Thursday, May 23

Well, the day finally came for our grand opening. Thank goodness, because the whole week was pretty crazy and busy. The children arrived in their uniforms, and eventually members of the community started to arrive. My job for the day was to be the camera girl, so until more people came, I was talking to one of the priests from the area. This started my conversations/meetings with the following people:

Many priests who live here, either from the local area or from other countries,

Sisters who live all over South Africa from the area or from other countries,

The Archbishop of Johannesburg!,

A family from Alabama visiting the area for a few weeks,

People from local NGOs,

Local community people,

and representatives from the Board of Education.

We all gathered in our auditorium, where Sister Margaret showed the powerpoint I helped produce, and then we listened to the Archbishop give a talk, as well as a representative from the Mayor of the community. Then some of the older elementary students danced and sang, and some of the Skills students did the same. All of the “Crafts” skill students, learning to bead traditionally were wearing traditional African clothing and beading and it was lovely to see that. After all of the speeches, the catering skills class had prepared a very nice assortment of food, and so everyone ate and sat around and talked. Then the Archbishop blessed the school, and the South African flag was raised on the flag pole, as the children all sang the national anthem. Then everyone left, and the children left early from school as well.

Here is a link to some pictures if you aren't on facebook to see them: 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/set=a.4876748877452.1073741825.1259370088&type=1&l=719448d1e4

Pictures are worth a thousand words, right? :)