This morning we visited St. Joseph’s Marist College, which is one of five Marist affiliated schools in South Africa. After sharing a mass honoring Saint Marcellin Champagnat, we shared tea with the archbishop, a Marist brother, and other school officials.
When tea time was finished, we went outside to watch the mock World Cup that the high school seniors were all playing in. Eventually a soccer game between the Americans and the South African students unfolded. Needless to say, we took home the gold.
Once our time at St. Joseph’s was over, we headed to the Battered Women’s Shelter ‘Dusk till Dawn’, where most of the children were already home from school. Today we spent our time there giving the kids some much needed attention by reading stories, playing soccer games, and just holding them. Although we may not have accomplished any long-term goals at ‘Dusk till Dawn’, we are very hopeful that our plan to re-landscape the entire backyard into a safe-haven for the children, will be fulfilled in the near future.
Unfortunately, Professor Summers will not give in to our requests to volunteer at the shelter for the next two weeks and skip our flights to Durban and Johannesburg. As a group we enjoyed our community service projects immensely, particularly the Battered Women’s Shelter, and we are looking forward to our next two weeks in South Africa!
1 comment:
I am following your trip with great interest and find myself especially struck by your visit to Robbens Island. Nelson Mandela changed my life. I can't even imagine what my life would have been like had I contemplated "forgiveness" as you have, at your age. Imagine a world of people who have considered (I'm not sure I have this right) that "Resentment is like drinking poison hoping your enemies will die."
I hope your trip continues to be eye- and heart- opening!
Michelle Champoux
Post a Comment