Kayla on her Beautiful Gate experiences

Since it has been over two months that I have been working at my internship, Beautiful Gate Children’s Community Home, I wanted to tell about what has come from it thus far. When I first started working there, it was a little overwhelming to try and remember who everyone was and how to get adjusted to the South African pace (which is a little different than that of the United States). Cape Town has a slower pace and way of living compared to the US. It is more relaxed and not as rushed. There is also this thing called “tea time” where every day at 10, people break to have tea and maybe a small snack. I have to say that I have become very adjusted to having tea time and will definitely miss it when going back to work in the US. I soon learned that getting to know the people I work with at Beautiful Gate was much easier than I expected. Everyone that worked there was SO welcoming to us and all took the time to introduce themselves and try to get to know us. I really felt as though I could go to anyone for questions or for anything else that I may need while working there. Within a week or two, I really felt at home there.

The children were a whole different story. There are about 34 children living at Beautiful Gate with ages ranging from 5 months to 14 years. Most of these children were born with HIV and many of them do not have any family. In the beginning of our time there, it was hard to get to know the children because there was so many of them and it was a little overwhelming. But as the time passed, we started to get to know more and more of the children. I can honestly say that by now, I know the majority of the children and look forward to seeing them every day I am here. The kids are very young but they are so smart and amazing to talk to. When the school aged children get home from school each day, they will come into the medical cottage where Kate and I work just to say hi and give us hugs. Most of them run in to see us and some don’t want to leave. The youngest child there is 5 months and I think that every day when we are there, we go and find him to play with. He is SO CUTE and we really can’t get enough of him. He is also a special child there because of how he became part of the Beautiful Gate community. He was found when he was about 2 days old in some bushes, umbilical cord still attached, not far from where Beautiful Gate was located. It was a miracle that he was still alive and healthy at that. It is hard to believe that someone could have a child and then immediately place him in some bushes, not knowing what will happen to him or if he will even survive.  But I think it’s hard to imagine because I am not living in extreme poverty like so many people in the surrounding community. Some people do not have electricity or running water in their “shacks” and many do not have a bathroom. Living in such extreme conditions, whatever they may be, can drive people to do things that may seem crazy to people who never experienced such things. So as sad as the story is, it is still amazing to see the baby healthy and chubby as ever who gets so much love from everyone who sees him (especially the three of us who intern there). 

Getting to know the kids has been an amazing experience and led to us being able to take 4 of them home with us for a night. We took four of the boys we got close with and they were ages 9, 10, 11, and 14.  They came over on a Friday and stayed until Saturday afternoon. Everyone that we lived with loved to spend time with them as well. The kids were constantly smiling and having a great time with us. They absolutely loved our pool and spent a lot of time swimming in it. We were so sad to see them leave and were already thinking about when we could have them over again. It was nice to take those four boys because none of them have family left and if they do, they either disappear or refuse to take the kids. It is so sad because the kids are absolutely amazing and it’s hard to think that family members don’t want to take them or just disappear so they won’t have to. But it was nice to know that the kids had such a great time because they were begging the “mamas” of their cottages to take them back to our house. It was actually funny because the next week when we got back to work, mostly all of the kids were running up to us saying “Take me! We want to see your house! Can we come too?!” I wish we could just take all of them! 

I really LOVE going into work. I love to see the kids and play with them and I love the staff that works there. There are two women that Kate and I work with in the medical cottage who have both been so great to us. One of the women took us with her to her church and always wants to have us over for lunch or dinner and take us around Cape Town. The other woman had us to her house yesterday and took us to a place where we had a braai and hung out for the day. We have such an awesome time with them and really share some unforgettable memories. Working at Beautiful Gate has introduced me to some really amazing people and experiences. I am going to be really sad to leave but I know I will stay in touch with the two women I mentioned above. I am truly grateful for everything they have done for us and continue to do each day. The whole experience of working there has been unbelievable and I couldn’t have asked for a better placement than Beautiful Gate!