Today is the day
It is CSI day and we were all excited and maybe nervous. It was a very beautiful day and perfect to show love to the kids. Driving through the streets of the township was interesting and eye opening for me, and sometimes I felt lost but everyone was cheerful and that made the ride even more lovely.
When we arrived at Bongolethu Primary, it was just like I expected. It looked like a school and memories came rushing back. I wasn’t the calmest kid at school and it was refreshing to see these kids were better behaved that I was! We started off packing away old books in the library which is about to be upgraded by Kamvalethu. We shared some vision of what the space could be transformed into. Then we formally presented certificates of recognition to teachers who’s students performed exceedingly well in the WCED tests. It was lovely to see the teachers excited and happy during the presentations.
Reading for fun
Finally, it was time to meet the kids! They all looked very excited to see us and they greeted us in unison, which was very cute. The teachers introduced us and our mission to the kids, and in no time, they were all seated on the mat and ready to listen. Lynne read a beautiful story called, “Ricky of the River Pride”. It is the story of a helpful Lion cub and the importance of friendship. The children were all in Grade 1 and even though English isn’t their first language- they listened with rapt attention.
After the story we played a game involving making animal sounds which involved a lot of laughing (and a few of us learned new words in isiXhosa)! From here we all sat down to create animal masks from the story. The care, colour and detail which went into this activity was remarkable to see. We had so much fun doing it with the kids.
Let’s go again
At the end of the day, we all felt fulfilled for such a successful day with the kids. They showed so much excitement and love through laughing and hugs galore. This is something I will do over and over and I will encourage everyone to try it at least once. It is a wonderful experience to see another side of people’s realities and it keeps us grateful for what we have now even when sometimes we think life is hard or complicated.
