A heap of poles in an ugly pile of rubbish, long ones and short. Wet, slimy, and dripping the autumn leaves that have coated them over the last couple of months. A truck load of sand looked on, preferring to be smoothed over the sloping ground but happy to be a pile. Everything just waiting...
For us!!! The jungle gym team...
For us!!! The jungle gym team...
Yup, building jungle gyms again! But this one was slightly different. We worked really really hard! OK, that not be why this one was different.
Building jungle gyms in poor areas generally results in people asking me for a job. It is kind of difficult to hire in help when you yourself are doing the job for nothing. Trust me, everyone who asks, finds this a difficult thing to believe, that anyone would willingly work for nothing. After the digging of 6 deep holes, a youngster sauntered up to the fence and asked the ‘can you give me a job’ question. I gave the usual answer together with the usual challenge that he was welcome to help for the day. For Nothing!
For the first time ever, this chap said OK he would work for nothing. We were flabbergasted and confirmed many times that we would not be paying for his services. 21 year old Bongani just smiled and said he may learn something and that would be good. He worked like a Trojan and without his help; we would never have finished the job.
In the end the jungle gym looked great but it was Bongani who really made me think. You have to wonder at the desperation that makes a 21 year old unemployed youth take on a non paying hard working job for a day just so that he may learn some skills. Simple skills like using a hacksaw and adjustable wrenches. That must be tough! He still lives with his mother who is a domestic worker for a family in town. She supports him and a younger brother and sister.
Building jungle gyms in poor areas generally results in people asking me for a job. It is kind of difficult to hire in help when you yourself are doing the job for nothing. Trust me, everyone who asks, finds this a difficult thing to believe, that anyone would willingly work for nothing. After the digging of 6 deep holes, a youngster sauntered up to the fence and asked the ‘can you give me a job’ question. I gave the usual answer together with the usual challenge that he was welcome to help for the day. For Nothing!
For the first time ever, this chap said OK he would work for nothing. We were flabbergasted and confirmed many times that we would not be paying for his services. 21 year old Bongani just smiled and said he may learn something and that would be good. He worked like a Trojan and without his help; we would never have finished the job.
In the end the jungle gym looked great but it was Bongani who really made me think. You have to wonder at the desperation that makes a 21 year old unemployed youth take on a non paying hard working job for a day just so that he may learn some skills. Simple skills like using a hacksaw and adjustable wrenches. That must be tough! He still lives with his mother who is a domestic worker for a family in town. She supports him and a younger brother and sister.
It was a window into life in one of the poorer areas of South Africa and it was not pretty. I happily paid the chap for his services, much to his surprise, knowing that I got more out of working with him that he could ever imagine.
Perhaps a small lesson here is that so many of us are filled with all sorts of skills and that sharing those skills could really make a big difference in other people’s lives!
Perhaps a small lesson here is that so many of us are filled with all sorts of skills and that sharing those skills could really make a big difference in other people’s lives!
