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!