Tuesday, 19.3.19

The weather was brilliant again today! Luckily! Because today we went to the beach with the children. Those children who wanted to go to the beach had to fill out a form at home and obtain their parents' confirmation. But first we had breakfast and some free play. Eventually, Alistair gathered everyone and we set off to the beach. All children under eight years old were too young for the beach and had to go home. We drove to the beach in a small bus. The bus had three seats in the front and a trailer-like structure with three benches in the back. The children sit unstrapped and completely squeezed in this bus. Alistair then realized that there might be too many children, so some had to wait at the drop-in center and he made two trips. Since the road to the beach has many hills, the ride was like a roller coaster for the children and therefore already a highlight! At the beach, we first swam in a small lagoon. There were many animals to discover. Fish, crabs, shells and even a starfish. It was so beautiful to see how carefree the children were and how they enjoyed swimming! Then we went to the sea and swam there a bit. Many children were afraid to go into the sea. This surprised me a bit, as I thought it was normal for them to go into the sea, as they practically grow up with it. However, many of them never leave the township and only a few take trips to the sea with their parents. Many of them also didn't have proper swimwear and went into the sea with their regular clothes or underwear. After 2 hours, we went back to the drop-in center by bus and had lunch. Since there was no finger food today and the children needed a plate to eat, they had to go to lunch in shifts. When Steph picked me up at 3 pm, we didn't take the main road home, but drove through the townships. It was incredibly impressive to see how people live there. The drop-in center is in the New Horizons township. This township is somewhat "wealthier," but of course still incomparable to our conditions. But most people here live in proper concrete houses. Even within this township, you can see the "wealth difference." For example, some houses have a concrete garage, while others only have a stretched tarpaulin. Next to the New Horizons township is the Qolweni township. This township consists mostly of makeshift houses, or rather huts made of wood or corrugated iron, and they are all illegal. People have simply settled here and don't leave anymore. About 10,000 people now live in this illegal township. Crime here is very high and it is very dangerous. We had to lock the car and close the windows while driving through. It would be too dangerous to walk through, especially as a white woman. At the entrance to the township, there are about 10 toilet cabins and a water station. Because the houses have no toilets and no running water. So people always have to walk to the entrance to get water or go to the toilet. Like in a campsite. There are also no paved roads, only gravel paths, and there is garbage everywhere on the roadside. It was very, very impressive to drive through this township. In the evening, there was the usual power outage again. During the power outage, there was not only no light, but also no cell phone reception. And this happens for 3 times 3 hours per day.