Photos courtesy of Katie Jo Jones

Hello, I’m Katie Jo Jones and I’m from Burlington, NC. I’m a Senior at Chatham Hall, which is an all girls boarding school. This past spring break, from March 7-19 I went to Cape Town, South Africa for a community service project. 19 students, four faculty members and three parents attended.

The first three days we were there, we worked for a non-profit organization called Soil for Life. They help people take land that is not being used and make gardens to provide food for people at the townships and township schools. The first day we did Soil For Life, we worked at the main locations and learned how to make compost, turn compost and shift it for bagging. It was very gross. We got very dirty with our bare hands on rotten, green, wet food and horse manure.

The second day of Soil For Life, we went to a school called the Levana Primary school, and worked on a garden for them. Some of the boys in the school helped us make compost, plant seedlings, make seedling trays and start a garden. The last day of Soil For Life, we worked on a garden that was in a township, which was previously a trash dump.

The next two days, we traveled to a community called Tousriver. We stayed on a private game resort called Acquila and went on two safaris while we were there. We also visited a school called Steenvliet Primary school. They met us about a half a mile away from the school with a marching band and played and danced all the way to the school. Once we got there and out of the bus, they played and sang multiple songs for us and played a netball match.

As soon as we pulled out cameras, they all wanted their pictures taken and would jump in as many pictures as possible. We made them sandwiches for lunch and went to their classes to help teach. They were all so cute. Many of them did not have shoes on and were skin and bones, but they were all so beautiful and sweet. I loved them all.

The next day while we were still in Tousriver, we worked on an orphanage that is being built for children with AIDS. It is planning to open in June. We mostly worked outside on the landscape and did some painting.

Then, we traveled back to Cape Town where we visited Robbin Island and saw Nelson Mandela’s cell. We also got to meet a prisoner and a prison guard who worked on the island the same time as Nelson Mandela. The next three days we went to a school called Lawrencia. We bought and made them breakfast and lunch, read to them and went to some of their classrooms and helped teach. Most of the kids do not get much to eat, so they were very excited about the food we served them. They were all so cute and also loved their pictures taken. They were so thankful for us to be there and all the little kids latched on to us and did not want us to leave.

The trip was a experience of a lifetime. I also got to visit Table Mountain and the waterfront while in Cape Town. Cape Town is beautiful and unlike any place I have every been. I enjoyed meeting all the kids in the townships schools and it felt so good to help them because they were all so thankful. Even thought the work was very hard, it was all worth it.