The Hefty Blog - Overview and Final week

Final Week in South Africa

It was only a fortnight ago, but let's see how memory serves..

In a nutshell: I tried to live every moment and enjoy each second of my final week, but of course it was tinged with the sadness of leaving, and speckled with fond farewells from the community partners and friends. In particular the coaches, who thanked me for my time and input over the last 2 months. I have a lot of respect for Bulelani and Nyaniso and by the end of my stay they had the same for me too.
Leaving GAPA was tiny bit heart breaking as some of the kids were just managing to remember my name. Two girls even had a competition over a couple of days about me - one wanted to call me Coach, but her friend wanted to call me Zak. So they kept repeating my 'names' and whichever one got them my attention was the winner. I kept switching up when I turned around and pulled silly faces which got them in fits of giggles! I couldn't leave GAPA with one last charge around the football pitch with the boys, Kholosa (a little boy who's name, which means trust) decided I was fun this week. He deliberately came to my table on craft activities and always wanted me to be on his football team! It was a challenge to set him up to score, but we made a great partnership! After leaving once the grannies didn't believe I was really going this time which was a lovely lighthearted farewell.

I remember being hailed by my colleagues that week as well - for (with the help of my fantastic volunteers) finally completing and writing up all the assessments at the 2 township primary schools! I've never really stopped to think about how many classes and 'learners' we teach out on the sports project. Until John thought to analyse the data sheet will fill in everyday. He found that on average we see maybe 3-4 classes everyday, which equates to over children. Every morning. So for two schools.. with grades 4 - 7.. with 2 classes in each grade.. that's close to 900 children assessed over 3 weeks. Good job team. I think the cake in a cup did keep everyone's spirits up!

Over my final weekend I went up table tops again and had an awesome last meals with my closest friends. Let's glance over the violent illness I had for most of it and get straight to overviews!

Volunteering Abroad

International volunteers are essential to projects like the ones I experienced in Cape Town, South Africa. Although they would welcome South Africans to the project with open arms it just doesn't happen. This led me to wonder why that may be. And led me to question why I had to travel half way round the world to volunteer as a coach in a primary school in a disadvantaged neighbourhood. Perhaps it's because I haven't been subconsciously bombarded with prejudice and taboos. I understand my country and my area very well, yet I wasn't prepared to volunteer at home. I probably have no idea how incredibly dangerous Khayelitsha and Langa actually are. I was always sheltered and stayed with the community partners, and have a very positive experience of working with people in townships. Inside looking out is very different from the outside looking in. My ignorance was actually my strength when embarking on my volunteer placement. It meant I had an open mind and gave people a chance, one: because I wanted to, two: because I had no idea what to expect. Going forwards I believe I would like to continue to volunteer and work with social impact organisations not only abroad but closer to home. Parts of Sheffield are among the most deprived in the U.K and although the background and challenges are completely different and present new challenges, they should deserve a chance too.

Becoming a Staff Member

What a journey I have had. Only in writing this and thinking about do I realise what I have done! Being an ambassador was a fantastic opportunity and one which I grasped with two hands! I grew into the role accepting new responsibilities and managing my new relationship dynamic with the volunteers. My favourite part however was in the morning where we had a staff meeting to reflect on the day before, so everyone was on the same page. I gained a new insight into the different projects and really saw the impact we were making. Such as the informal preschool centre getting recognition by the government and receiving new funding for her practise, thanks to the support we have given her and her team. The most impactful however was from the girl impact project. 

A young boy from the community partner had been sent to the local cash store (convenience store) to buy food. Along the way he was stabbed. There was talk in the community of vengeance against the attacker. However some of the teenage boys started to discuss and bring up points they had learnt from our volunteers. Discussing how to tackle to situation peacefully to prevent gangsterism and future conflict. A decision was made, and our forum for talking and role playing situations like this had just prevented violence. This is the impact we can make. A level of maturity and awareness was show by these boys that is admirable in adults, amazing.

On a more lighthearted note, volunteers get to live, work and gain a unique insight into a country and a more 'real' experience. Not to mention broadening your horizons with new experiences and relationships with people from across the world. I would thoroughly recommend it, you have no idea what doors it may open to you. 

Thank you South Africa for everything.

