On Wednesday, the 31st, we went on a tour of the township Khayelitsha. We left at 8.00 from school, as this trip was organised through Herschel and Bishops, which is a very famous boys school. We first drove to a church, which was quite special because it had been closed for some time. The story goes back to the years of 'apartheid', when people fled into the church because they were followed by the police. Eventually the police ran inside, with all their guns and sticks, which was a disgrace for the church and it was considered less holy.
We met the whole group and guide in the church, because besides Kirsten, Nienke, Me, Megan and Caroline from Herschel, some girls and boys from other schools came with us. Two American exchange boys, and about 8 girls from Germany, Canada, Australia, USA and even Thailand! It was a large group but everyone was very nice. After listening to the guides story we drove to Khayelitsha. I could immediately see the difference from the rich part of Cape Town and the poor townships as we were driving on the main road. The two sides were literally divided by the road and fences.
We visited Mama Amelia's 'house' during the township tour. This woman takes in all the abandoned children from the area. The police bring small infants found somewhere on the street and teenagers are also under the care of Mama Amelia. At this moment, she has about 95 children, from the age of a few months on to 18, living with her. She gets help from a couple of volunteers, but basically she does everything for these kids. When we arrived there the small children ran up to us and were so excited to see us. It was such a heartwarming experience for me. The kids were so sweet and lovely, they wanted to hug us all the time. They just loved the camera's, they found it very interesting that they could see themselves after the photo was taken. The teenagers weren't there because they were at school, but still we received a lot of entertainment from the smaller kids. We all sat on the floor, as one, or a couple of children climbed on us and started hugging us. We couldn't stay for long because we would mess up their daily rhythm. All of us made a donation to Mama Amelia, to help her a bit with the wonderful work she is doing. When we went outside, every single child was holding our hands and took us to the street, where they all stood in a row and started singing a goodbye song. It was adorable and it was quite sad to leave them.
Later we went to a place nearby to have lunch. Next to the lunch spot there was a souvenir shop. We bought quite a lot of things there because the profit went to a HIV/AIDS help society. After lunch we drove back, left with a very satisfying feeling of being able to help by supporting the community and interact with the kids.
Although seeing the poor side of Cape Town and the very different lifestyle, I was surprised to see that the community didn't seem sad at all, as everyone tries to make the best out of their living. This left me with a slight feeling of hope, as I could see that they are willing to fight for a better future. It was such a wonderful and educative experience.
We met the whole group and guide in the church, because besides Kirsten, Nienke, Me, Megan and Caroline from Herschel, some girls and boys from other schools came with us. Two American exchange boys, and about 8 girls from Germany, Canada, Australia, USA and even Thailand! It was a large group but everyone was very nice. After listening to the guides story we drove to Khayelitsha. I could immediately see the difference from the rich part of Cape Town and the poor townships as we were driving on the main road. The two sides were literally divided by the road and fences.
We visited Mama Amelia's 'house' during the township tour. This woman takes in all the abandoned children from the area. The police bring small infants found somewhere on the street and teenagers are also under the care of Mama Amelia. At this moment, she has about 95 children, from the age of a few months on to 18, living with her. She gets help from a couple of volunteers, but basically she does everything for these kids. When we arrived there the small children ran up to us and were so excited to see us. It was such a heartwarming experience for me. The kids were so sweet and lovely, they wanted to hug us all the time. They just loved the camera's, they found it very interesting that they could see themselves after the photo was taken. The teenagers weren't there because they were at school, but still we received a lot of entertainment from the smaller kids. We all sat on the floor, as one, or a couple of children climbed on us and started hugging us. We couldn't stay for long because we would mess up their daily rhythm. All of us made a donation to Mama Amelia, to help her a bit with the wonderful work she is doing. When we went outside, every single child was holding our hands and took us to the street, where they all stood in a row and started singing a goodbye song. It was adorable and it was quite sad to leave them.
Later we went to a place nearby to have lunch. Next to the lunch spot there was a souvenir shop. We bought quite a lot of things there because the profit went to a HIV/AIDS help society. After lunch we drove back, left with a very satisfying feeling of being able to help by supporting the community and interact with the kids.Although seeing the poor side of Cape Town and the very different lifestyle, I was surprised to see that the community didn't seem sad at all, as everyone tries to make the best out of their living. This left me with a slight feeling of hope, as I could see that they are willing to fight for a better future. It was such a wonderful and educative experience.
1 comment:
Hi, my darling! It is a very good life experience. I am sure you can (and able) learn a lot from it! Kiss from mamma!
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