Today, as usual, I spent an equal amount of time building as I did with the kids. I mixed cement and continued plastering the wall from last week. It was a beautiful day and the children were happy and crazy as the usually are (so was I). Over the last week, I noticed they all love swinging in the swings but are not very good at sharing. Each day is filled with constant arguments over who gets the swings. I came up with a system that each child gets pushed 10 times before switching and they all have to count out loud. It seemed to work and it was a good learning experience for some of them too!
Happy Swinging! If you look close, you can see the girl in the background counting!
Unfortunately this beautiful day was marred by a darker side of township life. A group of kids, the oldest probably about 10 and the youngest about 4 brought a cat into the bush behind the job site. While there, they either let the pit bull that was with them maul the cat or they killed it themselves. As an animal lover it makes me angry, but dog fighting and gangs are just a way of life in the townships(albeit a sick one). It does help me realize how important Deen and the volunteers are in the children’s lives to help make sure they don’t grow up on the wrong side of the law.
In more positive news, when I got home, I brought the soccer ball out for the kids in the neighborhood and played for a few hours. I left it with the kids when I went to get dinner at night and they played past dark before returning the ball. All the kids seemed happy so day 1 with the soccer ball was a success!
30deeds 