On Monday night we (Mandy, Ryan, Danielle, Kate (Mandy’s roommate), Rita (Mandy’s friend), some of the OV girls (Meagan, Melissa, Tracey, and Annie), and I went to Ryan Dalton’s rap concert. Ryan is an American volunteer who just fell in love with Cape Town (I think he has been here for 8 years now) and does a lot of fundraising through his concerts. He is a Christian artist who uses what he has seen in the communities in his songs. Some songs hit me pretty hard. A lot of his lyrics are pretty graphic. He is doing amazing things though.
The First Aid program development idea has changed a lot this week! Monday I got an email from Avril Thomas (wife of John Thomas who started Living Hope) saying that she wanted me to go ahead with developing a full first aid program. I am really excited about it! As the week went on however, conversations with people back home as well as here resulted in the program changing. Since my certifications aren’t valid in South Africa and due to insurance and liability reasons, I really shouldn’t be teaching the First Aid, although I can still develop the program and assist whoever does teach it. So began my search for First Aid organizations/donors. The best options I have discovered thus far are a full Level One program valid for 3 years for about 385Rand per person (about $48CAD). This is REALLY cheap, even for here. The other option I am still looking at is with a company that is affiliated with Living Hope. We are still negotiating the price, although they said they can certify me here for about 2000Rand ($250CAD). Of course there will be additional costs for renting supplies and equipment, which must be factored in. Which option we take depends a lot on the funding that is available. I will keep you updated on what we decide. I am also considering fundraising for it so if you are interested in helping please let me know.
The new Kids Club is really a lot of fun! On Monday Meagan and I got the kids to make little fish attached to straws and were taught about how the disciples were fishermen before being called by Jesus. They usually get 1 or 2 Biblical teachings a week. On Tuesday we made South African flags. I have pics of the flags; it was a pretty big hit! The kids are starting to get used to me and are actually listening…well…kind of. The Club continues to grow as the kids bring more friends and family. The other pics I have are of the first week of the new Club when Meagan and I went door-to-door promoting it. On Wednesday we brought some sports equipment and face-paints to just hang out with the kids and play with them. Most of them don’t really have a chance just to hang out and play with adults in a positive environment, so days like today are really important for forming relationships with the kids. Thursday is the planning day, both for the Kids Clubs and for the school lessons the Life Skill Educators during the day. They really have such a huge impact in this community and are doing amazing things for these kids.
Fridays the long-term volunteers (Danielle, Ryan, Becky, and I) along with Mandy and the Talley’s are starting to work on people’s houses in the communities. Our first day we started in Capricorn on a woman named Maggie’s house. Half of us started a veggie garden in her front yard, while the other half fixed the ceiling in her house which was leaking and water-logged and falling off. We finished the garden but didn’t quite get the ceiling done, so we will be coming back next Friday. I certainly hope it doesn’t rain, although it hasn’t rained here for about 2 weeks so I think it will be ok! (not to rub it in or anything).
On the weekend the OV girls came over to hang out and stay Sat night. Most of the pics I have are of breakfast the next day which was quite an ordeal! They don’t really eat breakfast, so they were pretty impressed with the pancakes, strawberries, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream that we had. Not the healthiest breakfast, but it was pretty tasty that’s for sure! Sunday morning I went to their Church instead of KOK. Their Church is pretty amazing!!! As I mentioned before their worship is quite active and a lot of fun. After that we went into what I estimate is about an hour of prayer. Their services are really charismatic, that’s for sure! Close to the end of the prayer time Meagan brought me up to her pastor. He had quite a few encouraging words for me, one of which was regarding my money situation with respect to staying here (which I hadn’t talked to ANYONE about from here). I was pretty blown away actually, especially since most people here fundraise to come and there is NO way he would know that I did not really fundraise (other than grad gifts I got from my parents and family which were very generous). Other than Becky and I, almost ALL other volunteers did not pay out of their own pocket. He said that I didn’t need to worry about it, that things would be taken care of soon, and that people I didn’t really know well would be able to support me in my decision. So it will be very interesting to see what happens now! I will keep you all posted for sure!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Week 4: NEW PROJECT!!!
