I just finished my first full week of volunteering here in
Muesenberg which is about 40 minutes south of Capetown and walking
distance to the ocean. :) I am so happy to have found this opportunity
... it leaves me humbled and almost anything I do for the children of
this township, is so appreciated by them. We have played outside the
whole week (4-11) because it continues to be school holiday. I will
begin teaching officially next Wednesday and will have my second
orientation. I brought the game Twister with me and can't wait to see the kids become noodles!
The children come from horrific backgrounds, and I will save you
the details but they respond immediately to a hug and a smile. They have
not seen anyone with "silver white" hair and wanted to know how I got
it (LOL) They called me 'grandma' almost immediately and I am really
happy to be that to them while I am here. They also are very curious how
old I am...when I tell them to guess I get 50 or 60, however, one 9
year burst my bubble when he said a '100!!' So clearly there are not a
lot of volunteers my age coming through, but the group I am with is
quite sympatico, even though they could all be my sons/daughters or even
grandkids. They are really a lot of fun...there are 8 of us in two
bedrooms. I was assigned an upper bunk but as soon as they saw me, a 25
year old gave up her lower bunk. The accomodations are clean but small
so it would be a challenge if there was a sour apple in the group.
It is very hard to see the poverty here and that children must live
in such unsafe conditions is appalling. Apartheid is clearly not
resolved here, but I keep my focus on the kids and I am very content at
the end of the day. Well, that's it for now...I have already put some
pictures up on FB for those of you who might be interested. Take good
care, Elaine
No comments:
Post a Comment