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How we changed our lives
Excerpt
from Sally Berg’s Article in the May 2008 edition of Biophile
magazine.
I now work at the crèche on Thursday mornings and take my 2 year
old, Dylan, with me. He loves all the fuss and attention he
receives and is carried around like a life-size dolly!
I cannot describe what a wonderful and soulful experience this is
proving to
be! I SO look forward to my weekly visit and it is such a relief
to be going
into Masi regularly with a purpose and not just to drop my
domestic worker or take her kids out. To actually be INVOLVED in
the community is wonderful and I have felt nothing but vibrancy and
friendliness always. Everyone smiles and waves (more than
you'd get in most white areas !) and I feel very relaxed and
welcome. Especially when I walk into the crèche and those
beautiful little people hurl themselves at me and jostle to hold
my hand, it melts my heart, they are such special spirits and so
full of fun and laughter. We do some basic English, sing songs and
do stretching and exercise as well as wooden puzzles and stacking
type toys. We also do some crayon drawing and sometimes painting.
I leave
there on a high, usually humming 'wheels on the bus' or similar
and
have enjoyed myself immensely. I can honestly say that those 2
precious
hours are one of the highlights of my week and I would like to
encourage
others to get more involved in their community as it really is a
most fulfilling experience and so easy and enjoyable to do !
We at Work
for Love are very keen to offer assistance and guidance in a
positive way to help the workers already at the crèche to be
more motivated to do fun things with the kids, as unfortunately
there is little funding, training or motivation for the women
working there to do anything more than 'field' the kids. When
volunteers first started there the children were just lined up
sat in rows in bare rooms for most of the day. There has now
been some funding to provide a good jungle gym and sandpit outside
and we have some toys inside but not very much - donations would be
very gratefully received!
To finish
I would like to urge you all to choose Love not Fear - you will
then experience the joy of observing your own attitudes about
Township life beginning to change for the better!
How can
you help? There are many ways! Work for Love relies on the
goodness of individual people and companies who may want to make
regular donations, even R20.00 a month is very gratefully
received and very wisely used! |
