No Soup

Last week I volunteered at a soup kitchen. While I've participated in many types of volunteer work over the years, I have never been to a soup kitchen before. I first found out about the opportunity when I met a very friendly woman at the American International Women's Club and she encouraged me to sign up to help. The AIWC sends volunteers to the soup kitchen once a month. Only eight volunteers are needed each time, but as I signed up in August I made the cut for September. 

I walked about 25 minutes from home to a place called Jardin de Montbrilliant where the soup kitchen is housed. It's an interesting looking building and one that I had noticed before, but I was never sure what it was. 

We arrived at 8:45 a.m. and were put to work washing vegetables and fruit and making salad. Then, after a break, we helped set up all the food in time for the doors to open at 11:30 a.m. The soup kitchen serves 150-200 people over the course of one hour.  At 11:30 there was already a line of people waiting to come in and eat and people kept arriving until 12:30.

We served spaghetti with a red tuna sauce and optional Parmesan cheese on top, salad, fruit and a yogurt like muesli desert. There was no soup. The volunteers were given the chance to eat the food before people began to arrive, but I didn't try it. It did look very tasty though.

The door where people entered to get in line for food.

We were instructed not to let anyone touch the food and also that if anyone brought his own Tupperware and asked us to fill it (instead of taking a plate) that we could do so but to be careful not to let the serving utensil we were using touch the Tupperware. 

Five of us served the food, two washed dishes and one person was a runner bringing more supplies to us as we served. I was in charge of the Parmesan cheese which is ironic because when I eat pasta I load on the Parmesan like you've never seen. I spent the hour asking each person "fromage?"

Most of the people who came to eat were men. I think there were only five women. A few people looked like drug addicts but most were well dressed and if you saw them on the street you wouldn't think they would eat at a soup kitchen. There was no one who was dirty, smelly or tattered. I kept thinking about some of the homeless people I would see at traffic lights (robots) in South Africa. Sometimes, they were kneeling in the middle of the street, or would point to their mouths to signal hunger. Sometimes, they had no shoes or were missing limbs. In America as well the homeless generally look very rough. But here in Geneva the don't look so poor.  Food is very expensive here so it could be that many of these people do have jobs but just struggle to buy food. 

Good News Bad News

Mr. Deep and I have arrived back in Joburg. Things here are dryer than ever. Only this time it's not due to lack of humidity.

Good News: 
The flights were smooth and we were able to fit all of our luggage in the Uber.  The massive amount of luggage was due to a tremendous amount of shopping while in the U.S.A. Also, many friends made generous donations of items for the less fortunate here in Joburg. We received puzzles and books for the library at the Diepsloot Combined School and donations of goods for the Santa Shoe boxes. We were also given lots of kids clothing that I will find good homes for. 

Bad News: 
There was no water at our house when we got here. Meaning when we turned on the taps nothing came out. 

Worse News:
As I write this over 24 hours later we still have no water. 

Not having water when you return from flying half way around the world is right up there with not having any electricity on Christmas. It's poor timing. The only thing you really want to do after such a long trip is take a shower and unfortunately that was not in the cards for us upon arrival. 

Good News: 
We belong to a gym and we were able to shower there.

When you live in South Africa and you don't have water or electricity you assume there is some kind of outage that affects more than just your house. So I checked with our neighbors is to see if they had water. 

Bad News: 
They said they had water. This is obviously good news for them.

Good News:
Our neighbor kindly offered that we could come over and shower. As mentioned we went to the gym but it is still nice to have good neighbors who offer such things.

Bad News: 
Yesterday was Sunday so getting a technician out to examine the situation was unlikely.

Good News: 
Even though it was Sunday Joburg Water said they would send a technician.

Bad News: 
They didn't.

Similar to the Christmas situation Mr. Deep and I wondered if the lack of water had anything to do with an unpaid invoice. We pay the landlord and she pays the utility BUT sometimes the utility forgets to send out invoices and without an invoice people can't pay in a timely fashion. 

Good News: 
The landlord followed up with Joburg water and was told that they did not shut off the water due to lack of payment. 

Bad News: 
If they had shut off the water they could likely quickly and easily turn it back on. Now, we are left to wonder what exactly is wrong? Why is this problem only affecting our house and how long will it take to fix? 

Good News: 
At 1:00 p.m. (about 26 hours after we arrived home) security called and said Joburg Water was at the gate! I quickly buzzed them in and then went outside to wait for them. 

