Five St Andrew's College boys were left homeless one Saturday night, and spent it huddled together for warmth under cardboard boxes in Church Square.
Five St Andrew's College boys were left homeless one Saturday night, and spent it huddled together for warmth under cardboard boxes in Church Square.
This was not the result of some horrifying error on the school’s part, but rather an assignment designed for a group of youth leaders.
The pupils, all in Grade 10 and 11, had been selected by school administrators for the team building exercise that was combined with a community awareness project.
With most of the university's students away for the vacation or in Port Alfred for the boat races, Grahamstown’s centre was all but deserted on the night of Saturday 10 September.
Jonathan Amm, David Mpore, Martin Chandler (Grade 11s) and Ethan Fortuin and Jack Ryan (Grade 10s) came to Church Square around 7pm under the supervision of several teachers. They had been instructed to leave their cell phones and wallets at home. For bedding, each had been provided with two cardboard boxes.
One of the supervisors, Design and Technology teacher Heidi Salzwedel, was quick to point out that the goal of the night was not to create a perfect simulation of homelessness in Grahamstown. The main purpose, she said, was to bring future leaders at the school closer together through adverse conditions and to provide them with some insight into how less fortunate members of the community live.
Deprived of Twitter, Facebook, and other forms of electronic entertainment, the boys spent their first few hours wandering around the square, peering through shop windows. By 9pm, however, they had exhausted the entertainment value of the local merchants' displays, and returned to the shadows of the cathedral to sort out their beds.
Despite the prospect of a long night with little sleep, spirits were high, although Ethan commented that time passed much more slowly without any technological distractions – a sentiment agreed upon by everyone.
Despite recent reports in Grocott’s Mail about the high crime rate in the area, none of the boys seemed particularly concerned about safety, although one joked that he was just hoping to wake up with his shoes on the next morning.
Security certainly did not seem to be an issue, with several teachers camped out around the corner and a Hi-Tec security guard on watch just metres away. The night passed without incident, although Salzwedel told Grocott’s Mail that the early hours of the morning were unpleasantly cold.
As morning broke, the boys were allowed to pack up their things and return to their hostels, where they gave a special presentation on their night to the rest of the school before Sunday’s church service. According to Salzwedel, their first-hand experiences added more meaning to the sermon, which focused on the importance of respect for the less fortunate.
