As I was saying the other day, there have been times here where I had moments of clarity. It is so easy to miss the forest for the trees in this project--we are constantly, intensely focused on one facet of our project or another. There are papers to write, designs to make, presentations and interviews to conduct, and work to be done. However, there are times when the motivation behind the project manifests itself, and I am reminded of what brought me here in the first place. One of these moments happened last Friday. After work, here is what I journaled:
I spent today alternating between working and playing with
K----, a two-year old boy with the brightest smile I have ever seen. He was shy
the first few times we saw him, but spent today soaking up our attention as he
ran from person to person, full of hugs and smiles. His mom, T-----, was one of
the first women to sit with us and make us feel like a part of the Sizakuyenza
family. In her I see everything that the safe house is trying to do for the
women who come there—she is a loving mom, a hard worker, and a poised and
eloquent woman. She also has a stunning voice—she amazed us when she sang on
one of our first days at the safe house, and I found myself crying as I
listened to her sing a farewell to us today.
I think all along the way, we knew that there would be women
coming and going from the safe house during our short time there. In fact, we
are entirely purposed on empowering these women during their stay so that they
can go on, to family and new jobs and a chance to live life knowing how much
they are valued. But although we have only been working at Sizakuyenza for a
little over a week, I feel a deep care for each of the women and children we
have met. I think that is what makes it so hard to say goodbye.
Each woman that comes to the safe house has a story. I wish
that I could have the opportunity to know more of T----’s. What were the
circumstances that brought her to the safe house? How has she changed since
coming? Where will she go? What bright future does she have in store? Will we
ever see her again? All these questions ran through my mind as she sang, but
the lyrics of the song she had chosen floated above them all…
“Shining like a star across my sky, just like an angel off a
page
You have appeared into my life, I feel like I’ll never be
the same…”
T----- has a story that probably includes more strength,
resilience, and hope than I will ever have. We have only had the opportunity to
be a part of that story for a little over a week. It would be false and
pretentious of me to say that our short time of knowing T-----and her
beautiful children has had much to do with their recovery at Sizakuyenza. But
her song reminded me of the change that we are actually making in people’s
lives, even just in a small way. Just listening to her sing, I can see that she
is stronger than I ever could be, and K----- is so full of joy you would never
think he has experienced abuse or trauma. I can only hope that T---- and her
sons can continue to grow and thrive despite what they have been through, as a
result of the help they have been given at Sizakuyenza.
At times the work that we are doing feels small. A string of
writing assignments, group meetings and yard work don’t seem like they could
have that much of an impact. But seeing a woman and her children ready to leave
the safe house today, having been equipped with the support they needed to
recover from such traumatic experiences, I was reminded of the significance of
the work that the safe house does. And this makes me feel so honored to have
the opportunity to be working with them, and to have known T----- and K----- even for the short time that we did.
Since Friday, I have been thinking a lot about T----- and K-----. Where are they now? Does K----- still have that happy smile on his face? I know that I will probably never see them again. But I am so thankful to have had a short time with this incredibly joyful little boy and his beautiful mom. They have reminded me exactly why I'm in Cape Town.
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