Rays of sunshine in my life--PAY

Sorry that it has been a while since we have posted anything. It seems that we are truly settling into our life here in Namibia and nothing seems new or interesting anymore! It is just our life. However, I did want to write about my "little project" here. I volunteer weekly at an after school program called PAY out in Katutura.

Katutura is a settlement or suburb if you will of Windhoek. During apartheid, the Windhoek town council set aside two locations for the segregation and resettlement of black Africans. The main location was north west of the town and is called Katutura, which in Herero means "we have no permanent place" or "the place we do not want to settle". This is an area of high poverty. Many of the residents have less than $US 50-60 a month to live on. Unemployment is high and unfortunately many of the youth have turned to drinking as a way to escape. Gang activity is also starting to become the norm. During the day, however, it is safe to visit as long as you are careful and don't do anything stupid.
Anyway PAY is a private funded charity that works with the Namibian government. It stands for Physically Active Youth and concentrates on giving school age children (6-18) the opportunity to have a safe place to go, get tutoring for school subjects, eat a couple of meals, and participate in physical activities.
School gets out early here. The high school students start showing up at PAY around 1:00. They all walk from their schools to PAY. The younger children start coming in between 1:00 and 1:30. The first thing we do is feed them a lunch. This consists of a ground meat and vegetable stew served over rice. PAY uses what ever kind of meat we can purchase cheaply or have donated. We purchase the vegetables and rice with government money or local donations.

Here is the kitchen.

The cook is also the cycling coach. 

They wash dishes out side in tubs of water. The center is saving money with the hope to buy a sink for this purpose.

Each child is responsible for washing their dishes and cleaning up.

One day last week, someone had donated apples for the children. It was both heart-warming and heart-breaking to see their reaction. Most of them asked with wide-eyes if they could really have a whole apple just for themselves and these were little apples. They could not believe that they did not have to share this apple. For many of these children, other than perhaps some pap (corn mush) for breakfast, this is their only meal.








After lunch and clean-up, the children are broken into groups. The high school age children have a computer room. Here they are able to complete school projects and have tutoring for about 2 hours. I work with grades 3-8 during this time. We have been working on learning multiplication tables and two and three digit multiplication problems. I also work with their writing and comprehension skills in English. English is usually their second or third language. They are bright children who want so much to learn and understand, but unfortunately have little opportunity to do either. I also read them a story and we spend at least 10-15 minutes singing. Right now, they are obsessed with the song, "The other day, I met a bear". I usually have to sing it with them at least twice.

At 4:00, they have a physical activity--basketball, swimming, or soccer. The most important activity, however, is cycling. PAY has a mountain as well as a distance racing team. A local bank donates used and new biking equipment. They compete with other teams and do very well. A couple of the PAY high school team members have even made the national team. These activities are a way to keep kids off the streets and give them something meaningful in their lives. At 6:00 the kids are given a sandwich and head home for the night.

Here is where I make the sandwiches for the kids dinner. We use every piece of bread. The crusts and all. Most of the time we use the electric griddles to make grilled sandwiches. This helps makes the sandwiches taste better since the bread is the left over day old stuff from the stores. The sandwiches are just a smear of jam or jelly between the slices. I get teased all the time about being too affluent since I put too much jelly on the sandwich. "Do you think we have so much jam that you can use all that for just one day! You must spread it much thinner so it lasts at least three days! Wealthy American! (Picture an eye roll at this time. They are not mean to me, it is all said in fun, but gets the point across. Sorry the picture is so blurry!  

 Another difference between here and America--the children do all the clean up. After class they stack their chairs, sweep the floors and straighten the books. Most of the time I do not even have to remind them.

Outside of the classroom

Inside the classroom.

 This is a very rewarding opportunity I have to give something to someone who has little. These children are so grateful and loving. It is so wonderful to get to know and serve them. Makes my day a bit brighter!