Field Update: Crocodile food

The trip that volunteer Sandra organized last Saturday for the children of Agape, has made a big impression. Not just for the kids, but also for the volunteers and the aunties in particular! From South Africa we received this field update, written by volunteer Dennis.

Knees wobbling, teeth rattling, scared looks and two 'brave' aunties made our day of crocodiles at Crocworld. The children of Agape had a lot of fun during this trip. organized by volunteer Sandra Herdink.

Before Sandra left for South Africa, she had raised a lot of money - especially by organizing a fancy fair. Her goal was to improve the lives of the children at Agape and to organize some fun for them. To reach this last goal, she wanted to show the kids some very big crocodile mouths. After a lot of planning, Saturday 27 January was the day: a bus full of children and a number of volunteers left for Scottburgh to face the scaled monsters.

 

A short tour through the park showed two things. First of all, the aunties (the women who take care of the children) Thandi and Nelly kept a respectable distance to the crocs. They were quite intimidated by the multiple rows of teeth staring back at them. And second of all, the children acted as true Crocodile Dundee's and couldn't wait to see some action. At 11am, the got what they came for, when the crocs were fed and huge mouths ate whole chickens before their eyes. The aunties had by then disappeared.

After Thandi and Nelly had re-joined the group it was time for a small lunch. Refreshed, the group continued towards the birds and the snakes. The latter one was a bit too much for auntie Thandi, but luckily a number of children were able to comfort her and convince her to continue through the park.

Since Crocworld is situated on the beautiful South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, Sandra thought it would be a good idea to take a dive into the Indian Ocean. After a hearty lunch, the children took the opportunity to take a good swim, until it was time to return home. With all the impressions and hard work, sleeping in the bus on the way back wasn't a problem at all.

 

 

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