GAMEDAY in South Africa

It’s Saturday! Saturday! Saturday! Saturday! Saturday night’s alright! It’s time to kick it off between the hedges in … Cape Town (not Athens). I’ve gone stir crazy without Braves baseball and Georgia football. Best solution? Cape Town Stormers verses Johannesburg Blue Bulls rugby match! Ecstatic about today’s match, we all bought Cape Town Stormers’ jerseys in an attempt to blend in with the masses. Just to top off our team spirit, we painted our faces Braveheart style on our way to the Stormers’ DNL Newlands stadium. As we filed out of the buses displaying our spirit, we followed our adventure tour guide Gavin to our tailgating site. While the locals still tailgate prior to big games such as this one, they do not know how to do it SEC style. Gavin and his friends hosted a scrumptious brai, or South African barbeque, with hot dogs and other tasty goodies. For a few hours, we held an off-season tailgate party while bonding as a whole group. Good times.

GAMETIME! You have no idea how excited I was to say, “It’s Gameday!” to every person I came in contact with this afternoon. As we walked towards the stadium, we naturally began calling the dogs and singing, “Who’s that Coming Down the Track?” Sorry, we were alittle obnoxious, but we all miss football season. (84 days!) At least, we saved the South African people from hearing the Tennessee students sing “Rocky Top!”

When the game began, we spread ourselves throughout the standing room only section in one of the endzones. Within the first few minutes, we some how maneuvered our way down to the first two or three rows in the stadium. I think it’s safe to say the Americans were mesmerized by the game. Most of us had no clue how to play the game, but the energy of the crowd still allowed us to blend in as true fans. If you didn’t know, rugby is no cup of tea. The players’ intensity and lack of padding makes football look like a little girls powder puff game. Our jaws dropped at the size of their thighs and the intensity of their slide tackles. Sadly, our die-hard Stormers lost this intense match but made an incredible come back at the end. Good news? They passed out free tangerines after the game, and for those of you who assumed, I did not pout because we lost! It’s the little things in life.

Carrie Rainey

What a Week!

What a week!! We spent the week doing service in Sir Lowry’s Pass but it never felt like service. It was so fun! I met so many interesting people and made some really close bonds with a few. The most intriguing person that I met was 14-year-old Samantha. She was my soup mom’s neighbor and she would always come over when we were there but she never really talked to us. I would always make small talk with her but she was super shy. By the third day we were sitting on this grassy hill and she was starting to open up to me. She was telling me that she wants to go to college and become a teacher. She wants to move out of Sir Lowry’s Pass and into a big house with two dogs that will stand out by the gate to protect her, two cats that will stand by the door to protect her, and two snakes in her attic to protect her. Everything was about protection. It made me wonder what she is scared of…

Then I asked her who would live in the house with her and she said nobody. So I asked her if she wanted to get married and have kids one day. She said no. She doesn’t want to ever get married and she never wants to bring children into this world. It was so jarring because she is not like anyone else I have met in this community. Everyone else I have met is full of such joy, love, and thankfulness that it was shocking to meet Sam. Surprisingly though, it was refreshing because I think it is easy to fall into a false sense of happiness in Sir Lowry’s Pass. I do think that the people here are happier than most people, given their situation, so it’s easy to forget that their lives are far from what we would consider acceptable. There’s real fear and sadness in everyday life here that we will never understand. I swapped mailing addresses with Sam though because I would like to try to understand her life more and keep in touch because I think she is an amazing person

It feels weird to juxtapose this next to what I was just talking about, but we went to a rugby game yesterday and it was so much fun! It was the Cape Town Stormers vs. the Vodacom Bulls. We had our own little area roped off to pregame and have a Braai (South African BBQ). It was so good to have all the Bafana Bafanas back from adventure week. It was the first time we’ve been all together in two weeks! So everyone had a good time catching up and sharing highs and lows from adventure week and service week. Everyone had such inspirational stories to share and it was the perfect atmosphere for us to be reunited. The beer was cold and the Braai was delicious and even though the Stormers lost it was a fantastic time! And sleeping in this morning only made things better!! And now we are getting ready to go to Kristenbosch National Botanical Gardens. There is so much to do here and so many beautiful things to see!

