It pretty amazing what you can learn about people when you take the time.So these past couple of weeks I have spent a lot of time with kids that perform in different dance groups and artists in Khayelitsha. I have spent time with them, but haven’t had a lot of opportunity to really get to know the kids.
Today, I invited all of the kids who performed to come and play soccer at the Football for Hope Centre. It was so great to see how excited they were to be playing on the field. My team was pathetic; we played games similar to King’s Court in Tennis; where the winner continues to play. My team never scored a goal and there were times when we wouldn’t even be on the field for more than a minute and we would get scored on.. PATHETIC.
It was so fun to get to hang out and really talk to the kids. The group in the picture above is called Future Line, they practice everyday after school, and the range in age from 14-21. One of the youngest, 14 year old girls says she wants to be a lawyer, and if that doesn’t work out a dancer. Another kid who was 18 wants to go to art school. It is so great, hearing that kids growing up in the townships have dreams and passion for life.
These kids are born into situations where there are very few opportunities for success. Many kids here don’t graduate from school, never gain solid employment, and are very susceptible to HIV. Today at the centre I was running late and they were waiting inside looking at the photos on the wall that were pictures of some of the interventions we have run. I missed it, but I was told that they were having some pretty deep conversations about HIV. If only I had a way of protecting them, but I these are great kids and I have to believe that they can protect themselves and can stay focused on their future.
That is probably one of the hardest things about working out in these communities, is seeing how there is not a lot of people who have faith or determination to better their lives. So many of the people are unemployed and just sit around all day. First, I could not even imagine that, but so many do not finish all grades of school.
It was just so refreshing today to hear things, like I want to be a lawyer. They also showed me where they rehearsed their dances. It is in a room that is small like the size of two normal sized bathrooms in the US. It continues to baffle me how these kids make the best of everything. I think that is a lesson that everyone should learn.
I am just so thankful that I got to spend the day with these amazing kids/young adults. They have an energy that is just contagious. After we got done playing soccer we when inside and played a ton of different indoor, icebreaker type games; it was really fun. Then I went to the store and got bananas, bread things, and 3 liters of soda, we all had a snack and then it took me 3 trips to get them all home.
One other amazing thing about these kids is that they dance because they love it. The were never in it for the little bit of money we could pay the, or the exposure; they were in it because they loved it and had passion for it. That is why they are the best in Khayelitsha. The passion that they show gives me hope especially because the harsh reality of life in the townships can all too often be overwhelming.
It was so fun to get to hang out and really talk to the kids. The group in the picture above is called Future Line, they practice everyday after school, and the range in age from 14-21. One of the youngest, 14 year old girls says she wants to be a lawyer, and if that doesn’t work out a dancer. Another kid who was 18 wants to go to art school. It is so great, hearing that kids growing up in the townships have dreams and passion for life.
These kids are born into situations where there are very few opportunities for success. Many kids here don’t graduate from school, never gain solid employment, and are very susceptible to HIV. Today at the centre I was running late and they were waiting inside looking at the photos on the wall that were pictures of some of the interventions we have run. I missed it, but I was told that they were having some pretty deep conversations about HIV. If only I had a way of protecting them, but I these are great kids and I have to believe that they can protect themselves and can stay focused on their future.
That is probably one of the hardest things about working out in these communities, is seeing how there is not a lot of people who have faith or determination to better their lives. So many of the people are unemployed and just sit around all day. First, I could not even imagine that, but so many do not finish all grades of school.
It was just so refreshing today to hear things, like I want to be a lawyer. They also showed me where they rehearsed their dances. It is in a room that is small like the size of two normal sized bathrooms in the US. It continues to baffle me how these kids make the best of everything. I think that is a lesson that everyone should learn.
I am just so thankful that I got to spend the day with these amazing kids/young adults. They have an energy that is just contagious. After we got done playing soccer we when inside and played a ton of different indoor, icebreaker type games; it was really fun. Then I went to the store and got bananas, bread things, and 3 liters of soda, we all had a snack and then it took me 3 trips to get them all home.
One other amazing thing about these kids is that they dance because they love it. The were never in it for the little bit of money we could pay the, or the exposure; they were in it because they loved it and had passion for it. That is why they are the best in Khayelitsha. The passion that they show gives me hope especially because the harsh reality of life in the townships can all too often be overwhelming.
See ya soon,
Sarah
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