VHUTSHI LO MOUNTAI N SCHOOL

2014
Massage in South Africa!

First I want to thank everyone for all your support to make this massage project such a
success once again. Ive just returned from our third year visiting the Limpopo region of
South Africa, teaching massage/touch to HIV/Aids caregivers in local villages. It was a
busy three weeks as another 30 individuals joined our list of participants bringing the
total up to almost 60 men and women. We had 3 different groups of 10 participants
plus a translator and a graduate from last year who was great as my assistant.


PHOTO ESSAY
SOME OF MY FAVORITE GEMS FROM FOLKS;
I THOUGHT MASSAGE WAS ONLY FOR RICH WHITE
PEOPLE BECAUSE I SAW IT ON TV. I NOW REAL-
IZE I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
(FROM ONE OF THE CAREGIVER PARTICIPANTS)
I THOUGHT A PERSON COULD GET AIDS FROM DO-
ING MASSAGE. NOW I KNOW BETTER.


It made my heart soar to see the caregivers change from so
hesitant and unsure to truly excited about touch and
realizing they can make a real difference. Last years
graduates came back for more training, to share their experi-
ences, and practice. They had lots of questions which were
answered with the help of a translator, as no one spoke English.
One of the new groups was from a local NGO home based care
organization. They travel from village to village supporting folks with
various disabilities and health needs. They loved the work! They
learned about basic touch with a focus on stress reduction,
increasing circulation and supporting the immune system. The
immediate feedback they experienced about headaches going away
and stress relief gave them the excitement to go back into their
village and share the work.

The school staff wanted to learn how to use camera. So we had
Photography 101. It was so much fun practicing things like
composition, lighting, and camera settings. I got to see them become
more comfortable both behind and in front of the camera. It was a joy
and a delight and made for a lot of laughs and posing.

Then of course Power Tools 101 was a big hit. I told them we
didnt have to wait for the men to install the white boards in the
classroom, we could do it! And we did!
Massage, Photo Class, and
Power Tools 101
THE GANG
CHECKI NG I N WI TH THE
TEACHER
PHOTOGRAPHY CLASS!
LEARNI NG TO DRI LL I NTO
CONCRETE!
COME ON GI RL, YOU CAN
DO I T!

LAST BUT FAR FROM LEAST!
THE GANG

Let me introduce you to Captain.
Thanks to your generous donations, we were able to
purchase a healthy, strong ram last year. And he is now the
proud father of 13 beautiful kids. Its Goats Galore!
Getting three liters of milk per day from the ewes is no
easy task! The whole village is talking about the goats as
they are bigger and healthier than the local breed. The
male kids will be sold and the females will go out to villages
for the goat milk as it is more digestible and to breed more
goats which will then be given to other villagers to raise.

Thank you everyone for your support and contributions. It
makes a real difference in peoples lives.
We are already talking about next year and how to continue
to make the massage and goat program more sustainable
and keep it local. So stay tuned. And thank you.
Cary and Barb
Captain