Guguletu Part II

On Monday, we left to talk to Mandla Majola. He runs the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) in Khaylitsha (another township in Cape Town.) On the way, we stopped when we saw a group of young children walking to school. They were probably about 5 or 6 years old. We stopped and got out to talk to them. Their teachers had them sing a song for us in which they ended it by singing “stop abusing me.” A lot is being done in the school systems and around the community for the young children in hopes that child physical and sexual abuse is stopped. We gave them dum-dums, took some pictures, and headed on our way. They were really happy to see and surprisingly well behaved! When we got to TAC, we learned about HIV and AIDS in the township. Out of the 600,000 people living in Khaylitsha, 80,000 are HIV positive and 74% of these HIV positive people are infected with tuberculosis. We toured the clinic where the TB patients were seen also – but we were escorted through an alternative entrance and we only saw the office.

I met so many beautiful children last week. They are what kept a smile on my face. One of our service projects was to go to the Storemont school and sweep and pick up after the school day was over. It never ceases to amaze me how a little camera can amuse a child. We walked into the gates of school yard and I saw two young girls sitting alone. I went and started talking with them. I pulled out my camera and asked if I could take a picture and then I showed them the shot I took of them. They immediately started smiling and wanted me to take more. Soon after, classes let out and many more students became attracted to the many cameras that found their way out of our pockets. I can never get enough of the kid’s smiles! I also could not believe how well behaved they were. While we were cleaning up the classrooms, which were absolutely filthy, falling apart, had broken desks, and not enough room for all of the students, some of the older students began playing soccer in the courtyard. When we were finished cleaning, we started to watch and Ben (one of my group members) began playing. We noticed they were playing with small ball that was wrapped in a plastic bag so we asked what it was. They told us it was a condom that was blown up like a balloon with plastic bags pushed inside of it. We couldn’t believe it – so it was Ben’s idea that we all pitch in and go buy them a real soccer ball. No kids should be playing with a blown up condom. But there were some conditions – we weren’t going to just hand it over. Each of the boys signed a piece of paper promising that no one boy would take the ball home for himself. Johanna, our friend from JL Zwane, made sure of that oath. When we came back the next day with the ball, they boys were so excited! It was raining pretty hard, but they didn’t care. They ran out and started playing soccer anyways.

Another service project we did as a group was at the Rainbow after school program at the JL Zwane Centre. This program offers children in Guguletu a hot meal after school and a place to get help on homework. Many of the children who attend this program do not have a place to get either of those things. We all split up and helped kids do their homework. Each grade level had teachers assisting also, so we were just there for extra back-up. I helped out with the 6th grade class. The first day we got there was exam time in school for the kids so many didn’t have homework. As a group, we decided to play games. The kids taught me some games they knew and I taught them some I knew. We started out by playing broken telephone. This is where one person whispers a word or phrase into someone’s ear and it has to go around the circle without the word being mistaken. Now, under any other circumstance this game would be easy. The first few times around it wasn’t bad but then the kids started to get a little feisty with me. One little girl whispered into the ear of the person sitting next to her and that girl laughed and by the time it got down to me the entire table was giggling. Little did I know, the word she spoke was in Xhosa. I wrote in a previous blog that some Xhosa words are pronounced with a click. This one definitely was and there was no way I was going to be able to say it and they all knew that. That happened a couple more times until the teacher finally told them they needed to speak English words because Emily couldn’t pronounce Xhosa. That’s when the laughter exploded. (Gotta love the kids!) After playing a few more games, they wanted me to teach them a game I played in America. It took me a while to think of one but I thought of one I used to play when I was young. I know those of you my age will remember this - “Down by the banks of the hanky panky” – played by slapping each other’s hands and counting to 10. The kids LOVED it! But instead of singing the song I knew, I asked them if they had any short songs they wanted to sing. They knew one right away and started singing in Xhosa. We played for a long time and even some kids from the other grades joined us.

We visited a day-care center and also a school for children with special needs. We stopped briefly at the day-care center but we spent a couple hours fixing odds and ends and helping with crafts at the school. I helped a class with crafts at the school. We were making paper mache piggy banks with some students. At first the students were very quiet, but after a while they opened up and started talking a little bit more. We were mainly there to help them only when they needed help – some didn’t need any. They were fun and really liked hip-hop music!

I met so many amazing and beautiful children throughout last week. I only told you about a few stories here. I have SO MANY MORE! Just the little kids I saw who would run after the bus I could write about here, but I’ll spare you. I thank God I had the opportunity to see their faces every day. Without them I would not have seen things in the light that I did. My heart fills and breaks at the same time for them because of their innocence. I really wonder how much they understand. Some of these children go home to shacks that are cold and unsafe and others go to shacks where there is no one to take care of them. I wished every day I could have taken one home with me!