Bad News: 
Ten minutes went by and no one arrived. I thought maybe they were examining some issue in another part of the complex. But then security called again and said one of the guys in the bakkie (truck) did not have ID on him and therefore Joburg Water was not allowed to enter the grounds. 

I would certainly be willing to put my safety (as well as the safety of everyone else who lives in the estate) aside if the man without ID has knowledge in the art and science of how to get water running again.

Bad News:
Security does not see it that way.

Good News: 
We normally have running water. There are many people who don't. I have to be careful about who I complain about this problem to because I don't want to seem insensitive to those who live in shacks and who NEVER have running water and electricity. 

Bad News: 
We still don't have water. 

Wait. What?

This post was supposed to be about our lovely trip to Stellenbosch. It is a beautiful part of South Africa, right near Cape Town. A few weeks ago we spent a couple of days there visiting wine farms and thoroughly enjoying ourselves. I started working on the post about Stellenbosch last week and spent a lot of time uploading many photos and then (I won't bore you with the details) but the latest version of the post did not save. So I'm going in a new direction with today's post. And don't worry, I'll share all about Stellenbosch as soon as I work up the energy to rewrite it and upload the pictures again.

I mentioned in my last post that February 18th marks the one year anniversary of the Deep Family arrival in South Africa.  The year has flown by! I feel like the year has been a great success. We have survived and thrived in our new surroundings. But, the year anniversary is causing me some stress, because it is a reminder that one day we are likely going to have to leave this place.

I have two main sources of worry. One, is a worry that I made up in my head that maybe Mr. Deep's company will tell us the assignment is going to end early. I have no reason to think this other than I know it happens to some expats. When it happens, it must feel like it does when you're a kid playing around at the beach and then your mom yells that it's time to go. Only you're not done playing yet. You haven't completed your sand castle. Your moat doesn't have any water in it. But no one cares and your cries and wishes to stay longer fall on deaf ears.

Second, and more realistic of a concern, is my realization that even if we don't have to leave early, one day this South African life is going to end for us. It's like summer vacation. Our first year felt like the start of summer vacation. We had the whole thing in front of us. It seemed endless. And now, suddenly, it's July (sorry for my northern hemisphere bias on the months that I am calling summer for this example) and I recognize that the summer is passing by. Yes, there is still plenty to enjoy but not as much as there once was. 

Now it's practically year two (of a planned three year stay) and I can't help feeling like we've really got to get moving. We want to visit a lot more places before we have to leave and doing that is going to take some planning and some work to fit it all in. I also wonder if, when this life in South Africa comes to an end, I will personally have any regrets about how I've spent my time. I want to be sure I am making the most of these gifts of time and place.

Will I wish that I spent more time volunteering?  Or will I wish that I buckled down and learned a new language? As an aside it's easy to wish you learned a new language, mustering up the energy to actually learn one is a lot harder. Or, maybe I am already doing way too much and in the future I will regret that I didn't just spend more time relaxing and lying around. What if in the year 2020 I am holed up in a cubicle somewhere working? Will I look back at my time in South Africa and wish that I had taken more naps or spent more time lying by the pool drinking cocktails (drinking out of a juice bottle because it was only 11:00 a.m. and I don't want neighbors to talk?)  I never do either one of those things by the way. But maybe I should start? 

So here we go. On to year two with more adventures (and possibly naps) to come. 

Santa Shoeboxes - the Reveal

Remember I shared in my last post that I had what I deemed as amazing creative concepts for the Santa shoeboxes? Well I am now ready to unveil the concepts and the finished products including the gifts purchased for each box. Good news! All the gifts fit into the boxes! Bad news I spent too much money on gifts. 

The crafting part wasn't the disaster I imagined. I do see some flaws in my work but I didn't cry or throw any boxes at the wall. Mr. Deep, who clearly read my last post, kindly pretended he couldn't see any of the defects that I pointed out to him on the boxes.  Or maybe his eyesight is just really poor.

I did end up getting the plastic boxes from Plasticland. They are nice and sturdy but glue doesn't want to stick to the plastic so I had to get creative and use tape. The tape caused a few wrinkles that I don't love but that I will live with. 

The theme I imagined for the 9-year old boy box was the African Big 5. They are rhino, buffalo, elephant, lion and leopard. I know from my trip to the zoo that boys love animals especially big ones and they love to take pride in the fact that these are African animals. 

