Yesterday is a day I will always cherish. Its school holidays and hundreds of children in townships have nothing to do. My initial plan for the day was to take 36 school learners from the impoverished Vrygrond Community on a hike up toward Boomslang caves as part of the AWOL Tours Holiday Programme for children. The sudden change in weather and the age of the group, made us change plan to walk to the Greater Zandvlei Estuary instead.
Yesterday is a day I will always cherish. Its school holidays and hundreds of children in townships have nothing to do. My initial plan for the day was to take 36 school learners from the impoverished Vrygrond Community on a hike up toward Boomslang caves as part of the AWOL Tours Holiday Programme for children. The sudden change in weather and the age of the group, made us change plan to walk to the Greater Zandvlei Estuary instead.
Yesterday is a day I will always cherish. Its school holidays and hundreds of children in townships have nothing to do. My initial plan for the day was to take 36 school learners from the impoverished Vrygrond Community on a hike up toward Boomslang caves as part of the AWOL Tours Holiday Programme for children. The sudden change in weather and the age of the group, made us change plan to walk to the Greater Zandvlei Estuary instead.
Meeting the group at the Vrygrond Library, I was greeted by 36 excited faces, ready for a day out. The walk to the Greater Zandvlei Estuary was pleasant. We managed to have plenty of extra-mural activities, but the highlight of the day was to see the return of the greater flamingos to the estuary after an absence of many years! The children were all in awe of this magnificent sight and some of them even mentioned that they`ve never seen such large birds before.
Looking at the children enjoying themselves, made me think back to my childhood days. I remember growing up on the Cape Flats and I always thought that my upbringing was disadvantaged. After spending time with the children of the Vrygrond community and listening to some of their stories, I was ashamed to think that I was raised in an underpriviledged environment. Some of the children had no shoes of their own. Some didn`t even know where their next meal will come from.
Reality hit me hard and suddenly my life had new meaning. Suddenly the thought of living in a mansion or driving a fancy car didn`t seem that important anymore. I realised that all these children have the potential to become great people in life, but their circumstances will never allow them a life outside the township.My goal for the day was to have a positive influence on at least one child. Little did I know that spending a day with these children would change my life!
AWOL Tours is actively involved in different community upliftment programmes. If you would like to be involved or donate towards holiday programme for impoverished school children from townships please contact us at info@awoltours.co.za
Meeting the group at the Vrygrond Library, I was greeted by 36 excited faces, ready for a day out. The walk to the Greater Zandvlei Estuary was pleasant. We managed to have plenty of extra-mural activities, but the highlight of the day was to see the return of the greater flamingos to the estuary after an absence of many years! The children were all in awe of this magnificent sight and some of them even mentioned that they`ve never seen such large birds before.
Looking at the children enjoying themselves, made me think back to my childhood days. I remember growing up on the Cape Flats and I always thought that my upbringing was disadvantaged. After spending time with the children of the Vrygrond community and listening to some of their stories, I was ashamed to think that I was raised in an underpriviledged environment. Some of the children had no shoes of their own. Some didn`t even know where their next meal will come from.
Reality hit me hard and suddenly my life had new meaning. Suddenly the thought of living in a mansion or driving a fancy car didn`t seem that important anymore. I realised that all these children have the potential to become great people in life, but their circumstances will never allow them a life outside the township.My goal for the day was to have a positive influence on at least one child. Little did I know that spending a day with these children would change my life!
AWOL Tours is actively involved in different community upliftment programmes. If you would like to be involved or donate towards holiday programme for impoverished school children from townships please contact us at info@awoltours.co.za
Meeting the group at the Vrygrond Library, I was greeted by 36 excited faces, ready for a day out. The walk to the Greater Zandvlei Estuary was pleasant. We managed to have plenty of extra-mural activities, but the highlight of the day was to see the return of the greater flamingos to the estuary after an absence of many years! The children were all in awe of this magnificent sight and some of them even mentioned that they`ve never seen such large birds before.
Looking at the children enjoying themselves, made me think back to my childhood days. I remember growing up on the Cape Flats and I always thought that my upbringing was disadvantaged. After spending time with the children of the Vrygrond community and listening to some of their stories, I was ashamed to think that I was raised in an underpriviledged environment. Some of the children had no shoes of their own. Some didn`t even know where their next meal will come from.
Reality hit me hard and suddenly my life had new meaning. Suddenly the thought of living in a mansion or driving a fancy car didn`t seem that important anymore. I realised that all these children have the potential to become great people in life, but their circumstances will never allow them a life outside the township.My goal for the day was to have a positive influence on at least one child. Little did I know that spending a day with these children would change my life!
AWOL Tours is actively involved in different community upliftment programmes. If you would like to be involved or donate towards holiday programme for impoverished school children from townships please contact us at info@awoltours.co.za