Food parcel day. We began our day by unloading the truck and stacking the bags of sugar, beans, rice maize, etc. This was a lot of fun for me and we sang and joked while we did this. As we were doing this people started sitting around watching us waiting for their food parcel. I sat down with a man named Cornelius and had a very brief conversation with him. He told me he had two kids and his mother lived with them. The only things I could concentrate on while I was talking to him were the smell of his breath and his eyes. His breath took my breath away because it literally made me nauseas and it stuck with me all day. His eyes were filled with exhaustion and stress. I’ll come back to Cornelius later.
The distribution of food parcels finally began and the way the names of people receiving the parcels reminded me of graduation day and, sadly, people expressed the same joy that’s often shown on graduation day. Many of us were told we were angels, told “I love you,” and were given hugs. This struck me so much because these people were so grateful for the very little act that we did that day. I didn’t even buy the food. All I did was stack and carry it outside to cars or shopping carts for them. I broke down when the reverend announced to the people of Gugs that we were going to take a break to eat lunch because we were hungry. How could I go eat a huge meal that was prepared for me when there were still people waiting for food that haven’t eating in a day or two? And how could I eat when Cornelius’ breath was still lingering in my nose? I was so mad at myself for taking that break. My mood changed when I walked out of the church after lunch and Cornelius came up to me, gave me a hug, and said that I was a kind person and he hopes to see me in Guguletu again in the future. Again, I had a breakdown because I realized that the conversation I had with him meant something to him. Although I thought he didn’t open up to me much during our conversation, he truly appreciated my interest in him.
And now comes the most touching story I’ve heard and the reason I now believe in fate. Kwanele rode in our van while we did home drop-offs for the food parcels. He helped us unload food but we didn’t really engage in conversation with him. I decided to stay in the van during our last stop but Kelsey came out and told me to come in immediately. The house ended up being Kwanele’s house. His brother, who drinks all day, lives in a shack behind his house. Kwanele is in high school and lives alone because his dad passed away in 2005 and his mom passed away last month. He said that his dream is to attend UCT and he even had the undergrad catalog which he said he reads a lot to better understand what he needs to do to achieve his goal. I realized I still had the card from the founder of These Numbers Have Faces, the organization that helps pay for students’ tuitions. I gave him the card and told him he needed to contact this person. He smiled at me and said he would find a very safe place for it. We exchanged names in order to find each other on Facebook. I am determined to follow up with him and make sure he makes his dreams come true. Looking back on my week, this is the moment that sticks out the most because I was able to provide someone with a resource and glimpse of light. I felt so useless and hopeless the rest of the week because I know I can’t solve the world’s problems and there is nothing that I could do to fix the situations that many people were in. Kwanele provided me with my glimpse of light for the week.
My main take away from this day was resilience, especially in Kwanele. These people are faced with daily struggles but are still so hopeful and happy. I understand that this is how they were raised and this has become their culture but I’m convinced that resiliency is a part of their daily lives.
Thanks for blogging,
Brittany
No comments:
Post a Comment