Better late than never

October

First of all, allll the way back in October we went to Durban for the week where we met up with 4 other PT volunteers (Thanasis, Jake, Jake and Phil). We spent the majority of the week at the beach chilling out and letting our hair down after a month of hard work at our projects. Whilst we were in Durban we also celebrated Erica’s 18^th birthday which turned out to be an eventful night to say the least.

Happy Hippo Backpackers - home for the week 

Day out at uShaka Sea World

Beach day

Erica's 18th Birthday

After the October holidays we had a change to our timetables which meant that we were involved in both the junior and senior primary instead of just the seniors. I still worked in Gr 6 maths and English everyday but I also became the Grade 2 P.E teacher, assisted with Occupational Therapy with a group of Grade 1’s and helped with Grade 3 reading and writing. Although every Thursday afternoon I would be drenched in water after swimming because every Grade 2 would purposely kick their legs right next to where I was standing, I loved it. Having a fuller timetable may have meant falling asleep 10 minutes after putting the kids to bed at night but it also meant we were never sitting twiddling our thumbs during the day.

November

Towards the end of the last term, the Grade 6’s and 7’s had their end of year exams and although exams in primary school sounds ridiculous they are important here because if a child doesn't pass they may not get into high school or get held back a year. Over this period I found myself turning into the person I used to swear I would never be…saying things like “I’ve already got my exam results, I don’t need to study,” "Do you want to be successful?" and "It'll be worth it in the end, I promise."

With all that said, one of the boys I have worked one on one with since arriving in Underberg and really pushed to study in Hostel formal prep got over 60% in both his maths and English. For someone who 2 months ago was failing all subjects and could barely string a single sentence together it is fair to say I was over the moon when I saw his results. When I was looking through the class’s exam papers and saw 64% written at the top of his maths paper I was close to tears. It was at that moment I realised the importance of me being here and the help we are able to give these children really is paramount to their education.

Thanda after finding out his exam results, I promise he was happier than this

Finally in November the weather started to pick up and it was hot enough to start swimming for evening activity. After taking the kids swimming once, that was it…every single day, rain or shine, we were bombarded with kids asking if we could swim. Not that I was complaining, I sometimes had more fun than them. Getting them into the pool was easy however getting them out was another matter. I finally figured out that threatening them with no swimming for a WHOLE WEEK would usually do the trick perfectly.

The "swimming caps must be worn at all times" rule is clear;y being broken

Enjoying a swim with Olivia and Chelsea

As soon as a camera is in sight, they're posing

December

With Christmas quickly approaching, December was a busy month. We were put in charge of decorating the dining hall with Christmas decorations. For evening activity one night we got the kids to make snowflakes and paper chains (courtesy of Babs) which they all got stuck straight into. The 4 of us then spent the whole weekend decorating the hall and I'm not going to lie, we were all very impressed with how it looked.

The last week of term was a hectic one and it started with the hostel tea party to say thank you to everyone in the community for their help and support over the past year. It was a great afternoon and the kids got all dressed up in their finest attire. The most nerve racking part of the afternoon was when the kids performed a couple Christmas songs for everyone but I really have to give it to them...after only a week of practicing and a very dodgy dress rehearsal they really pulled it out of the bag. All in all, a very successful day.

The Dining hall looking better than ever

Tumelo looking swell in his shiny suit

The next again day was the hostel Christmas party. As everyone back home was getting their winter jackets out, we were putting on our shorts because we were finally seeing some sun. Instead of keeping them stuck indoors on a scorching day we took the kids to Glenhaven where we had a braai, the kids got to go swimming and kayaking in the river, we played Christmas party games and then to round the evening off we had a bonfire and all the kids got a present from Santa (Charles).

Tubing and kayaking

All ready for the Christmas braai

Olivia and I trying our best at some traditional Zulu dancing

Pin the nose on Rudolf

Wrap up snowmen

Mayhem as the kids all get their presents

To end off a manic week, on the last night before the holidays we had a movie marathon for the kids. There was sweets and chocolate galore and they were all up until 3am. Not that I would have known seeing as I was zonked out on a mattress by 11, even with all the kids talking and shouting around me.

The TV room being turned into slumber party central

Well that's me all up to date on October, November and December. I'm not promising anything but I will try write a post about Christmas travels within the next week.

Rachel x

One month in

We have now been at our project exactly a month today and time seems to be flying by. We have all got stuck into our duty here at Underberg Primary School and Hostel as "big sisters" and I am loving every minute of it. For you all to understand a bit more of what my time here is spent doing I think it might be useful if I give you a brief summary of what our days consist of.