Tessa Jensen

“READY, SET, GO!” I yell, and he’s OFF! The little boy in my “Dizzy Bat” line who couldn’t be older than 3 or 4 runs towards me giggling with joy, a huge smile plastered on his painted face for all to see! His determination to reach the bat I’m holding is tangible as he sticks his tongue out in serious concentration, his little body wriggling and running just as fast as his little legs will carry him! He finally reaches the bat, grabs hold of it, and after all of his expended effort, just kind of stands there and looks up at me with raised eyebrows as if to say, “What in the world do I do now?” I lean over and physically spin him around the bat that is practically as big as his tiny little body five times and then he’s off again. This time he’s a little off balance, stumbling every few steps but he never stops smiling and laughing the entire way back to his team on the other end of the field. This little boy is full of joy because he is getting to play outside in the sunshine with all his friends. He doesn’t have any shoes on. He’s wearing the same outfit he was wearing yesterday. His teeth are much less than healthy. And who knows where his next meal will come from. But he doesn’t care; it doesn’t matter. He is joyful anyway. I think back to today’s class discussion, which was all about us being “The Lucky Ones” and that to whom much is given, much is required. Well, as Courtney was telling Joanna, the phrase should be, to whom anything is given, much is required. And it’s so true. We have a responsibility to take care of those who aren’t in the position to take care of themselves… like this little boy who hasn’t a care in the world that he’s wearing yesterday’s clothes or doesn’t own a pair of shoes.

So I’m thinking. Here’s this precious “nugget,” as we’ve been calling kids all week, who has so little, yet is so happy. And I find myself so unhappy sometimes despite all of what I do have? I can eat whenever I want. I have a car and can go anywhere anytime I want. I have a closet full of excessive amounts of clothes. Yet I find myself discontent and wanting more of what I already have plenty of? And when I find myself up against obstacles it’s hard for me to just pick myself up off the ground like this little boy did countless times on the field today and keep running with a smile on my face. I learned more today from this little boy and the game of “Dizzy Bat” than I ever could have anticipated. Have joy in the small things. Be thankful in all circumstances. Take care of those who can’t take care of themselves. And when you stumble, get back up and start again with a smile.

-Emily Gregory

Service Week

Going into this week, I was apprehensive about everything that we were going to be seeing and experiencing in the township. We had just gotten back from our Adventure week and a fun weekend in Stellenbosch, so I doubted that a Service Week would be able to compare to anything like that. I was definitely wrong. I’ve loved every part of this week, but my favorite part was definitely the time we spend each day with the family that we were pared with.

We started off the week by going into the township, Sir Lowry’s Pass, to meet the kids and our “soup mom’s”. These soup mom’s are amazing ladies in the community who make soup for the kids every day to make sure that they have at least one hot meal a day. These ladies sacrifice even their own meals sometime to allow for a few extra kids to get soup. So in groups of about five Global LEAD students, we had dinner with them Monday night and got to know the rest of their family. My “soup mom” is Mrs. Elsie, and she is an adorable lady who has four girls and a boy, which is the same number of boys and girls in our group that goes to visits her. One of the first things Mrs. Elsie said to us was that God blessed her with four girls and a boy as her children, and now he has sent her four girls and a boy again to become part of her family. She has told us so many times that God knows what he’s doing and was thinking about her when he sent us to Sir Lowry’s Pass. Even after just one week, this family has completely accepted us into their lives and seems so excited to see us everyday.

It’s amazing for me to see how strong Mrs. Elsie is in her faith and gratitude towards us, even when they have so little. Most days this week we have spent packing ten or fifteen people into their twelve by twelve foot living room and singing and dancing together. Her son is in a band and plays the guitar so we sing anything from church songs to American pop songs with him leading us all. They ask us questions about our families, goals, and things we do for fun, and we ask them about their culture and traditions also. Their sincerity and kindness is overwhelming to me. They have expressed multiple times how they feel so lucky to accept us all to their family, and each day ends with hugs from everyone present. These people have so much life, joy and love in their hearts. I have learned from this family how much happiness can come from kindness, family, and supporting the people you love. I have learned from this week that reaching out to a stranger to show them that you care can change lives; it certainly has changed mine. I hope that one day, everyone can experience a bond like the one we have been blessed enough to form in this past week.

