Rotary GSE to South Africa 2009

 

Today I met a physically and mentally challenged lady who cannot speak words but says more with her expressions and smile than I ever could. I smelled lavender harvested by her cohorts in a group facility - the best smell I have ever smelled, by people that would ordinarily have been discarded by society. (They make recycled paper too, a plus in my book!)

Today a two-year old girl abandoned by her family walked over to me and I picked her up, and melted when she smiled at me. We got to put her and her siblings down for their afternoon nap.

Today I saw a four year old girl, victim of sexual abuse by her half-brother (who had probably also been abused), putting her baby doll toy in a stroller, putting a blanket over it and walking it around.

I met a slew of preschool-age children in a shantytown far north of Cape Town, that in spite of their seemingly horrific living conditions in leaky tin shacks with no running water, were happily playing in a schoolyard no bigger than a small backyard, singing songs, smiling, teaching us new handshakes (and, thumb shakes), and getting ready for their meager lunch.

I had a wonderful lunch with our team and a few hosts (about 10 people) compliments of one of our Rotary hosts, on a beautiful hillside looking out on all that is good and bad about Cape Town. A meal that was by our standards very inexpensive yet very filling, and would have probably fed all the people we had met today for the entire day if they had the money instead of us.

I called my wife and son. In tears. In appreciation of how lucky we are. I miss them dearly and will look forward to seeing them in a few weeks. In awe of the resilience of the human spirit. But I know that I need to be here right now, in this place, in this experience. Africa has already changed me, in ways that I recognize and probably in ways that I will never begin to understand.

 


Comments

Peggy Williams

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:18:59

Thank you for allowing us to experience South Africa and their culture through your eyes BJ. Thanks for blogging.

Peggy Williams

 

Chamin

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:19:25

:) Enjoying your blog...glad you got the opportunity to go on this trip and it sounds like you're really making the most of it. Can't wait to hear more when you return and we see you again. Safe travels.

 

Patricia Powers-Zermeno

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:02:26

Your words are brave, kind and inspiring and I am enjoying your trip. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Patricia

 

BJ Cordova

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:26:30

Thanks all,

It's interesting as well seeing the things we've visited together (and sometimes, separately or completely different) through each others' eyes as a team of 5. We're each interrelating things among our disciplines, learning from each other, learning so much more from the people that we're meeting, (and I can only hope they are gleaning something from us as well). Take care all,
BJ

 

Jenny Carrillo

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:56:17

Thank Beej, for putting into words what I have not yet been able to articulate. I'm so glad we are sharing this experience together.

 



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