"Problems Are Part of Life But I Will Fight Until I Win"

Imagine living in a cramped, 10 x 12 house, with no running water or electricity and having to share it with multiple people. For most of us, we could never fathom what this would be like, however, for many of our students this is a grim reality. On Friday, we had the opportunity to visit the local Townships where over 70% of our students call home. Although our school is technically in a middle class area, the majority of our students come from these outlying shanty towns. These makeshift houses are constructed using a variety of different resources, such as sheet metal, scraps of wood and other building materials.

None of these homes have running water, so the inhabitants are forced to gather this essential resource from a communal spicket. Electricity, is a rare commodity, but many have spliced wires from a local power source to their homes. This presents a major fire hazard, adding to the already dangerous living conditions. They also have no plumbing, so most bathrooms consist of a hole in the ground. The homes are extremely cramped inside. One home we went into housed over 7 people. We came to find out that 5 of these 7 people were children who were forced to live in these oppressive, heart wrenching living conditions and share a small twin size bed. As flies buzzed around the room, I was overwhelmed with an intense wave of sorrow, thinking about the children (our students) that must live in these conditions.

However, depite these meager living arrangements, I was greeted by many happy, smiling faces, who cordially invited us into their homes. There was an aura of positivity that emanated from the homeowners as they brought us in their homes. I recognized it immediatley as the same optimistic outlook that our students come to class with each day.
Although they have very little, they realize how precious life truly is and never take one moment of it for granted. They realize that life can be tough, but yet they persevere and remain positive. While walking through one of the homes, I saw a sign that truly exemplified this indominable will and ability to persevere over any situation. It read "Problems are a part of life, but I will fight until I win." I thought this was a great statement. This is the exact perseverant mentality that will enable our students to get the proper education that they need to advance themselves. This trip will forever change me as a person, I will strive to not take anything for granted, and will try to remain positive as always. It adds a great sense of satisfaction knowing that as an educator I can have a positive affect on students and help them achieve their goals.