Second Day at Manenberg (12/10/14)

On our second day at the school, I was happy to see the children! This was the last day of school so the kids were extra hyper and excited. Because they were energetic, there was a lack of structure to the program. We tried to do a few activities with them, but they only listened to directions from Felicia. I don’t know if this was because she has established herself as an authority figure or if it is due to her being able to speak Afrikaans.

We saw Felicia and Sharnay lead the day. They played an assortment of games outside, definitely more than in America. Probably because the weather is BEAUTIFUL here. One of my favorite games they played was a candy game. While the children were distracted inside a classroom coloring, Felicia pulled me aside to help with the game. The only part of the game is throwing small wrapped candy in the expansive field on the playground. The kids then exit their classroom and run around trying to find candy. It sure does get them moving.

I think that Felicia and Sharnay were a little disappointed that we did not come with lesson plans and an overall game plan for the children. There was a lack of communication prior to the trip because of the lack of internet connectivity. The SHAWCO office does have an impressive amount of computers, but Felicia has little time to herself to check email!  We were only asked to be with the children, throw a Christmas party, and paint a mural. The program that the girls are used to is through GVSU’s Women’s Center. They stay for 6 weeks, during the school year, and have everyday planned to perfection. We are doing this as an Independent Study, during their summer/holiday break, and did not know what to expect aka not planned very well.

It was also brought to our attention that the school was having a Christmas party thrown by one of their sponsors, Dell. We had planned on having a Christmas party for them one of our last days there and were confused why we were throwing a Christmas party when they were getting a huge one the week before? We still decided to do a Christmas Party because the kids deserve presents.

At night, Jamie, Brent, and myself went to the Foo Fighters concert that was in Cape Town at Green Point Stadium. This was the site of the World Cup in 2010 so it was awesome to see! The Foo Fighters were great despite me not knowing very many of their songs. They played for over 3 straight hours because it was their first time performing in South Africa. How fun is that???