Over the past few weeks my projects have been changing but I didn’t want to share it until I knew what was going on. As I mentioned previously many of the staff including the LSE do not have first aid training. What started as a small, short workshop for the LSE and support workers (home-based care) is turning into a huge project. In my development of the short workshop I discovered that there are NO policies regarding emergency response. So if a child is injured, for example, the LSE have no procedures to follow. When you think about how many children are attending the camps (at least 400 in OV alone, more than 400 in Masi, about 100 in Red Hill, 100 in Capricorn…and the list goes on for each community) it is absolutely necessary that the LSE have some idea of how to help an injured child. In fact, most people are not sure what the emergency number is even (they don’t have 911 here). So I started asking around to the high-ups for Living Hope and they soon realized the need for a full First Aid training program for all their staff (180 and growing). They have asked me to develop it from the ground up, from the actual training in first aid to their policies regarding what to do if a child breaks a bone (it is not as easy as calling 911 here), to actually writing down the legal documentation for all of Living Hope to be approved by the Board of Directors. I am really excited about this!!! I will have to draw from all my training and experiences from Lifeguarding to BC Ambulance to pretty much everything in order to complete this.
After Youth Camp last weekend Meagan was driving me home when we passed a Church in Ocean view. She said, “Oh, that’s where I will be working tomorrow (instead of doing the Club at the Multi-purpose center).” I asked her what she meant and she said… “Oh I guess I should have told you, Nathan was wondering if you would mind helping me out starting a brand new kids club at the Methodist Church instead of helping Timmy and Julie in Mountain view?” I was so excited!!! So it would just be her and I building this new Club from the ground up. So now during the day I would be preparing the First Aid policies and procedures, as well as preparing to teach all of Living Hope/Living Way/Living Grace staff, and in the afternoons I would be preparing for Kids Club and running the new club with Meagan.
The first day of club (Monday) was a lot of fun. Melissa and Chris brought some Multi Kids and helped us out for the first day. We played capture the flag, which was a lot different then back home. The kids went crazy and pretty much dogpiled on the buckets with the balls inside. At the end of it there was a lot of laughing, a few tears, and little pieces of streamer everywhere (they had streamer bracelets on that the kids on the other team would try to rip off to get them “out”). We got the kids to clean up, then Meagan talked to them for a bit, then we prayed and sang a worship song, then got their names and fed them. Oh, I forgot to mention that Meagan was dressed as a clown and I was a cowgirl with face painting and everything. Now to put this into perspective, imagine this over-crowded community with lots of kids running around, and this face-painted clown with the wig and everything coming down the street with a white chick (white people usually don’t go into these communities) who is wearing a cowboy hat with a horse painted on her face followed by all these kids screaming and running around and being…well…kids. Needless to say, we attracted quite a bit of attention. On Day 2 and 3 of the Club Meagan and I went door-to-door around “The Flats” to promote the club. Some people were really receptive and asked us to come in a sit down for a while. A lot of the kids already knew Meagan from the presentations she does in the schools and were really excited that we were starting a new Kids Club in their area. Others were a lot more reserved, or were Muslim and were not quite as open or excited about the club. After we walked around we went back to the Methodist Church where there was about 30 kids waiting. We played a few games that I played in camp when I was young (Red Rover and Giants, Wizards, Elves), took attendance, and fed everyone. Kids Clubs only run Mon-Wed with Thursday as the planning day and Friday the training day. Meagan and Melissa wanted to learn how to play poker and I always have my cards with mw in my bag (the same cards that caused so many problems at customs in the Airport…stupid cards…I should have thrown them out :P) So we spent part of our lunch on Thursday playing poker. Of course the other OV LSE gave me a hard time about promoting gambling and bringing in my crazy Canadian customs but I know they just wanted in on the action ( :); they were kidding don’t worry, these guys are never actually serious).
PEPFAR is the company that supports a lot of what Living Hope does and have said they want at least 80 kids in this Club (with only Meagan and I running it that will be a challenge). Well after the first 3 days (not all of the surrounding areas even knew about the Club yet) we had 72 kids on the register. Cool!!!
