Visit to MaAfrika Tikkun: Orange Farm

I have to admit that I found myself nervous as we drove out to Orange Farm today. We left the gated communities that have 6-10 foot high walls and razor wire / electric wire protecting their homes and went out into the countryside. We had just left a quick meeting with the folks at the MaAfrika Tikkun offices and were very fortunate to have been joined by Amanda Blankfield (who worked tirelessly on our agenda for the week).

We headed out in a van to Orange Farm. Orange Farm is about an hour outside of Joburg. The name comes from the Orange soil which is very deep, red/orange. It is a rural community and there were signs of farming, but not like you'd see in the US with farm houses and farms. The roads on the way there are modern freeways. Parts of it feel again like you might as well be around the outer belt in Columbus. As we got further out - I noticed two things. More and more people walking along the side of this very busy road. Some hitch-hikers, some seeming to rest on the side of the road. Some seeming to be camped out with plastic shopping bags all around them.

Turning into the Orange Farm area it is hard not to take notice of the dirt roads, the 'shacks' that I've heard about (2 shacks that house anywhere between 3-6 people each could fit in my family room), make-shift 'street vendors' selling everything from roasted corn, fruits and veggies to freshly slaughtered meats.

Orange Farm is home to a community center for MaAfrika Tikkun. The center has a new building that is the heart of it, a recreation area, a school-like building. The center provides just about everything for the community including daycare, early education programs, sports activities (soccer/the Safelite Cycling Program/others) and a kitchen where they serve meals with the goal of 2 meals and 2 snacks a day.

Orange Farm is also home to Thomas and the young men that I've made friends with through the Belron and Safelite Triathlons - Tshaimo, Mduduzi and Taboho. These 3 young men work at the community center and help create programs for the children. Tshaimo is a arts instructor for music and dance. Mduduzi is a sports instructor working directly with Thomas. Tabaho is the local IT guru for the center. I hoped to be able to see them all and spend time learning what they do and the challenges they face.

We first met Rita who is the project manager for the center. She introduced her work and her team at the center. I found Rita to be a very motivational person. I can see why they chose her to head up the center. She has a passion for the children, families and people of Orange Farm. I'll talk more about her later and share a video if I can (bandwidth is a bit limited).

After meeting with Rita we were greeted by a group of young adults with Tshaimo who led them in a drum / wooden xylophone (I'm sure it has a name but I don't know it). They played several songs for us. Tshaimo was not feeling his best but he sure gave it his all. I have video of the entire thing (which I'll find a way to post) but for now here are a few photos of their show:

Tshaimo is the second from the left (see the adorable little one beside him?)

Beautiful child

Another shot of this shy, beautiful little girl.

We then volunteered to work with young boys and girls in the sports center - where we played ball, catch and other activities designed to leverage/develop their motor skills. Here are a few photos from that: