Vernon then led us to a conference room for tea, where he told us about his role as the project manager for the DG Murray Trust. He explained that this trust helps with whole school development for schools in the Port Elizabeth area. It helps with school development in the following areas, Action research, which helps students cope with problems, Science, Math, Language Arts and Financial management. He showed us several of the manipulative's kits that they donate to schools, to help boost instruction. One of the kits was geared towards math, and it had several math manipulative's and activities to help students increase their abilities. Vernon also mentioned, that these kits are used to help members of the community, develop basic life skills, such as personal finance, literacy, problem solving etc. I think it is great that they are striving to help not only the students, but also the friends and family members of the students as well.
Part of the program donates computers to many of the Primary Schools in the Port Elizabeth area. Emafini was a recipient of 20 of these computers, unfortunately they have yet to take advantage of this resource as they do not have the personnel to teach computer instruction. Also, the copper wiring that enables the computers to run has been stripped from the computer lab. It is a shame that someone would try and deprive these students of the education that they deserve and inhibit them from using the computers. However, it shows you the destitution that many of these people are in.
After the tour of NMMU, we drove to The Ubomi Obutsha Centre, which is a community development project of the Combined Christian Ministries to the Poor. The Obutsha Centre, was established to take care of orphans and others in the community. It provides academic support, life skills training, and a soup kitchen. It is located about 10 minutes from the University. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Mark, who is the director of the centre and also brother in law of Vernon. As we walked in, a group of 15 adorable children were gathered around in a circle, waiting to be read to by a smiling women who gracefully greeted us. Mark then took us on a tour of the facility. He showed us the classroom, a computer lab, kitchen area, and then took us out back to show us the pride of the facility, the community garden.
The garden occupied a parcel of land right beside the main building. In the garden, they grew carrots, potato's and other vegetables. More than just a source of food, this garden epitomizes the spirit of the community. It started out as rocky, non-fertile soil but through hard work, determination and some elbow grease it is now a flourishing garden. Mark explained that for many in the community the garden offers a deep sense of pride. It enables them to show ownership and offers them gratification that they were able to create something positive.
Throughout the tour, it was clearly evident how much compassion and love Mark had for these kids. In an emotional, tearful speech he explained to us how much it meant to him to work with these children. He reflected on how rewarding it is to see the children create a better life for themselves. I was touched by this profound organization and it has struck a deep chord with in me.
After the emotional experience at The New Life Center, we travelled to The Gray Academy, an ex-Model C school, 10 minutes down the road. Although it was only minutes down the road, the contrast between the two locations was huge. We went from being surrounded by abject poverty to being in an affluent part of town in a matter of minutes. The X-Model C school was a big contrast from the Bantu educational institutions, like Emafini. The facilities were impressive, with smart boards in many of the classrooms, two computer labs, art classes, and special needs support. It was shocking to see this huge disparity, and it broke my heart to think that our students at Emafini were deprived of the same opportunities that the students at Gray received.
Following the trip to The Gray Academy, we went to the Kama Primary School, which reminded me a lot of Emafini. The school had just created a new playing field, which the faculty was very excited about. Vernon took us on a tour of the school and showed us the computer lab that he helped set up. It was a prideful moment, and you could tell how much it meant to Vernon to have inundated this school with technology. The faculty were all very nice, and the highlight of the visit came when several of the students sang us four different songs. One of the songs was about never giving up, which I loved. Their harmonies, and choreographed dance movements, were truly spectaculiar.
After Kama, we went back to the bed and breakfast and had a delicious Thanksgiving feast. Mr. January and Neil even joined us, making this occasion even more special. The food was prepared by Billy Jean's mother, and she did a terrific job with everything. Although I dearly missed my friends and family back home, I couldn't be more thankful to spend my Thanksgiving here in South Africa with our spectaculiar group!
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