Paige loving the kids

Sister Jasmina, one of the nurses from Tafelsig, has a sister who works at an orphanage in Ottery, which is where I’ll be doing my activist project. This past Friday I took the trip out there along with Isabel, Maria, and Kayla and we got to meet all the kids for the first time. They were the cutest kids in the whole entire world, so cute that I’m like 99% positive my mom will take one home with her when I bring her to visit. They were so happy to have visitors and welcomed us with plenty of hugs and smiles. At one point I had about 5 kids on me—one was hugging my legs, one was brushing my hair, one was jumping on my lap and the other two were wrapped under my arms by my side. They loved all the attention.

The orphanage was much more resourced than I had anticipated. It seemed pretty well funded, however there is still a lot of work to be done when it comes to fixing things up, supplying food, and just helping with the maintenance and care for the kids. The two women running the center threw us right into it—we bathed the kids, changed their diapers (or should I say ‘nappies’) and dressed them about 15 minutes into arriving there. The kids’ ages ranged from 1 year to 7 years and there are 3 bedrooms: one for girls, one for boys, and one for toddlers. I hate to say that I already have a favorite, but there’s this one 3 year old that held on to me the entire time we were there and wouldn’t let me go, except when he went to Kayla for the last few minutes, during which time I got extremely jealous. He was such a little flirt, doing flips off the wall in his crib to show off.

After developing a relationship with these kids in such a short time, it broke my heart to hear their stories from the main Auntie in charge. The kids are placed in this facility if their parents neglect them, abuse them, don’t feed them or take care of them, have drug addictions, or if they are living on the streets. There was one little girl who Maria was playing with who started giggling when Maria swung her around the main Auntie was shocked. She told us that she hasn’t smiled since she was put here, that she’s always sad and quiet in her crib and that this was a first for her. It really moved me to see this girl so happy for the first time. I’m so glad to be a part of something so special to the kids, hopefully we can continue to make them smile, and influence all of their lives in some positive way.

A few other students are doing their activist project with Bongi and the Khayelitsha Fire Fighters soccer team. I plan on joining them sometime next week, to help coach, support, and practice with the team. As part of the project we will also be trying to raise money to put towards equipment and fees. I love soccer and have played my whole life, so I think this would be another fun way to get involved in the Cape Town community while also doing something important—the team is a way for the young boys to avoid gangsterism and to be a part of something meaningful instead. 

(You can check out the GoFundMe page for the FireFighter Fundraiser at  https://www.gofundme.com/FireFightersClub/share/gfm/fb_d_5_q )