Sarah Bissell

Service Finale

It was the last day of service today and it was bitter sweet, we had a great time having a field day with the kids but saying good bye is never easy. We started the day meeting up with our soup-mom and our family. We gave them a gift of brownies and pictures for everyone. Thankfully Mrs. Unis, our mom, was home from work early so we didn’t miss her with the change in time from the other days. After saying good bye to her we took the kids to the school and started the field day by dividing up into teams and the games begun. I was a captain of the Cheeta’s a wiry bunch of kids that were ready for action. We took a hard loss on the dodge ball court to the Pirates but kept our composure and got ready for the over under challenge. Soon however, the kids got back to using me as a human jungle gym and found much more entertainment in various disorganized attempts at the games. This was fine by me I had a good time playing spinny bat until we couldn’t stand due to dizziness for half an hour. Then there was a bit of drama between Monique, one of the girls in my soup-family, and a boy who she told me was mean to her. So I spent a good bit of time cheering her up but it worked out, it was just a bump in the road for her. Monique is a strong girl who I became quite attached too and you can see her above in the picture, dead center with a devilish look, this is her personality in a nut-shell. The rest of the photo is my soup-family who we spent time with everyday of the week. I am very much looking forward to seeing them again next Wednesday. I got to know them and their stories which was an incredible experience they also taught me a bit of Africans, which I am terrible at, yet they love hearing me butcher various phrases in my accent. Over all today was a great day and a good way to end the week. Good bye was hard but I will see them again next week!

Sam Stribling

Day 5: Life Lessons from the Townships

On Thursday, Kevin Chaplin, the Managing Director of the Amy Biehl Foundation, came to talk to our group. The foundation was established in the memory of Amy Biehl, a young American woman who traveled to South Africa in the early 1990’s to help promote the post-Apartheid elections. While driving friends home one night, she was murdered by a mob of angry blacks, the same people she vowed to save from persecution, simply because her skin was white. The four men who were convicted of Amy’s murder were pardoned after a five-year prison sentence due to the forgiveness of the Biehl family. Amy’s parents’ story in itself is a tale of human compassion and strength in morals, but what’s even more incredible is the fact that two of the murders work at the Amy Biehl Foundation today as service directors.

The main focus of Kevin Chaplin’s presentation to us was based on living a life of significance over a life of success along with the idea of “ubuntu.” “Ubuntu” is described as the connection between people through a mutual respect for all individuals and cultures. These ideas both especially pertain to the service mission of Global LEAD through connection with the locals while focusing on a fulfilling life of compassion. Kevin used to be the Cape Town area manager for First National Bank, but gave up his prestigious title to head the Amy Biehl Foundation. Kevin’s life truly is a testament to his mission: a man living his life not for the material rewards, but rather for personal fulfillment and service to others.

After lunch we loaded up the buses to head to the after school centers run by the Amy Biehl Foundation in the local townships. Driving through the townships was by far the most depressing thing I’ve ever seen. The average size of a house was about 15x15 feet and the shacks were basically stacked on top of each other they were so close together. The ground was covered in dirt and garbage was piled everywhere. There were more dogs roaming the streets than I could count. However, in the midst of the extreme poverty were hundreds of smiling children. They waved to us from the streets and ran behind our bus; their enthusiasm and joyful spirits was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. After our drive through the townships, we visited two of the Amy Biehl after school centers and were greeted by elaborate dance performances by the children. I used to think I could dance until I saw these little guys. They could easily be professional dancers, moving their bodies in ways I didn’t think was possible. It was probably the highlight of my trip up this point.

Friday was an extremely moving day for me. As stated before, it was hard for me to comprehend the inhuman living conditions in the townships. It was even harder for me to comprehend how the children could be living such impoverished lives yet have a joyful spirit a thousand times greater than any child I’ve seen. After some personal reflection, I realized the lives of the children in the township are a testament to Kevin’s message of a life of fulfillment. These children do not dwell on their lives’ of poverty and political corruption, but rather focus on the real significance of life: friends, family, faith, and happiness. This is by far the most inspirational thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. I have never been more thankful for the opportunities God had given to me in life.

