We had a day that left me anxious, exhausted and thoughtful amongst other emotions.
We began the day, picking up the children from Blikkies. On entering the large barren football pitch that is located in the centre of Blikkies I noticed that a play area was being constructed. Workers were putting up a seesaw, slide and some swings. The poles were brightly coloured and even before it was complete a large crowd of children had begun clambering over the incomplete structures. The play area was being constructed over the hard, gritty sand, creating a space for future broken bones, scratches, bruises, aches and pains. Furthermore, this area is also where the huge industrial bin is kept. The community regularly deposits and burns their waste here. No attempt was made to remove the bin and it is now every bit part of the play area. In fact when we returned later, the contents in the bin were alight, and more than 150 children were playing unwatched, in and on the swings, seesaw and slide.
I began asking the community what their thoughts were on the latest addition to Blikkies. Everyone that I spoke to said that it was in bad-taste. One informant said that it was a "danger for the kids". She went on to say that there was already a lot of diarrhoea and stomach illnesses and that putting the play area so close to the bin was terrible and meant more visits to the hospital. In her opinion, instead of constructing a play area, they ought to have put down a bit of lawn for the kids to play on. Others had similar thoughts about the location and all had no idea who was behind its construction. I could have spent the rest of the day interviewing people about their thoughts but I had made a prior appointment with the children. Today was our day to visit the Baxter theatre, go for a swim and then head to the circus! I turned my attention on the children and so began our adventure!
One of our previous members had chosen not to attend our sessions anymore and on this day she stood with the others, waiting for us to arrive. She had not been coming to Creative Education for the past three weeks. She had met a boyfriend and since then her life had changed dramatically. She has begun to hang out with an older-aged friend base and has changed the clothes that she wears. She is far more conscious of her appearance and is more reserved in her movements compared to previous weeks. I rejoice in her journey and find it remarkable how simple and swift the passage from childhood into adolescence is.
I was happy to see her as I had not had the chance to connect with her since her decision to leave. She stood there sometimes biting her nails and other times hugging her chest tightly. I greeted her warmly and asked how she was. She seemed nervous, shy and awkward around me, which was a manner of interaction with her that I was not familiar with. I tried to ease her mind and body, as I asked after her health and well-being. I then explained to her that unfortunately I had assumed she was not coming and consequently did not make preparations for her presence in the day. She nodded silently. I sensed she felt caught in between her feelings and thoughts. I imagined that she wanted to have both Creative Education and her new circle of friends, but that Creative Education was not a “cool” thing to pass ones time with on a Saturday.
The other children who attend Creative Education did not ease her silence and persisted to tell me (in front of her) that she was "mad to have given up Creative Education", because of the fun things that we do, specifically our outing days. I assured her that she could rejoin us anytime she liked. I also said that it was unfortunate that I had not made extra preparation, but that if she wanted she was more than welcome to come the following Saturday. She once again nodded silently. I then asked the rest of the children to jump into the cars so that we could head to the Baxter. When we were all safely packed in, the girls in the car I was driving and the boys in the car my male friend was driving - Seating arrangements were organised by the girls.
At the Baxter theater we were treated to a very informative and excellent tour. We went behind the scenes and had a short tutorial on the different roles each member of a theatre company has. It was fascinating. Next we headed to the Turkish baths on Long Street where there is a public swimming pool. We swam for a little over an hour and soon it was time to head to have some lunch before heading to the circus. The children were very reluctant to leave the pools and constantly asked if we would be coming back later. We then had lunch in the Company Gardens, where we went through the theatre piece that the children are slowly putting together. They said that they would practice before we meet next so I am really looking forward to this coming Saturday! After lunch we went to Zip Zap circus to see some of the performers practice for a show that is up-coming. We sat and watched the performers fling themselves high in the air and also entangle themselves with strips that hung from the ceiling.
It was soon time for us to return to Blikkies. The children fell fast asleep as I drove the 20 minute journey back home. When we arrived, they sleepily clambered out of the car. Our day of adventure had come to a close.
