Janiel's challenges and rewards

It’s been hard being so far away and missing your loved ones birthdays. So far I’ve missed four, three for my cousins and my moms. I feel guilty not being able to celebrate with them properly, especially being so close to them all. Surprisingly I haven’t been feeling too much homesickness, but it started hitting me when I realized that people were getting taller, voices were getting deeper, and their interests were changing without me knowing. I foolishly assumed that everything would be the same until I returned. I’ve been dodging Skyping my family because I know things aren’t the same as I left them. It’s hard trying to juggle keeping everyone at home up to date while being so far away.

However, at the same time, my Africa Acts Out partners and I have been preparing for our upcoming talent show. For the past couple of weeks, Larissa, Jerard, Avery, Brianna, Teki, Lindsay and myself have been working with a group of children from Nyanga in an afterschool program. Larissa and I are responsible for the dancing portion, Avery and Jerard are working on theatre and improv, and Brianna, Lindsay and Teki have been doing singing.  I’m really excited to see the show come alive. My kids have been learning a choreographed dance to the song One Day by Matisyahu. It’s a very inspirational song about keeping your head up and fighting when times get rough. Along with learning the routine, we’ve been trying to make sure the children understand the lyrics to the song. So far they seem to really enjoy the lyrics that say “all my life I’ve been waiting for, I’ve been praying for, for the people to say, that we don’t wanna fight no more, there will be no more wars, and our children will play…” It’s remains difficult to hear their stories about living in a township and constantly having to be aware of the people around them. A sad sight to see was the school that majority of the kids go to, and the local gang hang out spot right in front of the schools gate. These children are wiser than most kids their age, because they are forced to be.

Janiel & Larissa working on dance routines with the kids

Anyhow, the talent show is going to be so exciting and fun. The kids have been working very hard on their acts. They’ve also been working on independent projects they cannot wait to reveal to everyone. I’ve been truly blessed to have been working with such incredible children. They amaze me every week with their brightness and talents.