The past few days have been very exhausting both mentally and physically. This is our "service" week. We have class in the mornings on service learning, then in the afternoons we go to Sir Lowry's Pass, a township outside of Cape Town. Being in the township and seeing their circumstances first hand has been a very real and hard experience. It is one thing to drive past the shanty towns off the freeway, but to actually step inside one and meet the people who live day and night in them is shocking. My family that I have been paired with is Ms. Fiela and her daughter Samantha. They live in a small house in Sir Lowry's Pass, and almost four days a week Ms. Fiela passes out meals to around 60 to 80 children around the neighborhood. She blows her whistle, and they all come running to her house with their plate and cup. On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to help pass out "cake" and juice to some of the kids that were wandering around. They came all lined up smallest to largest. It was so humbling to help pass out food that could be that child's only meal of the day. Ms. Fiela barely has enough to feed her family sometimes, but when she comes across the resources she not only shares it with her house but also with the children around her. She truly is a woman of God. Today we got the chance to go back to the Amy Biehl Foundation after school program in Gugulethu, a township in Cape Town. There we picked up trash, planted a garden, sat in on a couple of classes, and most of all just played with the kids. Most of the kids do not speak English, but language is not a barrier when it comes to playing. They loved for us to pick them up and swing them around, or even just a hug brought a smile to their face! It was so wonderful to have the opportunity to work with this foundation again. Amy Biehl Foundation is making strides in the community by spending that extra two hours after school to further empower the children in all areas of life. This week has definitely been a fun but hard week. Tomorrow we return to Sir Lowry's Pass, and we look forward to spending the rest of our week with the families there!
New friends!
Helping make bracelets in Sir Lowry's Pass
No comments:
Post a Comment