We had a blast in Cape Town but now it is time to head to our next destination - Johannesburg or Joburg as some call it.
We are waiting at Cape Town International Airport to board our flight to Joburg.
We made it. Now to find our buses.
I spy this statue holding "The Freedom Charter."
Now that we are in Joburg, we have a new tour guide and bus driver. Our tour guide's name is Cindi. In this video, Cindi is introducing herself and teaching us how to say some commonly used words in Zulu.
In this video, Cindi is providing history on Johannesburg and gold mines while we are on our way to a church to give donations collected from travel club members. She also explains how Soweto was named. I'm sharing these videos and hopefully they make you feel as though you were right there with us.
Continue to ride along with us in this video and hear Cindi share more history about houses in Orlando - an area in Soweto with sections built in 1944 and 1946. Come along and see what we saw.
Picture Views.
In this video, Cindi discusses the different classes of people in Soweto. The views in this video are beautiful. And just like that we are here. Welcome to Soweto.
Pictures taken in the city on the way to the church. The house on the right is a middle-class house. Cindi talks about the distinction in a prior video.
Instead of speed bumps they have speed bricks to slow down drivers through the neighborhood. Looks like someone ran over the one on the right. The church is just up ahead. Maybe someone was running late.
We have arrived at the Bantu Methodist Church in Orlando/Soweto. This first video shows us arriving at the church. We had to rearrange our schedule and were late getting to church due to the protests that are scheduled in Soweto tomorrow. I so enjoyed the singing and the part of the service we were still able to hear.
Advantage International, LLC has a long-standing relationship with Bantu Methodist Church and believes in giving back. In this video, that relationship is acknowledged by leadership of the church and Ja'Vonne. This video is over eight minutes long but very touching.
I think this is one of my absolute favorite videos of my entire trip. The Michael Baisden Travel Club Group along with Advantage International, LLC raised over $7,000 in donations to provide gift bags to the elders of the church and also uniforms and supplies for children at the school we will be visiting on Tuesday. In this video, Ja'Vonne and travel club members are presenting gift bags to the elders. The singing that starts at approximately 2:20 minutes of this video is soul stirring.
Some of the elders opening their gift bags.
And just when my spirit was already full, they sang this and although I didn't know what they were saying, I know this song was sung with love and gratitude. This right here is my favorite video on this trip so far. Blessed to be living my best life right here on earth.
This was so precious. They thought we were special.
These homes were across from the church.
Now we are back on the bus going to get lunch. In this video, Cindi is providing history on the stadium and a lower-class squatter camp with no water or electricity.
This short video shows views as we are headed to the restaurant for lunch. The restaurant we are eating at is located in quite a historical area - on Vilakazi Street.
A look down Vilakazi Street - once home to two Nobel Peace Prize winners - Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu.
Our lunch spot in Soweto.
The crew during lunch. (Left to Right) Angela, Brini, Annette, Janice, Dawn and Teresa.
The crew wants me in a pic. Just barely made it in.
Ok, I'm going to break for lunch and will come back for Part II soon. Part II will feature a visit to the Mandela House which has been turned into a museum.
I hope you enjoyed Day 5, Part I - Welcome to Johannesburg. Just a reminder that each day builds upon the prior days and blogs so if you haven't read South Africa 2023 - Cape Town - Day 4, Part I and Part II, Day 3, Part I and Part II, Day 2, Part I and Part II, or Day 1 yet, you may do so here. https://www.edeeonthego.com/link-tree
If you are new to www.edeeonthego.com, I hope you will go back and view other blogs you have missed. If you subscribe to the site - and I hope you do, you will automatically be notified when new blogs are posted.
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Stay tuned for South Africa 2023 - Cape Town - Day 5, Part II Mandela House Museum.
Until our next time......
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