Arafath picked us up for the last visit at the Ubuntu company. The factory will close at noon, so that it will be a short day here. But still worthwhile, as I had many things in my mind that I would like to sort out.

We met three girls from the Technical University Delft and also three people from Accenture who were visiting the company. The girls want to come with new designs for the Plakkies that are also to be prototyped. The people from Accenture were looking if there is a way to involve the Ubuntu Company in their supply chain.

Now Terance was helping Lisa with the loosening of the threads of the tyres. It took only 45 minutes to have a full thread. 3 Pairs of soles were made by use of the sole press. These were attached to the Plakkies that were waiting for the Palmer rubber soles, so we had the Plakkies with soles that are directly coming from used tyres. Nelson was examing the quality of the Plakkies in comparison with the profile of the sole. It seems better to have a profile that is in the same direction of the tyre for a stable walk.

At the end of the morning we had some social talks (and fun) with the all the people who are working for the Ubuntu company. At closing time we met the wife of Terance who is in the insurance business. Next year we should visit them at their home.

After we left the Ubuntu company, Lisa and I went to Umthombo which is a shelter for street childs. Umthombo tries to guide the street children with a safespace that offers specialist monitoring and a range of programmes that identify and start dealing with the children’s real experiences, traumas and needs. The condition of the shelter is very poor, despite the fact that they are in the possession of a mobile health clinic. Interesting is the lifesafe program of Umthombo for the over 18’s that overs life-skill training, skills training and job search as well as access to social services and medical services.
What they need is: computers. They have only two pc’s for on average twenty people. They need more for their skills development programs and job search. PC’s can also bring some entertainment to Umthombo. We will pass this on to the SSDC board.

When we left, we were glad that we moved by taxi, as the whole environment around the Umthombo shelter is really unsafe. Lots of dopey looking street guys here who are looking for something that they could rob. It was also here that we saw the police coming into action.

Finally we went back to the hotel. We drank some beers in the the hotel, after which we went to a mall with restaurants and a casino. The food was good, the black jack game was good, but the cards were against me – just bad luck. It’s crazy that you have to take a taxi for a distance of only 2 km for your own safety, but we’ve seen that the whole area around the hotels is full of street guys that are in need for money,

Tomorrow is the last day of our first period in South Africa. Then we will just do things that tourists do before we have the flight back to Holland. Lisa already told me: this place brings you many impressions !!

Raymond.