The Internship

While completing our final semester in the Masters program at the UT School of Social Work, our roles at Botshabelo will be as Clinical Social Worker interns. There we will participate in therapeutic processes with children of all ages, as well as adults and families in the village that surrounds the orphanage. Though we are not quite sure what our days will look like...we are certain that our time in South Africa will be an incredible journey filled with joy, challenge, uncertainty, connection, learning, peace, laughter, sadness, and most importantly, growth.


About Botshabelo

The Cloete family started Botshabelo 20 years ago--out of the darkness of apartheid--where Con and Marian (the couple) spent their entire life's savings to care for the children of South Africa. Con and Marian, along with their three adult daughters, their partners, and their children, established Botshabelo as a place where about 150 children without families could have a place to belong. Ilene and Ayla will also call Botshabelo home for the next four months, living and working alongside these amazing individuals.
Since 1990, Botshabelo has worked to become a self-sustaining community and, more importantly, a place of safety and family to South Africa's AIDS orphans and economic orphans. The community includes an orphanage, school, village, medical clinic and organic farm.

To learn more about our new home, visit: www.botshabelo.org

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Now That's Big

We had a doozy of a day today. Super heavy. We were in a meeting with a family that has generational pedophilia issues. It broke my heart. But I learned the most amazing lesson: I have no right to judge. These people, who some might consider monsters, at their core are broken and hurt children, using the coping methods taught to them. They didn’t have a choice. And I can understand that after being prostituted by your father since you were a baby, you would grasp at any way to have some sort of power and control in your life. Therefore they perpetrate upon their younger siblings/ children, because it is the only way they know to have a relationship with them, as well as they have a desire to hurt young children, as they were hurt by their parents. So take a minute to be grateful that you were born into the family that you were… because that my friends is dumb luck. During our meeting with this family I felt the deepest most profound sadness. It is devastating, yet we are working on breaking the cycle. Now I am left feeling the echo of sadness, but mostly numb. We are doing counseling sessions to help combat second hand trauma. And not having a bathroom door and having to tell each other each time we have to poop helps to keep things light : )
Ayla
Posted by at

3 comments:

  1. blue dragonflyJanuary 28, 2010 at 4:17 PM

    Wow, that's really intense. Are you and Ilene working with this family together? I'm glad you get the doorless bathroom to aid with bathroom humor at least ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJanuary 28, 2010 at 7:11 PM

    you girls make me happy. tackling the tough issues all while having some humor. thank you for this blog. just by reading it you are helping me grow and learn as a person and social worker.

    take care

    ReplyDelete
  3. L3CLI3January 29, 2010 at 11:48 PM

    Here's for poo announcements! LOVE YOU Chica! should be hittin' the 2nd clothing store soon, i'll let ya know if it's as good as the San Antonio pickin's.
    Leslie

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)