So, my last blog was a little heart felt plea to people to consider fostering, and I still stand by that plea! This month even more young people have come across my path who desperately need a lovely family, but sadly they are all late teens and the most difficult age to place! Its sad because for any child who is in a place where they need to be placed in a new family, they have obviously experienced some kind of trauma or upset in their lives, so therefore will be somewhat needy...which in turn puts people off fostering. How this plays out will differ from child to child and I am very fortunate that the girls who have lived with me have not been any trouble at all, but that is not usual. So, to ask a family to foster a teenage boy (for example) who has probably had to fend for himself on the streets, or who has fled through the border of Zimbabwe being chased by soldiers with guns, and has probably experienced or been the victim of crime just for virtue of the fact that they are more vulnerable, or have even gone to the extremes of hiding on a ship for a few days and being found, beaten and thrown off.....(not literally thrown off). Imagine having been through such things, and these are all things that have been experienced by some of the boys I know.
Please please pray for decent families in Cape Town to come forward to take in some of these boys, and model family life as God intended it to be.
Otherwise...life is good, I am blessed. Lindo is doing well and Ode is having the time of her life over in America. Lindo's two sisters (Thandiswa and Thandeka) now live with us during the week and are two wonderful young ladies (aged 18 and 19). They come from a home which is a one room shack, with no electricity or running water. They share this with their mother in one of the farthest away townships in Cape Town. Despite these hardships they are sweet, helpful and happy girls who are so eager to learn. They attend the school that I teach at. It is great to see them develop in their english skills and computer skills because of living with us. I remember the first time Thandeka could actually operate facebook on her own, she was so proud of herself! Thandiswa, the older one has started an online typing course and is flying through the lessons with great enthusiasm.
I am still loving teaching at the School of Hope. Tourism is not an easy subject for the kids to master, and on Saturday I was sitting with a grade 10 girl, having to explain what the Waterfront is. The Waterfront in Cape Town is one of the biggest tourism attractions in the city, with shops, restaurants and entertainment all situated around the harbour. I was shocked that she had never been, and this is a girl who has lived in Cape Town all her life! How can these kids even be expected to grasp the concept of tourism when they have never been on holiday in their lives? I have almost completed a year of teaching and the poor learners of 2010 have really been my guinea pigs. Many of them will pass my subject, but sadly some will fail, and I have learnt that with these kids, a little one-on-one time makes all the difference. I hope to have a higher pass rate next year. The hardest thing is when you do give one-on-one time to them, you become very attached and then you are opening yourself up to that pain that comes with caring for these amazing yet troubled young people. Phew....not at all possible without God that's for sure!
Ok, now I'm rambling again. Well, its Sunday night and time for an early night I think! God bless you all.
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