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