Our day starts at 6:25am when the first bell goes off and from then until lights out at 8:15pm it is almost none stop. After getting the children up, dressed and ready for school we head over to the school to begin our day as learning assistants. Chelsea is across the road in the pre-primary and myself, Olivia and Erica work in the senior primary. Erica and I work with the two Grade 6 classes and Olivia works with the Grade 7's. When we first arrived things were pretty slow and we weren't given much responsibility by the teachers but now a month in things have picked up and I really feel like I am making progress with the kids I am working with, particularly in English . In English Erica and I teach 2 boys, one who is autistic and another with an extremely low reading age. Over the past month it is amazing to see the progress they have made and it is a great feeling to know our hard work and lesson planning for the 2 of them is starting to pay off. Although my main focus is with the kids in Grade 6 there has been a couple of occasions where I've had to cover Grade 1 and 3 classes because teachers have been absent. After the school day is finished we are back in the hostel helping and supervising informal prep (homework) before preparing an evening activity for the children to do after supper. Seeing as the Grade 7's have exams coming up they are, very reluctantly, in formal prep (revision) after supper and have to miss out on evening activity. After evening activity it is snack time before showering and in bed for lights out at 8:15pm.

Olivia unpacking and putting up her photos

It took me a good week to put all these up

Our duties are Monday - Friday and from when the kids go home on a Friday afternoon we are free to do what we want. Seeing as Underberg is a small town there isn't a lot to do here and we have no car to get out of the town (plus it is too dangerous to get in any of the taxis or buses). This means we are pretty limited with what we can get up to at the weekend. However, on our first Sunday here Charles, our host, took us and his family to Glenhaven for a braai (South African BBQ). Glenhaven is an adventure resort just 20 minutes outside Underberg and I am pretty sure we will be spending a lot more time there.

Rope swing at Glenhaven

Our first braai

Olivia and I going for a little paddle

We have also made friends with a lot of the locals who have invited us to braais and social events which have been great fun and has meant we've never been bored or stuck with nothing to do at the weekend. Unfortunately I haven't been to as many as the other girls as I have been fighting with my immune system since arriving here. But after a lot of coughing, vomiting, a jova (injection in your bum that seemingly cures everything) and two 3 hour long trips to the local clinic the nurse final told me I had a lung infection. Thankfully between the jova and some strong antibiotics I am feeling so much better.

Hodgson's Peaks

When we first arrived at the hostel Charles told us about an opportunity to go on the Grade 7's 3 day hike up Hodgson's Peaks, one of the highest peaks in the Drakensberg Mountains, and without realising just quite how difficult it was going to be Erica, Olivia and I agreed to go on it.

I really won't go into much detail as it was dead grim. Day 1 involved a 14km, up hill, hike to a cave where we slept for 2 nights. Day 2 involved me throwing my guts up all day with altitude sickness and not being able to go on the hike up to the peak. Day 3 involved  a 14km, down hill, hike out of the mountain, one of the Grade 7 girls falling down a ditch, breaking her ankle and having to get a horse to carry her out of the mountain.

One thing is for sure, there is no chance I am agreeing to another school hike anytime soon.

At the beginning of the hike, blissfully unaware of what was yet to come

The mountain furthest in the distance is Hodgson's Peaks. 

Close encounter with a baboon

#thisisprojecttrust

Finally back at base camp after 3 days in hell

National Heritage Day/National Braai Day

A week ago today was National Heritage Day/National Braai Day and the children got the day off school. We took them all down to Glenhaven where they spent the day swimming and canoeing around the lake. We then headed back to the hostel where we had a braai to celebrate.

My girlies

They really don't feel the cold...the water was absolutely freezing

Having a compulsory braai on National Braai Day

Our rather large family minus Chelsea and a few kids

Anyway that is all for now, I think I've frazzled my brain writing this post.

Rachel x

Arriving in South Africa

Turns out I'm not very good at this whole blogging thing seeing as it has taken me over a month to write one post but here goes anyway...

5 weeks ago now I left all my home comforts behind in Edinburgh and packed my bags for South Africa. Even after months of fundraising and preparation, it all seemed very surreal as I said goodbye to my family and friends at Edinburgh airport.

Since arriving I have been attempting to write a blog post but keep getting distracted with other things. It has been non stop since we got here and I could go on and on about everything we have done but I think it might be best to keep it short and sweet.

