"Jay-SEN, he told me I don't have a father and that makes me very angry. I want to cry but I have to be strong and I will get revenge."

The kids at Amasango School and Eluxolweni Shelter have begun to figure out that I have favorites. In an attempt to try and calm this tension and jealousy, I told the boys at the shelter that anyone who wanted to come do a video workshop at Rhodes could this Saturday. It was an open invitation of sorts. I thought I might get two or three kids and I would have been perfectly happy with just two or three. Thirteen eager kids showed up at the arch, ready to learn. I thought thirteen kids, two cameras worth hundreds of dollars would be a recipe for disaster. To my surprise, it went very well.

The kids were fantastic (all thirteen of them). We (Judy and I) took them to Dulce, an ice cream shop in the wealthier, whiter part of town and each kid got a small cone.

Another boy who used to live in the shelter, but now lives in the township was tagging along. I had the kids come into Dulce two at a time, choose their ice cream, and then go stand outside. Having them all come in at once was going to be far too much. The thirteen shelter boys were okay with doing this. The one former shelter boy was not happy with this arrangement and refused to stand outside. I told him "if you don't leave, I'm not going to buy you ice cream."

He didn't leave. He didn't get ice cream. Unhappy with this arrangement, he walked outside and stole one of the kid's ice cream right from his hands. There was a brief exchange of words in Xhosa. I walked across the street and tried to get the ice cream back but he wouldn't give it to me. I knew he had a knife with him, so I just let it go.

The shelter kids, Judy and I were walking back toward Jane's house with all the equipment and this child pulled his knife and was trying to stab the boy whose ice cream he had stolen! A couple shelter boys quickly got between the two and the knife-wielding child backed off. Though he distanced himself from the group, he kept following us, so I told the kids (who were carrying all the camera equipment) to walk right through the center of Rhodes University. They usually walk around the perimeter of the campus because they know they're not welcome but I said "You're with me and Mama Judy and you'll be fine at Rhodes."

I figured if this boy tried to pull his knife at Rhodes, the guards would be there to take him out. When we got on the Rhodes campus, I had the other kids sit by themselves and I just talked to Mr. Knife because he and I do have a decent relationship. We talked. And talked. And talked. And talked--for close to two hours.

He told me he was sorry he had stolen the ice cream because he knew I had paid for it but that this boy had gotten him "very angry."

I asked him why. He looked at me, looked down and shook his head saying nothing. Again, I asked "why?" Again, he said nothing. I tried once more, "Tell me, what did he do that would make you want to stab him."

He looked up still very angry and said, "Jay-SEN, he told me I don't have a father and that makes me very angry. I want to cry but I have to be strong and I will get revenge."

I begged him to give me the knife, but he wouldn't. The shelter boys just sat on the lawn playing with the camera equipment, waiting for me. I thought I had gotten through to him and he said he'd go and apologize to this boy. I took him up and he shook the kid's hand, said "Sorry" following it up with a couple sentences in Xhosa. The other boy smiled, responded with a "sorry," again accompanied by a couple words in Xhosa. Though I didn't know what they were saying, they both smiled so I figured we'd diffused the situation.

Just as the two were finishing their apologies, the guard approached me and was ready to escort the boy, who doesn't have a stellar reputation, from campus. Knowing that he had a knife and believing that the knife would resurface if the guard grabbed him, I told the guard "He won't do anything...I'll just walk him off thanks."

This boy returned to campus about 5 minutes after I escorted him off, grabbed the boy who he'd just apologized to and stabbed him three times in the back. By the time I realized what was going on, it was over. I pulled the stabber off and shoved him. He ran away. We called the shelter. The house parents from Eluxolweni rushed to Rhodes, grabbed the stabber and put him in the car. The victim was taken to the hospital. He has three stab wounds in his back/shoulder area, but he'll be alright.

The other boy is now in jail.