First things

 

One of the things that brings a smile to my face in this appointment/ministry is being with the children when they experience things for the first time.  I remember when Alexis (now 15) came here, he was 12 and had never been to school in his life.  He was so tall lined up with all the other tiny grade one students, but he never complained because he realised the privilege he had to receive an education.  Alexis had never worn shoes in his life, so when he walked in them for the first time it was like he was walking in lead boots!!  He struggled to pick up his feet due to the extra weight and looked quite odd… but he figured it out.

 

I remember Kenneth and Junie being left behind at the bottom of the escalator at a busy Mall because they had never stood on these moving stairs before and couldn’t work out how to get on…. or many of our children who we find sleeping on the floor because they haven’t slept in a bed before and find the tiles more comfortable than a soft mattress!

 

Alvin (photo above) has been with us for two weeks now, he lived at Smokey Mountain and was a scavenger on the large rubbish dump there.  This was his way to make money, finding recycable items, selling them to buy food.  The night before he moved here, he stayed up all night to go through the rubbish so he could leave his father with money, he made P34 (less than $1) and he slept during the day for the next two days once he got here due to exhaustion.  I wonder how many times he had done that!  Working so hard for such a minimal amount.

 

Last night all the Joyville kids received a special treat of ice-cream in a cone and Alvin had no idea how to eat it, it was his first time!  He watched the other kids licking theirs and his tongue came out the side instead of the front as he attempted to get some… it started dripping down the cone and going everywhere!  Then there were loud slurping noises as he attempted to eat it quickly, he figured it out in the end and LOVED it.  What a joy it is to be with the children as they experience special things, learn how to fit into society in basic ways and develop in character and skills.