Community Service Day - one of my favorite days in Polokwane

Wow! What an amazing day!
We started the day at Seshigo High School in Polokwane.... The school was fortunate enough to have a computer lab donated and installed; however, there is a lack of skills by teachers to help the students use them. Students lack confidence and need encouragement to use the computers.  Our goal was to deliver a message of confidence and help the students understand the value of using the computers and technology and  provide them insight into possible careers.
The high school is located down a long dirt road in a village on the outskirts of Polokwane and has a population of 1200 students. Our minivan pulled into a dirt courtyard where a couple hundred students congregated. They were dressed in their school uniforms of red skirts or pants and red shirts. Of course they stared with curiosity as they spotted a group of 7 white people led by a black woman across the courtyard toward their principal's office. They wondered who we could possibly be and I’m sure wondered what on earth we were doing in their high school.
We started in the 1st classroom and all 7 IBMers introduced themselves and homelands - starting with India, Ireland, US, Canada, Vietnam, and Brazil. When I mentioned USA, they all cheered and pumped their fists with excitement as opposed to polite clapping as other countries were mentioned.  Given there were 6 one-room classrooms around the courtyard, all 7 of us split up and took different classrooms. Phuong (Vietnam) and I shared one classroom. We shared our own stories and discussed career options that leverage computer expertise. 

We then played a game and had the students tell us the different careers they thought possible if they had computer knowledge. In the end, they couldn't get enough of taking pictures, selfies, and of course, wanted to touch our hair as they had never seen anyone from another country before - they loved Phuong! We could have stayed all day with their enthusiasm and questions. After 40 minutes we had to move on. Just before leaving, one student introduced himself to me and shook my hand and said, "Wow...I've never shaken anyone's hand from the US before". It really struck me! He then asked who I was going to vote for, and wondered if I'd vote for Kanye West - that cracked me up!

Our afternoon visit was to an after school drop in center run by Blessman Ministries. www.blessmanministries.org

There are 75 kids that visit the center 5 days a week consistently. It provides a safe, healthy environment where they can get help with their homework, get fed, and learn.

 

In addition to the main center used for the children, there are 3 (1) room round huts connected to a common kitchen that are offered free primarily to grandmothers raising their grandchildren. Its typical for a grandmother to help raise her grandchildren, given fathers are generally not around or involved in the upbringing so its left to the mothers and grandmothers.The common kitchen facilities that can be used by he families. 

We met a very nice, and very old grandmother who is living at the center with her daughter and grand daughter. In the background is the small round hut with the double bed on the floor. That's about all that fits in the room where 3 people live. (and often more) They use the common area above for cooking. This is luxurious given the huts people call homes in the village outside the drop in center.

And, here's her daughter taking care of the child of one of the people who work at the drop in center. This is their contribution to the center for the "free housing". This is the typical way women carry their children. The babies could be wrapped around their mother in a towel, rag, blanket or anything else they find to wrap around themselves to hold up their babies.

The center raises its own food, bakes its own bread and sells the extra vegetables and poultry to provide income for the drop in center. One of our duties was to plant several rows of spinach in the greenhouse. As you can imagine, I loved getting my "hands dirty" in the garden! Here's some of the IBMers  planting spinach. The irrigation system is critical given the drought in South Africa. 


Here's some of the loaves of bread that are baked daily.

And, one of my favorite parts of the day was meeting the kids when they came in after school. We were met with a song and a dance. (let me know if you want me to send you the 1 minute video - soooo cute!)
They were very well behaved, and adorable in their school uniforms - many tattered and worn; however, the kids were happy and healthy!

When they finished singing to us, we provided heaping lunches of soy protein rice (shipped in from Idaho) and bread. Its a very healthy and filling starch and protein. For many this is their only meal of the day, which is why they get a heaping portion, and all of them ate every bit of it. We had some for lunch and it was delicious!

Once they finish their food, they line up to rinse and wash their plates. The first bucket is for rinsing, the second for washing, and the third for rinsing again. With reusable plates, their is no waste.