Drop In

I'm putting this blog out there because today, I finally unpacked my suitcase.. So my trip is officially over - despite the fact I arrived home almost a week ago! So I'm going to round of this blogger page with a hefty post, which should encompass everything from my final week, to an overview of being a staff member and volunteer at an international charitable organisation, as well as a quick note about my plans for the future.

But for now I'm touching base, I did find my way back home to the UK. My days at the moment consist of seeing family and organising my next adventure - skiing season in Canada! I will be blogging these exploits too on another page.
In the near future however I am going shopping to fill the gap in my gear tomorrow! I will also be seeing my little scouting group, who helped me with fundraising by buying my chocolate buns! I will be talking about South Africa and its history, and about my volunteer stories and sharing with them some games and songs that I learnt.

Finally, remember to stay posted for my big final blog and pictures! I will go through and add pictures to my past blog posts and will have to see if I can make a accessible folder at the side somewhere..

Until next time!

CatchUp: Weekend and Last week!

So they're tearing up the pavement outside the volunteer house and all the way down the street - something about new cables? Anyway, I have no clue if it is correlated or not but we've had at least 3 black outs in the last week. Which is not cool if you want to connect to the Internet and write a blog. Some people at HQ have started calling it TIA (this is Africa!) That being said.. Here we go!

The End of Last Week

More super fun sports in Khayelitsha and at GAPA. Notably at GAPA on Thursday we had our weekly meeting with the grannies which was particularly fun this week, as we were recapping the signing workshop we had taught them last week.  Apart of the 'each one teach one' initiative where the grannies and volunteers teach each other different things! Andreas, a Danish teaching volunteer worked in a special needs school where certain children didn't / couldn't speak, so they used some sign language to communicate with them. It was really enjoyable to learn and was wonderful to see everyone remembering together all the different words!

On the same day we had a numerous volunteer group as the 'Girl Impact' vols came to GAPA to speak with the older (9-14 year old) girls. Girl impact is an incredible project as it gives girls a forum to discuss things like early pregnancy, contraception, women's rights and puberty. Things that they normally wouldn't be able to talk about. Which is awesome.. But it left the other grade 4-7's (the boys) low in number when they came to do sorts with us.
So we used the situation to our advantage, and marked out a football pitch using the whole of the outside area, then made teams mixing 4 kids with 4 vols on each team, even using bibs! This sort of organisation is rare at GAPA which is normally a baby step away from caos, which made our football match even more special! I had the most amazing time! And so did the boys, even this week they have been coming up to me saying 'man of the match' pointing proudly at his chest, also star striker/goal keeper - after the names I kept calling them!

The whole of Friday was a highlight also! We stayed out in the primary school all day, that's right! No planning that afternoon because we went to street cricket! We closed the road outside the primary school from around 1:30 till 4 o'clock to hold an inter-school street cricket and street football tournament- it was incredile! We used old oil drums, painted bright orange as wickets, and proper 5 a-side goals to take over the street and play sports! Despite our equipment, the kids and the STOP sign we still had cars and buses winding through the street mid-game! It was insane, but it really felt like 'street' cricket, having to pause for a car enhanced the experience. Needless to say, it was a busy street with yet more schools adjacent to it. As the children were let out of school they stopped to watch and support the matches. Having spectators cheer, and to see the net ripple as you score a goal in football is a unique and magical feeling, to see the delight in all the players faces was truly special.

In addition the cricket games were just as unreal - you would think that when a kid smacks a ball over a couple corrugated iron shacks and stone walls that the batsmen will run for 6. But, the kids are up and over walls in an instant! Plus the local residents know the sports coaches and help find the ball for us! Some houses were playing musical, others cooking braai, it was a fantastic atmosphere and a unique experience that I will be one of the highlights of my trip for sure.

Weekend Exploits

I felt as though I had a nice, long relaxed weekend. Saturday comprised of the Old Buiscut Mill again for the delicious foods and iced tea. On the menu today was rice crispy, banana and Nutella crêpes, followed by Korean chilli rice noodles in a chicken chow mien. Not to forget the freshly chopped coconut that we drank and ate!

