Today goes down as one of my favorite days in Cape Town! The weather was perfect; there was not a cloud in the sky, and we were able to wear shorts and flip-flops. Our group was going back to Sir Lowry’s Pass, the township where we spent the infamous twenty-four hours. We were going to spend the afternoon in the township and cook our families lunch. It was exciting to be a part of a service project where you got to see the people you connected with for a second time. Everyone on the bus was reminiscing about each township family, and we were all anxious to see what they had been up to since our last visit. Right as I stepped off the bus, my mom, Cheryl, met me with a big hug and smile. The moms and kids in front of the school were so excited to see us again! I asked Cheryl how her son, Duncan, did on his drawing test that he had taken the morning after our first visit, and she was interested about the details of our trip to Kruger National Park. It was just like catching up with old friends. Duncan and Candy, Cheryl’s oldest daughter, were at home waiting for us, and when they saw our bags filled with ingredients for tacos, they told us they had never eaten them before. They were such a hit; and the cookies that Meghan made after were even more of a hit!
After lunch, we walked with all of the kids to the rugby field past the train tracks. Pictures don’t do this scenery justice. The kids get to play underneath the shadow of Cape Town’s Table Mountain everyday, and seeing all of the kids running back and forth across this landscape gave me great peace at that moment.
At about four o’clock, it was time to go. Everyone took his or her time saying goodbye, not wanting to take the first step onto the bus. We knew this would be the last time, at least on this trip, that we would see our township families. Cheryl gave us her contact information, and the five of us students waved at her through the bus window until we couldn’t see her face any longer.
The service aspect of Global LEAD came alive for a lot of us today. We are making relationships here, and the people we met in Sir Lowry’s Pass are moms, husbands, sons, and daughters that we will remember for the rest of our lives.
-Caroline Dwight
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