The school holidays began for all the children and young adults this week, which means they are all home in the village for the next 6 weeks. I can now understand how parents can get stressed out when their kids have long breaks from school and are home all the time! Just think of having 127 of them ranging from age 6 months to 22 years old and you have an idea of what Lily of the Valley is like. Although this time is overwhelming, I also view it as giving me more possibilities to invest in the kids. Since most of the programming for activities is oriented around the younger children in the village, the teenagers are often bored and left to entertain themselves. So I saw this holiday break from school as an opportunity to begin some more consistent activities with the teenagers on my caseload. I have continued the typing lessons that I began a month ago and I am including some other practical computer literacy training, as well as career and personality exploration.  I also helped one of the girls start a small business project, which she has been very successful with. The most difficult part of my role with the teens is developing activities that catch their interest and get them excited. I have quickly realized that it is no small task to get them engaged and committed to many of the activities involved in life skills development. Having this in mind, I am always trying to plan things for them that I could see myself having interest in at that age.

Aside from the onsite activities, I am also planning a few off site things for the teens to do as well. This Saturday, another volunteer and I are taking all the teenage boys in the village to go paintballing! (If I’m being honest, I am probably even more excited than they are!) I called a local paintball facility and they were willing to give free entry and rentals to our group so that was a huge blessing, especially since finances are extremely tight here. I am also hoping to do a camping trip, beach trip, a service project, and a few other activities before they all head back to school.

One of my highlights from this past week was going into the neighboring township for the first time since arriving at Lily. The management here does not encourage it due to safety concerns but it’s something I don’t agree with them on. I went with two other Zulu guys from Lily and we went to a few stores and got lunch. I was able to meet a bunch of guys and briefly talk with them. The majority of them seemed very pleased that I was there and it felt like they were honored by my presence. The sad reality is, they rarely see any white people in their communities, especially none that are walking around and interacting with them on their level.  Previously I had only driven through these areas and I was always met with stares, so it was such a privilege to meet some of them, hear their voices and see their smiles. There have been many break-ins recently at Lily and as they increase the management has practically broken all ties with the neighboring communities and I want to at least show some of the people in the township that I am not isolating myself from them and I do not view myself on a different level than them. I want to break the perception they have of whites, especially white expats, of being afraid and unwilling to relate with them.

I have been able to more clearly see the lasting effects of apartheid. Crime is very high here and since the whites still clearly have more resources than the blacks it is often the poor in the townships who are committing the crimes and this increases fear and further divides the races. In some parts of the country there is harmony and diversity, however within the populations of extremely high and low socioeconomic status it is mostly absent apart from the Indians. This is an issue on both macro and micro scales and it’s something you can all lift up in prayer.

In other news: Two weeks ago I took two days off and went to Hluhluwe game reserve and iSmangiliso wetlands park. They were both so beautiful and I was able to go on a Safari as well. Wildlife and landscape here is glorious and I am blessed to have it all around me.

On Sunday I will be going on a retreat with MCC in Durban for a week. I am looking forward to having a nice break and interacting with other volunteers and staff. I am definitely beginning to miss home over this holiday season but am also excited to experience this time in a completely different context. Thanks for the continued support.