After lunch, the kids LOVED having their pictures taken! They loved seeing the pictures immediately on the camera. Kids will be kids - the faces and poses were no different than kids from all over the world. They were shy at first; however, that didn't last very long when they saw themselves on camera.
 
Twice a year, the kids are given brand new shoes (Crocks) that are donated by "Soles for Souls". Our next activity included a couple IBMers measuring the kids feet, several of us washing their feet in a basin of cold water, drying them, and fitting them with their new crocks. I brought salt water taffy that we gave to the kids with their new Crocks - they were so excited by both!
We had a great assembly line going of measuring, washing, and providing shoes to all the kids. We finished fitting all 75 kids in about 30 minutes.

Renee Blessman (in the front) and our team of IBMers behind her. Needless to say, we all felt very blessed, humbled, and very good for the services we provided that day! We were all amazed at the great work being done by Blessman Ministries, which was started by a doctor in Idaho that used to provide glasses to people in rural, poor villages. He fell in love with South Africa, and decided to expand beyond glasses. They now are part of a network that provides 250,000 meals a day to families across South Africa in addition to computer skills, life skills, and other services. An amazing day and experience for all of us - most importantly, for the kids - many walk miles to come to this center every day, including holidays. A great time of year to give Thanks!

Can you name the big 5?

 The team had an awesome time at Kruger National Park, and yes, we saw the big 5!

 Baboons were so cute and curious!

Amazing graceful giraffes

 Check out the horns on this impala

Blue Wildebeest....LOTS of them. They had amazing horns and a beautiful coat with black stripes.

Buffalo...yep, one of the big 5

Looked like this warthog was bowing to the baboon

 Mother rhino and her calf....yep...2 of the big 5!

Warthog on the run

The zebras were beautiful!

An amazing find seeing the lioness and lion relaxing in the sun. It was really hot and they were lounging in the shade.

Number 3 of the big 5!

These little birds, called Ockspeckers on the hippos are critical to the hippos for removing and eating parasites. ewww....

 Yes, number 4of the big 5!!

Look real close and you can see number 5 of the big 5! We saw a beautiful leopard on the night 

safari!

We stayed at Letaba Rest Camp in round huts with thatched roofs.

They had plenty of room because the kitchens were on the outside. Full fridge that had to be turned around at night so the monkeys don't help themselves to the food.

Experiencing history in the making – “Fees must fall movement”

Fees must fall movement - The biggest student movement since democratic South Africa. It was an amazing experience to be in the midst of this movement. Students across the province and South Africa were protesting the rise in fees and the lack of priority for higher education in relation to other budget items.

Wits University in Johannesburg announced its fee hikes for tuition for 2016, and the 10.3% increase. This started the ball rolling all across South Africa! The students at Wits began and led the protest, which led to many universities protesting over the last couple of weeks. Its final exam time, and instead of studying for exams, they were taking their voices to the university administration, the streets, and to parliament.

Looks like a normal day when we pulled up outside the security gates of University of Limpopo. Even the cows were calm and relaxed.

 However, once we went through the security gates, we realized it was no normal day!

University of Limpopo students agreed not to strike over fees because the University wasn’t increasing them; however, when we arrived on campus on Tuesday to hundreds of students mulling around campus instead of taking exams, we knew something was happening. To show solidarity, University of Limpopo students protested taking the exams.

At first peacefully, and then stormed the buildings to ensure no students were inside taking exams. Once they were assured no exams were taking place, they then combed the buildings for professors and administrators and made them leave all the buildings to shut down the university.

This is the huge rock just inside the security gates. A great viewing area for students to see what was happening.









We were locked in an area where are conference room was located, so the students weren't able to get into our area to force us to leave. Needless to say, we weren't allowed back to campus for the rest of the last week. Hopefully this week, we can get back on campus.

 

 Off campus, life goes on as usual and all is "normal".

 Kids are being kids after school - just outside the University

People selling their fresh fruits along the roadside in home made stands.

Let's see what this week brings - next up, pictures from the fun we had over the weekend - safari, biking through Polokwane Game Reserve, and Zip Lining!