Today was the day, that opened our eyes, our hearts and our perspectives to a whole different side. We spent the morning cleaning up the building, prepping the food, and ensuring everything was put together for the afternoon ahead. Some students were with the kindergarten kids inside the early learning center, reading out rhymes, playing with them and teaching them. The kids of the villages nearby started arriving around 12:30 running in with their containers in hand. While the kids were waiting for the food to be prepared, the Round Square students read out picture books for them in a circle while some other students played football with them.
By 1:30 the soup kitchen had been officially opened and from there the service continued. The students were dishing up with corn rice and chicken gravy, while passing out the containers making sure everyone had gotten the food. It was an intense hour. The students had eventually left but the feeling in our hearts stayed. It was quiet for the next 40 minutes amongst the group, everybody reflecting on what we had experienced and quite a few even tearing up. Overall, we all realised the importance of expressing gratitude and made many new amazing little friends. We all then signed the bricks with our names in our Baraza groups and took a few photos before saying goodbye to the worksite for the last time.
Back at Tiger Kloof, we had our final Baraza session where we filled out our final discovery wheel and reflected on one thing we would learnt from others, we discovered in ourselves and would throw away. We all shared our experiences and final messages to the Barraza group, everybody getting a little emotional and shed a few tears as well.
The last – and one of the best parts of the day – was the Round Square Cultural Talent Show that was put up by the students and staff soon after dinner. We all experienced performances from the cultures of Canada, USA, Australia, Germany, South Africa, New Zealand, India, France, with a few more in between. The music lit up the room and in several acts the whole building was on the stage singing and dancing. The happiness felt was contagious and felt by each individual in the room. It was pure celebration last night, of the project, of our cultures, and of this incredible experience we had all been so lucky to be a part of.
by Ruby, Team Purple
