The room was quickly filled with the beautiful voices of the children living at the Orphanage. We all clapped along and they even taught our group a dance that went along with their music. It was clear that friendships were being formed very quickly. What was most amazing (to me at least) was the fact that the kids were thankful for so much even though it seemed they had nothing.
Although there was no grass, no goal posts and no basketball hoops, we played soccer, boxball and basketball with the kids. Watching them run around, barefoot and smiling was such a great feeling and knowing that we were giving them something to be excited about. The kids even taught us one of their own games called “In the river, out of the river”. It was simple. No equipment, no uniforms, just a stick in the sand and it was so much fun. Perhaps sometimes simple is better and these kids definitely proved that. As we left that afternoon, it was clear that we had made an impact on the children living at the Ebenezer Orphanage and in turn they had left quite the impact on the 22 of us.
– Trip Member Community Service Africa, 2009
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