Volunteering in the Settlements

Last night we just chilled and chatted with some people to get an idea of our plan of action for the next few days.  What is a must see, what wineries to go to, what tours we should or should not do and as usual I've been trying to get in touch with an orphanage or a volunteer program that we could do short term.

settlement

After planning a few things out, I got in touch with a organization asking for donations and volunteers for a settlement about an hour outside of Cape Town.  They are trying to build a new school for typical and special needs children.  If you "buy a brick" for the new school you got to tour and volunteer with the children for the day.  You also got a tour of the settlements, the current school and the school that is being built with the bricks.  We signed up to do this the next morning.

After a long commute out to Table View, we were picked up and chauffeured around the settlements by one of the staff members helping to build these schools.  It's heartbreaking to see how these children live and yet they all have smiles on their faces.  There was one young boy with special needs, who has two large tumors on his face that they are trying to raise money for his surgery because his family cannot afford to.

After spending time with the children ages 2-9, we drove around to see the school being built and another settlement.  When I say settlements, these are also known as "the slums." There is no electricity.  There are up to 8 people living in a small broken down house, there is one pump of running water for over 160 houses, there is high crime and drugs in these areas.

The stories our guide shared with us about the children and their families and what we saw first hand was horrifying.  It just puts things into perspective of just how lucky we are and how grateful we should be.