New school

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way it treats its children.” – Nelson Mandela

Tembaletu, meaning faith or hope, is a school for children with physical disabilities that exemplifies Mandela's words. After an informative observational experience at the Guguletu clinic, Aleisha, Steph, and I began the rest of our volunteer experience at the Tembaletu school today. This school, which is right next door to the Guguletu clinic, provides education for children with physical disabilities. There is one teacher and classroom for each grade level R (kindergarten) to grade 9. The grounds of the school are very aesthetically pleasing, similar to Beautiful Gate. The walls are colorful and full of inspiring words and posters. The hostel where some students stay is welcoming and has a fun and homey feel to it. There is plenty of space for children in wheelchairs to get around with ease and lots of space for expanding. In fact, expansion is in the works for the school thanks to generous donations from the Hillsong church in Australia. In the next year, they plan to build another hostel for children to stay in when school is in session and a sports complex.



Each student has access to physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and psychological therapy at the school.  Today we prepared for the arrival of the kids by cleaning up the therapy room and setting up the dining room. During our down time we were able to talk to some of the therapists and learn about how things work at the school. Since staff is lacking, the students are only able to see the physical therapist about once every one or two weeks depending on the severity of their condition. They can receive normal physical therapy and other therapies such as therapeutic horse riding and art therapy. The students who use wheelchairs have two chairs, one for home and one for school, that are constructed efficiently for their height and body type. Everything in the school is wheelchair accessible. The only thing that isn't is the bus that transports the students from home to school. According to the therapists, the driver needs to pick up the first child around 5am in order to get the other kids and everyone to school by 7am. Since the bus isn't accessible, students sometimes have to be carried on to the bus or use their own method to get on. Tomorrow is their first day back to school so we are excited to meet them and get started!

After volunteering, the group took a trip to the University of Cape Town campus. I think we were all thinking the same thing, why didn't we come here for undergrad and the scenery (or lack there of) at U of I is nothing compared to this. The campus was beautiful with the mountains overlooking the city, tall trees and plants, and the buildings full of character. I would take Devil's Peak over the Morrow plots any day.

After a dinner of samosas and gatsby's (the fat sandwich of Cape Town) we got the pleasure of meeting Patti, a UCT professor, and Kate, a UCT PhD student. They gave us information about HIV/AIDS and TB and told us about the stigmas that go along with it. A lot of the information we learned at the Guguletu clinic, but it was a good chance for all of us to hear about HIV and TB from people who research it.