couple weeks. Right now I ask for your prayers for the people of Itipini, for Karen (the current YASC member in Mthatha), and me. It is going to take a long time for the people of Itipini to get back on their feet. As much as it sucks for me to not be going to Mthatha, it does not even begin to compare to hardships that this community will face in the coming weeks, months, and years. Thanks for your continued support.