I had planned to use some decorative tape as part of the boy box decor given the glue problem but the tape kept tearing. Much like the paper towels and tin foil that you buy here that seem to tear everywhere except where you want them to tear. 

This tape fiasco was how the project began and I was sure it was only the beginning of my challenges but luckily it was the only serious setback and things went pretty smoothly after that. I had to skip the green decorative tape and proceed without it.

This is the top of the boy box. I bought a small desk calendar that contained African wildlife pictures and cut it up to get pics of the big five. Oh and Tshepo is the little boy's name in case you were wondering.

side of box

side of box

2 of the 5 animals I put on the inside walls of the box

On the inside of the top cover I added fun facts about the big five. Ugh, you can really see the tape wrinkles. I may have to redo this part. 

Then I added foamy star stickers and a few embellishments to the sides of the boy box and it was done! Stickers seemed to attach to the plastic without any problem.

I think boys are easier to please than girls (I can hear male readers around the world wholeheartedly agreeing with me) and also younger kids are easier to impress than older kids. So I was nervous about creating a box for an 11 year old girl. Eleven seems like a tough age, not a little kid, but not a teen either. I didn't want to make the box too grown up but also not too childish. The theme I imagined for the girl shoe box was positive messaging/self confidence type stuff combined with things that are shiny. 

Tape wrinkles! I need a laminating machine! I also added the girl's name to her box and I could barely make it fit!

I bedazzled the sizes of the girl box with stick on jewels, foamy hearts and 3d butterfly stickers. When I thought maybe I had added enough, I kept on adding.

Now, onto the contents. There are certain requirements for the content of the boxes. They are: toothpaste, toothbrush, bar of soap, wash cloth, outfit of clothing, educational supplies, sweets (not anything that can melt) and a toy. The cost of the contents should be R250 - R350 (about $18-$25 USD.)

Girl contents and yes it is quite girly. Hopefully she's o.k. with that.

soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, lip balm (cherry of course) face cloth, 3 nail polish set with file, gummy candy, candy necklace, notebook, highlighter, pens, pencils, eraser, a mind enhancing game called IQ that is like a puzzle, polo shirt, shorts

Boy contents

t-shirt, shorts, gummy candy, skittles, notebook, pencils, colored pencils, eraser, soap, face cloth, toothbrush, toothpaste, glow in the dark stick on stars, what seems to be a new and improved metallic silly putty type substance, a rubber bouncing ball

The boxes are now complete and I will be dropping them off on the 29th to the Santa Shoebox people and they will deliver them to the kids sometime between now and Christmas. It was a really fun project and I will definitely sign up again next year.

Mr. Deep asked me if there was a prize for the "best box decorating." Clearly the man learned nothing from our camping trip and his competitive nature has not diminished in the slightest!

labeled and ready for drop off

Martha Stewart Part 2

While I wasn't concerned about trying to recreate the South African recipes that I wrote about in my last post this next project might be more challenging. While it sounds completely innocuous my personality is such that sadly I am going to turn it into a major undertaking and my self esteem will likely suffer. The project might involve large amounts of frustration and maybe even some crying.  It will be a good idea for me to work on this project while Mr. Deep is not home so he doesn't have to endure any freak outs.

Again through a conversation with Lauren, I learned about the Santa Shoebox project. It's a wonderful charitable effort to provide hundreds of thousands of Christmas gifts to needy children across South Africa. As soon as Lauren told me about it I knew I wanted to sign up. What makes this program so special and unique is that when you register on the website you choose the gender and age of the child or children that you want to provide for. Then, for each child chosen, you find  a shoe box, decorate it in a festive manner and fill it with gifts specific to that child based on age and gender. There are some items that you have to include in the box such as a toothbrush, toothpaste and soap. Can we just pause here to reflect on how sad it is that these children do not have these items and that they will be happy to receive them?  

Here are some of the challenges. First, you have to have a shoe box. I hate clutter so I don't have any. Second (and most alarming) you have to decorate the box in such a way that the child who gets the box isn't looking at the gorgeous boxes all of his or her friends received and wondering what's wrong with his box. Three, you have to creatively buy and pack the gifts so that they will fit in the box. I already know I am going to buy way too much stuff and that I will not be able to fit it all and the lid will be falling off. Note, you don't attach the lid to the box as the volunteers from the charity need to be able to inspect the box. So I can't pack the box the way I would pack my own suitcase - by sitting on it.

