Today's Post will be postponed until tomorrow

Hello all, due to scheduling of our program, we will publish our post tomorrow afternoon.

Best Regards!

Community Service 3-"Changed"

Today's blog is written by group one (Marwa, Victoria, Robbie, Katy, & Alanna)

Picture this; a group of small children waiting by a locked gate wearing no shoes, ripped clothes, and dirt in their hair, but with smiles from ear to ear on each of them anticipating our arrival because they knew that they would be receiving love and affection. Today, group one joined with half of group two in aiding group three in their project. When we arrived half the group went right to work, while the other half had their hands full with picking up and swinging the children around. The group that went right to work was working on a corner of the yard by picking up glass and big rocks that are hazardous to children. The backyard was in a very dangerous condition with shards of glass everywhere, garbage on and under the dirt and dog feces everywhere. Mind you this is where the South African Social Service sends there abandoned children.

Pictured below--the backyard before group 1 & 2 united with 3 to clean up the yard

Pictured below--the group in action

Pictured below: The Results

The yard was the former home to a dumping ground so every imaginable thing could be found in the yard from beer bottles to wrappers to tires and old toys. We managed our time playing with the kids and picking up garbage as shown in the pictures below. We sang a few songs to pass the time and the kids were on our shoulders singing “I believe I can fly, I believe I can touch the sky”. It was so heart-warming to see these precious children enjoying themselves.

Pictured below-The children

The only way you can slightly understand what we saw is if you ever watched one of those church commercials where a man is walking through a township with a small overwhelmingly grief stricken child. Today we were there.

Words really can’t express what we went through today and pictures can’t do justice or pass on the emotions that surfaced amongst ourselves. It’s like a man who went to war; it’s just something you have to experience to truly understand the pain and desperation. It was beyond heartbreaking leaving the children behind knowing that we probably will never see them again.

For us to carry on talking about the things we saw today will never really make a substantial difference in the lives of the children we saw. All we can do is spread the word and recommend sending money to developing countries where organizations like this are prevalent. Keep sending your children to do good work and push them to do community service. Thank you for reading our blog but now take the next step, whatever you feel or deem appropriate.

We hope that these pictures have an impact on you and that you will keep the children in mind as you live your daily lives, as well as the inhuman living conditions of their home. We speak for all of us when saying, “we will truly never be the same”.

Community Service Day 2-St. Augustine’s Catholic School

Today is community service group two’s story (Julianne Viani, Dan Lang, Amanda Knapp, and Kristen Sztyndor)

Today, Group 2 completed our second day of community service at a Catholic School, which teaches children from the ages of 5 up to 18. The four of us got dispersed to different classrooms for the day to help out the teachers. Amanda and Dan went to the classrooms that teach students ages 5 and 6, and Julianne was with 6 and 7 year olds, while Kristen was with a class that consisted of second graders, however, due to the absence of some teachers the class had students who were from upper level grades.

Something that was apparent with the children was that they needed a lot of love and nurturing. The children were constantly hugging us and seeking affection. In speaking with some of the teachers they informed us that they lack that kind of love at home, so they look forward to it at school. We were also told that many of the children are abused at home and that most of them are fatherless and lacking a role model and mentor. While playing and interacting with each other, we observed the use of violence as a normal form of which is a result of their culture and family dynamics. Some children displayed a natural ability to mentor and lead their peers. In the second grade class, two older students (ages thirteen and fourteen) helped teach the younger children their lessons, assisted them with the completion of their assignments, and answered questions. In the younger classes, there were a number of girls that acted as their teacher’s helpers by handing out papers and pencils as well as assisting their fellow peers with class assignments. Also, when one of the students would start crying these girls would comfort their classmates out in the hallway and make the other children feel better. During recess some of the older kids would come and watch over the younger children as they played, because of the lack of teacher supervision. This is one of the major problems with the education system in South Africa; the lack of people in the teaching profession makes it very difficult for the system to grow. Some teachers were from the U.K., Germany, and Holland, while other teachers are native to South Africa. The children are taught in English, Afrikaans, Zulu, and Khosa.

Classes are taught in double-wide trailers, with up to fifty children in a room. The children are two to one desk, and have one pair of scissors for every twelve students. Children also rely on their parents for school supplies and lunch, and some come to school with nothing. Because it is required that all the children share their lunch and school supplies with one another, many only eat a half of a sandwich or less during the day. There are two breaks a day, where the children play unsupervised in a fenced, paved area and eat lunch. We enjoyed spending time with the children, answering their questions, and providing as much love, hope, and faith as we could.

Pictured below Julianne and Kristen with the students!

Community Service Day 1--Group 3 serving and learning!

For the first time in the duration of this trip, the group as a whole broke off into three groups; today was the beginning of our community service project. Today is group three’s story (Chelsea Donnarumma, Ross Naess, Mike Napolitano, Rob Stone).

How do you start off something that you don’t even know how to explain or truly understand? This is how group three feels after completing today’s first day of community service. We just want to tell whoever decides to read this how difficult this is for us to write. This is especially true as most of us can’t still grasp what we went through.

