Bill and Charlotte England recall stint in Peace Corps in South Africa when a couple of hoodlums from the village came into their house with a gun
Bangor pair recalls stint in Peace Corps
BANGOR - Talk to Bill and Charlotte England about the last three years they spent in South Africa and they'll tell you about the mud brick houses, the shower house they constructed outside their humble cabin, the remaining effects of apartheid, and celebrations involving the killing of cows in the village. Not until well into the conversation do they allude to the "incident" that forced them to move from one village to another for their safety.
When they do, Charlotte tells the story quickly and brushes her hand through the air as if it's not really worth talking about at all. It involved a home invasion, the attempted rape of a young girl and a struggle with an armed bandit.
The Englands, Charlotte, 67, and Bill, 73, recently returned from their three-year adventure with the Peace Corps. They left on June 25, 2000, two days after Charlotte retired from teaching special education at Bradford Elementary School for 19 years.
Bill had been retired for four years as director of Shaw House, a homeless shelter for teens, and "just hated retirement."
The couple decided that while they were still healthy they would pursue a dream Bill has held since he was a chaplain at Boston University.
Despite the extreme poverty, the humble living conditions, the frustrating attempts to fix schools only to see them vandalized again, and the intense violence, both agreed they would have stayed in South Africa if not for their grandchildren, whom they missed.
The Englands first lived in the village of Boekenhauthauk, where one of the village's wealthier women served as their host family. That would last for only six months, however, because of the incident.
Early one morning when Bill was gone, a couple of hoodlums from the village came into the house with a gun. They hit Charlotte on the back with the gun and made her and the family sit on the couch.
"They told us they just wanted money, but pretty soon the guy with the gun started leading the 14-year-old girl to the bedroom," said Charlotte. "I jumped up and ran after him. He hit me in the chest, and I slapped him and I grabbed the gun, and the gun goes off and we were yelling, 'Help, help."'
When the gunman looked up, his companion had fled, and the gunman took off as well.
Charlotte brushes away any talk of courage.
"It wasn't so courageous. He was going to rape that little girl. Well, that just wasn't going to happen. How could you sit and let that happen?" she said matter-of-factly.
Officials at the Peace Corps decided to move the couple because of the fear of revenge.
The couple moved to the village of Tweefontein F, not far outside the city of Pretoria and only 50 miles from Kruger National Park.
There, in a small cabin in the back yard of their host family's home, the Englands developed a makeshift library and computer lab. Daily, 15 or 20 young people would stop by to visit and use their books and computers.
They both worked in the village schools, helping teachers and students and trying to keep the schools in decent physical condition.
Power was sporadic because the locals would strip the wires for the copper as soon as the electricity was re-established.
Classrooms were overcrowded - 103 pupils in one classroom - and there were four toilets for 1,200 children.
Alcoholism and teen pregnancy plague all the villages, the Englands said.
When the teenage daughter of their host family was in school, her father promised that if she graduated from school without getting pregnant, he would slaughter a cow in the front yard and invite the whole village to celebrate.
She did. The Englands joined the celebration but skipped out on the bloodletting of the cow.
Both of them were struck that boys in the village were not disciplined and were allowed to play while girls did all of the chores.
Despite the downsides, both said they loved the experience of living among the villagers.
"Over there, people visit all the time. Neighbors just pop in and visit. We loved that, and that doesn't happen here of course," said Bill.
Paperwork and other items from South Africa continue to be shipped to the couple's Webster Avenue home as they begin regaining their life here.
They live among dozens of photo albums and souvenirs as they try to readjust to the New England climate.
Their favorite souvenir is the black-and-white furry one that bounces around their feet as they tell their tale.
That would be Alfred, an African pug dog that seems to fit right in with the couple's two other dogs.
"You know, there was a lot of bad stuff going on, but we truly loved it. We got 30 days off each year and we traveled the country and saw such beautiful things. Plus, we really spent three years getting to know each other again," said Bill.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE ENGLANDS
Peace Corps volunteers Bill England (right) and Mary Parker stand in front of a taxi in South Africa.