Charles Purcell

Ten things to be thankful for in Cape Town today….

1. Sleeping in a little (9am)

2. Breakfast at Charley’s Bakery, YUM!

3. Running along the Pacific Ocean in beautiful weather

4. Spending time with all the AWESOME Global L.E.A.D.ers!!

5. Dancing and singing to “Do the ice cream and cake” a hundred times

6. Holding precious babies who fall asleep in your arms

7. Spending time with the lovely soup mothers and hearing their stories

8. Breathtaking sunsets on the ride home

9. Potluck dinner with everyone in the leaders room

10. Tiger Tiger (dance club) with everyone to enjoy the night!

-Lindsey Montgomery

We can do no great things, only small things with great love

We can do no great things, only small things with great love. ~Mother Teresa

For almost a week now, when my friends and family would ask me how service week in Sir Lowry's Pass has been, I would say, “It's been incredible. Still processing everything though...” and that's really all I could muster. I literally didn't know what else to say. I realized that it has been almost to the point of feeling annoyed and frustrated because I couldn't think of what else to say. To try to put into words what the Lord has done this week is almost impossible, because no words can even begin to explain His power and goodness in a midst of people enduring far more hardship than we will ever experience in our life. Here in the United States we have more than we'll ever need yet continue to complain, suffer from depression, and live complacent half-hearted lives while these people that our society would consider “have nothing” continue to amaze me and warm my heart with the overflowing joy that they radiate. We came to Sir Lowry's Pass to serve and love the people and children of the town. However, it was truly the other way around. They've loved us, served us, and shown us love in a far more tangible way than I've ever understood it.

Monday as soon as we stepped off of the bus, I met a girl named Philipia whom I've got the chance to talk to every day this week. She's thirteen years old, and honestly one of the sweetest girls I've ever met. As we were doing the “Ice Cream and Cake” dance for the 10^th time today, we decided to take a break and sit in the corner with the arts and crafts group. As soon as we sat down, I must have unknowingly made the comment “Ah, I'm so hungry. I can't wait to eat lunch” … and didn't think twice about it. We continued conversation until I got wrapped up with the 4 two year olds climbing all over me and pulling my hair. By the time I had noticed, Philipia disappeared, but I wasn't worried about it because I was sure I would see her soon. About 5 minutes later I felt a slight tug on my jacket, and sure enough it was Philipia, apple in hand, with the biggest grin on her face. She had gone all the way home to get me an apple. Tears filled my eyes as I repeatedly and politely refused her apple, encouraging her to save it for herself. What did she say? “No, Leanna. I'm not hungry. Eat it please. I'll get another one tomorrow.” I was in tears by then, but I couldn't help but smile and accept the apple.There stood the thirteen year old girl that I came to serve who's house was the size of my bedroom, giving ME an apple because she had overheard me say that I was hungry. Moments like these made me realize that yes, I may live a life with more material possessions than she does, but she lives a life far more abundant than I do. I believe that her circumstances are the reasons why her heart, as with the other people I've met in Sir Lowry's Pass, is so big, joyful, loving, and giving. I started this week in hopes of loving these kids and changing their lives. Instead, the love these kids have given me in return have truly changed my heart and my mind, instilling a lasting impact into my life.

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-Leanna Carr

Keep Calm and Carry On

After adventure week I thought I could never experience a better week in my life. Then came service week, which has been a completely different experience, but nonetheless one of the best weeks I can think of having. Today we started off the day learning about overcoming obstacles. We learned how to turn a problem into a constructive goal that has a solution. We were then all given a sign that said, “KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON”. This sign was posted all over England before WWII. The poster serves as a reminder that you can overcome anything and it is how you respond to the crisis that defines you. We learned trouble handled rightly encourages those around you. When you have crisis it does not have to define you, but it will shape you. After hearing this lesson I realized the wonderful people I have met in the township of Sir Lowery’s Pass perfectly portrayed this message. The soup kitchen mom’s, who we spend our days with, provide meals to all the children who need food in the area. They show that a crisis, such as starving children, should call you to your highest and best, rather than your lowest and least. The poverty surrounds them, yet they keep fighting for the children because they don’t want them to be a product of their negative circumstances. They give the children a chance to become more and do more by believing in them. The children have darkness all around them in so many ways, but you do not notice this when you are there playing with them. This is because everyone I have met has such a positive attitude, rather than letting the darkness overcome their attitudes. They are a true testament to the ideals behind “Keep calm and carry on”.

