Masifunde.

Today was my first day at Masifunde, which is a homework club that is put on after school hours for schools in the surrounding area. Some students from the townships are sponsored to go to these schools so that they can have an opportunity to get a good education. The homework club is for grades 2-8, but I only got a chance to work with two little girls who were in 5th and 6th grade. On the way there as we made our way further from campus and into the city, the streets became more crowded with chaos and people. There were dogs in the road and children close to the road; this made me extremely nervous. The houses were basically on top of each other with shards of glass bottle cemented onto the walls that surround each house for protection. You could definitely see the difference between this life and how people live closer to campus. I also have to keep a journal for the time that I spend at the homework club. I am just going to copy and paste what I have written for that.

Approaching this service learning project I did not know what to expect. I have volunteered and worked with kids before especially with homework, but I wasn’t sure if this would be similar or differ. Overall both experiences coincide because all kids are just kids. I had two girls. Lisa, I forget how to actually spell her name but I will have her write it for me next week, was the first girl I had. She is in 5th grade and was learning about the earth with its hemispheres and axis. She knew exactly what she was talking about so it didn’t take us long to study for her test on Friday. I could also tell with her that she is use to having international students come in and help her with her homework. She was very straight forward with me like it was just a routine so that she could get home more quickly. The second girl I had was named Jessica; I was surprised by how easy the name was for me to say. She did not have much homework either so I watched as she went through her Africaans homework and she taught me some words along the way. I checked over her math and she seems like a very bright girl. Both young ladies are aspiring lawyers and are very polite. Once Jessica was finished with her homework we moved onto hangman, which I thought was a great idea so she could practice her English. She was very good and I had a hard time guessing her words! Some observations I made from Masifunde itself and the surrounding area include that it seemed like a crowded area with many people although mostly kids. The houses were close together and seemed like at one point they were nice homes. I never feared for my safety, but I would hope that the kids would get home before dark. I’m excited for next week and hope that both the girls are back again, but this time with more homework so that I don’t have to lose at hangman anymore.

I return each week on Wednesday and will have the same two girls. I wish that I could go everyday so that I could get to know both children, but the program only allows 4 to go each day and other students are signed up to go on other days.

And hopefully sooner or later when I get my camera I will be able to take some pictures of the homework club! Cheers!