Goat Herds, Dirt Roads, and Everyday Life

I know you've all seen a township on TV or in a movie but experiencing one in the flesh is unlike anything else. The main road is usually paved and the rest are dirt. There are cow herds and goat herds roaming the streets. There are stray dogs running around in every direction you look. Every yard has at least one or two chickens and some even have baby chicks, too. There are tons of people walking around as most of them don't have cars. (If they have a long way to travel, they'll hitchhike.) Their stores look almost identical to the houses with 'Supermarket' painted above the door. The homes are supposed to be government built so they are usually made from concrete but you have to apply for a government house and it can take years to get one. The township of Marselle is the fastest growing township in the Eastern Cape with over 20,000 people living there so the farther into town you get, the more homes become made out of whatever they could find. They're usually made from scrap metal and the inside walls are usually constructed out of broken down cardboard boxes. The schools that I've been at are in quite good condition as they're all government built.

These are actually some of the nicer homes. I was advised not to take anything that might be of value into the "bad" neighborhoods so I have no pictures of those.

Every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, I worked at a preschool in the mornings and then the afterschool program in the afternoons. There was one morning when we went to the old ladies. Their program is called Age-In-Action and it's a group of about 6-10 ladies from the township of Ekuphumleni. It's in a very basic building that was painted bright blue! They are so cute. Every one of them has a genuine desire to learn English. This is one big difference from the States. I feel a good majority of the older generation Americans are very stuck in their ways and like to keep tradition but the ladies here realize that they can't get by with only knowing Xhosa as Xhosa isn't a widely known language. With them, we worked on the alphabet and filling in 'a' for 'apple' or 'b' for 'box' and then we did the Hokey Pokey which they LOVED. I didn't get any pictures of them and I'm super bummed about that! Just believe me that they're lovely and adorable little ladies!

The preschool is called Masibulele. The kids probably range in age from 2-6 years old. They're adorable and all only speak Xhosa so I have a translator all the time. The lady that goes with me, Vuyokasi, speaks Xhosa and English (Same with all of the teachers at the school.) so they all translate. We work on different things from writing the English alphabet, counting, days of the week, months of the year, what today's date is, and singing and playing games. The kids LOVE singing and dancing and it is one of the coolest things to witness.

These ladies do a lot of community services around the township just to help out. They came to Masibulele one day to decorate so I helped them. They're so neat, so giving, and always having such a fun time!

This is Mrs. Adams on the right and Vuyokasi on the left. Mrs. Adams is the preschool teacher and Vuyokasi is from Kariega Project and just helps me out.

This is Malibulele.

The afterschool program that I do in the afternoons is in the township of Klipfontein. The kids' ages probably range from 6-15 years old. They are so much fun. They can speak English really quite well so no translator is needed. Their first language is Afrikaans but my job is English Enrichment so they also have to speak in only English while we're there. We read books and play a lot of different games. These kids are so much fun and I'm really going to miss them. On my last day, they gave me a letter they had written and sang me songs. And, before I left, every single one of them gave me a hug. They are so neat, so smart, and I will never forget those kids. If I end up living here, I'll be visiting the Klipfontein after school program on a regular basis.

Aren't they adorable?! They sang many other songs but this is the only one it will let me upload.

 

On my first Wednesday here, I went on home visits with the social worker. That was so interesting and one of my most favorite days. It's very sad as that is just those kids' lives. That's their 'normal.' Living in a tiny house with their parents dropping them with their grandmother or other family member but taking the money given to them by the government for the children and keeping it for themselves. The social worker obviously goes out to make sure the right person is getting the money and the kids are being treated as they should be. We walked all around the township of Marselle this day. I got to go in some of the houses. Some of them are only one room, some have walls inside but they're made of cardboard, and some are multiple buildings with different rooms. If I were to take pictures, it might be considered rude or my camera wouldn't make it out of the township so I have no pictures of them but you can imagine what they might be like.

On my afternoons off and on the weekends, my roommates and I spend a lot of time at the beach and we even went horseback riding one day! My roommates are very cool and have been very supportive this past week and I've been dealing with all of my emotions. They all went out with me last night and we toasted Austin at 7 PM here when the funeral was starting back home. I'm very thankful for all of their support.

My horse was a real go-getter so I was always at the front of the group. Demi's was always in the clear back!

Chester and I after our ride!

My favorite spot.

Demi, myself, Leo, and Cas. They're all three from the Netherlands.

This experience was one I was the most nervous for but I couldn't be more grateful for it. It has been so eye-opening. As you all know, I absolutely love the reserves and I am so excited to head back to Kariega on Monday but in these two weeks, I have learned so much. You're basically stuck on the reserves and that's all you do but these last two weeks I've been in the townships, witnessing how the lives of true South Africans really are. I think the kids taught me more than I taught them. Seeing their hardships and every day struggles but seeing how appreciative and smart and amazing they all are is so heartwarming. I will greatly miss them.

Until next time!