Olivia McDonald

Wednesday June 8, 2011

Today was our third day in the township of Sir Lowry’s pass. We had a morning lesson and then boarded the bus at one o’clock. When we arrived at the township, there were children waiting outside of the bus excited to see us, just as they did yesterday and the day before. Our plan for the day was to have stations for the kids of arts and crafts, sports, and song and dance. However, we faced a bit of an obstacle when we realized that the main area that we usually use was being painted. This, along with the whipping winds and stormy clouds was a bit discouraging, but everything ended up working out in the end. We used the courtyard of the primary school for our activities, and even though the weather wasn’t ideal, the kids did not seem to notice and we all ended up having a great time.

I spent a lot of time today with a four year old little girl named Kimmy. The more boisterous kids seemed to overshadow her in the big group so she liked sitting on the sides with a few people in a quiet group. She did not have much to say but never seemed to want to let go of me, which is the case for a lot of the smaller children in the township. Kimmy was perfectly content to sit on my lap for an hour and play with her tiny beaded bracelet that she made at the arts and crafts station.

After about two hours of free time at the stations, we all broke off into our smaller groups and proceeded to the houses of our assigned “Moms”. These are all women in the community who take many people in and know almost all of the children by name. My “Mom”, Miss Veronica, has children of her own but also takes care of her grandchild, and works four days a week from nine a.m. to three p.m.. She takes a lot of pride in her home, and it is not what I expected to see in a township. She has many kitchen appliances, a refrigerator, oven and more. In her living room there are couches and even a television, computer, and a stereo. During the last hour of our visit at the township, my group spends time sitting in her living room talking, watching t.v., or having a dance party with her and her daughter Portia. I look forward to going back to see all of the kids tomorrow, and on Friday for field day!

-Lizzy Bracken

Made a difference to that one!

I really enjoyed today.

Kelsie, Lindsey and I started the day off at 7:15am and ran the full four miles to the lighthouse and back twice. Big accomplishment people.

We had breakfast with our community groups for the first time in a couple weeks, and it was delicious. We had some grapes, yogurt and granola, and some super yummy french toast. We chatted about our highs and lows of our first day of service and it was really interesting to hear about everyone’s experiences.

We had class at 10 and had a couple of really great discussion about what service week means to each person. We read two articles called “The Mindful Traveler” and “We Should Serve Them” prior to the discussion, which made for some interesting conversations. We discussed the idea of gift-giving. In areas like Sir Lowry’s Pass, it’s really difficult to give a gift. We have the best intentions for making the lives better of those around us. But sometimes giving one house a new roof, leaves the house next door wondering why they weren’t given a new roof. There is a ripple effect in the community far greater than we would ever think to imagine. The same is true for giving a child a teddy bear. There are hundreds of kids in Sir Lowry’s Pass that we interact with everyday. If we only have fifty teddy bears to give, how are the other children going to feel who didn’t get one. They face enough neglect already. But then there’s that knot in your stomach of wanting to help them.

This takes me back to an old camp devotion:

As a man walked a desolate beach one cold, gray morning he began to see another figure, far in the distance. Slowly the two approached each other, and he could make out a local native who kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. Time and again he hurled things into the ocean.

As the distance between them continued to narrow, the man could see that the native was picking up starfish that had been washed upon the beach and, one at a time, was throwing them back into the water.

Puzzled, the man approached the native and asked what he was doing. “I’m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. You see, it’s low tide right now and all of these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don’t throw them back into the sea, they’ll die up here from lack of oxygen.”

“But there must be thousands of starfish on this beach,” the man replied. “You can’t possibly get to all of them. There are just too many. And this same thing is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. Can’t you see that you can’t possibly make a difference?”