On a more serious note, Danielle said that the body of a 3-year-old girl was found murdered in Masi on Monday. A lot of rumours were flying around that it was a Zimbabwean couple that murdered her. There is a lot of racism and bad pride in Masi because this Black community has a lot of history and pride in their culture and land. They don’t always appreciate people from other places coming in to take their land (a lot of Zim people migrate here; most of the community is made of people from the Eastern Cape). A lot of the Zim stores were raided and looted. It later came out that it was not a Zim couple, but possibly a Zim Sanghoma (Witch Doctor; I’m not sure of the spelling) that told the couple to do it. Apparently a lot of people rioted on Tuesday. It got so bad that Tuesday night the Police shut down Masi to all traffic (no one in or out). This is the season for children going missing due to sacrifices since Halloween is coming up, which commemorates Satan’s birthday here. On Wednesday a rumour started that another woman was missing in Masi and that her body had been found with her breasts cut off. Masi was still in a bit of panic and people were obviously scared and fearing for their and their children’s lives. A woman named Faith is involved in Living Hope. She owns the house that the murderous couple lived in. The people of Masi were mad that she allowed such a couple to live in their community, so some of the citizens torched the house that the couple lived in, as well as the house that Faith currently lives in. She now stays in a bungalow that she works in behind the preschool. On Thursday we heard that some of the LSE in Masi have organized a March with the preschool kids and some of the Kids Clubs kids through Masi to show that the kids aren’t afraid. Danielle was able to go see the March (she was actually the only white person there). What it turned into was completely incredible. Not only did the preschool kids and Kids Club kids march, but children in grades 1-3 were pulled out of school to join the march through Masi. They were equipped with signs that said things like… “My body is my own” and “We have a future, don’t destroy it,” “Stop the killing,” “I deserve to have a future” and other things in both English and Goza. Danielle got some pictures that I will put up soon, but she estimates that there was between 400 and 500 kids. With this many young children you would think that it would be chaos, but they were all really serious and walked nicely in long lines through the town. They seemed to understand what they were marching for and took it quite seriously. I really hope this is the end of what is happening there. Apparently the missing woman was found and there was no woman with cut-off breasts, so things should start to calm down…hopefully!
Friday afternoon Meagan and Melissa picked me up (Friday afternoons have ended early for me since there is no Kids Club; starting next week all the volunteers will be doing something like Habitat for Humanity on Fridays working on peoples houses which should be a lot of fun!). We headed out for Weinberg with Melissa so she could get fitted for a bridesmaid dress. On the way we got a Gatspy, which is pretty much the most AMAZING THING EVER!!! Basically it is a sandwich on bread filled with different veggies, a kind of meat (chicken, beef, or bologna), and FRIES!!! It is actually pretty tasty, you should all try it sometime!
This past weekend was really restful for me. The weather here is absolutely amazing (except for one cloudy day we have had straight sun for over a week!!) so I went to the beach by our house on Saturday. I realized that I have been here for over a month and haven’t gone in the ocean yet; I have run by it many times but I haven’t swam, so it was time. The water was really warm surprisingly, and so incredibly clear. It was pretty much the temp of the pool back home!! The beach was packed though, and I got to meet quite a few people. I will be going back very soon, that’s for sure!
At the end of week 4, I am totally immersed in what I am doing here. I am really enjoying it and time is flying by way too quickly! Sorry for taking so long to put up more updates, I will try to come on every weekend!
After Youth Camp last weekend Meagan was driving me home when we passed a Church in Ocean view. She said, “Oh, that’s where I will be working tomorrow (instead of doing the Club at the Multi-purpose center).” I asked her what she meant and she said… “Oh I guess I should have told you, Nathan was wondering if you would mind helping me out starting a brand new kids club at the Methodist Church instead of helping Timmy and Julie in Mountain view?” I was so excited!!! So it would just be her and I building this new Club from the ground up. So now during the day I would be preparing the First Aid policies and procedures, as well as preparing to teach all of Living Hope/Living Way/Living Grace staff, and in the afternoons I would be preparing for Kids Club and running the new club with Meagan.
The first day of club (Monday) was a lot of fun. Melissa and Chris brought some Multi Kids and helped us out for the first day. We played capture the flag, which was a lot different then back home. The kids went crazy and pretty much dogpiled on the buckets with the balls inside. At the end of it there was a lot of laughing, a few tears, and little pieces of streamer everywhere (they had streamer bracelets on that the kids on the other team would try to rip off to get them “out”). We got the kids to clean up, then Meagan talked to them for a bit, then we prayed and sang a worship song, then got their names and fed them. Oh, I forgot to mention that Meagan was dressed as a clown and I was a cowgirl with face painting and everything. Now to put this into perspective, imagine this over-crowded community with lots of kids running around, and this face-painted clown with the wig and everything coming down the street with a white chick (white people usually don’t go into these communities) who is wearing a cowboy hat with a horse painted on her face followed by all these kids screaming and running around and being…well…kids. Needless to say, we attracted quite a bit of attention. On Day 2 and 3 of the Club Meagan and I went door-to-door around “The Flats” to promote the club. Some people were really receptive and asked us to come in a sit down for a while. A lot of the kids already knew Meagan from the presentations she does in the schools and were really excited that we were starting a new Kids Club in their area. Others were a lot more reserved, or were Muslim and were not quite as open or excited about the club. After we walked around we went back to the Methodist Church where there was about 30 kids waiting. We played a few games that I played in camp when I was young (Red Rover and Giants, Wizards, Elves), took attendance, and fed everyone. Kids Clubs only run Mon-Wed with Thursday as the planning day and Friday the training day. Meagan and Melissa wanted to learn how to play poker and I always have my cards with mw in my bag (the same cards that caused so many problems at customs in the Airport…stupid cards…I should have thrown them out :P) So we spent part of our lunch on Thursday playing poker. Of course the other OV LSE gave me a hard time about promoting gambling and bringing in my crazy Canadian customs but I know they just wanted in on the action ( :); they were kidding don’t worry, these guys are never actually serious).
