The Long Trip Home: Child's Play in South Africa

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Child's Play in South Africa
by Tracy Villanueva

This photo journal contains both photos and prose. Photography was taken by the author, and prose was written by the author. Click on the images below to open Tracy's photo journal in a new window.

When most tourists come to South Africa, they rave about the breathtaking vistas of Cape Town and their safari expeditions. There's no denying the beauty to be found in South Africa, but I found it in a squatter camp and orphanage in Soweto, near Johannesburg.

At the squatter camp in Soweto, Emily and I met a rascal named Lindani and his cousin Sbabalo. Every time I turned around, there they were, not shy to follow our footsteps. By the end of our quick tour, Emily and I were both smitten.

Later with our guide Wonga, we visited the Othandweni Children's Centre. The center offers residential care to children, but the goal is to place them with suitable families. This was my first visit to an orphanage - Emily and I came to donate our office and school supplies. Walking into the nursery, we were greeted by some 30 laughing, smiling, and screaming infants and toddlers . They immediately ran to us and hugged our legs.

As I bent down to pick up an adorable kid, I looked at Emily and said, "I think that I'm going to lose it." I felt the tears close to the surface. I don't know what I was expecting to see… maybe a depressing place with sad and distant children? Instead we walked into a sunny room with happy and loving children. The irony was heartbreaking.

Nomsa, a kind woman who ran the day care center, invited us to play with the kids. They warmed up to us right away and, when they saw that I had a digital camera, demanded to see every picture.

"Show me! Show me!" Wonga translated. It was pandemonium. We taught them the hokey-pokey and had a good round of bilingual ring-around-the-rosy. We left amid a flurry of hugs, blown kisses and "I love yous" in Zulu.

We reconnected with little Lindani and Sbabalo to give them small presents. When they saw the new tennis shoes, their faces lit up and they sucked in their breath with excitement. Joy is a universal expression; they didn't have to tell me. I felt it, too. Lindani threw his arms around my neck and exclaimed, "Thank You!"

The beauty of South Africa - I will never forget that moment for as long as I live.