Games, Braids and Hope: By Ruth Magee

Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Date: Summer, 2006
Contact: ruthmagee83@hotmail.com

Going away to South Africa in 2006, I really wasn't sure what to expect. I'd been away two years earlier, had come home restless, unsettled, and ready to act upon what I'd seen and done yet all my good intentions had resulted in very little activity when I arrived home on Irish soil.

In 2006 when I was away, there was something so different about the experience. You never expect for children to impact and change your world, but some of those we met on township were for me, the reason I returned home determined to do something in response to the trip.

Although our main responsibility on township was to build houses with the rest of our habitat team, I recall one particularly beautiful day on township, one on which the local children had become very much the focus of our attention. Our team on the building site had a considerable amount of relief workers, so that freed up a little bit of time for us to play with some of the children who had gathered around our building site to see what was going on. I remember laughing hysterically at our attempts to play some simple games like "simon says" and "duck duck goose" with the children. They could not understand a word we said, neither could we understand what they were saying to us, yet the laughter and giggling echoed around those streets as everyone enjoyed the company of those around us:

failing to break the barriers with words, but succeeding to with the simple universal language of laughter.

Monica played along with us, a pretty little thing, no more than about 5 or 6 years old, dressed in a baby pink jumper, with her tight little braids hanging loosely around her shoulders. She loved to laugh and loved to play, and so joined in with our games. She loved to be picked up and spun round, her adorably sweet little giggle making the rest of us laugh with her. I spent most of the rest of the afternoon with Monica, spinning her around, chasing her through the streets. I'm pretty sure I fell in love with this little girl's zest for life as soon as I set eyes on her. As I picked her up, her infectious little smile beamed and her eyes sparkled with excitment, wondering what little game we were going to play next, and I couldn't help but think to myself when last she expressed such joy, secretly hoping that it wasn't as long ago as I feared it was. Nevertheless, she made us smile that day, made us feel alive, and the memories of her that day never fail to change me every time I think of it.

Words can't really describe this little girl, she changed our worlds that day, but to the rest of the world, she is a statistic.

I refuse to believe that it is right for anything this beautiful to be reduced to a statistic- together we can do what must be done...

Useful links:
Habitat for Humanity Northern Ireland
Habitat for Humanity South Africa