I want to reiterate that I really, really want to do this. I have been thinking about this project like crazy since I signed up. Having worked with the kids who live in Diepsloot I know these kids are going to be so excited to get these boxes (even if poorly decorated) and I also know that these might be the only gifts that they receive this year. 

Getting boxes isn't that hard. I can either buy shoes for myself (tempting but not really the point of the exercise), go to shoe stores and see if they have any extra boxes or buy plastic shoe boxes. The third option is a great excuse to visit a store called Plasticland which is an organizers paradise. They have every kind of box and storage item you can imagine. A plastic box is actually a good idea because the Santa shoe box website says that the child will likely keep the box. Remember that these kids don't have their own rooms and likely don't have their own bed so having a box where they can keep their personal treasures is a big deal for them.

While I think I am good at fashion and home decorating, I am not good at drawing, painting, crafting or wrapping gifts. I am also not good at baking. Even when making the simple lekker pudding recipe I was only about 2 minutes away from a smoke filled house. Any project that I take on that needs to come out looking a certain way is usually a major disappointment. Whenever I need to wrap a gift I try to get Mr. Deep to do it because he is very meticulous and all gifts that he wraps end up looking great. No, there is not a chance I can get Mr. Deep to agree to decorate these boxes for me.

So now you are thinking that I should just come up with a very simple concept for the box designs, something that I know I can handle and can make look o.k. with not a lot of angst. And you're right, that is what I should do but here is what is wrong with me. My imagination does not match my ability. I have these awesome ideas (artistic concepts really) about how I can decorate these boxes in a most creative manner and I am going to try to recreate what I have in my head. This means I need to buy at least one extra plastic box because at least one is sure to come out looking like complete crap and I will need to start over. This is the point when the crying might occur.

I signed up to provide boxes to a nine year old boy named Tshepo and an 11 year old girl, named Samkelisiwe (before dropping off the box you affix a coded label to it to ensure it goes to the right child.)  I chose the nine year old boy because in working with kids in grade 3 and 4 through Edu Fun, I think I know what a nine year old boy would like - answer; pretty much anything. I signed up to give a box to an 11 year old girl because I apparently had a moment of temporary insanity. I have no idea what an 11 year old girl would like. I only know what I would have liked when I was 11 and I'm pretty sure this girl does not want the Journey Escape album on cassette or pink legwarmers. So I have to give this one some thought. While Christmas is a way off, I have to drop off the completed boxes on October 29th. The charity needs time to check all of the boxes and get everything organized before they begin to deliver. 

I will document my creative process, box decoration and gift selection in my next post. The good, the bad and the ugly.

It was a great album!

The Field Trip

On Monday, the EduFun volunteers took the grade 3 Diepsloot Combined School kids to the Johannesburg Zoo. These are the kids that we work with every Monday morning and help with their English. The zoo trip is an annual event and EduFun arranges and pays for the buses, the zoo entrance fees for the kids and their teachers, and also provides the kids with a wonderful lunch which they eat outside at the zoo in a lovely shaded area. 

I don't think many, if any, of the 3rd grade kids from Diepsloot have been to the zoo before. Even though it's less than an hour away from where they live, it might as well be on the other side of the planet. To say the kids were excited to see the animals is putting it mildly. When I arrived at the zoo, the kids were all lined up waiting to enter and were standing patiently in line. Girls were in one line and boys in the other. I saw a few of the kids that I know and talked with them about what animals they were hoping to see. Answers were snakes (ugh), baboons, monkeys, lions and tigers.

I invited my friend Debbie to join us for the field trip because I knew she would really enjoy meeting and spending time with the kids. Having Debbie with us was not only a lot of fun, but a huge help because it turns out she's been to the zoo many times so she knows her way around. Also, she is a mom so she has practice in not losing kids in large crowds.

Luckily, a lot of volunteers came out for the field trip and the group sizes were manageable. Debbie and I chaperoned six kids - four boys and two girls - all around the zoo for about two hours. We called ourselves "team red" because we had red wrist bands for our group that we made out of pipe cleaners. We did this to help identify ourselves as all of the kids were wearing their school uniforms so we needed to be able to tell our six apart from the rest. When we wanted to move on Debbie and I would just yell "come on team red" and the kids would follow us. I really can't get over how well behaved the kids were. There was no fighting, hitting, crying, whining, complaining or running off. If a kid was straggling they would come when called. The only part of their behavior that wasn't perfect was that they liked to shout at the animals and make really loud animal noises. I know standing near a tiger and screaming "tiger! tiger!" is frowned upon but there wasn't a lot Debbie and I could do about it as the kids were so excited they couldn't help it.

