More progress
We spent the morning talking about what each of us feels about “Ubuntu” - a Zulu word that means, “I am because you are because we are.” Our first week, Thuli taught us how to say this in sign language, since it’s a very powerful sentiment. When it was my turn, I shared that I was, like all of the Global Xchange members, very passionate about helping the most troubled kids in our communities and I found it powerful and inspiring to meet all of them and to know of their work with children in their countries. I was moved to tears when I thought about the street kids in Durban and the hardships that they have to suffer daily. For me, Ubuntu meant that we were all working together with others around the world to make it a better place.
We spent some time going over the workshops for our event. We finished early so I rushed over to Sakhisizwe Centre (which is around the corner from the Bat Centre) and invited their supervisor to attend our event on Thursday along with 5 of their kids. He’s going to probably bring another staff member since we’ll have training for them in conflict resolution, peer education, gender violence, etc.
STREET BOY AT SAKHISIZWE CENTRE
SHOWERS AT SAKHISIZWE CENTRE
THEIR OFFICE
MAIN ROOM AT SAKHISIZWE CENTRE
After lunch, we went over the plans for our event “Music Heals.” Rafiki raised a great point: all of the other kids were being given money for transportation to attend, but our street kids didn’t need transportation. However, the time they would be spending with us would be time lost for them to beg for money on the streets. The group agreed that it was only fair to allocate some of the funds for these kids. However, a heated debate ensued when some people felt that any money given to them would be used to buy glue rather than food. Ultimately, we agreed to provide them with dinner rather than giving them cash. Tomorrow we’re going to talk to the cook at the Bat Centre to work something out.
I accidentally got ink on my clothing today and was given kerosene to take it out. While it removed most of the ink, there’s still some residue. People could smell my kerosene-soaked clothing from afar and I couldn’t stand the stench myself. Nise (the Executive Director of Bat Centre) told me to get a T-shirt from their Youth Development Department, which was very helpful and now I have a cool “hip hop” T-shirt. I’m going to give the remaining four “Hollywood” key chains that I brought with me to the four people at Bat Centre who helped me with this.