The local native smiled, bent down and picked up another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea he replied, “Made a difference to that one!”

Each of us is but one person: limited, burdened with our own cares and responsibilities. We may feel there is so much to be done, and we have so little to give. We’re usually short of everything, especially time and money. When we leave this shore, there will still be millions of starfish stranded on the beach. Maybe we can’t change the whole world, but there isn’t one of us who can’t help change one person’s whole world. One at a time. We can make a difference.

I tried to keep that in mind today when we were in the township. We were there from about 2 to 5. I’m a student leader for arts and crafts, so we set up supplies to make tissue paper butterflies and paper plate masks for the kids in the Crush. We managed that for about two hours as students were also helping to organize dance and sports, such as soccer and rugby. There was also a great team of people working on the mural, which is definitely still a work in progress, but looks amazing so far.

At around 4pm, we headed to Miss Hetta’s house to spend some time with this incredible woman. unfortunately she was tied up with work, so we didn’t get to see her until right before we left, but we were able to go to Miss Cheryl’s house for a little while. As the woman who started organizing the soup moms, she is so incredibly strong. Her daughter Candy and granddaughter Courtney, named after Courtney Doran, were both there, as well as her son Duncan. They are such genuinely happy people and are so open about their stories.

I am simply amazed by the people in Sir Lowry’s Pass and I can’t to see how that amazement grows over the next few days.

Sending inspiration from Cape Town.

-Shannon Dooley

Tuesday 7/6/11

Incredible! This whole trip has been incredible and I don’t want to miss the opportunity to make that known. While I would love to recap the whole trip, my charge is simply to give you a snapshot of today.

Today began with learning. I learned how to make French toast. The Global LEAD staff bought food and supplies for breakfast and my community group had the opportunity to cook and eat together. I love the people in my community group and have come to really enjoy these opportunities to have breakfast with them. On par for this trip, there were 7 girls and one guy, myself, at breakfast. We were fortunate enough to have one of our Teaching Assistants, Mallory, join us for breakfast. This was our first time being together since adventure week, an awesome adventure-packed week when I got to know many of my group members AS WELL as Mallory. We discussed our high’s and low’s of either adventure week or the first day of service that we experienced yesterday. While many students, myself included, discussed their high’s and low’s from adventure week, many students had already been substantially impacted by the first day in Sir Lowry’s Pass and decided to focus on yesterday. The first day in the township, reading “We Should Help Them,” and the class discussions that ensued had a profound impact on students.

Immediately following breakfast, we went to the room in the apartment complex where we have class. Our professor, Dr. Montgomery Wolf, lead a discussion about students’ thoughts, experiences, and reactions to the first day in Sir Lowry’s Pass. After that 30-minute conversation, we broke up into three smaller groups in order to discuss the article “We Should Help Them,” which we all read prior to attending class. The article basically went through the different ways that the United States or the “developed” world has tried to “help” Africa and the impact of that “aid.” The article first questions whether Africa needs help at all or if they are doing just fine on their own. Then, assuming that there is opportunity for improvement, the article goes on to analyze the primary methods that developed countries have utilized to help Africa. Basically the article shows that having a positive impact is extremely complicated and difficult and that our efforts could actually do more harm than good if the proper thought, planning, and study are not undertaken. Given that my vision for my life is to make a positive impact in a place that is poverty stricken, just like the majority of Africa, the conversation was a bit overwhelming for me.

As I reflected on the conversation, I became thankful for the opportunity to read and discuss the article and become disillusioned to many of the challenges inherent to helping people. As I reflected further, I realized that I didn’t really learn anything that I didn’t know before: Making a big, positive impact on the lives of impoverished humans is not going to be simple or easy. Rather, knowledge of the specific challenges became much more concrete and real. Furthermore, I became more eager to make a difference and was charged to learn more, over come obstacles, and truly rise to the challenge.

