Wednesday, 6.3.19

Today was the day and I finally went to this orphanage where I actually signed up. But again, I had to start at 1:30 pm. So, another cozy morning :-). I had a cozy breakfast outside and then drove to the city with Lovemore, as I didn't feel like walking up the steep hill. Because today it was very, very hot! The locals say that today it is as hot as it usually is only in summer. It was about 35 degrees. Paul then drove me to the Masizame orphanage in Kwanokuthula at 1:30 pm. When I arrived there, a very nice white woman greeted me. Her name is Ingrid and she coordinates and does all the office work here. But just like at the other two work places, I wasn't introduced here either. I then asked her a few things on my own and then went with the children who were brought in one after the other by the school bus. They showed me their sleeping rooms and the area. There are currently 7 boys and 16 girls between the ages of 4 and 16 living in Masizame. The children in this orphanage have been taken away from their families because their parents are alcoholics or drug addicts or because the children have behavioral problems. They stay in the home for a maximum of two years and then an attempt is made to reintegrate them into their families. During this time, social workers work with the children on the one hand and with the parents on the other hand. They are shown how to behave as parents and why it is important to go to work. With the children, it is discussed why it is important to go to school and to receive an education. You can clearly see that the children did not have any structure at home and are therefore very spoiled. Many things in the home are broken. For example, there are holes in the walls or broken toys. These damages were caused by the children...

The children don't listen to me at all! They wanted to take away my sunglasses without asking, threw trash on the floor, and so on and so forth.
Also, the children here at the orphanage are much less grateful than at the daycare! For example, they left a lot of their lunch uneaten.
However, one girl was very, very sweet! She seemed well-mannered to me. She asked me if she could do my hair. She started braiding my hair and was very gentle. After that, I read a picture book together with her. At first, I read to her and she sat patiently next to me, while the other children kept getting up and couldn't concentrate on the story. Eventually, she wanted to read herself and she was very good at it! I am surprised at how good the education is here! After these 3 hours of work I was exhausted!