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Written by Katie Carroll
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Wednesday, 29 July 2009 13:00 |
BLOG 1 After the doctor, I got in there and started prepping for painting the children’s cottages. The children live in four cottages as of now and we are going to focus on those. Since we had paint donated, we will use those for their living areas. We had to sand and clean the walls and boy were they DIRTY (pronounce it with me- DUR-TY). They don’t look spic and span, but once a fresh paint of coat is on, I bet the kids will be so excited. The tough part will be to convince the little curious ones not to touch it when we’re done. I think that anything we can do to make sure these children know they are important and special is something that we should invest in. I remember thinking how I could do something else for the kids besides painting their cottage that would be more useful. But the moment I saw how the kids were into it and willing to help changed my mind. You should see how wide-eyed they get that we are painting for them. Now, the job won’t be done by professionals, but it will be done with love and care. Some of the children are even taking their play time to help us as well. It’s quite a large task to take on and I remember how only a few weeks ago after painting the high school, I found out that I should NOT make this my day job. Something as small as painting a room in their house, jumping on the trampoline with them, playing card games or just studying basic math facts together builds a lifetime of memories. BLOG 2 Today, one of our Makaphutu kiddos had a performance for a group he is in- Mayibuye. An Australian group headed by a young guy, Dan Perkins, decided that he wanted to partner with Australia and South Africa to provide a way for the Youth to stay out of the street and away from destructive behavior through hip hop dance.
When I tell you, these kids are great. I felt like I was at a real concert with all these great dancers. They put a little hip-hop, ballet, tango, and zulu dance together to put together a great performance. It lasted for about 4 hours. Good thing I like song and dance. Everyone truly enjoyed themselves. 
Now the kids are teaching me Zulu dances. Truly, I am convinced this is where step teams and dance groups get some moves. It came from somewhere. These zulu dances have been around for centuries.
What I like most about it is that everyone wants to identify with his/her Zulu culture by doing these dances. It's not about "oh no, that's for old people". The kids cheer for each other when they can kick up high and do the dances.
That's one thing I find that is interesting and a bit sad about America. It is difficult to identify with an "American Culture". There is no special food or dish, no special dance or style of clothing. In the same sense, it's great because America is a collection of all cultures, but I am a bit envious of their deep culture and sense of pride in it. -Nobuhle
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