Sunday was more adventurous. Annika met Darron whilst walking her dogs at the TEARS project in Ocean View. Now Darron used to work at TEARS for 7 years! And now he owns a surf school - so he invited her and myself down for a lesson! It was 'lekker bru' which is Afrikaans for 'amazing bro!' He's such a cool guy who not only has the body of superman, owns a pizzeria and surf shop. But he also runs an outreach program for vulnerable children from 9-14 years old from the local deprived communities. I have a lot of respect for that man. When I can I will update this blog and talk more about the surfing and outreach program because it's really interesting and impressive, but right now the Internet cafe is closing!

Love to all my familly xxx until next time!

CatchUp

Last Week

Thursday, Friday was more of the same on project - what stood out for me was the planning session on Friday. You might think 'planning' - how boring. But it was really good!

We have a challenging group of teenagers at our Home From Home project: The orgnaisation was set up in 2001 during a time when these children were orphaned from HIV/AIDS and needed a foster home. It has grown and grown with the children since then, and now we have our first teenagers in the OVC (orphaned and vulnerable children) project which is a totally new dynamic. Games and activities which we have played with them in the past are childish now, they require fresh, current themes and activities to keep them engaged; but also with a focus on improving their levels of English. With this in mind we had a Lion House brainstorming session which produced a load of amazing ideas:

• Talent show theme: to given them a project they will want to return to every week, as the session we run are optional classes. It will also help them stay focused and give some consistency to activities that various volunteers will facilitate.
• Talents / Characteristics name acrostic which they can present at the end of the day. For example: Zealous Active Kind for my own name. Feedback from that day was very positive with the kids being a little shy but also proud of their talents and themselves which is great.
• English lessons using music: the kids love music and dancing no matter what age, so creating a fill in the gaps activity with song lyrics should be perfect! It will be completely new to the group and they won't even realise how good it is for their English - listening, reading and writing all in one! We HAD to use this one right away - so we created a fill the gaps exercise for the song 'One Dance' by Drake and they enjoyed it so much they asked to do it again next week! Well done team!
• Other ideas for future weeks include - a performance, writing a letter to a local celebrity in order to persuade them to put you in their talent show, and also making themselves a 'hollywood celebrity star' as a certificate at the end of the project. 

I was so excited at the time to use them this week, and I'm so pleased they have gone down so well. The kids loved it and it really shows - volunteers have come back so positive and I think the talent show theme is going to be a fantastic project for them and give them a real confidence boost.

Last Weekend

On Saturday a group of us visited the Old Biscuit Mill - an old building transformed into a bustling international food market! It was incredible! The noise, the smells, the colours.. You don't have enough time or stomach space to try everything! Which is why we're planning to go again this weekend..! Annika managed to find a Flammkuchen kiosk ran by an elderly lesbian couple from Frankfurt who even offered her a job! They sold traditional Flammkuchen (thin, crispy dough with creme fresh, onions, bacon and spinach) as well as the best citrus ice tea I have ever tasted! I also got to savor wonderful green tea and delightful Belgian waffles too.

Afterwards we wandered the craft, furniture and fashion stalls ajecent to the complex and I bought yet more souvenirs.. Everything is just so beautiful here, I wonder if I will be able to fit it all in my bag for the return journey..

Love to all my family - more blogs on the way I promise! xx 

What's My New Gig Like?

In short.. It is amazing! I almost forgot how much I love being out on project! It was so nice to get back to work and I've had a great start to the week.

Monday

First day as a staff member and I was thrown right in. I received a call mid way to project from my boss, telling me that my project has moved location and that I have to coordinate with the driver a new drop-off and pick-up spot. No problem - we went to the hockey pitch adjacent to Langa stadium, ready to spend the morning doing a hockey and netball workshop with 70 kids. With the assistance of 30 teenagers from Wimbledon Girls High School hockey team.

We were invited to help run the session by Sporting Chance - local organistaion that employ the coaches we work with day to day at the primary schools, the same one that is running the street cricket! Our job was to help the Girls run their session, because we already know how to control and explain drills to the kids. However when we arrived and I asked if they were excited to carry out their plan, they looked at me with blank faces... Time to step in and regain control of the situation!

I set about splitting Girls into groups of 3 to run their own drills (they know so many drills just off the top of their heads due to their own training, that they had no problem thinking of some to do.) Then we did a boys / girls split - one half of the astro pitch would be for hockey, the other for netball. Each group of Girls would have around 8-10 kids to work with for 30-45 minutes. Then all the groups would come together for a game for the last 15 minutes to put into practice the skills they have been taught. Finally they would finish the game, go grab a drink and swap sports.

