The Shining Stars

This is my little crew of grade nine's from Sophumelela HS in Philippi township. They decided to name their team "The Shining Stars." It was between that and "The Dangerous Heroes."

Bongani, Kate (volunteer from UMich), James (volunteer from England) and I each have a crew - a four-way division of the top 70 grade 9 students from Sophumelela and Zisukhanyo High Schools. We're running Touchstones Discussion groups with the students afterschool and then host tutoring and snack time.

Today was our first day leading discussions with the kids, and for me it was quite difficult to get them to speak! They were very open about their shyness, however. I had them throw around a highlighter and the recipient would say their name and one thing about them, then the next person would repeat what the preceding person said, plus their own details. About 80% of these kids, out of all the things they could say about themselves, said, "My name is ___. I am very shy." One of the girls, however, said, "My name is Mpho. I am too short."

They are super smart and cool, though, and I'm hoping they'll open up in the coming days and weeks as we get to know each other.

O, on the way home we ran over a spring in the middle of the road in the township and flattened our tire. Some generous Rastafarians got us back on the road in no time, though, and I had a ton of fun playing with all the little kids on the street in the meantime - township kids love digital cameras!