My Visit to Afrika Tikkun, March 2014: Our last day with Afrika Tikkun

On Friday, March 7, we spent the day in Mfuleni. We had another life-changing day that included visiting the Afrika Tikkun Center and going on a home visit. On our way into the center, we saw many similar sights. But once we entered the center, we were all struck by its size and appearance. It was big, clean, and appeared to be very well organized with large court yards and playgrounds.

On the road into Mfuleni

The Afrika Tikkun Center in Mfuleni

We met their staff and had a tour of their main building. The kitchen was clean, well-organized, and built to feed the large amount of people the center supports. And the cooking staff was wonderful.

Me with the manager of the Nutrition Program

The Belron and Afrika Tikkun teams with the kitchen staff
From left: Steve Parker, Katrien Bex (with Simba our mascot), Jenny Gearheart, Steve York, Jenni Miles, Martin Schmitz

We then visited the ECD (early childhood development) center. The facility was outstanding. There were multiple class rooms around a very nice play area. We visited a class room and sang songs with the kids. The class room was clean and organized, but what impressed me the most were the teachers. They were exceptional. Highly energetic and engaging with the kids. Great examples of leadership. I absolutely loved spending time with the kids and teachers in the classroom.

Learning about the ECD. From left: Steve York, Steve Parker, and Randy Randolph

The play area at the ECD

Singing in the classroom with the kids. "I'm making melodies in my heart. I'm making melodies in my heart. I'm making melodies in my heart, for the King of Kings."

So happy!

Look at this beautiful girl!

The Art and Music Room

After touring the ECD center, we saw the rest of the facility. The computer lab was very impressive and we met a great young lady that taught the career development portion of the Mfuleni center. She teaches adults, young and old, things like computer skills; interviewing skills and etiquette like manners, how to dress, how to prepare, etc.; and how to write a good resume. We also visited their gym and gardens, which were both amazing.

One of the highlights of my day was when we all played with the ECD kids. It was amazing. They loved my baseball hat and we played a great game of keep-away with it. We also played on the pirate ship jungle gym and swings. These kids were so happy and loved the attention. I kept thinking about my own kids…Emma, Izzy, Sammy, and Tommy. Of my nieces and nephews. Of the kids I coached at St Brigid. Of the kids of my close friends. Of kids I have seen grow up in homes that are safe and warm, at great schools with amazing teachers. The kids at Afrika Tikkun in Mfuleni have a great school with amazing teachers. But they face huge odds at home. Their smiles brought be great hope.

After playtime, we went on our home visit. This was quite an experience. We walked 1 or 2 miles into the community. We were with a great group of Afrika Tikkun staff, including a teacher, a nurse, and a man named Humphrey. You could tell Humphrey was respected in his community. He told us about a program they were starting in Mfuleni to teach men to be dedicated, faithful husbands and strong, caring, and protective fathers of their children. You could see that Humphrey was practicing what he preached. South Africa needs more men like Humphrey.

The home visit was similar to our visit in Johannesburg…only it was sunny and not pouring down rain. The family we were visiting consisted of a widow and her four grandchildren…three beautiful little girls and handsome little boy. The Afrika Tikkun teacher went through the ABCs and 123s, and worked with them on some puzzles she brought. It was sad for me to think that these kids do not have access to a single puzzle or toy in their home. They sang to us and allowed us to play with them.

I hated leaving them because I knew this was our last time to work with kids at Afrika Tikkun.