For an hour or so, local children come and play, talk and be social. Soccer and rugby pitches are set up for older kids and blocks and toys, jump ropes and hula hoops await younger children. Many of the young girls around Ruby's age come with babies on their hips and backs; they spend many hours a day caring for younger relatives. Kids Club is a rare chance for them to be children themselves.
Henry and friend James enjoy playing with the younger boys
For the last couple of weeks, some donated toy cars have been a big hit with the younger boys.
Soccer is a huge hit with the older boys. Driving through almost any populated part of Africa, you see soccer matches going on with makeshift balls and pitches. Having real soccer balls is a big draw at SalaSala.
Most weeks, we have some music and a puppet show for the younger set, presented by volunteers' children. This week, we spent the first half hour playing and talking with kids, then surprised them with a giveaway day - England soccer jerseys (generously donated by an Elim church in England) and mosquito nets!
Some of the younger girls helped size jerseys to kids. With over 100 children present, it was a little chaotic but everyone was well-behaved...
...and very thankful for the gifts!
Ruby and Henry love this place. They usually see it as a big playdate - they don't see the poverty or dirt or disease. They don't know the bigger picture yet - that we hope to provide more services to the families here, that most of these children will never finish school and some will never start, that it is about so much more than playing together - yet in many ways, they know more than we do. Loving people where they are, for who they are and treating them with respect and dignity is a beautiful thing. May we be able to see life through the eyes of a child!
