SOS

Tonight a bunch of us went to the SOS orphanage in Tlokweng Village (just south and east of Gabs proper). About 240 children, ages 2 to 18 live there, all of whom have already been through the foster system and about 1/3 of whom have HIV. The facility is set up like a small village itself, with a number of houses of 10-15 kids each. Each house is run by a paid “mother” and all the kids in each house refer to each other as brothers and sisters. Starting at age 16, they move into a separate house where they learn to cook, shop, and generally prepare to live independently by age 18. The kids were all remarkably happy and social, there really wasn’t anything obviously sad about the place.

When we arrived, it was still play time and after some brief attempts with a hula hoop, I headed out with the boys to play soccer on a basketball court. These kids weren’t joking around, and I was soaked in sweat and out of breath before too long. I also did my first header since I was about 15, and I should probably be screened for a concussion.

When playtime was over we went back to the houses for homework help. This ranged from helping a boy read a book about Mr. T (Ryan), to fractions (Susan), to questions about agricultural careers in Botswana (me). I did pretty well by reading ahead so I would at least have some of the answers to questions like, “What subjects must you study to be eligible for an agricultural science career?” What tripped me up was the section on describing different career paths. The 15 year old girl I was helping turned to me and sincerely asked, “What does an artificial inseminator do?” I quickly punted and suggested we look it up in the book. Which was good because its answer, “inject semen into cattle that are in heat” was a bit more direct than the one I had thought up.

While I do hope I get to do math next time, I will definitely be back. For more info on the organization, which has facilities in 132 different countries, visit the SOS Children’s Villages website.