St. Joseph's Home

It is ironic that on my day to blog on St. Joseph’s Home, a home for children of varying health conditions, I myself, am home sick. It has served as a reminder of how sickness can greatly affect your spirit. It is quite easy to forget this when we walk through the doors and are greeted with hugs and smiling faces. Clarissa, Aleshia, Paul, Bridgett, Allie, Hannah, Jackie and I have all been placed to volunteer at St. Josephs home. We are all split between three different wards; sunflower, daisy and sweet basil. One is for boys, another for girls and a separate one for HIV positive children. You would never know that any of these children are in anything less than perfect health because of their energy and playful attitudes.

At St. Josephs home, our main responsibility was to play with the children. That being said, it is common for people to feel as if we aren’t doing much to “help” the children if we are just playing all day. In reality, play is the center of children’s lives. It is how they communicate, alleviate stress, ask for help, relax, learn and teach their peers. It also helps to eliminate the language barrier we experienced with the children in our wards because play is a universal language.

We quickly found that most of the little guys at St. Joseph’s have larger than life personalities. The wards were never short of laughter and tickle matches as well as the occasional dance party. Most of the children also loved to go to the pool inside of the facility or even just be sprayed with the hose to cool off on a hot day. Something interesting I found during my time in my ward was how caring and protective all the children were of one another, especially the infants. They often helped with bottle feedings without even being asked and tried to help their peers if they saw they were upset. The community among them was strong and united; perfectly indicative of the South African culture.

During our time at St. Josephs home, we truly bonded with the children in our wards and built relationships with them in the short two weeks we spent together. I find it fascinating that in my intentions in working at St. Joseph’s home to help children, I have found that they have come to help me as well. It is common for people to envision pain, suffering and sorrow when discussing seriously ill children. However, I found that the children I worked with daily, lived their lives more fully than most adults I know. To be clear, I am not trying to glorify illnesses in children or romanticize the gravity of the topic. It is a sobering lesson that it is imperative to learn from your own experiences instead of following and contributing to stereotypes.

I believe the children at this home have touched all eight of us in very different ways and I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to share my personal experience with others. St. Joseph’s home is a unique place of healing and I was lucky to have been in such great company during my time there.