What is your definition of community service? At some time, in my mind, it was to paint an underprivileged school. Or serving food in a soup kitchen. And these are true examples, to be sure.
But would you believe me if I told you that the best thing, (okay, maybe not the very best thing – but a great thing) you can do for an elderly resident of Alexandra is to treat her to high tea? Someone who has by necessity become a mother for her grandchildren, who are AIDS orphans. Someone who faces the most daunting hardships with a grace and dignity that many of us will only ever dream of. Someone who, at an age when we would wish our parents the chance to rest after a lifetime of work, has lifted a new and heavy burden onto her shoulders. For these women, a few hours of getting away, of eating red velvet cupcake and tea that is being served to them, is like a breath of fresh air.
And so the preparation for this high tea by my home cell group becomes an act of service. Serving it and listening to these gogo’s tell their stories becomes an act of love. And learning the proper way to do a township handshake and a few dance moves in return carries more than enough reward.
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