Did you know?

Luna crisscrossed her way down a busy street of Cape Town, South Africa. She was not prepared
for such crowded cities. Before she came here, everyone told her all about the many animals
people see on African safaris. No one told her about the throngs of people! Several cities have
more than a million people living in them.
Cape Town was really an interesting place. On the southern end of South Africa, it has many
beautiful sights. Luna enjoyed nearby Table Mountain. People say you can see the mountain
from 100 miles away in the Atlantic Ocean. She also enjoyed going to Boulders Bay, home to
a large colony of penguins. She didn’t know much about penguins, but she enjoyed being
around so many animal friends.
Next Luna planned to go north to Kruger National Park, a wildlife area the size of New Jersey!
Thousands of animals — including elephants, lions, giraffes, and zebras — make their home
there. Luna would seem tiny compared to such huge creatures! After her visit there, she
planned to go to a place called Great Karoo. A vast open area in central South Africa, it is
home to farmers who graze sheep. Now grazing was something Luna knew about!
While enjoying scenery and watching interesting animals was lots of fun, Luna knew
her favorite part of the trip had nothing to do with sightseeing or grazing. She was
going to visit several children’s programs connected with churches in South Africa.
Children at the programs came every day after school to eat, play games,
and get help with their homework. Luna couldn’t wait to be a part of what
was happening and make new friends in this fascinating country.
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The Country
;;South Africa has a land area of about
471,000 square miles, making it almost
three times the size of California. ;;Located at the southern tip of Africa,
it borders Namibia on the northwest;
Botswana on the north; and Zimbabwe,
Mozambique, and Swaziland on the
northeast. The country of Lesotho lies
completely inside east-central South
Africa. The Indian Ocean borders South
Africa on the east and south, and the
Atlantic Ocean borders it on the west.
The two oceans meet at Cape Agulhas.
;;The Indian Ocean side of South Africa
has many ports and scenic spots. The
Atlantic side is rugged and isolated,
and many ships have crashed in the
dangerous currents.
;;Even though South Africa is surrounded
by oceans, it is home to two deserts: the
Kalahari and part of the Namib.
;;Since South Africa lies in the Southern
Hemisphere, its seasons are opposite
those in the United States. South Africans
are getting ready for the winter season
in May while people in the United States
are preparing for summer.
;;The weather is mostly warm and dry
year round and rarely dips below
freezing. From December to February,
temperatures can top 100 degrees in
some areas. The nation is generally dry,
especially in the northwest, but along
the eastern coast rain is plentiful.
;;South Africa has three national capitals.
Cape Town is home to the nation’s
parliament where laws are made;
Pretoria is where the president lives; and
Bloemfontein is where the Supreme
Court meets.
;;The nation is a treasure chest of wildlife,
with more than 20 national parks
where people can go on safari tours.
The ocean waters near Cape Town
are home to penguins and migrating
whales. Huge game reserves contain
elephants,
lions,
hippopotamuses,
giraffes, zebras, rhinoceroses, leopards,
and more.
;;South Africa’s flag has a colorful design.
A large green Y is tipped sideways with
the top pointing left. It is surrounded
by a thin white border on the top and
bottom and yellow border on the left
side. The rest of the flag is red at the
top, black on the left, and blue on the
bottom.
;;Several tribal groups lived in South Africa
before Europeans arrived in 1488. Over
time, Europeans took control of the land
and developed their own language,
called Afrikaans. They forced black
Africans to live separate from them
under strict rules called apartheid.
Under apartheid, black Africans had
few freedoms, could not vote or hold
high-paying jobs, and were often
forcibly removed from their homes to
live in slum areas. Apartheid officially
ended in the early 1990s. In 1994 millions
of blacks were allowed to vote for the
first time and elected Nelson Mandela
as the country’s first black president.
;;
Gold,
diamond,
and
platinum
mining is important to South Africa’s
economy. The Zulu name for the city of
Johannesburg is “Egoli,” meaning “the
place of gold,” because it was built on
top of a large gold vein. Some of the
gold mines around the city are more
than two miles deep.