Our time in Sir Lowry’s Pass today was awesome. Most of the guy Springboks got a rugby game going with the kids. They had a massive field that was perfect for some hard-hitting rugby. It was really fun to play with the kids and other students and get a feel for a game that is so important to South African culture. I got to meet and talk to a 15 year old boy named Shane and continued to play with my man, Lathan. I also got to spend some awesome time with my “family” and soup mom, Ms. Ann. Our whole family loves her, her daughter, Natasha, and her grandchildren, Mikaela, Kay, Caleb, and Mathew. I’m so excited to continue to get to know her and her family this week.

Now it’s time for me to go help my roommates finish cooking our delicious dinner: chicken alfredo with bacon, salad, fresh bread, and wine. We have invited a room of girls and the two staff members here this week to join us. Cooking has been a really awesome part of the trip. Just as the day started, I’m off to eat!

-Zach Hogue

Service Week!

Today was the first day of service week. After a week of adventure, it was a different scene, but we were ready to jump right into it. We had a lesson on service-learning this morning and learned that service-learning should benefit both the receiver and the giver. At 3 we climbed on the bus and headed to Sir Lowry's Pass, a township about 45 minutes from Cape Town. As we pulled up to the school, the kids started congregating, and I knew that what I was going to experience this week would be life changing.

Right when we stepped off the bus, I was greeted by a ten-year-old girl named Kaylee. She was eager to talk to me and play with my hair. The kids just want love. And that's what we're here to give to them. One of the soup moms, the natural leaders in the town, said while introducing herself, "You must give love to get love." I think that this described our goal of the week perfectly. I'm so excited to get to know as many kids as possible and hopefully to make a lasting impact on everyone I come in contact in. I loved seeing how many relationships we're making already. Boys were human jungle gyms and the girls love "Little Sally Walker." It's going to be a tiring, but rewarding experience.

After playing for a while and just loving on the kids, we went to our soup moms house. I was with 4 other students. We received a tour of her home and met her son and two daughters. The other two daughters had moved out. One of the daughters who lived at home had a son named, Lathum, who is a ball of energy and such a joy. They made us dinner and would not allow us to help. They were so kind to us and made us feel at home in a place we were so unfamiliar with. Her son, Jeremy, and Hamilton played the guitar and bass the whole time, and the girls danced and sang. We definitely weren't as good as her daughter, Candice, and her friends though. When we said goodbye, our soup mom, hugged us and said she was blessed to have her own 4 daughters and 1 son, but now she has an additional 4 daughters and 1 son. It was moving to hear her say that and as we said bye to her children, they said bye to their brothers and sisters. I'm blessed to be part of their family already.

I'm so excited become closer to this family and as many kids as I can. Its going to be an extremely fun week, and I can't wait!

-Anna Marchman

Human Jungle Gyms

Today was the first day of service week. After getting back from adventure week Friday, our group understands how much we can do all in one day and we are ready for Service Week. This morning we learned about how service learning is a two-way street where we learn what a community needs and try and implement solutions to the needs that the community voices. It is also a two way street where we learn from them while we are serving them and meeting their needs.

After learning about what service learning is, we were able to learn the connection that Global Lead has with Sir Lowry’s Pass, and how we are able to make an impact on this community and learn from them. Our goal this week is to love on the children in the township and learn their needs while trying to meet them. We will also be implementing an afterschool program for the kids in the township. I am looking forward to getting to know them and working with the kids. I am a student leader for this week with three others, and we are in charge of creating games and activities for all the kids. I can’t wait to spend more time with them, as well as, spending time with the families we are paired up with.

I was paired up with Mrs. Myna and her family along with four other students. Today after we spent about an hour with the children, we got to go into Mrs. Myna’s house and get to know her family while cooking dinner for her family. We had spaghetti African style with meat, green peppers, onions, and sugar in the sauce. It was so good. While we were spending time getting to know her family, we all realized the importance of music to them. Within the first ten minutes we were all dancing in the living room while cooking and laughing. Her son Gerald and daughter Glenda tried to teach us some dance moves. We aren’t nearly as good as them, but we are going to teach them some swing dancing and some other American dances. Her family is so welcoming; we all were instantly comfortable and glad to be a part of her family already.

I can’t wait to spend more time getting to know Mrs. Myna and her family this week as well as getting to spend time with the kids. This week should be a lot fun even with all the hard work, but we definitely will learn a lot.



Taylor Richardson