Give something back…

Although service projects in poverty stricken areas is not the most beautiful scenery in the world, its definitely the most rewarding and life changing experience a young person can have. I am going to outline my experience in this blog and hope that it inspires others to take a similar opportunity.

On our way to the small community of Devondale (5 hours out of Johannesburg) I couldn’t breathe without coughing due to the amount of dust that consumed the bus. Whatever we were driving on (you couldn’t call it a road) was causing one of the biggest dust storms I had ever seen. All I could think the whole time is “where the hell are we going.”

South Africa has one of the highest poverty rates in the world, and I was about to see the worst of it. Nothing can really prepare you for that.

As we pulled up, I was sure we were at a tip.

To the left of me was an ocean of steel, cardboard, dirt, mud and stone walls, I was to quickly find out that that was where they lived. To the right were three buildings which were the church, the school and the dormitories for the students who had no other family. These buildings were also worn and torn on the outside but at least they were built up.

It was not until we went inside each that I realized so much needed to be done.

painting the dorms

While we were there we reconstructed the dormitories and the school. We did this by stripping the paint and giving it a new coat, putting together bunk beds so that the students weren’t sleeping on the floor, providing them with blankets and importantly we hung doors to keep the children safe at night. Girls and boys ranging from the ages of 6-18 were staying in dorms with no doors at all- using a blanket to try and protect them at night from the weather and worse…

Although we enjoyed restoring the dorms and the school for them, from my point of view the most rewarding experience of spending a week there was spending time to get to know these people, young and old. Language may have been a barrier, but somehow the connection was very strong, particularly with one little girl for me, her name was Ompinence and she was 6.

When I first saw her I thought she was a he. No hair on her head and dressed like a little boy. She looked much like the other hundred kids that was surrounding us, however something stood out about her. She had the most amazing eyes I had ever seen which matched her equally big smile.

 

Getting to know the community..

 

Once all the hype had died down, I sat down with this girl and we exchanged names, we did try this by saying our own name and pointing to ourselves. Before I knew it we were getting along great, laughing and trying to talk to each other. Over the week that I was there we became best friends. She followed me around everywhere, and was enthusiastic to help out.

Ompinence was smart, she was thoughtful, she was enthusiastic and inspiring. She deserved more than what she had and I wanted to give the world to her.

Ompinence wanted me to meet her family. I ventured into the ‘tip’ holding hands with her. She took me to her mother who hugged me so tightly. She could not speak English either, but I sat with her in a shelter made out of tin and mud that they call home and she showed me the three photographs she had of Ompinence when she was a baby.

Out of this community of around 2000, more than half have contracted or have been born with HIV, making their lifespan minimal. I will never know if Ompinence was one of those who had it. How was I meant to ask that, and would I really want to know. It was heart breaking to think any of these beautiful people had the deadly disease.

Our last day in the community was incredibly hard. Who would have thought that I would have a hard time leaving what looked like a dump. But let me tell you, leaving there knowing I would possibly never see these people again was harder than leaving any tropical island to come home to work and uni life.

The community gave us a send off that will I will never forget. We all stood in a circle half the size of a football field. They sang together, in voices that would have the potential to win Australian Idol, they danced with immense passion. Ompinence was the youngest of all the performers. She was dancing and singing her heart out. I wanted to take her home.

That trip changed my life. I left Devondale on the final day a different girl. The feeling is hard to explain, but with tears streaming down my face I knew I had been touched by this special group of people. Spending time in a community helped me to grow into a more mature, wiser and grateful person. It’s definitely something I recommend for others.

It’s your life, live it!

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