We met the rest of the volunteers and students back at the bandstand area for lunch at 11:30. Again, the kids patiently waited for their lunch. Girls were called up first and stood in a line to get their lunch items. Then boys were called up. I know a lot of them were tired, hungry and thirsty but they all waited patiently until they were called.

While there were so many smiles, cartwheels, playing, excitement and happiness throughout the day, it was also a little bit sad at times. It is sad that for some of the kids this might be the only time they will see wild animals up close. Even though they live in a country full of beautiful game reserves they might never get to visit one and some will likely never even get a chance to return to the zoo. Also, I noticed a lot of the kids slipping some of their lunch items into their pockets to save for later. I couldn't help thinking how many kids would never even think of saving a snack for later or would not need to think of bringing food home to share. Even apples, which a lot of kids would refuse or toss away, were being put into pockets for later. When it was announced that there was more yogurt, every single kid went up and got a second yogurt. 

The children wore their school uniforms but were told they could wear sneakers if they wanted for the zoo trip. They were also encouraged to wear caps because of the strong sun. If a child didn't have a cap, EduFun loaned them a cap for the day.  There was a boy named Bryan and one of his sneakers was broken. It was broken in the way that the top of the shoe was separated from the sole in the front so when he tried to walk it was like trying to walk with a flipper. I saw him trying to fix it by taking out the shoe lace and tying it around the shoe. An EduFun volunteer named Jenny noticed and gave him some pipe cleaners to help temporarily refasten as well. Then I heard sweet Jenny tell him she would bring him some new shoes next week and I know that she will. Things like that can break your heart a little bit.

On a completely different note, it might shock some of you to hear that I in fact did venture into the snake house for the first (and last) time in my life. If you scroll way down you can see the snake pictures because as you know I like to prove to you that I'm not exaggerating. For those readers like me who don't want to see snake pictures they are way down at the bottom so please scroll and see the photos of the kids until you see the "snake photos ahead warning."

EduFun is a great cause and is always in need of volunteers and donations. To learn more, please check out the website

Of the six kids that we had in our group, the boy on the right is the only one that I normally work with on Mondays at school. He is very cute and was doing lots of cartwheels throughout the day.

Reading the map and eyeballing the photographer

Looking at the cheetah

Bridget

EduFun provided a wonderful lunch for the kids. This little boy said I could take a picture of his lunch as long as I included his Michael Jordan hat in the photo.

I love her "I am Rich" hat

****WARNING SNAKE PICTURES BELOW****







****EXIT THE BLOG NOW TO AVOID SEEING SNAKE PICTURES****




****FINAL WARNING. BRAVE PEOPLE AND SNAKE LOVERS KEEP SCROLLING TO SEE SNAKE PICTURES. OTHERS EXIT IMMEDIATELY!****

























I don't know what kinds of snakes any of these are as I didn't stick around long enough to read any placards!

This one is the scariest and creepiest. UGH! 

EduFun and The Diepsloot Combined School

The administration building at the Diepsloot Combined School

Since June I have been volunteering twice a week with a group called EduFun. EduFun is a non-profit organization staffed entirely by volunteers with the main objective of helping the third grade students and some of the fourth grade students at the Diepsloot Combined School to become proficient in reading and writing English. EduFun was established in 2003 at the request of the then principal of Diepsloot Combined School. 

I became interested in Diepsloot, you will remember, when I drove our cleaning lady to her home there one day. While I had seen townships in passing, I will never forget being in the middle of Diepsloot. The crowds, the garbage, the shacks, the shops - Diepsloot is sensory overload. After that I was obsessed with Diepsloot and I wanted to figure out a way to get involved with that community. 

I am just as surprised as anyone that I chose kids and education as my volunteer focus. I am not one of those people who is enamored with children. I am not automatically fascinated by someone just because they are younger and smaller than I am. Also, I never particularly loved school or classrooms.  Even recently when I took a photography class, a class that I wanted to take, I felt a little trapped sitting in the classroom. It was a little unnerving to realize I had to sit there until the class was over and try to pay attention the whole time. But helping out in the school seems like the way to have the greatest impact for Diepsloot. If these kids can grow up and be completely literate in English, they will certainly have a chance at a better future. Plus I can read and write English (just don't ask me to diagram a sentence) so it seemed a good use of my skills. 

