[Magdalen] Gone in an hour

[sally.davies at gmail.com]

To Ann and others who responded

Im so behind on email, but did want to say a special thank you for your
prayers and support.

Life carries on...I can't imagine what it is like in Knysna where so much
of the town and its lovey forest surround is burned away.

My younger son is enjoying an extended school holiday with the cancellation
of his exams (I seem to recall a scene in Harry Potter where this occurred,
and only Hermione was upset. Evan is no Hermionie alas).

My elder son has continued with exams at a venue made available by another
local school. They aren't writing all of the papers but it has helped more
than I would have imagined to keep a sense of normality.

We had a school meeting at the Stadium on Monday last and the determination
to rebuild and carry on was strong from everyone. Hearing the children do
their "Woodridge!" War cry and sing their school song was very moving, as
were the teachers in their borrowed clothes explaining how they will be
taking care of the academics.

Some blessed man had rescued the school's server making all this possible!

Then last week we drowned in donated clothing, food, toys and baby gear.
All had to be sorted and packed, not only for the school but also for the
nearby Thornhill community which had lost so much. I took time off work and
went to help. On Thursday we went to the school - with "hotspots" still
burning in the valley - to sort out the packed goods for collection and to
make food for the ground staff who were already working on repairs.

I believe water has now somehow been restored though I'm not sure about
power. Insurance assessors were there most of last week and the intention
is to have the children back by 4th July (we'll skip the fireworks).

I'm concerned, I will admit, about the air quality. Even without smoke,
there is dust and ash everywhere and after a couple of hours I had a sore
chest, which later developed into a cold/flu thing - not particularly
serious but difficult to get rid of. We badly need RAIN to settle
everything down and wash the ash away, but this area can't rely on Winter
rain. A few mm is due to fall tomorrow so that's something.

As Eleanor said we have been blessed by so many helpers and have been drawn
closer together as a school community - I don't think I've ever had so much
communication with other moms from Donal's Year 12 class in the past five
years of being at the school. Earlier this year a teacher passed away from
cancer, she had been part of Woodridge for many years and had made it her
business to place a chocolate on every desk of every Matric student writing
an exam. No one made a fuss of this and many students, other than her
Hostel girls, probably didn't know who had blessed them. But other teachers
and the mothers have now taken this on so that the tradition continues "in
memory of Juffrou". Small things like this help us to realise community
even without the familiar environment of the school buildings!

It also turns out that for some unknown but blessed reason, the school had
decided to increase its insurance cover a few months back. This is
miraculous as at that stage, someone had clearly not done their sums too
well and we had a few weeks of 'cashflow crunch' so not the obvious time to
shop for more insurance. But the "guardian angels" were there for us then,
and and still there now.

It is very special to know that we were remembered, and felt with, and
prayed for in these personal ways so many miles away.


Sally D


On Mon, 12 Jun 2017 at 02:32 Ann Markle <ann.markle at aya.yale.edu> wrote:

> Dear Sally,
>
> This morning as a choral prelude (this choir has *never * done a choral
> prelude, in the year I've been serving this parish), our choir sang
> "Marching in the Light of God," first in -- what? -- the African language,
> then English. I was immediately in tears on your behalf, and at sermon time
> I shared the story with our congregation, and thanked the choir for that
> beautiful moment of synchronicity. We all prayed for you, yours, and your
> whole area. I grieve for your children and all the other children.
>
> On Sun, Jun 11, 2017 at 5:28 PM Eleanor Braun <eleanor.braun at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > I just saw the pictures you posted on FB.  How completely devastating!
> >
> > So often when there is a disaster like this in the US, whether fire or
> > tornado or hurricane, what stands out in the aftermath is how much people
> > come together to help each other.  People of different races and economic
> > condition and religion forget the differences and help where and how they
> > can.  That's where God is in these situations.  I pray your community
> will
> > have this experience.
> >
> > Eleanor
> >
> > On Sat, Jun 10, 2017 at 12:00 PM, Sally Davies <sally.davies at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > Dear friends
> > >
> > > I'm so sad about this...my childrens' school has burned down.
> > >
> > > The kids who stay in hostel were evacuated at dawn with whatever they
> > could
> > > carry, the many staff who live there as well though some stayed and
> tried
> > > to fight the raging wildfire.
> > >
> > > The 30 horses in the school stables and various pets also evacuated to
> > > safety.
> > >
> > > For a few hours earlier it looked hopeful as a brave team of
> professional
> > > and volunteer firefighters brought the fire under control and got it to
> > go
> > > around the school to make a fire break.
> > >
> > > But then this afternoon a gale blew in (ahead of a cold front, so a dry
> > > warm wind from inland) - and they had to get themselves to safety.
> > >
> > > Last pictures showed the admin area, reception and some of the houses
> > > burning.
> > >
> > > The wind has dropped now but night has fallen...it's going to be a long
> > > one.
> > >
> > > Desperate as this is, there are people worse off. West of Knysna, which
> > has
> > > been devastated for days now because surrounded by forests, people had
> > been
> > > evacuated to a centre near the beach at Buffels Bays. That has now
> burned
> > > and they are trapped on the beach.
> > >
> > > Many have lost their homes, livelihoods and there has been loss of
> life.
> > As
> > > well, of course, all the wild animals who perish; at Woodridge we had a
> > > pesky but cute troop of vervet monkeys and in the valleys around at
> least
> > > one troop of baboons, as well as many other wild animals. In the Knysna
> > > forest there are many rare animals and birds, not least the famous
> Knysna
> > > elephants (and there's an Elephant Park there now as well as a monkey
> and
> > > primate park).
> > >
> > > It's unbearable and feels like South Africa is under some kind of
> > Biblical
> > > curse. Today we got news of another downgrade, this time by Moody's.
> And
> > > our corrupt thieving National Government is nowhere to be seen, much
> less
> > > our armed forces when we need them.
> > >
> > > Please continue to pray for us...my boys seem OK but I think they're in
> > > shock. Donal is in Year 12...how will he finish his school year and
> final
> > > exams? What about the school play they've been working so hard on for
> > > months now...?
> > >
> > > How do we explain this pain and sorrow to kids who already doubt the
> > > existence and love of God?
> > >
> > > Sally D
> > >
> >
> --
> Ann
>
> The Rev. Ann Markle
> Buffalo, NY
>