Making My Way to Zululand

In my early twenties I came across an evening news program investigating orphanages in Russia. Needless to say, the findings were not good. In fact, they were downright shocking. There were institutions with hundreds of cribs and only two employees. The babies had numbers, not names. They were filthy and their diapers had not been changed in days. Many of the orphans who survived would often run away to live on the streets as young as five. They would do anything, including eat garbage, to survive. They would even sniff glue to numb their bodies so they wouldn’t feel the cold. I was horrified. I can remember thinking I must do something. I actually thought through the process of trying to make a plan to join this private American organization in Russia to help with this situation. No matter how I tweaked my plan, I couldn’t make it work. I had student loans to pay from University, I had just purchased a new car and truth be told, when it came down to it, I just wasn’t strong enough. I made a promise to myself that one day I would do something. My one day finally came.

Knowing the final leg of my journey would be in South Africa, I wanted to volunteer with an organization that was dedicated to helping orphans and abandoned babies. I wanted to be able to take my experience from Cooperate America and help this organization grow. I also want to learn more about non-profit organizations and in particular, the plight of saving abandoned babies and orphans and ideally finding them loving homes. I began my search by using the website www.idealist.org You enter all of your parameters… volunteer work, South Africa, orphans, time frame, etc. and a list of organizations that match your search appear. After reading about iKhaya LikaBaba, I knew this was the organization. The phrase iKhaya LikaBaba means “House of the Father” in Zulu. It is an organization that houses abandoned babies and orphans in Empangeni in the heart of Zululand. The organization is only in its first year. They currently house up to six babies and are at capacity. Next year, their plan is to expand to 20. They are also looking to grow Nationally and Internationally. iKhaya LikaBaba is a home, not an institution. Each of the baby’s crib has a colorful mobile; the playroom is full of toys and lots of windows to let in the sunshine. Although their clothes are donated, they are of good quality. They receive the best care from doctors, physical therapists and nutritionist. But most of all, they are loved. They are held, hugged and kissed on a regular basis.

To get to Empangeni, I flew from Cape Town to Durban. I was first told by Melanie, the founder of the organization, that a woman by the name of Renee would retrieve me at the airport and we would drive the two hours to Empangeni straight away. The day before I was to leave Cape Town plans changed. I was now going to be picked up by Ray, a loyal volunteer, and stay the night at his house. Renee would come and fetch me the next evening. I’m flexible, so this wasn’t a problem. Then, while at the airport in Cape Town I receive a call from Ray. He explains that he is going to the big rugby match and that his mother Helen will be retrieving me from the airport. His mother? For some reason I assumed Ray was an old man. When I get off the plane I look around and see no sign that says “Kelly” or “I’m Helen”. Ray had given me her cell number. As I was about to reach for my phone to call, someone touches my arm and says, “Are you Kelly?” It was my new friend Helen! We found each other by simply being the two most confused looking people at the airport. Helen gave me a tour of downtown Durban. It’s a beautiful beach town that has lost its charm. She spoke of the days when as a young girl she could walk the streets of the city at night to shop. “Now”, she expressed with disappointment in her eyes, “you wouldn’t make it to the end of the street without being killed.” She went on to tell me that you can’t even wear jewelry during the day or it will be ripped right off of you.

She explains that we will be picking up Ray and his friend from the Rugby match but will return to the house until the match has ended. Their house is absolutely gorgeous. Helen leads me to the guest house behind the pool and explains that I will be sleeping in Ray’s quarters. As we enter the guest house I am transformed to Wayne’s World… guitars hanging on the wall, CDs tossed about everywhere, hookah pipe on the dresser, surf boards leaning about… I don’t mean to stereotype, but without meeting Ray, just but observing his lifestyle, he just didn’t seem like the type that would volunteer for an orphanage.

After a nice cup of tea Helen received a call from Ray to let us know the match was over. Little did I know that this match was the “Super Bowl” of Rugby. A friend of Ray’s invited him to his company’s suite where they could watch the match in luxury. Ray and his friend were in high spirits. First, because the Sharks won the cup and second, because food and drinks were included in the suite. After visiting Ray’s room he looked like I expected,…a young, attractive, alternative-rock-star-surfer-dude.


When we returned to the house we went out to the surf shack (Ray’s room). His mother gave him a lecture about the condition of his quarters, he laughs it off. As she continues with the lecture, he pulls out a king size mattress from behind his wardrobe and flops it on the floor next to his bed. I help his mother dress the mattress. As his mother leaves she yells out an approximate time for dinner. Politely, Ray asks if I would like to take a shower. “Not at this moment”, I reply. He announces he really needs one and begins to strip off his closes… down to his boxers and heads for the shower. I sit on the nicely made king mattress and I absorb the events of the day. Think about it, I’m in a foreign country staying with people I have never met in my life. In fact, they have never met me yet they are acting as if my presence is very normal… as if I’m a relative they haven’t seen in a long time. While I’m in mid-thought,
Ray does a leaping sideways spiral twist across my king size mattress onto his bed, towel wrapped around his waist. He begins to ask me the questions I seem to get everywhere I go in Africa… where am I from?... When did I arrive?... How long will I be staying? When it was my turn to “interview” Ray, I found out that his role as a volunteer with iKhaya LikaBaba was to retrieve volunteers from the Airport in Durban, let them stay in his “quarters” until he was scheduled for a business trip in Empangeni which was usually within a few days, then drop them off at the orphanage. You’re probably wondering how a rock-n-roll-surfer-dude got involved in this project? So was I. Ray works in his family’s plumbing business. iKhaya called his company to bid on a project. Once he arrived and looked at the job, he realized the project was too small and too far away. You see Durban is two hours away from Empangeni. Although Ray decline to accept the job, Mel, the founder of iKhaya, asked Ray how often he did business in Empangeni. When he said he was there as least once a week she asked if he would be willing to retrieve volunteers from the airport and bring them with him and he said, “sure.” Sometimes there happens to be a few days between when he picks them up at the airport and when he takes them to the airport, that’s when they “crash in his room.” And this is how Ray became a volunteer with iKhaya LikaBaba… and how I became roommates for three days with a rock-n-roll-surfer-dude. I must say, I was very impresses with Ray. He was a true gentlemen and perfect host. He invited me to join him surfing at 6am, when I told him I liked the CD he was listening to he gave it to me to listen to while I was in Empangeni, he would ask my opinion on stock purchases… he clearly had done his homework, he invited me to go to the mall with he and his friend, and even invited me to come stay at his house on weekends when I wasn’t volunteering. I instantly fell in love with the whole family. We stayed up late one night sharing travel stories and laughing until we had tears rolling down our faces. It was at this moment I made my mind up that I would make sure to spend at least a night or two with this family before I head back to the states.