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Zoo Outing

Face to Face with the Big Five

During the April school holidays, 50 children from Alexandra made their first visit to the Johannesburg Zoo. The closest most of them had ever come to a Lion or Crocodile was in the pages of a book, so a face-to-face encounter with Africa’s largest predators was incredibly exciting! Sihle Mooi, co-ordinator of Rays of Hope’s Child Headed Households (CHH) project, said “they were completely in awe, and they could not believe that the animals were so big. All they had seen were pictures.” CHH and the Homework Club is Rays of Hope’s response to the appalling situation that many of Alex’s children find themselves in. Poor or non-existent home and family infrastructures result in these children struggling at school from an early age. With overcrowded classrooms, teachers in the township schools are unable to give special attention to the underperformers. “Kids are promoted year after year into the next grade without passing, and end up being basically illiterate,” explains Sihle. CHH focuses on vulnerable children in their homes, providing material and emotional support, as well as protection from abuse. At the CHH centre in Alex is Homework Club, an initiative that seeks to fill the academic gaps that arise from poor or insufficient schooling. “Right now, we cater for about 55 children, aged from five to thirteen” explains Sihle. On arrival at the Zoo, the children were organised into six groups, each with a leader, and set off on a never-to-be-forgotten adventure. The kids were thrilled when a Crocodile opened its mouth; the children decided that if one of them were to be eaten for lunch, that the leaders had the most meat on them! They were blown away by how ferocious the Lions looked, and they became excited as an enormous Elephant came into view. Upon passing an enclosure that appeared to be empty, a huge Hippopotamus surfaced and began swimming around, making loud burping type noises very close to where the children were standing! The day ended with a walk through the Reptile House and the Aquarium, where the children enjoyed seeing the fish swimming overhead. The groups then convened in a shady spot to enjoy the snack packs that were kindly provided by donors. After eating their snacks, the group had a trip in the open-sided van that conveniently arrived to take some very tired but very happy children back to the kombis.” “We are grateful to members of the public for assisting with this outing. It was a great success and took these children out of their unfortunate home situations for a day. They loved it,” concluded Sihle.

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