McGregor Waldorf School

Katleen's Travelogue 7

The last week before our return home was a busy one because a lot of small things had to still be organized for the Art Action of Friday 22 June. At the same time I had to think about tying up loose ends before flying back to SA.

Wednesday 20 June

Mary was invited to go play at Emma’s house. Emma is a girl from her class who is very curious and always full of questions. I stayed on to talk to Kathy, Emma’s mother and Nancy, the mother of Florian who was also playing there. I was interested in talking to Nancy because she is Indian and adopted long ago.
She is currently retracing her origin and will be visiting India in the near future. Kathy was telling me what kind of influence Mary had on Emma and the children of her class, in that they became aware that there are children who do not have as much as they have. Anyway it was an enjoyable afternoon.

Thursday 21 June

Luc Lapere and I had agreed to go the ‘De Stekke’, the newly built Cultural Centre in Moorsele where the Auction was to take place, at 6.00 pm to make everything ready. Almost every small town in Belgium has a cultural centre which is absolutely amazing to me. De Stekke is newly built although the neighbouring small towns of Gullegem and Wevelgem and the towns of Kortrijk and Menen, all have one. Now it costs an enormous amount of money to built something like this but there seems to be money for it. The government pays all employees and each of these centres offers a full programme of theatre, music, movies, speeches, presentations, workshops, and courses throughout the year. The availability of events is something hard to imagine for someone who lives in a small town where nothing really happens.

This cultural centre also has everything available to make whatever you want to present possible and its all included in a small rental price, which the town of Wevelgem subsidised. Peter, the technician, helped to set up the power point presentation about the school which was going to be projected on a big screen. Luc and Johan (an artist who donated a work) unloaded all the artworks and set them up in an exhibition room, while I set up the bar and some small tables for sponsorship and the selling of the jewellery that Anna made. It was also amazing to me that all the artworks were considered to be safe while you could see them through the windows and I do not believe the centre has an alarm system. Coming from SA, this made me nervous. When I asked Pieter whether they were safe he looked at me unbelievingly and said ‘of course!’.

Friday 22 June

Just after lunch I went to the school where Mary spent the last three months. The teachers had asked if I could still give a presentation. Mary was so well received by the children, parents and teachers that she spent three months happily at the school. The last month she did not want to come home for lunch and insisted on staying in aftercare until about 5.30 pm. She loves playing with children as she very sociable. She also wanted to stay so she could ride a bicycle there, which she now can do fluently.

Well, after showing some pictures with the houses in which most of our school children live and the dvd about the school, the children were full of questions. For 45 minutes straight I answered questions ranging from ‘Are there streets in Africa?’, ‘Was Mary adopted and what happened to her parents?’ to ‘How many official languages are there in South Africa?’ I love the straightforward and innocent questions of children so I had a great time. I am certain that Mary being at the school will be something the children will remember for a long time. The teachers promised to donated the income from drinks served at the parents evening. I thanked the children and teachers. And I referred especially to teacher Dorine, Mary’s teacher, who has taken her into her class with such warmth and enthusiasm.

Introduction

Then the evening of the art auction came closer very fast. I was not nervous but did look forward to having the evening behind me. My family and some friends had agreed to come and help with the serving and manning the tables so we went a bit earlier to get it all on track.

We had foreseen to start officially at 7.30 pm because about 50 works had to be auctioned and that can take a long time. But of course we started later since there were not that many people yet. In the end we started at 8.00 pm with me giving a short introduction of myself, the school, the fundraising trip and the coming into being of the auction. I also thanked everyone who contributed to our stay and to this art action.

Then the power point presentation was projected so that people would know where their money would be invested in. Then the art auction started. I went in an out to make sure everyone was all right. People were able to walk in and out as well.

After ten works there was an interlude, in which the governor of the province West-Vlaanderen, gave a speech, placing the work they are doing in supporting projects all over the world. In the picture the governor Mister Breyne is on my right hand side and the major of Wevelgem, Mister Jan Seynhaeve is on my left hand. Next to him are the municipal representative of Ontwikkelingssamenwerking and Welzijn, while on the other side are Pedro and his wife, the drummers.

The auction went on until at another break it was time for Pedro and his wife to give some djembe performance in which they included anyone who wanted to participate. Djembe playing is very popular in Belgium and is a way for people to make a living. In the last break I read a story in Afrikaans called ‘Amper 9 jare oud’. I wanted to let people taste the Afrikaans language and at the same time show them the violence some children experience at home. The story tells about a child seeing his mother being beating up by the drunken father and how she and her brother run away to her auntie to seek help. The next day is their birthday and they imagine it to be care free with a mother who is not hurt and a father who is not drunk. Then finally at about 11.00 pm the auction drew to a close. Most of the works were sold, although some of them at a very low price. Some works from more renowned artists which had a beginning price did not get sold, and are going back to the artist. We gathered about 7000 euro which is great!!!

After tidying up and thanking everyone for their help and support, we went home, late but satisfied. The next few days I had to finalize the administration around the art auction, say goodbye to family and friends and start packing.

Looking back over the three months I am very grateful to my family and friends without whom this trip would not have been possible. They supported Mary and me in so many ways!! We have met with great people and I have had lots of contacts which are meaningful to the school or who could be in the future. When I get back in McGregor I want to evaluate the trip together with the staff of the school to see what the best way forward is for our school to grow into a future which can accommodate even more children.

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McGregor Waldorf School

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