;;
South African currency is called the
rand.
The People
;;South Africa’s population is about 49
million, which is about twice the number
of people living in Texas.
;;South Africans follow a wide variety of
religions. Most of them are mixed with
traditional ancestral beliefs passed
down for generations.
;;In cities, wealthy people live in modern
homes, many of them with swimming
pools and lovely gardens. Poor people
live in shacks made from any type of
material they can find, including mud
and thatch packed around wooden
poles. They have no clean water or
electricity. As more people come to
cities to search for work, the size of slum
areas is rapidly increasing.
;;People in South Africa dress much as
they do in the United States. In villages
or for special festivals, people may
also wear clothes in the style of their
particular people group. Beads, bright
colors, bracelets, and large earrings
are common.
;;South Africa has 11 official national
languages: IsiZulu, IsiXhosa, Afrikaans,
Sepedi, English, Setswana, Sesotho,
Xitsonga, SiSwati, Tshivenda, and
IsiNdebele. Many more tribal languages
are spoken, making communication
interesting — and sometimes confusing.
Most people know more than one
language. English is used in business.
;;Children are required by law to attend
school from ages 7 to 16. However, a
lack of schools in many poor areas
makes enforcing the law impossible.
Children in these areas have few
opportunities to go to school.
;;People living in cities have access to all
types of foods from around the world.
Barbeques, called braais (pronounced
“bryes”) and all types of jerky (called
biltong) are popular. Poor people often
eat mealie pap (pronounced “pop”),
a type of porridge similar to cornmeal
mush.
;;Soccer is the most popular sport. South
Africa was the host country for the 2010
World Cup.
;;HIV/AIDS is a major problem in South
Africa. So many people have died that
an entire generation of AIDS orphans
is growing up without parents. Many
of these children live on the streets of
major cities.
Did you know?
;;South Africa is the only country where
visitors can see both the world’s largest
land mammal (the elephant) and
the world’s largest sea mammal (the
whale).
;;The San people, also known as Bushmen,
live in the Kalahari Desert. They speak a
language that includes various sounds
made by clicking and popping with
their tongues. In print, those sounds are
shown by symbols such as !, //, and
/. The Xhosa language also includes
similar clicks.
;;The king protea, South Africa’s national
flower, has a white center surrounded
by pink spiky petals. The flower can
grow up to one foot in diameter.
;;Biltong — South African jerky — is made
from all types of meat, including ostrich,
antelope, and crocodile.
;;When visiting South Africa, be careful
about ordering food called smileys and
walkie-talkies. Smileys are sheep heads
cooked over an open fire, and walkietalkies are chicken feet and heads!
;;
A food with a very long name is
waterblommetjiebredie, which means
“flower stew” and is made from the
buds of a Western Cape flower.
;;Every day at noon in Cape Town, the
South African navy fires a canon to let
people know it is lunchtime.
;;The Post Office Tree, a giant milkwood
at Mossel Bay, is believed to be the
first post office in South Africa. In 1501,
sailors tied a boot around the tree and
left letters inside to be picked up and
delivered by passing ships.
;;
On a golf course bordering Kruger
National Park, a golfer was trampled
to death by an elephant that broke
through the fence!
;;In Cape Town, drivers should always
lock their doors when leaving their cars.
In addition to human thieves, baboons
have been known to open car
doors and vandalize vehicles.
;;Safari-goers like to set out
in search of the Big Five
—
buffalo,
elephants,
leopards,
lions,
and
rhinoceroses.
The Assemblies of God
in South Africa
The first Assemblies of God missionaries
went to live in South Africa in 1917. Today
more than a million people worship in
Assemblies of God churches. Missionaries
work alongside national believers to
plant more churches and reach people
in need. Several missionaries are involved
in teaching at Assemblies of God Bible
schools. Others hold children’s crusades,
train children’s workers, assist in youth
ministries, and help people affected by
HIV/AIDS.
cornmeal or masa.
4.Adjust heat to medium. Bring mixture
to a boil.
5.
Reduce to simmer, cover pan, and
let mixture cook for 30 to 45 minutes.
