Just Don't Feed The Baboons: Last Day of School

We're leaving for Victoria Bay at 5:45 in the morning on Friday and I have decided to stick with the plan of doing some day exploring next week which makes today my last day at Ukhonyo Primary. The day was filled with goodbyes and photography. In the morning I took the two kids that have had the most trouble with my reading class and I gave each of them some individual attention. Obviously, in one session we didn't make much progress but I've definitely seen great strides from all of my kids in just the two weeks or so I've helped them. After short break, at 10:15 I helped out my teacher pick which kids would get to go on a school trip. Because the money doesn't exist to send all the 5th graders, the kids had to pick out of a hat who got to go. It actually took a few hours to organize and get all the information from the children. At long break (around 12:30) Lolo joined me and Rosie for lunch. He has been doing that for a couple of weeks now and it has been a great insight to get his perspective.

At the beginning of the week, my teacher suggested that I say something to the class at the end of the week. After lunch, he helped translate my message to the kids. I told them about my experience at the school, how much they meant to me, and how much they need to value their education. I then gave each of them a pen because many of them don't have one. I gave the class my email address as well and told them that when they travel the world and come to the U.S.A to contact me and I'll show them New York like they showed me Cape Town.

After school, I played a little 1 on 1 with some of the regular kids that come to basketball. They have definitely gotten better since I've been at the school.I then said goodbye to everyone. A few of the kids I really got to know, Lolo included, wouldn't go and he literally walked me to the car.

Ironically, Will decided to give me a tour of the township on my last day at the township. It was extraordinarily difficult to see the fire damage and to think that the kids in my classroom do not have a place to sleep tonight. We saw all the different parts of the township. I felt as though I should have had Will take me on this drive around the township when I got there instead of when I'm leaving.

I took a lot of pics today of both the school and the township I'm also including some picks of the library, before and after we started working on it. They are all kind of jumbled up together but whatever. Enjoy:

Rosie Aviwe Sammy Caine Lolo and me

What the library looked like before we started

Me cleaning the windows

Me helping Sukhosi, one of the kids I first started helping

Sukhosi Me and Vuyolwethu

Me and My teacher

The girls that helped me the most with my Xhosa

Me and all of the kids I helped learn how to read

Me and two of the coaches. Sia, the one of the right I got to know pretty well while I was in the sports Program, He plays a lower level professional rugby.

No separation of church and state

Another grade 5 class that I helped out

India Neba me and Jen. India and Neba, along with Sia were the three main coaches in the sports program. Jen was from a different volunteer group but was at the school for most of the time that I've been there