A gap year that makes a difference
I’m in South Africa. Actually, to be more precise, I’m in the capital city- Pretoria, and here, it’s heading into autumn. I can’t quite get my head around it. It’s hot. My sunburn, patchily proving my inadequate sun cream application, is testament to how hot. I left English February… it’s not normal I tell you.
You may remember me claiming in last summer’s article The Gambia Experience that I felt I wasn’t “done” with Africa yet, and that Africa wasn’t finished with me either. Famous last words it seems, as here I am spending four months in a different part of that same continent that appears to have such a hold over me.
It’s my Gap Year and I’m working for a charity called PopKids, which is part of POPUP- a People Up-liftment Programme that helps as many of the mass of underprivileged peoples in Pretoria as possible. The charity is situated in the very rough, impoverished district of Salvokop, and has a beautiful view of Pretoria prison, which stands almost directly opposite POPUP, holding “the lifers”… hoorah.
So, I’ve only been here just under two weeks, but I’m getting into the swing of things, which includes getting up at 6am, starting work at 7.30am and home around 5.30pm… honestly, school was easy. Popkids looks after around 45 children from ages birth to 4 years in a day centre; the kids spend the whole day under our care which keeps them off the streets/out of a less-than-ideal home life, and allows their parents to work in order to live. Ideally, the charity wants to take more kids and up the age limit so that we can have as many off the streets and under our care right up until they start school at age 6. But this takes time and money and things move slowly when there is no government funding to help out. But it will happen. It’s a matter of faith, it always has been. Right from the start of Popkids, held in one bare, metal shipment container, to the six containers we now function out of, the whole project has been fuelled by grace. It’s a pretty special thing to be a part of.
I’m finding lots of ways to serve, but being with the kids is what I enjoy most. They need love. Pure and simple. Yes, we feed and clothe them, and I’m in the process of writing stories in order to more effectively teach them things like healthy eating, safety, the seasons and so on, but ultimately, the kids just need to feel that someone is on their side, fighting for them to have a better tomorrow. If all I did all day for the rest of my time here was to be a human jungle-gym, spending hours turning children upside-down and tickling them, or helping the babies learn to walk and say “mama” (one 8 month old boy called Paradise can only say “papa”…believe me, we’ve tried to expand his vocabulary, but he’s not having any of it) that would make the world of a difference. At home, without exception, every one of them has been and more than likely continues to be exposed to abuse. Whether first hand physically and emotionally, or as a witness to domestic violence, or in the lack of a safe, clean place to live and decent food to eat, that’s reality for these kids. We’ve all heard that over-used, under-appreciated phrase “you don’t know how good you’ve got it”…
But honestly guys, we don’t know how good we’ve got it.
This isn’t a laugh-a-minute anecdotal article is it…but I won’t apologise for that. I guess ultimately, I actually want to encourage you. Encourage you to step up and do something. Do something to make a difference. Stand up for what you believe in, and walk the walk, rather than just procrastinate about injustices in the world that you wish weren’t so. Make it not so. Gap Year- perfect time to get away, see the world and do your bit for it at the same time. Even in a summer holiday, get searching for the space with your name on it that fits into the jig-saw puzzle of the needs of the world… if we all get stuck in, together our pieces can make an awesome picture. Gotta love a bit of extended metaphor….
I’m at the beginning of my adventure, I don’t really know how this is going to pan-out, but even if I was flying home tomorrow, what I’ve experienced so far would have been worth it. This isn’t about me, this isn’t about how many skills I can bring to Popkids. This is about a pair of hands; creating, filling a need, hugging, holding, and working as part of a greater purpose that I’m humbled to even witness. From a new perspective in South Africa, this is Miriam Swaffield, signing off.
Published in: Features On March 13th, 2008