Botshabelo

Thanks to Jonathan Matson (HBD!), Em and I had the opportunity to volunteer at an orphanage a few hours north of Joburg. Botshabelo is a home and a family to over 100 people ranging from toddlers to pre-teens to young adults. I could tell that this is a special place just by looking through their website and also hearing about Jonathan's experience, but I honestly could not have anticipated how eye opening this experience would be.

Upon arrival, Em and I had an orientation where the Nicole and Leigh, two middle-aged sisters that managed the entire orphanage, briefed us on the backgrounds of the kids, as well as what we should expect to do the next few days. We learned that most of the people who call Botshabelo home were brought in when they were very young, often escaping cruel circumstances. The inhumanity that some of these kids endured made me nauseous, and the staff was very honest and open about it right from the get-go. I learned that many of the kids are HIV-positive. I learned about the physical and sexual abuse some had experienced before Botshabelo became their safe home. I learned, very bluntly, the precautions I needed to take to look after my own safety.

The moment that I stepped onto the field with the kids and saw the immense joy // their ability to live so in-the-moment... I just got so lost in their excitement and energy that I felt like we were all at a summer camp. I had no sense of time as we went from playing soccer to playing "blikke" (a game like tag that is played with a stack of tins and a ball) to singing songs in Tswana. I would return to my cabin covered in dirt and with braids (knots) in my hair, exhausted physically and emotionally. Yes, there is so much love and joy in that place, but at the end of the day their reality is so different, and often misconstrued, from "any other kid."

Some realities are tough to swallow, a few being:

1) Realizing that the kids would ask when we were leaving because they knew were just another visitor that would come and go out of their life.

2) The way the kids need and yearn for affection -- whether that be a hug, holding their hand, or lifting them into your arms -- and naturally the attention is spread thin among so many children.

3) The moment we left, their lives continued just the same; my presence was only temporary and at the end of the day I can leave to my own normality.

Yet on the other hand, some realizations were overwhelmingly refreshing:

1) They have a deep appreciation for education and learning. During our play time and walks, the kids would constantly ask me to teach them something, whether that be a word in french, lyrics to a song, or writing sentences in my journal.

2) That the kids felt such a deep sense of love and trust in those that were running the orphanage. Every kid I talked to didn't hesitate to call each of the other kids their brothers and sisters. And they meant it.

3) The stories we see on TV and that we (stereotypically) internalize about orphans is not what I saw in these kids. Lenice, one of the volunteers that we roomed with, was doing research on this topic, and she passionate told us about her mission to give orphans more of a voice in the ways that their images are portrayed to the world.

It's hard to put these past few days into something that is articulate and coherent, or even just something that does a bit of justice to what we saw and felt, but Em's video in my other post gives a nice snapshot. I guess if I had to put it simply, I see a lot of hope. So much happiness. Deep appreciation for life's necessities. A loving family.

Every time I think back to Botshabelo, I see a beaming smile and a lot of light. Damn I miss those kids already... Ka go rata!

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