Nthandadza School Party

I had the great pleasure of accompanying my friend Betty to the Nthandadza school for orphan children in a rural village situated 30 minutes north of the University. Betty has been teaching English to the children and quilt making to a small group of widows. Many of the children have lost at least one parent to AIDS/HIV. The majority of the women have also lost their husbands to HIV/AIDS, which means that many of them are living with the virus.

Betty asked me to play the guitar for her going away party at the school. Words can’t describe how fun and moving this experience was. The impact that Betty made and the impact that the school made on Betty in just a few short months was touching. I’ll spare you my reflections and let the pictures do the talking.

The look on the little boys face is priceless... I don't think many of the children had seen a guitar before.

I learned 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' and 'Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes', but the children liked 'Hey Joe' by Jimi Hendrix the best. They were singing a local song along to the rhythm.

Make no mistakes about it, children love juice and cookies everywhere.

Widow's quilt making group (Betty pictured left of centre in white shirt).

This little boy was one of my favourites. He was quite skeptical of me at first, but after juice and cookie time he came around. I played soccer with him and his friends for the better part of the afternoon.