Make Me Sweat
You are living under a rock in Africa (or the world) if you haven’t heard Tyla’s song of the year (and it’s stuck on repeat in my head). I am officially OOO and attempting to step away from work for about 10 days while I spend some time in Plettenberg Bay which is on my itinerary thanks to my amazing friend Sam and his organization, The Sound of a Smile Program. It has been a wild, exciting and adventurous four days with some amazing volunteers (primarily from Massachusetts). Warning-I did not spellcheck or review so give me some grace.
I have started to write this post about 10 times at this point but just can’t seem to get it right. I am currently sitting outside of an after school center while three little girls braid my hair (I will regret this later) and trying to process everything I have seen and experienced…This post is an attempt to give you a glimpse into what I am doing. I hope in the coming days, I will be better able to do so. So, how did I end up in a small village in Plettenberg Bay?
Many important moments of my life have started in a bar. It’s how my pathway into workforce and economic development started 12 years ago and how my involvement with The Sound of a Smile started after randomly meeting a group of guys after a Celtics game. Since that chance encounter more than two years ago, Sam has become a very close friend (and my only biracial friend in Boston). The Sound of a Smile Program specifically focuses on helping to grow and strengthen Kurland village and brings volunteers to the community to help refurbish schools, learning centers, and community buildings; participate in feeding programs, rehab playgrounds, work on community gardens and more. We obtained 501c3 nonprofit status this past year, I joined the board, and after working with Sam for two years, I decided to see why he lives and breathes Kurland-and he threw me right in.
Day 1: I can do this. Sam scooped me from the airport on Thursday and we went directly to the smile center, which is a place the kids in Kurland visit after school to get help with homework, play games, and have a warm meal. The center is run by two incredible women who may be the kindest and warmest humans I have ever met. Lorna and Vina also scare the crap out of me and are a force to be reckoned with (in the best possible way). We are all staying in a place called Rainforest Ridge with 2–3 people in each room (at the moment there are about 21 volunteers with the program). I haven’t had a roommate in a decade but we all got comfortable real quick.
Day 2: What have I done? I was quickly assigned to construction to help with some projects around the village including adding sheet metal to a home for rain protections. In the first two hours I managed to cut myself, get covered in trash water, step in multiple piles of dog poop and burn myself on sparks from a tool. Construction is not a strong skill of mine but I had the best day with the most amazing construction crew in the village. After being used as a human tissue for the kids, we all grabbed drinks at a local bar before the volunteers got ready for an incredible beach-side dinner before coming back and drinking whiskey, cider and beer late into the night.
Day 3: I live here now. The weekend continued with some down time for the group and we went to Nature Valley beach for the day, out for a number of meals and went hiking at Tsitsikamma National Park. We all spent a lot of time together and have had a blast (pictures below).
For the last 2 days, I have just been in it and every day is packed with volunteering, exploring and learning (some photos below). Today, I stepped away briefly to log back on and do some work and I wanted to make sure I shared a slice of what I have been doing. There will be much more to come but I gotta go play with the kids at the field and try to untangle the numerous knots in my hair. Wish me luck!
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