Nama family
I got up around 8:15 and headed straight for the nasty, dirty river. It was so hot outside. The water was actually really refreshing, despite its appearance. We were able to wash ourselves and we felt much cleaner afterwards.
The volcano-climbers got back around 10:30 so we started preparing lunch. It was so hot that I wasn't really hungry, but once I started eating I realized how hungry I was. There was delicious yogurt at lunch--it was cold, sweet, and perfect.
After lunch, we all got in the river again. The water was the only way to escape the heat. We didn't do anything but swim until 4:00 so get away from the heat of the day.
At 4:00, we went to visit a Nama family that lives close to where we're camping. The family was a genuine Nama family--not one that puts on a show for tourists. It was a family with five children. Their monthly income is only about $45 because someone stole all their goats, their typical source of income. At first, I wondered why they would have so many children when they have such a low income, but then they explained that they have many children with the hope that their children will take care of them when they're older. (The Nama family spoke Africaans, and Burger translated for us.) Their oldest son, Jackson, was 17 and he was actually not their son at all. He had been adopted by the family because his mother died. It really impressed me that this family who has so little was willing to adopt another child. There are many families in America that could afford to adopt a chid, but refuse.
Two of their children were not there because they were attending school and they had two younger children as well (two years old and 10 months). In order to attend school, the family must pay a tuition. Tuition is usually the price of a goat ($40-$60). The 17 year old was not in school because he failed Grade 10. Once a student fails a grade, he/she must attend a private school to make up that grade.
The family lived in a small shack made of pieces of tin. There was no running water or electricity. They said they had lived there for 25 years. The family attends a Lutheran church some Sundays. They only eat two meals a day--one around brunch and another around dinner. The most difficult thing for me was that when we asked to take pictures, the woman refused because of the condition of her shoes. They were worn and tattered with no shoelaces or back. Lauren and Sally both gave her a pair of shoes before we left.
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