All of the students at the Diepsloot school can speak and understand English when spoken to, but English is their second language as they likely speak Northern Sotho, Zulu or another African language as their first.  While they can speak English, they definitely need help with their reading, reading comprehension, spelling and writing. We all know English is a complicated language. Working with the kids I realize just how complicated it is. The other day one of the kids read the word knee as can-nee. 

The kids at the Diepsloot Combined School don't have it easy. Some come from homes with no plumbing or electricity and about half of the adults in Diepsloot are unemployed. The kids get free breakfast and lunch at school each day and also are given uniforms.  There are over 1600 students at the Diepsloot Combined School and the average number of students in a classroom is 53. We hear a lot throughout our lives about classroom size and now I know why. I don't know how any teacher can manage 30 kids at one time let alone 50 something.  It must be an impossible task to effectively teach that many kids. The advanced ones get bored and the struggling ones fall through the cracks. It would take a special kind of kid to successfully learn in this difficult environment. 

On Friday afternoon, Avril, the co-founder of EduFun, emails the grade three lesson plan for the following Monday to all of the volunteers. The lesson plan involves working with a small group of kids on something specific, for example words that contain the letters W and Z. The lesson plans are meant to be engaging for the kids, with activities like word find puzzles, putting a group of words into the right order so that they become a sentence, doing worksheets to practice spelling and memory games with cards like the game concentration that I used to play when I was a kid.

A little girl from grade three. I can't remember her name but she is a very good student.

On Monday mornings, the volunteers helping with grade three meet in the parking lot of a shopping center and carpool to the school. There are volunteers from all over the world who live here in Joburg and come to help. I've met volunteers from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Britain, Netherlands, Japan, Scotland, Uganda and of course South Africa. The kids at the Diepsloot school are not only practicing their English when they work with us but they are also hearing a lot of different accents.

When we arrive at school, the volunteers break up into smaller groups and visit the three third grade classrooms. From there the students in each classroom noisily move their desks and chairs around and break into smaller groups throughout the classroom. When they pick up their metal chairs to move them it is important to be careful or you could lose an eye! Depending on the number of volunteers that day, each volunteer works with about eight to ten kids and conducts the lesson. 

Eight to ten third grade kids is still a lot. Usually three are working hard to do the lesson, two are busy goofing off and poking each other with their pencils, two are staring off into space and one just wants to hug the volunteer and touch a white person's hair. It is not easy to find a way to keep all of the kids focused on what they are supposed to be doing. You have to glare, encourage, congratulate and high five, yell, call on the ones who are spacing out, get the smarter ones to help the weaker ones and more just to get them to pay attention...and it doesn't always work. After this experience professional teachers have my utmost respect. 

A rare moment of quiet in one of the third grade classrooms

Tuesdays, we work with a select group of 20 grade four students.  These lessons are a lot less chaotic as the kids come to the library where it is quieter and easier to keep their attention. Also on Tuesdays, each volunteer only works with five kids, which is a lot more manageable. Avril told me that they'd like to assist more grade four students but there just aren't enough volunteers to do so. She said that in working with grade four, they try to choose the 20 students who can read but are who are struggling or could use improvement. I am sure it is a hard choice to make because most of the students could probably benefit from extra help, but in Diepsloot resources are always limited. The grade four kids need to practice reading so in the small groups each student takes a turn reading aloud and we pause during the story to ask them questions and make sure they understand what they are reading. Then, we do some kind of activity based on the book we read such as a puppet show, art project, worksheet or game.

The EduFun volunteers bring the pencils, the notebooks, reading books and other supplies in with them to conduct the lessons. The supplies are then brought out when we leave so that they can be safeguarded against theft. 

There will certainly be more blog posts to come about the kids and EduFun. Here are some photos of the school and the students. 

With students from grade three. It's not that they love me so much, they just want to be in the picture.

Grade four students practicing reading in the library. Much of the materials for the library was donated by a Rotary club in the U.K.

This is Kagiso. He is in grade four and has a great smile. He used to be shy about reading aloud but now volunteers to do so. 

The school has some  modular classrooms and some brick buildings.

After we read a story about a flowering tree, we made these flowers, leaves and birds out of paper. For weeks the boy on the left would not read or participate but then this week he read and participated. I would like to think it's due to my great teaching ability but I think it's just that he got a good night sleep.

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