OLD NALEDI - RENAE

Every Friday, Katrina and I get picked up at 12, an hour early than school ends, to go to a feeding program in a part of town called Old Naledi. It is where orphans and vulnerable children are given a free lunch. I’m not 100% sure if this is right or not, but I think that a lot of the kids that go there are living with a relative because their parents have AIDS. Since the relatives don’t have enough money to care for them, they get free meals to take the stress off the relative’s family. Old Naledi is also the very poor part of town, kind of like the slums of Gaborone. This past week was our third time there. The first week, Katrina and I were pulled into helping a lady with some computer work, but the computer shut off twice while we were trying to type up the data she gave us, and then the printer wasn’t working, and we had several other technical difficulties. It took the entire time so we didn’t get to help out with cooking or playing with the kids. The second time we got there later than usual and just gave the kids the food, but there was plenty of help in the kitchen and I just felt in the way. This past time was an adventure…
We got there earlier than before, and the kids had just started coming. They’re from all ages, I’m guessing from 3 to 12. I went over to some kids hanging out under a tree, and at first they were really shy, but when more kids came it was like a mob attacked me. They would all run up to me and either hold their hands up to be held, climb on my back, or ask me to spin them. I was a human jungle gym. Some of them weren’t that little, either, but they wanted constant attention. They would fight to get on my back. It was a little overwhelming, but it was also fun. They found my headband very entertaining and it got passed around a lot. They also liked to play with my hair, since it’s so different from theirs. Two older girls tried to teach me a hand-clapping game but I still don’t get it. It’s a bit hard to communicate, since a lot of them only speak Setswana, and if they do speak English it is with a very thick accent.
Before they eat, some of the other short-termers lead singing and act out a bible story. Then they all get in a line and have water poured over their hands, get their food, and sit down to eat. Usually it is either rice or mealie-meal with goat or beef on top. I would guess that there is about 30-40 kids that come, but not all of them eat, some just come after school to have fun. It is a good program and I’m excited to keep going there even though it sure is tiring.