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| Kids at the crèche |
So last week we started working at service sites and I have
loved every second of it. I am
working with 12 other people at a service site called RivLife. RivLife does a wide variety of things
around the community. While we’re
working there, we get to help out at the crèche (day care), hang out with kids
at an afterschool center RivLife puts on, go on home visit around the community
with care workers, visit an HIV support group with a social worker, and talk to
kids at the local high school. Our
group is split up into 4 subgroups with about 3 people in each one and everyday
one of those groups does something different in the morning. So far in the morning, my group has
visited the HIV support group twice, talked to kids at the local high school,
helped out at the crèche and helped cook a meal that was given to kids at the
afterschool center. During the day
each group does one of these projects and then after lunch we all get together
to help out in the crèche, which is basically a daycare. Then around 2:30 when most of the kids
from the day care have left, we head over to the after school center and hang
out and play games with the kids there until we leave around 4.
Last week, we were only at the service site Thursday and
Friday. On Thursday, my group
visited the HIV support group, which was incredible. This was my first time meeting people with HIV and I was surprised
by how they looked completely healthy.
We don’t hear too much about HIV and AIDS in the states but from what I
have heard I assumed people with it were really sick. But these ladies were walking around and doing normal daily
tasks, I would have never guessed they have HIV. They introduced themselves to us and told us about how long they’ve
had HIV and how it has affected them.
I was surprised to learn that some of the ladies have had it for 9 years
but have yet to suffer from the infection. After they finished talking they asked us if we were afraid
of them and it shocked me. My heart
broke hearing them ask that and our group immediately got up and hugged them to
show them we weren’t. They later
talked about how many people in the community are scared of them because they
think they’ll get HIV by simply touching them. We also learned that many people with HIV don’t publically
say they have it because many will think they have made it up or they will no
longer accept them. It saddened me
to know that these people who are in a time where they need the most love and
acceptance are being rejected.
This experience was one I’ll never forget and it really just showed me
how important it is to show love to EVERYONE you see because you can never tell
from the outside what someone may actually be going through.
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| Kids at the drop in center :) |
After this visit, we went to the crèche
and got to play with the little kids and then when they left we headed to the
afterschool center. The
afterschool center at RivLife is called the drop in center because many kids
just drop in there after school for a meal and a safe place to play. On our first day at the drop in center
we met a lot of kids but they weren’t very comfortable with us just yet. But by
Friday that changed. In the
morning on Friday, I got to visit a local high school and talk with about 10
students who were a part of a Christian group that meets during lunch. I only had about 15 minutes to talk
with them but we made the most of that time. We began by introducing ourselves and then the questions
began flowing. I asked them a few
questions but once they answered they began asking me one question after
another. These questions were all
very different. They ranged from what differences I noticed between South Africa and the US, to what my thoughts
were on speaking in tongues. I
answered their questions and tried encouraging them as best I could to fight
the temptations and peer pressure they deal with on a daily basis in high
school. After we left the high
school, we returned to the crèche and drop in center. This day at the drop in center the kids greeted us with hugs
and were much more responsive to us when we talked to them. It was completely
different from the day before and it was great getting to know them better.
On Saturday that weekend we went to Durban. In Durban we spent a couple hours
souvenir shopping at the market then we went to the beach. Unfortunately, it was super windy at
the beach but after a couple hours we left to go to a Rugby game. I was so excited to go to my first
Rugby game and cheer on the Natal Sharks, which is the rugby team of Kwazulu-Natal
(where I am living right now). The
game was so much fun and I have decided that Rugby is an awesome sport, it’s a
much faster pace then football but yet very similar so I loved it! It began raining during the beginning
of the game but the Sharks made it through and won with a 27-22. We ended up getting back late that
night and on Sunday I just relaxed and worked on my paper that was due for
Community Engagement.
Then Monday we had Community Engagement class all day and I
spent the rest of the day, night, and early Tuesday morning writing my paper
which was due before we left for service sites on Tuesday. I finished in time though and
surprisingly had plenty of energy for service sites that day. On Tuesday at service sites, my group
visited the HIV support group again and we had a great discussion with them
once again. We were also able to
help them with craft making. They
make jewelry, clothes, and many other things to sell as a way of making extra
money. So while they were working
on those crafts and talking with us we helped them. I helped knit a scarf that was being worked on and some
other girls taught them how to make some new bracelets. It was great to just spend time with
them, help them with their crafts, and talk. We then finished the day by going
to the crèche and drop in center.
Wednesday was Human Rights Day, which is a South African
holiday, so we all had the day off.
Instead of going to service sites that day, we got to sleep in and go to
Drakensberg to see the Drakensberg Boys Choir perform. They are one of the best choirs in the
world, so we were all really excited to see them and I was excited to enjoy the
beautiful drive to Drankensberg again.
After a 2-hour drive, we got there and had a chance to experience just
how amazing these boys’ voices are.
The performance was a couple hours long and I loved every minute of
it! When the performance ended, we
walked outside to a stunning lightning storm. It was absolutely incredible to see this and especially to
see it in Drakensberg of all places!
The drive back to campus was stunning because the storm followed us the
whole way. It by far turned out to
be the most amazing lightning storm I’ve ever seen. All the thunder and lightning made it a great end to a great
day.
Thursday and Friday we were back at service sites. We found out on Thursday that the kids
at the crèche would be going on a two-week vacation starting next week, which
meant that Friday was our last day with them. So we had to make the most of these two days! Thursday, I spent most of my time at the
crèche but for a couple hours I went over to the drop-in center to help cook
for the meal that the kids get after school. The cooks were coming in late that day so we had to help
make preparations to feed 70 kids. We basically just cut up vegetables and
prepared all the food to be cooked, so when the cook got there everything was
ready for her to begin cooking.
The rest of the day I enjoyed my time at the crèche with the children
and cherished the time I had with them.
Friday our whole group spent the day at the crèche, which was great
since it was our last day with them.
We took many pictures with them and loved on them as much as possible
all day. I had such a great time
with all of the kids but once time to say goodbye came along, I was sad and
just wished I had more time to spend with them. Luckily we don’t have to say by
to the kids at the drop in center yet and next week we will be doing a project
to clean the crèche and make improvements on it. At least this project will allow us to still love on the
kids even when they’re gone. I
will miss them but I’m glad for the time I spent with them and all the memories
that were made in such a short amount of time.I’ll let you know how our project at RivLife goes next
week! Hope everyone is doing well, wherever you may be. Take care!
God Bless,
Yvette
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