We’ve been given lemons and we’ve made some awesome lemonade!

The past week has been testing to say the least! All government workers have been on an indefinite strike for a week now, with no end in site. To say that this is disruptive to the children is an understatement. This is only worsened when the Garden Village teachers have actually been at school, but have told the children not to come and have been seen standing at the school gate asking them to leave – strike policy is “no work, no pay”, technically these teachers are at their place of work! Our Camp Sonshine teacher, “Teacher Liz,” as the children refer to her has chosen to look beyond the problems (which are many) and has seen the opportunity in doing things, with the few children who have managed to sneak into the school, that she would not usually be able to do. On the first day Liz and her fantastic volunteers had a spontaneous puppet making day, which was thoroughly enjoyed by all who were there (about 20 kids from grade R-7). In fact, they enjoyed it so much that the following day there were about 30 kids at school! We were able to get to know children we don’t usually have the opportunity to interact with and were able to witness the kindness and caring nature of the older children as they ably assisted younger children with cutting our ears, sticking on eyes and making their puppets “speak”.

Our after school program has also been a little different, we have welcomed all children of all ages, most of whom are thoroughly bored and we know that generally boredom does not lead to good things in the lives of these kids. Yesterday we had a fantastic day weeding, planting and watering the little garden in the middle of the school grounds. No on seems to take care of this garden so our kids got to work. They honestly were so incredibly helpful and did a FANTASTIC job! The garden has been totally transformed and we look forward to the beautiful flower that spring will bring. The children were extremely proud of their achievements! We filled 8 black bags with weeds!

I truly feel that through circumstance we have no control over and cannot plan for we are given the opportunity to stand out and be different. In the programs that we run, one of our aims is always to make kids, staff, the community and anyone we come into contact with feel different to how others make them feel. It is sad that this is the case, but this is the reality in most of these children’s lives. Most of these children are not made to feel loved, accepted, special or valued at home or at school. We think that this is how kids should feel all the time. In times like these we have such an opportunity to act differently to those around us. We can choose to complain about the circumstances, the lack of communication and the inefficiency; all which we would be totally justified doing. Or we can behave in a way in which we feel Jesus has called us to and in doing so be the light and salt in this community. I know that this is not my natural reaction, it is a choice. I am so proud of the Camp Sonshine Africa team who has made this choice. I know that we have used this opportunity well!

Human Foosball anyone . . . ?

It has been a while since my last update, there has been a good, well fairly good reason for this . . . Camp Sonshine Africa has moved offices and I have moved house! All at the same time. While these two moves are very much interwoven, as I often struggle to know where the divide between my personal life and Camp Sonshine Africa are (which is a good thing as I feel I am living what I am so passionate about every single day), it does not make moving any more fun! Anyone who has ever moved house can certainly relate I am sure! The physical move was not even far in terms of distance, in fact, as I sit and type this I can actually look out of my new office window and see the old office! It does signify the end of one era, but also the start of a brand new and exciting one! Below is a picture of the view from our new office.

Things have not been easy at Camp Sonshine Africa lately, we are dealing with many difficult and challenging issues. However in the midst of what often feels like an attack on us personally and on the children and community we are working with, we know that through this we grow and learn and we are determined to come out of these difficult times stronger and wiser! It is often through difficult times that are able to see sparks of goodness and growth far more clearly. A shining example of a small, yet HUGELY significant boost for me was this morning when one of the children I take to school every morning gave handed me a note as she got into the car. When I got home and opened the note I came close to tears, the note was thanking me for taking her to school every morning and telling me that she loved me! This is why I do what I do - not for the "thank you" notes, but to make a significant and lasting difference in the lives of these children and this community. When I get a chance to actually see that this is happening it goes a long, long way in helping me know that we are doing what we believe God has called us to do. It is impossible for me to explain to this 8 year old child how special such a note is to me and how perfectly timed it was.

We had 2 brand new student volunteers start work with us this week, Rebecca from England will be with us until April 2011 and Sina, from Germany will be with us until the end of Septemer 2010. It is always exciting to get fresh faces involved in the work that we are doing, we are always encouraged and enthused by their fresh enthusiasm!

Next month we will be holding an awesome community day (11 Sept). A local corporate events company has been incredibly generous in volunteering to facilitate some incredible activities for us at bare minimum cost price! They will bring equipment for the following events - human foosball, action soccer, action netball and action cricket! The aim of the event is to allow children and their families to have fun together, in a healthy environment. The cost to us is just R2000 ($290) - the regular cost would be around R12 000 ($1700)! We are looking for a company / companies or individuals who would be able to help sponsor this cost. Please contact me if you are able to help - Alison Smith - alisonlsmith@gmail.com