First day at Sinthemba

Below is an expert from my journal I have to keep from my volunteer experience. While in South Africa I am volunteering at a children's home called Sinethma, which in English means "We have hope". The children's home is home to 26 children who would otherwise be living on the street. Many of these children live at Sinethemba due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. I volunteer at the children's home every Wednesday from the end of July until the end of November. 

My first day at Sinethemba was interesting. When we showed up none of the children were there yet because they hadn’t arrived back from school yet. When the children did they first had a snack and stared at us for most of the meal. Some of the children were more welcoming than others though. One little girl immediately took my hand and had me sit next to her while she ate.

Another group of four women also come to the children home for a few hours on Wednesday afternoons to read books to help the children with their English. I’m not sure how long they have been coming to the center, but I think it’s been a few months as they knew most of the children’s names. We helped the women keep the children quiet and engaged in the story. After they finished the book the children got out any homework they had from that day or other work on math worksheets the women brought. I helped with the first and second grade children. This is the part of the day that I found the most rewarding. Back in the United States I volunteer at a low income school helping the students with math and reading, so this felt similar to what I had experienced. Of course, the situation that these children are in is much different than the students I taught in the United States. The children at Sinethemba all seemed very bright to me and interested in their education. One girl had the cutest expression as soon as she understood her math problem. Another little boy had me sign his English homework stating he had read me his story for the day. He really struggled through most of the story and after asked me if he could do it again because he wants to learn it better.

The living conditions of the children center is what surprised me the most. After we finished all their homework and work sheets we went outside to play. Some of the children were playing netball with a half deflated ball and a broken net. Every time after one student threw the ball another child would use a broom to push the net back up to be parallel to the ground. Their outdoor play area wasn’t very large either with no green grass or toys like I am accustomed to. Despite all of this, the children were laughing and playing which warmed my heart. We played ring around the rosey and another game similar where the little girls would sing in Xhos then suddenly lift their right leg in the area and place it over their arm while jumping in a circle. The first time they did this Verina and I were confused and surprised as we didn’t understand the song or game.

By the end of the day I was happy, tired and hungry as the transport was nearly an hour late picking us up. Next week I plan on taking some extra food and water to prevent that from happening again. Overall I really enjoyed my first day at Sinthemba and I’m excited for the weeks to come!