“Act Locally, but think Globally” -Thando, co-founder of KYP
There were a number of moments throughout the day yesterday, when I was “for real, for real” caught up in my emotions with all that we were experiencing. All of those moments had one theme in common…how our students are responding to what they are witnessing and experiencing is truly breathtaking! This message is a bit long, but I hope you can read until the end 🙂
I must admit my own bias/struggle–I often question whether our guys are “getting it;” whether they understand the magnitude of what we are doing when we travel to various destinations (Jamaica, Costa Rica, Oakland, and now South Africa) or if our travels are just passing moments in time. After our trip to Kliptown and bonding with the people of the Kliptown Youth Program (KYP), I will no longer have that question! We are all “getting it” in our own way and at our own speed, and I am grateful for that.
Kliptown had us all captivated because of the scale of what we were seeing.
- Mass poverty.
- 75%-80% unemployment.
- A large community without too many things that too many people take for granted such as electricity, plumbing, and adequate shelter.
- the amount of uneducated youth
- access to food and food choice
- corruption in schools/drugs, violence
- youth unemployment
- teenage pregnancy
- Here are our photos and videos to date! There are a ton and we will be adding pictures daily. I hope you enjoy and are able to see a little bit of the joy we have experienced each day. https://goo.gl/photos/
2S9GS5pHLF7cMmUKA - During our Day 4 evening huddle, our students were all-stars in leading our discussion and reflecting on the day’s events. One of the questions they raised was “Did you see anything today that made you feel grateful?” Below are some of the responses I was able to record as I wiped some weird liquid out of my eyes…
- Today made me just want to hug my mom and take out the trash more often.
- I didn’t have to travel around the world to see poverty, but it does remind me how grateful I should be.
- I always appreciate the things I have and the impact I can make in my own community.
- What we saw today, we should take back to let others know how grateful they too should be.
- I am grateful every day. I pray every morning and night. But, to be here and see people without access to running water or a bathroom made me just go “wow”…I see things now on a whole other level.
- Last year was a humbling experience, but in many ways I returned to my old ways. Today was a gut check that it is much bigger than me.
- I wasn’t grateful before, but what I saw today shows me what I can be grateful for and return with when I go home.
Law Programs Teacher
Eastern High School