The future.

I know I said that I just enjoy spending time with the kids here (and I do) but there are so many kids it is difficult to manage and can be overwhelming. I might have mentioned this but my work to start the girls club has led me to helping at the primary school in my village. This is a school with almost 700 learners…and not enough teachers. And that’s just the primary school. The high school has almost 1,200 learners and has a huge problem with overcrowding, lack of teachers and the list goes on…
So sometimes you just have to find a few kids that stand out and you start getting to know them a bit better. These are a few of the kids that I have been spending my time with...

Dineo. She is in 7th Grade. She wants to be an accountant. Her English is really quite good (it’s her favorite subject). She helps her best friend with her schoolwork because she doesn’t want her to fail. She is kind and funny and likes to dance (but she doesn't think my dancing is that good).  

Lebo. She is in 12th Grade. She wants to learn about meteorology. She is the only one of her friends that passed 11th Grade. She works extremely hard and wants so much to go on to tertiary school (college). She is bright, articulate and quite ambitious.  I try to help her with math and physical science on the weekends.

Kagiso. She is in 10th Grade. I don’t think she has quite decided what she wants to do but, man, is she sharp. She doesn’t take any crap (in a good way) and is a great student. I like to hang out with her because she helps me look at the world from a teenager’s perspective - she is totally honest and shares her feelings openly.

I could go on (there are others, definitely) but these kids stand out. A common link between all three of them is that they have all lost one of their parents. Their remaining parent is struggling to make ends meet (making very little money) and all have multiple siblings and have to help at home. They will face huge challenges simply because of their circumstances. It’s an amazing world we live in, isn’t it? These kids just want the same thing that any young person wants?  My hope for their future is that someday their dreams will come true.