Monday, 4.3.19

Today I got closer to my actual workplace. I went to a 'Masizame' for work today, but not to the children's home, but to a kind of after-school care. The children go there after school, have lunch, and can stay and play until 4 p.m. The after-school care closes at 4 p.m. and the children have to go home. So I went to the after-school care with Paul at 10:30 a.m. and thought I could start working. However, at this time there were no children there yet and Alistair, who is responsible for me, was in a meeting. Another organization at the highest level :’D. So we went back and I was supposed to come again at half past 1.

At half past 1, Alistair introduced me to some extent, but very sparsely... a lot here is done by 'learning by doing'. So I explored the area on my own and looked around a bit. There are 5 containers on the premises, which contain the toilet, the kitchen and dining area, a classroom, the office, and other common rooms. After my tour of exploration, I went to the dining area and sat down with some children. The children here are also very open! A girl immediately ran up to me and hugged me. I started talking to the children, but they only answered me in Afrikaans. I then asked Alistair if they can even speak English, and he said that everyone understands and speaks English! So they probably wanted to test me...
This after-school care has a completely different atmosphere than the 'House of Hope' lunch table. It is much warmer and more familiar. Everyone is very warm-hearted towards the children and treats them lovingly. When they finish eating, they are allowed to go and play. Outside there is a concrete court with two soccer goals. Inside there are a few board games and puzzles. But really very very few! The children really enjoy playing board games and can concentrate for a long time. I think this is because they have even less contact with digital media. But otherwise, they have a lot of energy and are very lively. You can also tell that they come into contact with violence much more. For example, if two children have a problem with each other, they quickly start yelling and hitting each other. Or a child runs behind another and hits them on the head for no reason. Especially one boy, Dhougen, is very cheeky. He challenges me a lot and already on the first day. He starts many quarrels with the other children and does not follow the rules of the adults. Sometimes I still lack the words in English to discipline him or to explain to him why he is not allowed to do something. In the Masizame after-school care, there are usually 4-5 adults working. Three people in the kitchen, who also play with the children after cooking, and one or two people in the office (Alistair and Elain). Alistair is white and as far as I understand, he studied social work and is the after-school care manager here. He coordinates everything and also plays a lot with the children! He is also responsible for me. Another volunteer, Patrick, comes by three times a week to help. He is here in South Africa for half a year to take a break from his job in London. At exactly 4 p.m., all doors are closed and the children have to go home.