Gamodubu and the Goat...

Today we went out to Gamodubu - a very small village / town area. The preschool teacher from the Old Naledi Education Centre, Teacher Shelly, goes out here on Saturdays to prepare food and feed kids in this village, and she invited us to come help this Saturday. It is a very small village - many of the kids have to walk very far to get to the feeding area. And the feeding only happens on Saturday and it is done with very little resources. There isn't even running water and they prepare food there weekly for up to 140 kids.

It was a very very interesting day filled with moments that are just put into the experience added box! The day went from sunrise to sunset and it was quite the experience starting from the ride there.....

(a picture montage will explain the day... better than I could)

Our ride there was is Teacher Shelly's old truck - the 7 of us, 2 others from KSU that came back for their second summer, Teacher Shelly, her Old Man friend (really what she called him), and one of her sons.... so 12 all packed into this truck. You can imagine the ride; it was about a hour drive.



When we arrived at Gamodubu, Teacher Shelly informed us that they were giving the 7 of us a goat!!! A GOAT! WE WERE GIVEN A GOAT! And we got to see it through the whole process. They just tied up our goat for awhile, why we cooked and played, and then later in the day they slaughtered it, skinned it, gutted it, and hung it on the fence. They cooked the liver there - which I tried - pretty good. When we left we sacked it up in a bag and took it to a butcher - and now it is in our freezer! It was such a nice gift, and very traditional of the culture. It was really an amazing gift and cultural experience - but not what we are used to at all. It was amazing and shocking at the same time. Sorry about the pics if you have a soft stomach.





While the goat was still alive - we were taken on an African Taxi. Gamodubu is so small and poor that the transportation around the area is by donkey. Most of the kids arrive to eat and leave on these African Taxis. It is much safer for them, because people hide in the bush on the side of the road.


We learned to make papata! This is just like a yeast bread that you knead and knead with flour and then put it over the fire to cook! It is very delicious - and filling! We took home many!


And I can't forget we met some amazing kids...




And it ended with a beautiful sunset.... before 10 of us all crammed into the back of the truck - with our goat on top!


It was a full day, but a great day. We are hoping to find another Saturday that we can come and help again. Especially since many of the kids could not make it today - we want to meet more of them.