Rad Journey-Day 1-3

Hi everyone, We have had no internet accessibility until tonight. It is midnight as I write. We have made 3 shoe drops to this point and what sticks out in my mind the most is the poverty and the lack of everything for most people living here. The children love having new shoes, but it is a very "take" mentality which I attribute to their survival mode instincts due to the horrendous living conditions and that many of these kids are uneducated; living day to day with not much to do or to hope for. We went to a church service this morning and the choir sang a song about the AIDS disease. Then each and every church attendee who had lost a loved one to AIDS walked up and lit a candle as church leaders took turns reading the list of deceased. This took over an hour to complete. When we drove to the church, we took a highway and made an abrupt veering of the vehicle as a dead boy lay shot in the middle of the road. Our driver, Gordon, who is the founder of Food 4 Africa said it was a drive by shooting tribal war related. We have never been in danger, nor have I felt in danger. Soweto was a wonderful place and Port Elizabeth where we are the next 2 days is resort like. The orphanage we distributed shoes at today though was very poor. Every child I put shoes on, I make them give me a hug. I open my arms and ask for one and they pretty much all smile and hold me tight. At the orphanage I connected well with the older boys probably around 11-14. I could tell they were very shy about hugging me, so I would initiate. it got to be fun because the boys would take turns laughing at the next boy going through the hug. Afterwards I had my picture taken with all the boys.

The journey begins

Hi Friends and Fam,
Just got back from a neighborhood Halloween party and I met a woman who lived in South Africa for 17 years or as she calls it-"S-A". She said the water tastes better in S-A than it does here. She asked where I was travelling and I rattled off Soweto and she stopped me-"Watch your back in Soweto, she said. Just be very aware. She then told me how grateful the people are for our help. Anything we bring to give them, even the smallest piece of hard candy will be savored with loving eyes. With this said, I just ziplocked up all the extra halloween candy that no one came a knocking for and will distribute along the way. In Sole Purpose, J-Rad