YEP 12 Africa Expedition – Day 17

Blog written by Nora and Robert

Today we spent the entire day in the township of Masiphumelele. The name of this township means success and it recently won an award for being exceptionally peaceful. We met our guides, Ali and Charlotte, from the international volunteer organization i-to-i who gave us a tour of the township.

Along the way, we visited several kindergartens to meet the kids and give them first aid kits. The kids were extremely friendly and excited to see us. As soon as we walked in the door, they ran up to hug us and take photos.

We also met Yandiswa who makes art from plastic gathered from local beaches. She was able to make amazing figures, jewelry, and masks from what most people would consider trash. She gave us a brief lesson on making our own, but we found it was much more difficult than it appeared to be.

Following lunch, we joined a music class at the local library. The young kids danced and sang surprisingly well. It was a unique experience to hear the national anthem and many other traditional South African songs from the kids. Next, we had a brief drawing lesson where we attempted to draw a portrait of Nelson Mandela which produced some very amusing pieces of art.

At the end of the day, we joined the old Young Explorers on Pangaea to hear stories of Mike’s exciting adventures. We are excited to return to Masiphumelele tomorrow to plant trees and distribute more first aid kits.