Dear AIAIA friends, we have received some tragic news from the Eastern Cape in the village of Itipini, a community we have been visiting since 2006 and financially supporting for a year. Violence between people living at Waterfall, a nearby community, and Itipini resulted in the community being given 10 days notice to vacate the area before it was bulldozed. As a result, the 3,000 residents of Itipini scattered.
We are still receiving information from the African Medical Mission, the program with whom we work. We understand that there are about 350 people being housed and fed in an area called Rotary Hall. The AMM is working to ID the residents and move them into government housing. The tragedy is that the people of Itipini, the poorest of the poor, have been labeled low lifes and criminals so there are some communities that don’t want them.
AIAIA is looking into what assistance we can offer the people at this time. We will update you on this situation as we obtain more information.
For a detailed update on the events, please go to the blog of Karen Langsley, who is an African Medical Mission worker from the clinic whom we met on our most recent visit: http://kareninsouthafrica.blogspot.com.
Peace and blessings,
Julie Vogl
