South Africa and the brave kids……implanted in my memory for life!

​I know a lot has already been said about South Africa and the diverse experiences we have all had in Johannesburg….but after my previous post​, something happened that changed my perspective of South Africa and redefined what courage means to me…

My classmates Vijay, Marie and Hsuan-chi were involved in a project for Lovelife – a youth mentoring, education and HIV prevention initiative  – and through their work, they had the opportunity to meet and help some amazing children at an orphanage in Kliptown - Soweto Kliptown Youth - SKY​ 

Now, I have to confess that I had always avoided visiting orphanages in the past because I didn’t know how to deal with my feelings of sadness, depression and helplessness and I was, as always, hesitant about heading out to Kliptown to visit SKY as well…….

I remember walking through the Kliptown slums and I was appalled at what I saw…..I remember thinking that no human should ever have to live in this kind of poverty – make-shift sheds for houses, lack of sanitation facilities, flowing polluted water, a breeding ground for cholera as one of my classmates put it…….Shouldn't it be absolutely unacceptable that people have to suffer and live in these conditions; especially when there are so many of us fortunate and educated people around the world??!!

The kids at the orphanage were beyond excited to see us and what amazed me was that amidst this poverty, these kids had managed to find small positive streaks in their lives…the founder of the orphanage – brother Bob Nameng– didn’t sympathize with the kids, yes he empathized, he loved, he cared…but he didn’t let them feel sorry for their misfortunes…instead, he spoke about education, learning and building strength…about fighting through life no matter what obstacles they faced and about overcoming every challenge in their way and I saw heart and courage and holiness in that room that day through the various songs, dances, speeches, smiles and hugs….

It doesn’t take a MBA or money to make a difference…what it takes is heart and soul…..I realized that I cannot continue to procrastinate on what we must absolutely do for people across the world who need our help………that evening at the hotel, I told Rafa, my classmate, that it’s so easy to feel all these strong emotions now but I guess we'll  forget about the kids come next year….busy with our jobs and  normal lives.....but Rafa was absolutely right in saying that we might get busy, we might be across the world, but after this experience, it’s going to be impossible to forget the kids and their courage………

Here’s a glimpse of the bravest kids I have ever met in my life

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ew2im4rkVc&feature=youtu.be​

…......and after that here's a TedxWarwick 2013 video of the founder - Brother Bob - a true leader and great human! ​

Vikas