(Mealie pap tastes better by cooking it
long and slow.)
6.Eat warm with chakalaka on top.
Chakalaka
You will need:
Zulu Words
Zulu make up one of the largest people
groups in South Africa. Their language,
IsiZulu, is one of the national languages.
Here is a list of several common words
and phrases in IsiZulu.
English
2.Add salt and butter.
3.Using a wooden spoon, slowly stir in
IsiZulu
Onekunye
Twoisibili
Threekuthathu
Fourokune
Fiveisihlanu
Hello (to 1 person)
sawubona
Hello (to a group)
sanibonani
My name is …
Igama lami ngu…
I don’t know.
Angazi
I love you.
Ngiyakuthanda.
Christians Balzalwani
YesYebo
NoCha
(pronounced with a small click by putting
your tongue right behind your front teeth
and dropping it quickly making a clicking
sound)
Foods From South Africa
Here are adaptations of two common
South African foods.
Mealie Pap
You will need:
;;5 to 6 cups water
;;One-half teaspoon salt
;;1 Tablespoon butter
;;1 cup cornmeal or masa flour
What to do:
1. In a large pan, bring water to a boil.
;;3 tablespoons oil
;;2 medium onions, chopped
;;2 bell peppers, chopped
;;2 or 3 hot chilies, minced
;;2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
;;2 teaspoons curry powder
;;3 tomatoes, chopped
;;1 can (15-ounces) baked beans in
tomato sauce
;;Salt and pepper to taste
What to do:
1. Pour oil in large saucepan over medium
heat.
2.When oil is hot, add onions, bell peppers,
chilies, garlic, and curry powder.
3.
Cook,
stirring
frequently,
until
vegetables are soft, about five minutes.
4.Stir in tomatoes. When mixture boils,
reduce heat to simmer. Cook about
five minutes longer.
5.Add baked beans, salt, and pepper.
Heat through.
6.Serve with mealie pap.
May Flower Craft
The king protea, South Africa’s national
flower, is grows up to a foot in diameter.
Make a miniature king protea to bring to
a club meeting.
You will need:
;;Cardboard
;;Pencil
;;Large-size coffee filter
;;Pink, white, red, and green crayons
;;Medium-weight pink paper
;;Scissors
;;Glue
;;Cotton balls
;;Craft stick
1. Draw a cardboard circle the same size
as the coffee filter’s base. Cut it out.
2.Color the sides of the coffee filter pink,
both inside and outside.
3.Cut several long, thin triangular shapes
from the pink paper.
4.Use a crayon to shade the wide end of
the triangles white.
5.Color the tip of the triangles red.
6.Glue the triangles around the outside
of the coffee filter, keeping the wide
end at the bottom. This will form the
flower’s long, spiky petals.
7.Glue the cardboard circle onto the
inside base of the filter.
8.Glue cotton balls onto the cardboard,
shaping the center into a pointed
mound.
9.Color a craft stick green and glue it on
the back of the filter.
Jukskei
Jukskei is a traditional South African game
that is similar to horseshoes. Here is a
simplified version of the game to play with
friends.
You will need:
;;Sand
;;One 20-inch long straight stick or pole
;;
Four- to eight-foot lengths of plastic
pipe (Paper towel tubes filled with sand
and stapled closed at each end can
also be used)
;;Tape measure
What to do:
1. Make a circle of sand up about three
feet in diameter. Mound the sand in the
center.
2.Insert the 20-inch pole two inches into
the sand.
3.Form two teams with up to four players
each.
4.Mark a line eight to ten yards away from
the pole.
5.
Give each player a piece of pipe.
Choose a team to go first.
6.Each player on the team must take turns
standing behind the line and tossing
her pipe toward the pole. If the pole is
knocked down, the team automatically
receives five points. If the pole remains
standing, the tube that lands closest
will be measured and the distance
recorded.
7.Reset the pipe and let members of the
second team toss their pipes, the same
rules applying. When both teams have
finished, the team recording the closest
distance to the pole receives three
points in the round.
8.Continue playing until a team reaches
11 points.