LearnServe South Africa 2017: MonkeyBiz and Homestead (7/4)

Today was July 4th – our country’s day of independence. Additionally, it was the birthday of our magnificent trip leader – Courtney. Although we did not celebrate independence day here in South Africa, the day was still very festive and enjoyable.

The day started off with a very nice breakfast.  After breakfast was finished, the group rushed to the bus to get an early start on our day. Around 10:00am, we visited an organization called MonkeyBiz located in Cape Town. MonkeyBiz is a program that believes in creating employment as well as empowering disadvantaged women. This organization sells bead products that were produced by the women (and sometimes men) internationally so that people who are not in close proximity to the business can still purchase these admirable works of art. I am proud to say that I actually bought three bead items from this organization!  I intend to present these nice souvenirs to my loving family back at home.

Later on in the day, we visited Homestead. We went to the “Launch Pad” – a division of Homestead. Homestead is a home for juveniles who do not have homes. It is generally a safe haven for children who were previously homeless as well as children who come from unstable households. While we were there, we established connections with the South African youth. We chatted, played soccer and participated in all kinds of fun stuff. Some of our LearnServe South African members prepared lunch for the group. We wanted to share a part of our American culture with them so for lunch we had fried chicken wings, french fries and mumbo sauce. That food was so good. Those guys seemed to have been really throwing down in the kitchen! Thanks again chefs!

After lunch, we held a discussion on the topic of “What pisses you off?” All of our EME members, Homestead residents and our trip leaders gathered around an elongated sofa to speak about promoting social change. We were collectively identifying problems that are present within our individual communities and we were suggesting possible solutions to those problems so that we could potentially fix those existing complications. That was pretty cool.

In the evening, we were given a few hours of free time. While others went out to explore the Waterfront and to visit local stores, myself as well as a few of my friends remained nearby our rooms. I felt really exhausted from all of the sporting, so I decided to stay behind and and get some rest. But overall, today was a good day! 🙂

Clinard S., Eastern High School