Once upon a time we went on a random Saturday adventure. I’ve been wanting to climb one of the surrounding hills in order to survey Ikageng from above. Turns out, there are a couple water towers perched on top of a knoll that overlooks the area, and we had some free time after Bible study. As we set off, I was excited to see the place I live and work from a new vantage point—perhaps gain some perspective about the enormity of it. Little did I know, there was a fun, blog-inspiring bonus just around the bend.
I was expecting a desolate, fenced off water tower, but as we drew closer, it was clear that we would be in the company of others. A few dozen kids ran around the top of the colossal cement dome, and kites danced above their heads. Kites made of tattered garbage bags and string after string knotted together blew in the breeze. Some soared high overhead while others struggled to stay airborne, but all together they created a profound scene. Joy in simplicity. By the looks of them, these kids were no strangers to hardship. But that didn’t keep the smiles off their faces as they gazed skyward. What I would certainly regard as rubbish, had been carefully crafted into a treasure—one that could lift their spirits high above the hunger, poverty, sickness and abuse that plague their communities. The hope of flight was juxtaposed above tin shacks and smoldering trash piles. The former so enthralling that is was like the kids had completely forgotten that the latter existed at all. On that tower, with those scraps, they were just kids being kids on a Saturday afternoon.
When we had soaked up the warmth of the sun and been inspired by their contagious joy, we descended the crumbling steps to reality. I turned around one last time to try to burn an image of those moments into my brain. As I did, they all shouted good-bye and waved the sort of wave that starts from both shoulders and extends all the way through to the hands. Atop the lofty monument, their happiness radiated above the township for all to see, and their shredded bags-turned-kites flapped in hopeful zigzags as God stretched feathery white clouds from horizon to horizon in front of the cobalt sky. Picture perfect.
