le berceau

I’ve been in southern Africa over 4 months, Cape Town 1 month and have exactly (from yesterday) 2 months left. So many emotions and feelings and experiences, no idea to do with it all or myself. But am still happy to be here and look forward to my return someday. My internship is going well but more on that and life here in an up and coming post. For now I just wanted to share an example of my work and the beauty of Africans that I recently witnessed.

Fridays are youth club and this Friday we had 16 beautiful girls from the local orphanage/home for girls who can no longer live at home come. There was confusion on what was supposed to happen that day so they were the only ones there. Kelly (the other intern) and I had to wing the whole thing because we were informed we were in charge a couple hours previously. So we got 100 Rand to pay for snacks and thought we would propose the idea to the girls that they could to whatever they wanted with the 100 Rand as long as they worked together, made sure everyone participated, and it was within Woodstock (the town). They got so excited and decided right away that they would use it to buy food and would go to Shoprite (grocery store) to get everything. Kelly and I stepped outside to let them discuss and come up with a plan on their own.
They did fabulously; they called us in and had a list of what they wanted to buy and how they would get it all. We asked them to make a few rules about the trip and they came up with some basic but important rules.
Keep in mind there were 16 girls ranging from age 5 to 17, and not to mention they all live together. And they had a budget of around US$13. They were so excited and grateful to have this opportunity to buy what they wanted for once and make their own decisions about it; it was quite humbling.
We walked down to the store and there was some confusion in deciding what to get but overall I was very impressed how they worked together and were willing to compromise on what to get. They only went 23 cents over and got bread, polony, chips, drinks, cookies, marshmallows and little candies.
We got back to the SHADE office and a few girls went in to make sandwiches for everyone while everyone else split up everything, and I mean everything. They counted the cookies and put them into piles. They poured a little cool drink into every cup until they knew there was enough for everyone. They counted the marshmallows and distributed them evenly, and the same with the candies. It was incredible. And no one ate until everyone got their share. That is something I have noticed a lot in Namibia and South Africa, people ration out food to make sure everyone gets an even amount. And you would think in a places where food isn’t quite as bountiful as in the US, people would be more selfish about it but it seems to be the opposite here. The only falter with the girls was the chips, they went a little crazy fighting for the chips but once we pointed out how they acted they offered up theirs to share.
I was completely impressed and amazed at how mature and responsible all the girls acted with the activity. I was also amazed at how much they enjoyed the exercise and were grateful for the opportunity. If we had done the same thing for kids in the States, gave them $13 (or even $50) to spend however they wanted, they most likely would laugh or would just want the leaders to get it for them. But these girls kept saying thank you and truly enjoyed the experience and took it in stride.
It was a beautiful example of life here but also a beautiful example of how humanity can be; sharing, respectful to all, and continuously grateful for what given.I left SHADE that day with joy in my heart and on my face after witnessing such beauty.