‘eyes that look are common, but eyes that see are rare’
this week i was given the opportunity to interact with some of the disadvantaged youth of swayimane. i participated in a new life skills training course for a group of 17 kids, mainly between the ages of 16-25, sponsored by a program called SLOT (School Leavers Opportunity Training) which is funded by the Youth Development Program. andile and retha, who are the 2 life skills course instructors, have also come out of the SLOTs program and are now providing their god-given talents to inspire and engage the minds of these kids. despite the rain storm and unpredictable attendance, phumi and i rolled the bakkie around town and managed to pack a total of 17 girls and boys in the back of the truck to be dropped off at the training center. seeing these kids on the road enduring the cold rain and wind to wait for a life skills seminar was probably the most encouraging thing i’ve seen all week, and perhaps all month.
the course started off with an icebreaker where each person would sing and dance for 30 seconds to the ‘vaselina’ song – the zulu reference to the vaseline product (yes, the ointment!) that somehow inspired andile to make this a symbol for ’shining in the light’ (perhaps because vaseline makes you shine??).
anyways, i was completely terrified – and it all happened so fast that i don’t quite remember how i managed to dance for 30 seconds – but for whatever its worth, i had these kids laughing hard! soon after settling down from all the ruckus, the students were back in their seats and kindly asked to charter their own code of conduct – each student would walk up to the board and write down a rule that they felt embodied good and respectful behavior. the group would then discuss it and agree upon whether or not it should be included in the charter. i felt that this exercise was quite clever since it encouraged everyone to contribute their own sense of respect towards the individual (and themselves) and helped them also to establish a spirit of accountability from the very beginning.
once the code of conduct was finalized, we were each given a sheet of paper that was folded into a booklet and on each successive page were told to:
- draw a picture of ourselves and write the name of our favorite song
- draw a picture of our family members
- write down 5 things about ourselves, where 1 is a lie
- write down our expectations
my conclusion from all of this? everyone loves chris brown and almost everyone lies about being a doctor 
during the next hour, they were given a multiple choice exam that tested their basic understanding of current events and issues affecting South Africa such as HIV/AIDS, crime, and money/employment. meanwhile, retha had posted on the board:
“eyes that look are common, but eyes that see are rare” - a quote by j. oswald sanders
it’s the first time i’ve seen this quote, but i really like it. i remember sitting there thinking to myself how important this message really is – about the power of choice/will, and the readiness to embrace vision. for many of these kids, it is a matter of affirming their own self-worth and regaining the confidence they need to excel and reach their personal life goals. andile and retha were absolutely brilliant in taking their time to make sure everyone understood the importance of this vision, and encouraged everyone to voice their own opinions and doubts. all throughout, it was really impressive to see how these kids were responding to each other and slowly molding this concept into their own realities.
the rest of the afternoon was spent on defining different types of goals (short, mid, long, life) and the importance of planning ahead and reacting positively to failures. it was a rigorous 2 hours of discussion, interactive visuals and fun games that really left me with a positive feeling of hope. there is nothing to stop these kids from succeeding and i really do believe that each one of them have the potential to become leaders in their own families and communities.
programs like SLOT life skills really do change lives.