Once we had structure and everyone understood the plan and their role, we completed a flawless day - it was perfect! Everyone had an amazing time - kids and volunteers alike. We even managed to snap some lovely pictures too! I had some good feedback from the coaches regarding my impact too, which made me feel even better about the day. Not a bad first day on the job!

Tuesday

In the morning we were back to normal at Mokone primary school, Langa. Today we were doing end of term assessments with all the classes, to see how our coaching sessions have been impacting on their performances. We set up 5 stations: Sit and Reach(flexibility) Standing Long Jump(power) 3 minute shuttle run(stamina) Illinois run(agility) and 1 minute sit-up challenge(strength)
We tried to get as many of the kids as possible through each station in an hour, and we went through 3 classes. It was a full on morning- which was not aided by the cold windy weather!

Afternoon saw my first trip to GAPA since I returned! It was great to see all the grannies again and the kids even remembered me from team ZIMBABWE! We played circle games and songs with the grade R/1's, grade 2/3's did a nature collage in crafts and then the 4-7's played cricket in sports. It was incredibly slick - we have a particularly great team at the minute it seems! My role as staff member was blissfully straightforward.

Wednesday

Back at Khayelitsha primary school this morning where I reunited with Bulelani (the resident coach) where we had 4 hours of mixed activities such as: basketball dribbling/shooting/passing, obstacle shuttle runs and a balancing/catching station. It was a hot, busy day which was exacerbated by the intense heat of the sun! But we managed to get a good balance between doing the activities and letting everyone cool off in the shade.

Afternoon at GAPA was similar to the day before except we were making friendship bracelets! I surprised everyone with my knowledge of braids, and it came in very handy - thanks Han! Another highlight was a duck-duck-goose variation with a wet sponge. We called it drip-drip-drop! On the 'drop' you squeeze all the water on the persons head! It was great fun and very appropriate in the heat.

If the rest of the week is as good as the start I will be very happy indeed. Love to you all xxx

CatchUp - Suprise! I'm Still In Cape Town!

I should be back home in Sheffield right now, after taking a 11 hour straight flight from Cape Town to  Heathrow, London.. But, I'm still in Cape Town! That's not just because I missed my flight or have decided to run away from home.. It's because I have been offered a job at African Impact!

Yes! I made such an impression during my 4 week volunteer placement that they invited me back. My role is called 'Ambassador' which is just like a 'volunteer coordinator' but with less administrative tasks. This is an amazing opportunity for me that I could not refuse! I start tomorrow, and have three more weeks in Cape Town. I'm extremely fortunate to be approached in this manner and I want to take full advantage of this opportunity! A key part of my role will be connecting with the volunteers in the house, answering any questions and helping them get accustomed to life at the Lions House, but also ensuring the projects run smoothly and I will be responsible for helping volunteers have the most amazing time - like I did!

I returned back to the lion house this weekend to the lovely welcome of my friends! They're happy I'm back and I was thrilled to see them again. That night (Saturday) we went out to the Green Point stadium to watch the local team CapeTown City take on Baroka FC. The teams colour is pink, as they support the fight against breast cancer so a proportion of all merch goes to charity - I got myself a scarf and some of the others even had thier hair sprayed pink!

The first half was rather dull, with the standard of play being described as 'cute' by my Dutch friend when comparing it to European footy! The 2nd half heated up quickly with 2 rapid goals from BRFC which got the away fans screaming and one even streaked into the pitch! It was hilarious and distracted most of us from the counter attack of CTC - which resulted in a goal! 2-1 was the final result but I enjoyed picking up some chants and our little group even managed to start a Mexican wave!

I'm really looking forward getting back onto project so.. Love to all my familly xxx see you tomorrow!

Good Morning From Paradise

Paradise is the name of the hostel by the way, it's pretty nice here!

It was our last night together as a tour bus squad and we spent it together around the pool table, darts board and fire. The food was great, drinks lovely and company even better.

Yesterday we went adventure cave exploring in the Cango cave systems as well as touring a Cango wildlife conservation centre and in 15 minutes I'll be walking with elephants!

Just thought I'd check in, fill you in tonight when I have a night of luxury at a hotel in Seapoint.