As you have seen in past blogs, there is a little boy at 1000 Hills whose name is Akhona. As soon as I saw him the first day, I thought he looked exactly like Shrek's babies from the movie and everyone who has seen him in person has agreed. Akhona is this adorable little toddler who just turned 2 in April and loves every part of being at 1000 Hills. He can be sweat and innocent one minute but then very aggressive the next. Akhona is the sweatest thing you will ever see when he is napping with his butt up in the air but is a trouble maker when he doesn't understand the concept of sharing and hits other kids in order to get his way. He is one of the smallest kids in the class but also one of the most active. Akhona is always running around with the twins Kwanele and Anele and trying to steal toys from all the girls which then makes them cry. He rarely pays attention and participates during song time but always feeds himself both breakfast and lunch while making a huge mess over himself, the table, and everywhere else around him. He tries to eat the Play Dough but loves everything about the playground. In February, he was scared to go down the slide or sit on the swings but now he runs around with all of the kids in our class and the older kids flying down the slide and pushing kids off the swing so he can have a turn. Akhona is always the biggest entertainment of the classroom. One of my favorite memories of him is when I made name tags for all of the kids so I could know their names. The first day we put them on all of the kids, Akhona was the only one who tried to take his off as soon as it was put on his shirt. We even tried to put it on his shoulder which he still found a way to take it off. Our last resort was to put it on the back of his shirt so he couldn't reach it and this became the ongoing joke between the teachers and I whenever we used the name tags.
Going down the side
So happy!
Akhona is a great kid in
so many ways but his family story is not.
Akhona’s dad usually is the one who brings him to the center and drops
him off in the mornings and picks him up in the afternoon. I always smile when I see Akhona’s dad
walking up with him in his arms. Usually
our exchange is just a “Sawubona Unjani? Ngiyaphila” (hello, how are you, I’m
fine) before he leaves and Akhona is off playing with the other kids. My first impression of him was that he was
nice and responsible for bringing him every day. A month or so in, Dawn told me that Akhona
does not have a mom and it is only his dad that he is taking care of him. This is when I became known as Akhona’s “mom”
both by the teachers in the Toddler room and Akhona himself. One day when I came late to work, the kids
were out on the porch when I walked up and Akhona comes right up to me with a
toy and says “Ma!” and holds it up. It was so cute to hear and I instantly gave him a kiss on the cheek and a big smile. I would love to be his "mom" and give him a great life but I know that can't happen so I just need to give him as much love as possible whenever I see him. All these toddlers want is love and attention and when they don't get it, they can sometimes get aggressive and hostile towards each other and the teachers. There have been days when Akhona is really aggressive with both me and the other kids. He has hit and scratched me a couple of times and even bit one of the other kids. This behavior can be connected with being a toddler but I also think it has a lot to do with his family situation and the fighting he sees at home. It is sad to see how aggressive he can get towards other people when he doesn't understand what he is doing or the consequences of his actions. Another sad part about Akhona's life is how dirty he is when he comes to school. He is usually always in the same clothes that consist of an old pair of green sweatpants and a sweatshirt with some tshirt underneath. One day in April, Akhona came to school really dirty both with clothes and in his nappie (diaper). Fikile brought him over to me and showed me how dirty he was. She then gave him a bath and gave him some of the uniform clothes to wear for the day. I asked her to talk to his dad when he picked him up in the afternoon. My question was about the policy the community center had for situations like this. Who should I tell or what should I do? That afternoon I told Dawn about him coming to school dirty and she said that the center has extra clothes to give these types of kids but unfortunately, I don't know if Akhona ever got these clothes.
