Each day this week, those of us who stayed in Cape Town on our off-week have had the opportunity to do extra service work.   One organization that we have gone to work at, Themba Care , is a hospice for children with HIV/AIDS.  Today my group went to go play with and nurture the children who are there.  When Themba Care was created in 2002, the death rate was 77%, but today its only 2%.  Themba Care has become a place where children can go and get healthy so that they can return to their homes.  Even though many of the children have families, there are several that will have to be placed in foster care after they leave Themba Care.

Most of the children there were babies and young toddlers.  We got to hold them, give them their bottles, and love on them. Our group lucked out because no one needed their diaper changed.  There were two toddler girls who were probably two years old, and they loved playing with sunglasses.  They would put them on and pose for us.  It was really cute to watch them try to put the sunglasses on themselves—they always ended up upside down or hanging on one ear.  After we were there for a little while, some older children came into the center when school was out.  They were around five years old and immediately decided to make Mark a human jungle gym.  They just laughed and laughed when he would lift them up to touch the ceiling, and it didn’t take long for everyone to want a turn.  Some of the older girls also liked to play with our hair, and we taught them how to put it in a pony tail.  Even though several of them were very shy, it did not take long for them to start laughing and playing.

Being at Themba Care was both a rewarding and humbling experience.  I realized that the smallest actions, like holding a child, giving a child a high five, or helping caregivers out by feeding a child a bottle,  can make a difference.  I also remembered how fortunate I am to have grown up healthy with parents who always take care of me.   

--Lia Conrad