Adventures in Gugs: Part II

Another thing that happened throughout the week was that Lindsay and I had some great conversations with our host mom. One in particular was started by me commenting about how strange it was to watch beer ads that said 18 instead of 21. She then told us about her thoughts about the drinking age in South Africa. She said that she believes that 21 is a good age and that she wishes that the drinking age here was not 18. We were astonished at first because there are so many people in the US who think the opposite. Her thought was that she has seen so many people who either choose to drink day and night instead of going to college after finishing matric (12th grade in the states) or they begin college but are forced to drop out due to their drinking habits. It is her thought that if the drinking age were to be raised the young adults who have potential to go to college would be more likely to go to college because they will be less likely to go out and get drunk because it is illegal. After some thought I feel that this is a good point. I also think that there are pros and cons to each side of the story. It is something that I will have to think more about.

Day 2:

On the second full day we worked on food parcels. Starting at 8:30, when the first truck of food arrived, we formed a line and passed food across the sanctuary into different stacks. We had enough food for 250 parcels and each parcel contained 5 kg of beans, 5 kg rice, 10 kg sugar, 10 kg flour, 10 kg samp (a cheap corn product), 10 kg corn meal, 1 bag of bone in chicken (about equal to 1 chicken), and a 750 ml bottle of vegetable oil. Needless to say, that night my arms burned and they remained sore for about three days afterward. After offloading all the food we assembled the parcels, though we only really had room for half of them to be assembled. Then they began calling out names for people picking up parcels. Our job at that point was to help people bring their food out of the church. In that time there were many people who called us “Angels” and “Stars of the Future.” I also noticed that many people who were getting parcels maintained the mindset that they were not actually going to get the food. Only when they had the food in their possession did they accept that they were really getting the food. It was amazing that such a small amount of food for me (amounts that are not uncommon to have in my family’s cupboard on any given day), was so much food for them. Many of us also felt guilty because in the middle of the day we took a break to eat a meal when so many of the people who were waiting for food parcels had not eaten in a day or two.

After we finished with the food parcels, some people decided to help with the Rainbow program again but a few people and I decided to reflect some instead. While sitting and reflecting, someone from Open Arms asked us if we wanted to go to a few houses to deliver food parcels to people who were unable to come to the center to pick them up. There were six of us who decided to go, Kelsey, Riise, Chelsey, Alexis, Brittany, and me. After loading up the van and being joined with a young man from the center we set off. The young man was quiet but we learned his name and that he was a youth member of the church who was still in high school. We delivered the food parcels as we went, each time we simply walked in, set down the food, and left. That continued until we got to the last house. When we got there the young man walked up to the door and just walked in. We then learned that the house was his. After setting down the food parcel in his kitchen, he began to tell us his story. In 2005 his dad died and about a month ago his mom died as well. Their deaths left him and his older brother to care for his two younger siblings. Unfortunately, his brother spends his days in a shack out back getting drunk all day, and because he is in high school and isn’t able to make enough money to care for his siblings, they are now living with other families. He is basically on his own but he has the strength to strive for more. He is surrounded by pain and adversity but he has the strength to continue to dream. He is heavily involved with his school choir. It is his dream to apply and attend the University of Cape Town for operatic performance. He even has an undergrad class catalogue that is his favorite book. He loves to spend time looking for classes that he wants to take. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have the money to fund his dream. By chance, Brittany had a business card from one of the guys from These Numbers Have Faces with her. She gave the card to him and we told him to contact them in hopes that he may be able to achieve his dream. It is a perfect coincidence that Brittany had the card with her, it was meant to be. He was so overjoyed. He told us he would be sure to put the card in a safe place. All of us who were able to meet him were so happy that we were able to help him, even if it was in this tiny way. We only hope that he is able to achieve his dreams and more. His ability to be resilient even in the worst of times inspires me to push harder. My life will never be as hard as his, even if something drastic happens. If I had been in his position I never would have been able to work toward my dreams in the way that he is. With this knowledge I plan to strive to live my life with the same attitude as he does and to never give up.