After over 24 hours of travelling we finally arrived in Jo'burg and all 38 of us stumbled into The Ritz Backpackers where we spent our first 4 days. We had Wednesday night to settle in and catch up on sleep but on Thursday morning we were up at 5am and heading to the Children's Memorial Institute. Both Thursday and Friday were spent at the Children's Memorial Institute volunteering at NGO's (Non-Government Organisations) in the building. Although very tiring it was good to get straight into volunteering and working with children as it gave us a feel for what was to come before we were completely thrown in at the deep end at our own projects. I spent my 2 days there with Shannon Low and we moved between different NGO's. We started on Thursday morning working with autistic toddlers and by Friday lunch time we were in the kitchen serving up the food for the children. We had to wear hair nets as we served the food and all the locals who work there found it hysterical that these white girls had come in for the day to help them serve up spam.

Myself, Shannon Low and Shannon Hartley looking stunning as we served up lunch at the Children's Memorial Institute 

On Saturday and Sunday we went to a local church hall where we listened to talks about the culture and history of South Africa from our country rep Ian. On Sunday we had a talk from a Project Trust return volunteer called Chris Trott. Chris is now the UK Consul General in South Africa and he gave the most awe inspiring talk about his life and everything he has accomplished since being a volunteer. From being ambassador in 4 countries in Asia and 4 in Africa to directly speaking to Nelson Mandela's wife after his funeral, the man has done it all. After Chris's talk we had a picnic in the church garden before going back to the hostel to get organised for heading off to our projects the next morning.

Roughly half our country group on our last night in Jo'burg before heading off to our projects

That's all for now, hopefully I'll get round to writing a post about the past month at my project at some point today...but then again it has taken me 5 weeks to write this.

Rachel x

Training on the Isle of Coll

I have just returned home after an intense 5 day training course up on the Isle of Coll. Similar to the Selection course the week was filled with different sessions and presentations with a Ceilidh on the last night. However this time round everyone was a lot more relaxed as there was no added pressure of being assessed if you were the correct person for a year overseas! 

Throughout the 5 days we had talks that covered pretty much everything from safety and possible dangers to homesickness and classroom management. It is amazing how in such a short period of time you can take in such a vast amount of information and feel so ready for what lies ahead.

It was great to be around a group of people that are in the exact same boat as you and are about to embark on the same adventure. As exciting as it was to talk about our plans for travelling and meeting up with each other when we're overseas, it also gave me piece of mind when people were worried about the same things as me. It is such a massive journey I am about to embark on and it is great to know I have such an amazing support team at home, on Coll and in South Africa. I feel reassured and 10 times more prepared that I did at the beginning of the week!

I also met my 3 amazing partners Erica, Olivia and Chelsea. I really couldn't be happier with Project Trust's partner choices...we all just seemed to click! 

Project Confusion

After getting into the mindset of spending the next 12 months teaching in Mthatha I got a phone call from Project Trust to say they had mixed up my project. At first it was shock and I didn't know what to think but after reading up on my new project I can't wait to go!

My projects have basically gone from one extreme to another...

Underberg School is nestled in the majestic foothills of the Drakensburg Mountains of South Africa. The town has a sleepy feel to it and is rural but certainly doesn’t fit into the typical picture of ‘rural Africa.’ The picturesque mountains and cooler climate combined with a small town with relatively good amenities give Underberg a very different feel to what you may expect from South Africa.

My primary role will be within Underberg Primary School working directly with the children. As well as helping with literacy in the younger years, I will have the opportunity to assist in the sports programme as well as with any other extra-curricular activities. The school also has a mastery unit which has been set up to address the varied academic needs of students with learning difficulties or in more need of support. Finally, I will be staying in the school hostel; a residential unit for 38 pupils, where my partner and I will immerse ourselves in the day to day running of this unit.

Although very different from my first placement, I can safely say I am extremely looking forward to spending the next year of my life in the Drakensburg Mountains.

49 days to go!!

Mthatha...Soon to be my new home

After travelling up to the Isle of Coll for Selection last year, I have finally found out the exact details about my project and I couldn't be more excited!

Starting at the end of August, this year, I will be spending 12 months in Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, volunteering at Thembelihle Children's Home. Thembelihle is a place of safety for about 25 children aged from five to fifteen in the bustling city of Mthatha. The residents at Thembelihle have been moved to this protective environment, because they have been abused or are at risk of abuse and stay in the while court cases are being processed.

As Thembelihle is a residential placement there is a large element of social care involved but my primary work will be as a teacher, working with my partner in one room with limited resources. We will use our creativity to provide basic education to a broad curriculum during the day; we will also be involved with entertaining the children outside of school hours. Down to the fact that the children staying at Thembelihle come from difficult backgrounds, having patience and a gentle manner will be key!

Finally, the home has a relaxed, warm feel to it and I simply can't wait to call it my home.