Recently, Akhona has been absent from school without anyone really knowing why. Two weeks ago, I found out that Akhona's dad doesn't have a job therefore he doesn't have money to pay for school or food. I was so sad when I found this out and wanted to help in anyway. I prayed that his dad would find a job and he could come back to school. My prayers were answered last Tuesday when I was sitting on the floor playing with some of the others kids when I heard one of the teachers say "Janine, Akhona" in their broken English. I looked up to see him walking towards me which made me smile from ear to ear. I immediately picked him up and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Unfortunately, the story now takes a turn for the worse. On Thursday of last week, I found out that Akhona's dad lives with Akhona's "step mom" (which could just be a girlfriend but I will probably never know). A couple of months ago, Akhona's dad hit the "step mom" and was given a court date but he didn't show up for it so the police came to their house on Wednesday night and arrested him. Since that happened, Akhona wasn't in school on Thursday. Fikile didn't know where Akhona was currently and I was extremely worried about him. Dawn called the police and had Fikile talk to them and tell them what she knew. Fikile said that she knows where the family lives and was going to go over there this weekend to talk to them. If she found Akhona, she was going to bring him to her house and get in touch with Dawn. When I went to 1000 Hills on Tuesday, I learned that Akhona is living with his grandmother in Hammersdale which is near Inchanga and is most likely not coming back to the community center, according to Fikile. I was very sad to hear this for selfish reasons because I love Akhona so much and want him learn and grow but I am glad he is safe. Today I tried to get a contact number for his grandmother so I can go visit him and give him some Play Dough if he isn't coming back to school. The numbers were both disconnected but Fikile knows where the grandmother stays so we are going to go to the house on Tuesday to see him. Hopefully someone there speaks English so I can either find a way for him to come back to school or be able to make monthly visits to see him.
The moment I met Akhona I fell in love with him and wanted to have him as my own. I was inspired by the care I thought he was getting from his father but I am now at a crossroads of what to do knowing the situation. People and children move around all the time in these communities and most of the time the children stay within the family if the parents aren't around. I am glad that Akhona has a grandmother to take care of him but I worry about the well being of both him and the Gogo (Zulu for grandmother). I fear that his Gogo will be overwhelmed with how rambunctious and active he is that she will have to find another living situation for him. I pray that this is not the case. I also hope that there is a way for him to come back to class because I feel a strong calling towards this little bundle of joy to help him learn and grow at the community center. From the times he feel asleep on me to the trying to eat the Play Dough, from him stealing my water bottle from the closet and struggling to carry it all the way out to the main room without getting caught to crawling under the table to get more food, from picking him up over my head and having him giggle to him refusing to sleep at nap time and having to be moved to his own mattress, I will always love and remember the times I have had with him. Until I see him again either at his house or back at 1000 Hills, I will pray for him and love him with every bit of my heart. I promise to keep you all updated on my little baby Akhona but please say a prayer for him, his family, and all the other children of South Africa.
South African/American Fact: This past week and this current week, there are two groups of students here to volunteer. The first is a group of Villanova Nurses and the second is a group of seniors from Malvern Prep High school. We are excited to have them here and share the joy of South Africa with them.
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| The messiest eater in class |
Akhona's runny nose
Recently, Akhona has been absent from school without anyone really knowing why. Two weeks ago, I found out that Akhona's dad doesn't have a job therefore he doesn't have money to pay for school or food. I was so sad when I found this out and wanted to help in anyway. I prayed that his dad would find a job and he could come back to school. My prayers were answered last Tuesday when I was sitting on the floor playing with some of the others kids when I heard one of the teachers say "Janine, Akhona" in their broken English. I looked up to see him walking towards me which made me smile from ear to ear. I immediately picked him up and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Unfortunately, the story now takes a turn for the worse. On Thursday of last week, I found out that Akhona's dad lives with Akhona's "step mom" (which could just be a girlfriend but I will probably never know). A couple of months ago, Akhona's dad hit the "step mom" and was given a court date but he didn't show up for it so the police came to their house on Wednesday night and arrested him. Since that happened, Akhona wasn't in school on Thursday. Fikile didn't know where Akhona was currently and I was extremely worried about him. Dawn called the police and had Fikile talk to them and tell them what she knew. Fikile said that she knows where the family lives and was going to go over there this weekend to talk to them. If she found Akhona, she was going to bring him to her house and get in touch with Dawn. When I went to 1000 Hills on Tuesday, I learned that Akhona is living with his grandmother in Hammersdale which is near Inchanga and is most likely not coming back to the community center, according to Fikile. I was very sad to hear this for selfish reasons because I love Akhona so much and want him learn and grow but I am glad he is safe. Today I tried to get a contact number for his grandmother so I can go visit him and give him some Play Dough if he isn't coming back to school. The numbers were both disconnected but Fikile knows where the grandmother stays so we are going to go to the house on Tuesday to see him. Hopefully someone there speaks English so I can either find a way for him to come back to school or be able to make monthly visits to see him.
South African/American Fact: This past week and this current week, there are two groups of students here to volunteer. The first is a group of Villanova Nurses and the second is a group of seniors from Malvern Prep High school. We are excited to have them here and share the joy of South Africa with them.
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