It is Mandela’s birthday today, and we are all celebrating it by spending 67 minutes giving back to our communities. #
MandelaDay
Somebody asked about the significance of 67 minutes in a
previous blog post. It is the same amount of years that Nelson Mandela, former president, spent towards the greater good of all people here in South Africa. A significant amount of that time was spent in prison!
We spent the time today with the
Woodside Sanctuary for mentally and physically disabled people (children). It is very near to our workplace in Auckland Park, Johannesburg! The Woodside Sanctuary has been identified as our CSI project for this year!
They were very accommodating towards us, and involved us with helping them with some of the activities with the children. They are doing wonderful work with the people there. It is a 24/7 job!
I met Theunis and we did some colouring in together. They could not tell me his “story” of how he got there, but he was adamantly trying to tell me about something about his head! We figured out he got a bump on his head, OR it was the reason for his disability. He loves his watch on his arm, and he has a soft toy car which he is holding all the time. He told me when we were leaving that we should come again…
Dave, a former engineering student who was in an accident, was spelling our names repeatedly, and getting very excited when he counted the snakes & ladders dices being thrown.
“I know! I can spell! I can do mathematics!”
Apparently he sometimes can get very frustrated when he realizes what has happened to him!
The guy in the back was knitting with Elizabeth. He is blind, but when she wanted to leave, he was hugging her and did not want to let go!
Every person there has got a story. It is not a depressing place, but where there is hope and laughter. The people who work there are kind and caring!
We all came away from there feeling grateful to have what we have!
It seems we don’t even have to go far to look when we want to give back to society…
(It is just around the corner!)
What are you doing with your 67 minutes today?
Oh this made me cry - but at my tiredness level I am crying the whole day.
ReplyDeleteI was planning to tonight spend the time to sort out the toys the kids are not playing with to send to a nursery school our office supports - they have been asking for toys. But maybe tomorrow - I guess it makes no difference. My mom and her friends have been knitting beanies for Pink Hair Girls' cancer kids project. I will collect and post later.
Shame Cat! Luckily it doesn't make a diference when we do something. I was also thinking that sorting out clothes and toys for charity also add up to a nice 67 minutes of our time... Great ideas!
ReplyDeleteWe had a few companies to their 67 minutes at the Mission and we did our 67 minutes cleaning up a very notorious street. Alcohol bottles and rubbish strewn everywhere.
ReplyDeleteI wish people could do this every day! It's quite sad if you think about it.
ReplyDelete