This group was originally supposed to go to the township of Vrygrond and help with some community groups there; however, due to unrest over immigration and mounting xenophobia we had to be reassigned. We were assigned to a home for women and children who were victims of violence. When we arrived, we weren’t entirely sure that we were in the right place. For one thing, it was one of the worst buildings on the block.

As we went inside the conditions just worsened. The house was very dark and there was a strange odor that was circulating throughout the house. We were briefly in the house, but it was obvious that it was not only overcrowded, it inadequately addresses the needs of those living in the house. When we exited the house through the backdoor we were greeted with what could only be described as chaos.

The backyard was a culmination of basically every type of street trash one can imagine coupled with the tattered remains of concrete and brick. There were several piles of rotting fruit as well as several piles of garbage that we assumed were also decomposing. There were four dogs in the yard that the house took in and as a result there were large amounts of dog feces lying around in the yard. There were also many toys that the kids had lying around that were dirty and broken.

We could not fathom where to begin as the situation was so overwhelming, but we knew we had to start somewhere. As a result we decided to take all the loose rocks, blocks, and concrete and place them in a central pile. We also took all the large articles of garbage and began making a second pile. A second problem arose as we had no means to dispose of the garbage. There was no way for us to dispose of the garbage because there is a lacking in that municipality in South Africa, especially in the townships. The harsh reality is that the garbage that we piled up is most likely going to stay in that pile because there is no way for the residents to properly dispose of it.

Our next task was to clean out a garage like structure in order to try and make it a children’s playroom. It was filled to the brim with clothes, cloths, blankets, foam pads, shelves, beds, and every other domestic item imaginable. Our task was to clear all of this out, something that we didn’t accomplish during our first day there. We worked through dirt, dust, mold, and filth to try and make the situation better for these kids.

While we were working on our daunting task, it came to our attention that there was a lot of gang activity in the area. There is a school that was taken over by a street gang literally one hundred feet from the house. Apparently, the gang members smoke drugs all night and then sleep in the school. Because of this, classes are no longer held at the school as the gangs can overpower the police so they (the police) don’t even try to intervene, despite the local resident’s ability to hear the gang activity all throughout the night. For that matter, we saw some of the gang members leaving the school in the morning and this made us very uneasy.

After a long while of working and coping with the situation that we were dealt, children started emerging from the house. The first thing we noticed that the children were very dirty. Many had dirty faces, matted hair, sores, runny noses, dirty clothes, and we weren’t sure if all the kids were sick or not. Some didn’t have shoes and we found some shoes to give from our huge heap of clothing that we had been going through.

Professor Summers accompanied us today and when he noticed how dirty the kid’s faces were he literally took the shirt right off his back, ripped it up, and cleaned every child’s face. This we found to be a very self-less and admirable gesture. We then realized we should make the best of the situation and try and let the children have as much fun as possible. Some were very happy while others were very reserved and we could tell that their young lives had already been dramatically altered by their surroundings.

It is really hard to describe all we went through today, but we hope this is a good insight on what we did today. Although, today was emotionally and physically draining, we are looking forward to going back. Upon returning to the hotel, we immediately bought cookies, candy, bandages, antiseptic, soap, and shampoo to bring to the children tomorrow. Over the next few days, we are hoping to make as much of a difference as we can and truly give these kids a haven to call home.

Pictured below Ross and Rob


Pictured below Professor Eddie Summers with some of the kids


Pictured below Rob Stone with one of the children


Pictured below Ross with some of the children


The Challenge!









Pictured below Professor Eddie Summers after taking off his shirt and attempting to clean the children


Pictured below Mike Napolitano with one of the children



Pictured below are Ross, Mike, Rob, & Chelsea inside of a garage

Cape Malay Quarters, District 6, and the Politics of Policy

This morning we started our day with a tour of the Cape Malay District. This area contained the Indian population during the Apartheid era. We saw one of the oldest houses in Cape Town, which is now owned by a man who converted it into 6 apartments. He converted the once vibrant one-family home into an apartment building so that his children could live with him because of Indian culture that place great value on the importance of family.

After we walked through the Cape Malay Quarters and drove through the downtown area of Cape Town, we arrived at the District 6 Museum where blacks, coloureds, and Indians lived in harmony in a one room home (flat) with their families. The home consisted of a small kitchen, 2 beds, a small table, and a bed pan. District 6 was once a vibrant community that contained what Richard Florida has identified as the “creative class”. The area was home to many artist, musicians, poets, writers, teachers, and others professionals; however under the apartheid regime the area was bulldozed in order to break up the socially vibrant community that was formed in district 6. Families' entire houses were destroyed and they were forced to move to different neighborhoods according to their state classified “race”. The museum was created as a memoriam for the pain and suffering of the families who once occupied the area. In the actual museum, there were murals, pictures of the people who lived in the district, items that were left behind such as barber shop materials, things from wash houses, silver-wear, and furniture that were preserved and displayed for the public. Another famous memoir left by the natives of this area was a large piece of cloth, which is equivalent in size to the length of a curtain; it contained messages of hope, faith, and remembrance followed by their signatures.

