Before I start to tell you about my other day that wasn’t particularly the best I should tell you about a good day that happened in between. There is a grade school outside of Pretoria called Reddam House Waterfal School. They have taken it upon themselves to donate money to the orphanage. So now they are the official sponsors and are the first to be accorded as official partner status. It is quite an honor, and they scheduled a whole day of celebration. They sold bubbles and the money that they earned came to us!! The reason for the bubbles is because they are sponsoring Nyani, one of the "teenagers." She's the sweet girl that thinks she's a human and when she was a baby she really enjoyed to blow bubbles in the water. They really liked that story about Nyani and decided that's the rhino they will sponsor. So in their day of celebration they asked if we could send some people from the Orphanage to the school to talk to the kids about what we do and a share some facts about Nyani. So Jamie and I met Camilla, who was a volunteer who lives in Pretoria, and we went. Jamie and I left for the school at 4:00 am. It takes about 2 hours to get there but we were going to have to go through an area that has massive delays in traffic. So to be there before 8 we left at 4. Well, we still ended up being late. We were caught in traffic and then we followed bad directions sending us 30 minutes out of the way. We had to stop and ask directions twice. We even remember seeing a school and saying "hey I bets that's it and we are almost there." But the GPS took us on a road past it...well that school ended up being the school we needed and the GPS deterred us. Once we got there our stomachs were in knots. The school was immaculate. It was new, “ginormous” and unlike any grade school I have ever seen. It seemed like it was the Yale of grade schools. (That was for you Uncle Blake). Once we stepped through the gates we saw kids....everywhere. Running around blowing bubbles and having a blast. They surrounded 2 huge beaded rhinos in the center of the grass. My instant thought "oh my what have we gotten ourselves into!" Once they had gotten the kids settled, they took them to an auditorium. They started off singing their school song and instantly I thought " wow I want to come here". One class did a presentation that was super cute and then it was our turn to talk. It was short, but we enjoyed it and the kids seemed interested too! Afterwards they called out everyone who had a birthday that month to come down and get a cupcake and then gave out awards to those students who were exemplary. It was such a fun, hip and well-behaved school. We took pictures with the class that was called "The Rhino Class" and then went to the Headmasters office. There we talked with her, a reporter from 2 newspapers, a councilor of Johannesburg and other dignitaries. They were all very easy to talk to. We really enjoyed our time there and it made the long journey worthwhile. They are planning on sponsoring another rhino and doing another cool event where they would like us to join and of course we are looking forward to it. It was really inspiring to see a school, whose motto is "We must give back," that is helping build our future to aid our planet and all that inhabits it. Sister schools are now starting to pick up charities and programs to donate to as well.
The "Rhino" class
After the school we decided to take up the opportunity to go to the city since we live in the bush....in the middle if “no where”. We went to a Mug and Bean, which is a restaurant with coffee that I would but in a category below Starbucks but here, without Starbucks, it's perfect. We then shopped around and went to the movies. I've never been to the movies here and it was a real treat. For those of you who are wondering...their theaters are just like ours!! We then of course missed our exit on the way back and got a little lost but eventually we found our way back to our quaint place in the bush.
Since the Rhino orphanage is a non-profit organization, it is very much appreciated when donations come in and this school is making a difference. If you're wondering if you can too...well you can. There is a wish list on amazon of things that we really need but also The Rhino Orphanage has opened up a Paypal, making it easier for people around the world to help. People can give a flat donation or they can now sponsor a rhino. So if you are interested in donating or even following more on what's happening at the orphanage go to http:// therhinoorphanage.co.za/ and like us on Facebook!!!
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