TIA; This is Africa.
First real look at African poverty today in a poor area outside Cape Town.
It looks a lot like Stanwood. I know I'll probably be shot by my own side for saying it, but it does. I like the people there, and my high point of the day was getting to play with the kids-- they were everywhere, spoke mostly IsiXhosa (the name of the language is something I can barely pronounce, let alone speak), and they thought that we builders were the coolest thing ever and were constantly all over us and cuddling us. I got tickled by about nine of them at the same time today, because they liked hearing me squeal, and a couple of them tried to tug at my lip ring before I just stuck my lip out and showed it to them. One of them also liked my watch.
Some of these kids are HIV+, some of them have AIDS, some of them have burns and scars over their bodies, many of them are sick, but they're still running around happily and being kids and it's so nice to be with them and be a little part, however tiny, of them growing up.
Even if we hadn't been building a house for a homeless woman, that made the day worthwhile.
It looks a lot like Stanwood. I know I'll probably be shot by my own side for saying it, but it does. I like the people there, and my high point of the day was getting to play with the kids-- they were everywhere, spoke mostly IsiXhosa (the name of the language is something I can barely pronounce, let alone speak), and they thought that we builders were the coolest thing ever and were constantly all over us and cuddling us. I got tickled by about nine of them at the same time today, because they liked hearing me squeal, and a couple of them tried to tug at my lip ring before I just stuck my lip out and showed it to them. One of them also liked my watch.
Some of these kids are HIV+, some of them have AIDS, some of them have burns and scars over their bodies, many of them are sick, but they're still running around happily and being kids and it's so nice to be with them and be a little part, however tiny, of them growing up.
Even if we hadn't been building a house for a homeless woman, that made the day worthwhile.