As we left the museum and continued our tour, we witnessed a peaceful demonstration conducted by refugees from Burundi a block down the street. Their protest was in reaction to the xenophobia and other correlating social issues in the recent South African news. As they burned their native flag from Burundi, the refugees cheered and clapped. The protest, while very peaceful and contained allowed us to further ponder the role of government intervention and the policy response to immigration and social issues that affect families in the townships (which are informal settlements—mostly consisting of shacks without sufficient necessities to live a descent life and are places where unemployment, drug use, and alcoholism is ever present).

At the South Africa parliament, we toured the three main meeting rooms were business and politics were conducted: the committee room, assembly room, and the national council of provinces. The assembly room is infamous for passing legislation during the Apartheid Regime. While visiting a committee room we witnessed a committee hearing on suicide within police stations and temporary holding cells in South Africa. The committee asked several questions of an administrator from the Ministry of Corrections about why the rate has dramatically increased since prisoners should not have access to items that would allow them to commit suicide, however, the administrator failed to adequately respond to the questions of the committee. On another note we learned that each year Parliament holds voting in four locations close to the townships, so all citizens are involved in the country’s politics. This is a vital in allowing the underprivileged to participate in the democratic process.

Last, we toured the beautiful campus of the University of Cape Town, where we were able to pick up souvenirs and visit with some of the students. We also had a very interactive discussion led by Emma Harvey, pertaining to issues such as xenophobia, globalization, economics, public policy, violence, cultural diversity, media and communications, and the psychological impacts of all of these on South Africa. This question and answer session was very informative and it was also interesting to hear an Afrikaner woman’s perspective on social issues. The discussion made us question the role of the international community in developing countries, the role of government intervention, and brought us back to a place where we were when we first started class in January of examining the role and disjuncture between neo-liberal and socialist policies and the idea of restorative justice, which is the bedrock of South African life.

Picture in front of Parliament building in Cape Town, South Africa


The next two pictures are of the University of Cape Town




The next three photos are pictures taken from the District 6 Museum




Photo of the peaceful protest on the Magistrate


Picture of Parliament

Kids, Premiers, and AIDS

Today we interacted with the children from Saint Anthony’s school in Langa. We visited three preschool classrooms where we helped the students do their basic activities to stimulate their minds such as using puzzles, clay, Legos, and drawing. We then walked down the street to a grade school consisting of children ranging from ages eight to thirteen. We observed the classrooms and noticed how disciplined the children were. They had lunch and we got to interact with them. They were playing soccer, running around, eating, and at the end of their lunch break they performed a few acappella songs for us. It was mind blowing how they were able to self conduct such a beautiful and powerful sound.

Afterwards, we did both a walking and bus tour through the township of Langa and we were able to observe a day in the daily routines of the residents of Langa. Professor Toni Sylvester first, pointed out the older areas of Langa where houses were built as far back as 1923, and then he proceeded to take us to an area of the township that is in the process of being renovated and upgraded supplying older homes with necessities such as plumbing and electricity. It was wonderful to see that this kind of progress has been taking place, however, at the same time it was shocking to see how drastic the differences in quality of life were from one block to the next. Professor Summers and Meg said that, though this drastic difference was still prevalent today, it is much less than they had observed in previous visits to the township. This gives us great hope for the people of Langa. While on the bus tour we also made a quick stop to see the local shaman and all of his traditional remedies ranging from dried lizards to horse tails.

By this time we were all starving and had the wonderful opportunity of going to eat lunch at Peter Marais’ house. He was the former Mayor of the City of Cape Town, and the first coloured Premier of the Western Cape. While we ate an amazing home cooked meal in a garden by his pool, we listened to his life story and opinions on the many issues facing South Africa and the world. This was a great opportunity for us to pose every imaginable question we have been brewing up since the start of the spring semester and to have them answered by an individual, who lived through the apartheid government, was a colleague of Nelson Mandela’s, and fought relentlessly for his people through the government.

Following his intense lecture we briefly drove through the campus of the University of the Western Cape while Toni provided a brief a history and tour of the university, providing important information as to the significant role the institution is playing in educating a diverse population of South Africans and study abroad students. We then traveled to the AIDS Hospice that Mr. Peter Marais was instrumental in helping to open. We toured the facility and learned about the patients. It was very touching and emotional to see these individuals suffering from their terminally ill disease whether their sickness was Tuberculosis (TB), AIDS, or cancer. The day ended with a decompression dinner at a local establishment.

This first grouping of pictures are of the Marist students and the various schools they visited













A woman in the township of Langa---selling products and trying to make a living




Another talented woman selling her goods and providing some entertainment


Picture commissioned by Mr. Marais for the AIDS/HIV Hospice


Picture of the entrance of the AIDS/HIV Hospice



Picture of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Marais & the group