On 22nd June, Neil from Lionsraw arranged to bring a busload of Lionsraw guys up to help out with feeding the kids. There were 4 building projects for Lionsraw and a lot of the guys on that wanted to do something direct with children and as it was a day off for them, it was fairly easy to sort out.
I got down to the school about half an hour before the bus and explained to the excited group of expectant kids, making the most of a mix of Zulu, English and gesticulations, that a bus (steering wheel impression) full of white people was on its way to help them. The girl translating for me described them as 'abantu hlophe' which literally means 'people who are coloured white', which I found amusing as the word for white people is 'abelungu'. They were quickly shouting 'abelungu' however as the guys walked up the track to meet the kids about 20 minutes later and the kids certainly gave the guys a friendly welcome to their school playground.
I set up a production line for a few of the guys to cut polony, make sandwiches and make up some juice. In the meantime, others gathered with small groups of kids, or played with a football or frisbee. There was a good atmosphere as volunteers and children engaged in conversations about life.
There were about 48 kids turned up and about 40 volunteers, which was also funny to see. The children weren't in the slightest bit phased by so many adults though. The kids lined up politely and moved along the line collecting sandwiches, crisps, fruit and juice and were very grateful for it all. They sat down on the other side of the playground and scoffed the sandwiches and extra polony. When they'd all had one, I told Michael, one of the volunteers, to take the tray of extra sandwiches over to give them more. As he approached the children, they lept up and ran towards him to try and grab the food, such was their hunger. We managed to get them sitting in some sort of order and a few guys helped the rather startled Michael give out the remaining sandwiches.
There were also some children's books for the kids to take home, which the kids loved. I then gathered them together to get a group photo and one girl said she'd like to sing a thank you song for everyone. She came out to the front of the group and started a beautiful song. However, she must have looked up and seen the row of white people with cameras pointed at her and she got a few lines in and started crying. I think any remaining hearts that hadn't been touched by these children probably melted at that point. After a few hugs and encouraging words, she was fine again and has been a delightful girl to catch up with at every session since.
It was a great time together with the children and the volunteers, but it was soon over and the group moved on to their next appointment, playing football in the valley against Russell's boys. What a great experience though for a 'day off''. Thanks to everyone who came along and I hope you'll remember these kids for a long time to come!
