At Westville hall, the garden is beginning to look a little sorry for itself, leaves blowing across the lawn and puddles dotted around..... but at Happy's school, and at Lamontville, another township I visited this afternoon....the puddles are more like ponds, and the grassy patches (you can't call them lawns!) have turned to churned up muddy patches. The children are still outside, playing, or running to one anothers houses, most are barefoot.....I am in my coat, sweatshirt, t-shirt, scarf and trainers - I think it's awful, they all have big smiles!
This morning was spent shopping and writing my lesson for the children at Happy's school as I was teaching there this afternoon. I had a class of 24 children, and my life lesson today was 'make the best of any situation you are in' - which these children certainly do...the lesson they are teaching me with everything they do, is certainly more powerful than what I could ever teach them.
In fact, I was having this conversation with Simon, the other English volunteer, as we were driving home from Nosipho's last night. Being here for 2 weeks, I don't know whether I have made a different to these people I have met. I don't know whether I have changed anything for them. And I can see that sometimes, changing things, putting our view on 'what's good for them' can actually be harmful......what these 2 weeks have done is change me...it has changed my perspective, and I hope it has made me a better person.
So, I taught these children, and based my lesson around the bible story of King David and what he did, and had to contend with, and how he had to make the best of the situations he got himself into -reiterating the memory verse that the children had learnt last week of Psalm 37 v 5, and then we had lots of colouring and cuddles!
I had also taken my camera in to Happy's as the children love having their photos taken, especially when they can see themselves on the monitor afterwards! Apart from the young man who was translating for me..he didn't like his photo, and I ended up taking his four times until he was happy with it!!
From Happy's I went with Jude straight to the township of Lamontville, about ten minutes away from Happy's school, where the COPT had built another community centre. On a Friday evening, Jude runs a youth club. Tonight she had 22 children. We played 'beetle drive' with them for an hour which they really enjoyed, and then spent half an hour talking about a 'life lesson'. This week it was based on 'Love your neighbour' - and explored who is your neighbour, and what is love, and peace. These kids where very bright, all Zulu's, and all spoke very highly of wanting peace in their lives. In true teenage fashion, they then all proceeded to argue with one another...!
At 7pm we left for home....and as a treat at the end of a busy week, we booked ourselves into a local restaurant called 'Nourish' - as no-one wanted to cook, and I had snot and dribble over me so no-one wanted me to cook!
'Nourish' is famous for it's steaks and chicken, but after spending 2 weeks here, and seeing chickens cooped up in cages at the sides of roads, or squashed on roads, and insides of animals, just hung outside of animals from any hook, anywhere, or goats wandering here, there and anywhere, I am practically vegetarian! I stuck with the butternut, pecan, and feta pasta - delicious.
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| Chicken or goat? I'm staying vegetarian! |
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