As a computer geek - I opted to stay inside on the beautiful day and help kids on the computer. Honestly, it felt like the most relevant thing for me to do. The center in Mfuleni had about 15 computers and had need for at least 30. The computers that they had were unfortunately outdated and while they operated they were slow and showing their age. I'm hoping my Microsoft friends read this and want to make a difference here (HINT HINT).
Many of the children had to double up in front of one computer and share. Enough that it stood out to me. Here are some pictures of children doubled up on the computers.
This one wouldn't boot up... but I did get it to work.
These two saw me take the picture of the other girls and wanted their photo taken too... very cute. And yes, they were sharing a computer too.
These young men were playing a game together that taught them how to type. They'd nudge each other for the ability to hit the key on the keyboard.
Ok - I think I've added enough evidence of need. Now I just hope this gets to
my Microsoft friends (Hi Pete!)It was nice to be able to help them learn how to use the computer and search the internet. A few weeks back I went to an event at home where the former CIO at Google came and gave a talk. A part of his presentation had an animated picture that was a map of the world with 'lights' showing where Google searches originated. At the time he built the slide the entire continent of Africa was just flat out not on the map for Google searches. I'm happy to say that I helped a good number of young people understand how to use that tool.
What I found to be hard was what I helped them search for. One group of the young men in the room had homework assignments from school to research / learn about Adolph Hitler. I guess the only thing I can say about that is history is always relevant and better known than not known.
The other thing that I spent a lot of time with a few of the young people was helping them search for what the rash that people with AIDS can get. There were two young people sharing a computer (a girl and a boy together) wanting to know what the rash looked like. For a split second I was embarrassed - they were so young - and then I made it my mission to help them find what they were looking for and teach them how to find it on their own. We found photos. I left them to review. I made sure they found everything that they were looking for and knew how to find it.
But it did break my heart to think why they were wanting to see it. I hope it is simply out of fear - and that there nothing to worry about.
We had a very busy day in Mfuleni. After the computer center there was an art class going on, a soccer game on one side of the building and running and games going on on the other side. The area is very sandy. It is mostly made of white sand that you'd find on a coast - at some point a long time ago I guess this area was underwater. There was so much broken glass and rubble in the sand - and so many of the children did not have any shoes on their feet. I was afraid they were really going to hurt themselves, but they played hard. Here are some of the photos from the afternoon:
This was actually on the drive in to the community. There was a whole group of children pushing old tires down the street. I found out later (and should have guessed) that there are a lot of uses for old tires including backyard gardens and maybe even just toys - as they have none - quite literally none. I think of the toys my children have in our basement that they have outgrown and want to pack them up and ship them here the minute I get home.
This is a view of the community.
More of the school kids rolling tires.
This was a view of the wonderful vegetable garden at the center. They grow a lot of vegetables and have programs that they are starting to try to help people grow their own food. The soil is very, very sandy so it is hard to do and takes a lot of fertilizer to get it to grow.
Little girl enjoying a hot meal provided by the center.
Children playing soccer
He had just been running as a part of the running exercises.
They were racing through the sand (see the bare feet?) on a course that had been set up. Working together and having a blast.
This is Betsy - and behind her is Mike. They both worked in the kitchen helping prepare the meals for the afternoon.
I spent time in with the children in the art class. They all drew large self-portraits of themselves. I asked one little girl to show me her painting and they all lined up behind her for their picture with their self portraits. It was just like before with the little ones - pose, pose, pose. I loved it. Here are the pictures:
This is our team with the leaders of the Mfuleni MaAfrika Tikkun site. There are plans for a larger community center there - as well as an Early Childhood Development program like that in Orange Farm. I know it will provide such a huge benefit for the community. I'll write more about the impact I've seen later (not that I haven't already).
No comments:
Post a Comment