We began the day, picking up the children from Blikkies. On entering the large barren football pitch that is located in the centre of Blikkies I noticed that a play area was being constructed. Workers were putting up a seesaw, slide and some swings. The poles were brightly coloured and even before it was complete a large crowd of children had begun clambering over the incomplete structures. The play area was being constructed over the hard, gritty sand, creating a space for future broken bones, scratches, bruises, aches and pains. Furthermore, this area is also where the huge industrial bin is kept. The community regularly deposits and burns their waste here. No attempt was made to remove the bin and it is now every bit part of the play area. In fact when we returned later, the contents in the bin were alight, and more than 150 children were playing unwatched, in and on the swings, seesaw and slide.
I began asking the community what their thoughts were on the latest addition to Blikkies. Everyone that I spoke to said that it was in bad-taste. One informant said that it was a "danger for the kids". She went on to say that there was already a lot of diarrhoea and stomach illnesses and that putting the play area so close to the bin was terrible and meant more visits to the hospital. In her opinion, instead of constructing a play area, they ought to have put down a bit of lawn for the kids to play on. Others had similar thoughts about the location and all had no idea who was behind its construction. I could have spent the rest of the day interviewing people about their thoughts but I had made a prior appointment with the children. Today was our day to visit the Baxter theatre, go for a swim and then head to the circus! I turned my attention on the children and so began our adventure!
One of our previous members had chosen not to attend our sessions anymore and on this day she stood with the others, waiting for us to arrive. She had not been coming to Creative Education for the past three weeks. She had met a boyfriend and since then her life had changed dramatically. She has begun to hang out with an older-aged friend base and has changed the clothes that she wears. She is far more conscious of her appearance and is more reserved in her movements compared to previous weeks. I rejoice in her journey and find it remarkable how simple and swift the passage from childhood into adolescence is.
I was happy to see her as I had not had the chance to connect with her since her decision to leave. She stood there sometimes biting her nails and other times hugging her chest tightly. I greeted her warmly and asked how she was. She seemed nervous, shy and awkward around me, which was a manner of interaction with her that I was not familiar with. I tried to ease her mind and body, as I asked after her health and well-being. I then explained to her that unfortunately I had assumed she was not coming and consequently did not make preparations for her presence in the day. She nodded silently. I sensed she felt caught in between her feelings and thoughts. I imagined that she wanted to have both Creative Education and her new circle of friends, but that Creative Education was not a “cool” thing to pass ones time with on a Saturday.
The other children who attend Creative Education did not ease her silence and persisted to tell me (in front of her) that she was "mad to have given up Creative Education", because of the fun things that we do, specifically our outing days. I assured her that she could rejoin us anytime she liked. I also said that it was unfortunate that I had not made extra preparation, but that if she wanted she was more than welcome to come the following Saturday. She once again nodded silently. I then asked the rest of the children to jump into the cars so that we could head to the Baxter. When we were all safely packed in, the girls in the car I was driving and the boys in the car my male friend was driving - Seating arrangements were organised by the girls.
At the Baxter theater we were treated to a very informative and excellent tour. We went behind the scenes and had a short tutorial on the different roles each member of a theatre company has. It was fascinating. Next we headed to the Turkish baths on Long Street where there is a public swimming pool. We swam for a little over an hour and soon it was time to head to have some lunch before heading to the circus. The children were very reluctant to leave the pools and constantly asked if we would be coming back later. We then had lunch in the Company Gardens, where we went through the theatre piece that the children are slowly putting together. They said that they would practice before we meet next so I am really looking forward to this coming Saturday! After lunch we went to Zip Zap circus to see some of the performers practice for a show that is up-coming. We sat and watched the performers fling themselves high in the air and also entangle themselves with strips that hung from the ceiling.
It was soon time for us to return to Blikkies. The children fell fast asleep as I drove the 20 minute journey back home. When we arrived, they sleepily clambered out of the car. Our day of adventure had come to a close.
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