Service Learning in South Africa

We started off the day painting the eaves of the administration building at Living Hope Health Care Center while part of the group helped to organize the library at King of King’s church, and others visited with patients in the Health Center. By the time my group arrived to Living Hope we noticed the stain we applied to the back porch yesterday must have dried just in time to block the rain we got last night. We finished painting the eaves pretty early, so we broke for lunch. Some of us ran across the street to get ice cream again, and when we got back we realized we had some time to kill before our rides showed up. We spent the early afternoon hanging out with Mike, Washington, and Brighton, the three guys from Zimbabwe we temporarily employed to help us do the painting. Some played cards and others napped while Mike showed Travis and I how to eat guavas. We picked them straight off the tree and enjoyed their sweet strawberry-watermelon flavor.

Continue reading "Guava...mmmm!" ...

Posted by Amanda at 05:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today was a very busy, but good day. The morning was spent at Living Hope and the afternoon was spent at the children’s clubs. Some painted, some sorted clothing, and others spent time with the patients inside.

Meghan talked with a lady who came to Living Hope for many reasons. Besides needing medical attention, she needed a way out of her environment. She needed someone to encourage her and love on her. Ashley and Sarah hung out with some of the ladies for a long time. Ashley read some scripture and Sarah massaged their hands. One lady, Maria, had the entire group laughing. She told some crazy stories about her husband.

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The group ate lunch at the center and then things got really funny. We all went across the road to get some really cheap and really good ice cream cones. The sight of a bunch of American college students trying to cross the busy road in South Africa was hilarious. There was a man giving donkey rides next door to the ice cream shop, and two of the students decided to get donkey rides, a sight which those watching thoroughly enjoyed. Two little girls came up and started drinking Amanda’s milkshake while she was riding the donkey, and all of this was caught on videotape!

Continue reading "Just People Helping People" ...

Posted by Amanda at 03:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBacks (0)

Today our group started with a tour of the Living Hope facilities. It was very encouraging to hear that Living Hope has grown from being a hospice to being a health center. This may seem like only a slight name change, but it is a much more significant change than this. Not too many years ago the center was only able to help fifteen percent of their patients return to their homes, while over eighty percent of the patients were dying. Today those numbers are completely reversed. Due to an increase in support for anti-retroviral treatments as well as HIV/AIDS prevention, the center is now able to greatly extend the lives of their patients. (click images below to view larger versions)

 

Continue reading "New Friends" ...

Posted by Amanda at 03:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBacks (0)

We're so happy to report that we ALL arrived safely at the Team House about half an hour ago. We're so grateful to all the people who helped make our journey possible. Some of us had our load lightened a bit when our luggage didn't arrive -- how's that for optimism? -- but we're hopeful all the luggage will arrive tomorrow. As for tonight, the Atlantic Ocean will probably lull us all into a deep sleep, and we'll be ready to do some touring and service work tomorrow morning. We'll report more soon!

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Posted by Bonnie Smith at 04:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (24) | TrackBacks (0)