Atlanta Children

I wasn't sure what to expect from our first day of volunteering but it turned out to be a very eye opening experience. The first place we volunteered at was Books for Africa. I haven't really thought about how privileged I was to have access to books because they were always around. I could walk in to a library and pretty much pick out any book that comes to my mind. In school class would hand out the books that you would need for the year, and I would dread the day where I would have to do any book report. It isn't like that in Africa. They don't have the same access to books like I do. I thought about that as I was sorting the books in to what grade level I thought they belonged and saw books that reminded me of my childhood. That made me think how sad it would have been not being able to read just for fun and also how difficult it must have been to go to class and not have a class textbook. What stuck to me most was what the assistant manager of Books for Africa said and that was how books were incorruptible. He continued to explain how in Africa people would raid the shipments and hoard supplies like water and food but the books were left untouched, but also went on to explain how an educated mass can overcome the violence. I know I might not directly be helping them, but I like to think that one day a school in Africa will get a shipment of the books I sorted out.
The second place we volunteered at was Cool Girls Inc. and they sent us to an elementary school where they have an after school program to enrich the kids. I was really nervous about this one because I wasn't sure about how the kids would feel about us. I was nervous they would be shy or I might have come on to strong and scare them. As we're walking in the school is in chaos and the principle is trying to welcome us and get the kids home but I noticed that the kids were all staring at us and some of them even waved hello. That made me a little more comfortable about it and when the principle finally got the situation under control she welcomed us and told us how excited she was to have us. She showed us to the cafeteria where the Cool Girls meet and they were already working on their homework. They all introduce themselves to us, and we help them with homework. After homework we get the girls up and moving with games. The best part of the whole thing was pretty much all the girls were very outgoing and wanted to start playing. They were really excited to have us and play the games we had in mind. The girls had a blast, and the only regret that I had with this experience was that I couldn't spend any more time with them. They each were just a bunch of the loveliest kids.
If I could have done anything different this day it would have been to get to know more about the Books for Africa and why the people who volunteer there do it. Other than that it was a great experience that I will remember for a long time.