Sleeping on Church Square The stay awake by Jonothan Amm: Grade 11 The aim ... to empower and unite St Andrew's boys to have the confidence and the authority to believe they can make a difference in our nation.....
"In our Shoes" exists to raise funds for organisations that support street children. This initiative also allowed the boys of St Andrew's to feel what it is like to live like a street child, and to experience their hardship!
We anxiously waited at 7 o'clock outside the chapel for what we'd never hope to have to experience one day. David, Martin, Ethan, Jack and I all met just after supper with many layers of clothes on. We then travelled down to the Cathedral where we jumped out to the excitement of nothing... no TV's, laptops, beds, cell phones etc. We were restricted from all our luxuries and soon found we would have to rely on each other for entertainment.
Once the toilets were found we tried to make our bedding which consisted of two boxes on solid concrete. We all got up and took a walk around the Cathedral, admiring the history of the building and learning that it once was the tallest building in the Eastern Cape.
We walked as far as Steers and seeing burgers and chips soon made us realise what it must be like for a homeless man to pass by every night and not be able to buy himself a meal. This first mention of gratefulness came into the conversation and was pretty much the main topic of the night. Besides some jokes and general conversation about College, the main criteria of the night was based on this theme of gratitude. We learnt that when Heads of Schools and teachers tell us you have NO IDEA how lucky you are to be in the position you are in, that was only fully understood that night. We travelled back to our sleeping arrangements and tried to set up ourselves and our boxes in such a way that we would be protected from the wind. Many of us tried to use boxes as blankets but this was soon found to be useless.
Eventually - and eventually means after a few hours - we got some sleep at about ten. But we were soon woken up, either by the uncomfortably hard floor or the temperature. Sleeping was not a success and some boys learnt that relying on each other was a much more helpful way to try and sleep. The worst part of the night was when cars or people went by. They would stop and stare for a second, then make rude comments about how "those people should be thrown in jail" or "how they make Grahamstown look so run down". Little did they know that we were pupils at one of the finest schools in the country trying to get a feel for what a homeless man or child goes through every night.
Many lessons were learnt that night, but the following Sunday I went into Pick 'n Pay with a friend who wasn't with me on the experience and bought a loaf of bread. Then on our way back to College I gave it to a beggar whom I had seen earlier. He asked me why I did that and I told him because last night I was in his shoes and desired the exact same thing. Those memories will be with me forever. I hope St Andrew's takes a group of boys again next year and that this may become a tradition or an SCA routine because I fear many boys take too much for granted.
Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
To view the article in Grocott Mail please click on the link below:
http://www.grocotts.co.za/content/private-school-boys-learn-cold-hard-lesson-20-09-2011
