Work and Play in Masiphumelele by Hardy Reisner and Gavin Schwartz (Monday, June 19, 2023)

Hardy: On June 19, we split into two groups to work in the township of Masiphumelele.  My group went to a man’s home to replace his roof.  His neighborhood is made up of very small houses built from wood framing and corrugated steel sheets with no running water and only one room with a half-room loft above it.  

The work itself was not incredibly difficult.  The real challenge was the poverty that we stood in.  I remember climbing up on the roof and seeing a sea of small shanty shacks housing many families.  Even worse, about a hundred yards to eat left across a field was a community of noticeable wealth.  

The room I stood in housed a 19-year-old cyclist named Sphatela.  He told me about his travels and achievements across South Africa on his old rusty bike.  He did this all while sleeping in a room about the length of my bathroom.  However, he held a smile on his face as we rebuilt his roof.  Meeting Sphatela was an incredible experience that I’ll never forget.  

Gavin: On June 19, we had a service day in Cape Town.  I was part of the group that went and played with the young school kids around the community called “Masi.”  The kids were taught in a small room where they all were basically cramped together.  I was so shocked when I walked in and realized how little space they had to play in.  But that did not affect their happiness and excitement because from the moment we walked in each room all the kids had smiles on their faces and were jumping up and down.  That moment made me realize how special the South African people were because although most of them were very poor they were always very friendly and happy when meeting them.  

We entertained the kids and got them moving by first doing a warm up dance with the music played from Ms. Sharon’s speaker.  She is the founder of Kidz Africa, an organization that works to bring hope through sports and activity.  The first dance with the kids showed me how much energy and joy they had for us just being there, which meant a lot to me.  I had made their day better, which was a good feeling.  After the warm up dance we played Simon Says along with freeze dance, which personally was my favorite to play with them.  Finally, we ended each visit with a cool down stretch.

My favorite part of the visit was when we were leaving and all of the kids came up to give us fist bumps and high fives, which let us know how much our visit meant to them.  This day with the kids helped me realize how much we as people can help make other people’s days better.