RivLife Week 2

so we concluded our second week at RivLife, however it was our first full week...if that makes sense. we continued with our time at the creche and the drop in center and it has been really amazing to see the trust and relationships being built. the kids are really getting comfortable with us and it just feels great when they see us coming down the road and they run up to us and hug us.

some new things we have done in this first full week is go to the HIV/AIDS support group that we will be attending for the rest of our time here. and also a gogo's (granny) group that we will be attending once a week. the HIV/AIDS group has been really amazing. we go there and hang out with the man and women who are a part of the group and spend about 3 hours each time. on the first day we were there, at the end of the day, one of the women asked us "you are not afraid to touch us?" we all of course said no. She paused for a bit, and then said "we can tell you all love us, and we love you." it was such a beautiful moment. you have to understand that if a person is open with there circumstance of being HIV positive, they are marginalized in their societies. this is because many of the african people believe that you can contract HIV/AIDS through touching a person who is positive. so the simplest gesture of hugging them speaks worlds into the situation. i really look forward to continue to build those relationships.

as far as the gogos, they are just some of the happiest old women i have ever met. they are teaching me how important joy and laughter are in life.

this is just a brief overview of what we have been doing. if you want more details shoot us a comment or an e-mail and we will be more specific.

oh and we went on a tour of battle sites from south african history mainly during colonial times. it was interesting and very sad.

like i said shoot us a message if you want more details.