Avery planning to take home lessons learned during here

We just arrived back home from a long excursion away from Cape Town. To be honest being away from this spectacular place was a little rough- I found myself longing for the sight of Table Mountain and the smells of mini bus exhaust and meat cooking out on a braai. I am not sure how I will cope in three weeks time when I board a plane that will be taking me away for a lengthier amount of time. I am not going to think about it at the moment. One thing that I may take up while at home is working at the well known Boys and Girls Club of America. I had never had much interest to investigate what exactly goes on in these programs and I have always been content with my summer jobs. On our excursion my favorite day was when we had the opportunity to volunteer for a day at the Boys and Girls Club of South Africa. Established by a man named Casey who we have worked previously with on a project for a soccer tournament for boys in Khaylitesha, we were put to work immediately in the club to help out with some basic work to make it a better equipped place for the children to hang out. Some of us worked to rebuild a garden, others on a mosaic table to be used as a checkerboard and game table. Personally I jumped on the opportunity to work on rebuilding a soccer field and set to work with Aimee, Patrick, Kelsey, Morgan, Anna, and Erin to do so.  

After we had finished repainting the goals, hanging the nets, posting them in the ground and cleaning the trash off the field the only thing left to do was test it out. It didn’t take much to summon the excited kids onto the field to kick around a ball. The game ended up being a ragtag event where kids took on us American students and- if I admit, dominated us. It was among one of the best afternoons I have had here, and it inspired me to look into mentoring programs that I can access when I return home.

 

Avery (far right) kicking the ball around!

It's really quite interesting how often we ourselves are the most powerful force that hinders us from attempting to make a difference. For varied reasons but perhaps inclusive of feeling that the job is too big, that there wouldn’t be any help or resources, or that there wouldn’t be a reward in it. On this trip I have been introduced to so many new ways that I can use my time. Among those things I have found the most enjoyable to be those that I had been previously convinced would take much to much energy to complete and thus discouraged myself from doing so. Amazingly, once you have laced your sneakers and decided to do something- like help clean up a soccer field for an afternoon- you start to realize how truly a little effort converts to so much joy. I am so driven by this and hope that I can bring this energy back home so that I can look for opportunity within my own community to make a difference. I think that the world that you live in is reflective of what you have put into it. If you personally invest the energy and time to make that place beautiful for others, you will find that you yourself are living in a more beautiful world.

After the soccer game Avery enjoyed getting her hair done.