Gap Year Students
Isaac, Anna, Fiona, Caragh, Edee
Today was an excellent day. We arrived when the boys were cleaning up after breakfast and Abdul told us we were going to run a programme in the park after they had finished. In the meantime, we took 2 of the boys down to the salon to get their hair shaved. We were slightly apprehensive as to how the boys were going to be treated as sometimes they can be made to feel unwelcome. However this was not the case and the barbers were cheery and making jokes with the boys. It was only R10 which makes out as about 85p. Cheap as chips! (Although chips are only R5)
Whilst the girls went with the boys for their haircuts Abdul introduced Isaac to a girl who looked familiar. It became apparent that is was one of the three girls who we had picked up and taken to the safe place for young girls from the street. She was 17 years old and had left school at grade 8. She told Isaac her life story which was tragic in all honesty. She then talked about her life when she did finally come to the streets. The previous street kids project she had attended did not cater well at all for girls and the place Larry had taken her and her two friends to start a new life also proved to give false hope. Her peers there had stolen money from her and also smoked around her. This meant she could not stay there any longer and so here she was; on SISCO's doorstep. Abdul was saying to us that she was quite scared to speak about it but we were quite surprised how much she actually did confide in us - people who she hardly knew.
SISCO will do their best to help her but for now all we could do is try and help her be happy. So we all went down to Albert Park with her and those boys who had not gone to ICare. We kicked off a game of football in which everyone took part and had a great time. It last for around 45 minutes which was hard work as it was so hot. For a cool down we played a game of "where the wind blows", a game in which you stand in the middle of a circle and say your name then something which you like to do, if those sitting in the circle like the same thing in which you said, you stand up and switch place. The aim of the game is to sit down and not be the last person standing in the middle. It was a great activity to allow us to learn names and bond as a group.
As we were preparing to leave the kids, led by our new girl, broke into beatboxing and freestyle rapping. After they told us the translation of their raps - about how they used to take glue, they used to beg and they used to fight but now they were here and they are free.
We feel that we have true bonds with these young people now. In the beginning only the confident ones would speak to us but now everyone comes up and speaks with us, jumps on us, hugs us or even tickle us to the ground.
Isaac, Anna, Fiona, Caragh, Edee
Today was an excellent day. We arrived when the boys were cleaning up after breakfast and Abdul told us we were going to run a programme in the park after they had finished. In the meantime, we took 2 of the boys down to the salon to get their hair shaved. We were slightly apprehensive as to how the boys were going to be treated as sometimes they can be made to feel unwelcome. However this was not the case and the barbers were cheery and making jokes with the boys. It was only R10 which makes out as about 85p. Cheap as chips! (Although chips are only R5)
Whilst the girls went with the boys for their haircuts Abdul introduced Isaac to a girl who looked familiar. It became apparent that is was one of the three girls who we had picked up and taken to the safe place for young girls from the street. She was 17 years old and had left school at grade 8. She told Isaac her life story which was tragic in all honesty. She then talked about her life when she did finally come to the streets. The previous street kids project she had attended did not cater well at all for girls and the place Larry had taken her and her two friends to start a new life also proved to give false hope. Her peers there had stolen money from her and also smoked around her. This meant she could not stay there any longer and so here she was; on SISCO's doorstep. Abdul was saying to us that she was quite scared to speak about it but we were quite surprised how much she actually did confide in us - people who she hardly knew.
SISCO will do their best to help her but for now all we could do is try and help her be happy. So we all went down to Albert Park with her and those boys who had not gone to ICare. We kicked off a game of football in which everyone took part and had a great time. It last for around 45 minutes which was hard work as it was so hot. For a cool down we played a game of "where the wind blows", a game in which you stand in the middle of a circle and say your name then something which you like to do, if those sitting in the circle like the same thing in which you said, you stand up and switch place. The aim of the game is to sit down and not be the last person standing in the middle. It was a great activity to allow us to learn names and bond as a group.
As we were preparing to leave the kids, led by our new girl, broke into beatboxing and freestyle rapping. After they told us the translation of their raps - about how they used to take glue, they used to beg and they used to fight but now they were here and they are free.
We feel that we have true bonds with these young people now. In the beginning only the confident ones would speak to us but now everyone comes up and speaks with us, jumps on us, hugs us or even tickle us to the ground.
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