PEPFAR is the company that supports a lot of what Living Hope does and have said they want at least 80 kids in this Club (with only Meagan and I running it that will be a challenge). Well after the first 3 days (not all of the surrounding areas even knew about the Club yet) we had 72 kids on the register. Cool!!!
On a more serious note, Danielle said that the body of a 3-year-old girl was found murdered in Masi on Monday. A lot of rumours were flying around that it was a Zimbabwean couple that murdered her. There is a lot of racism and bad pride in Masi because this Black community has a lot of history and pride in their culture and land. They don’t always appreciate people from other places coming in to take their land (a lot of Zim people migrate here; most of the community is made of people from the Eastern Cape). A lot of the Zim stores were raided and looted. It later came out that it was not a Zim couple, but possibly a Zim Sanghoma (Witch Doctor; I’m not sure of the spelling) that told the couple to do it. Apparently a lot of people rioted on Tuesday. It got so bad that Tuesday night the Police shut down Masi to all traffic (no one in or out). This is the season for children going missing due to sacrifices since Halloween is coming up, which commemorates Satan’s birthday here. On Wednesday a rumour started that another woman was missing in Masi and that her body had been found with her breasts cut off. Masi was still in a bit of panic and people were obviously scared and fearing for their and their children’s lives. A woman named Faith is involved in Living Hope. She owns the house that the murderous couple lived in. The people of Masi were mad that she allowed such a couple to live in their community, so some of the citizens torched the house that the couple lived in, as well as the house that Faith currently lives in. She now stays in a bungalow that she works in behind the preschool. On Thursday we heard that some of the LSE in Masi have organized a March with the preschool kids and some of the Kids Clubs kids through Masi to show that the kids aren’t afraid. Danielle was able to go see the March (she was actually the only white person there). What it turned into was completely incredible. Not only did the preschool kids and Kids Club kids march, but children in grades 1-3 were pulled out of school to join the march through Masi. They were equipped with signs that said things like… “My body is my own” and “We have a future, don’t destroy it,” “Stop the killing,” “I deserve to have a future” and other things in both English and Goza. Danielle got some pictures that I will put up soon, but she estimates that there was between 400 and 500 kids. With this many young children you would think that it would be chaos, but they were all really serious and walked nicely in long lines through the town. They seemed to understand what they were marching for and took it quite seriously. I really hope this is the end of what is happening there. Apparently the missing woman was found and there was no woman with cut-off breasts, so things should start to calm down…hopefully!
Friday afternoon Meagan and Melissa picked me up (Friday afternoons have ended early for me since there is no Kids Club; starting next week all the volunteers will be doing something like Habitat for Humanity on Fridays working on peoples houses which should be a lot of fun!). We headed out for Weinberg with Melissa so she could get fitted for a bridesmaid dress. On the way we got a Gatspy, which is pretty much the most AMAZING THING EVER!!! Basically it is a sandwich on bread filled with different veggies, a kind of meat (chicken, beef, or bologna), and FRIES!!! It is actually pretty tasty, you should all try it sometime!
This past weekend was really restful for me. The weather here is absolutely amazing (except for one cloudy day we have had straight sun for over a week!!) so I went to the beach by our house on Saturday. I realized that I have been here for over a month and haven’t gone in the ocean yet; I have run by it many times but I haven’t swam, so it was time. The water was really warm surprisingly, and so incredibly clear. It was pretty much the temp of the pool back home!! The beach was packed though, and I got to meet quite a few people. I will be going back very soon, that’s for sure!
At the end of week 4, I am totally immersed in what I am doing here. I am really enjoying it and time is flying by way too quickly! Sorry for taking so long to put up more updates, I will try to come on every weekend!
Youth Retreat
The theme of the Camp is… “Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” Teens here struggle with the same things as teenagers back home with respect to trying to figure out who they are without succumbing to peer and media pressure to fit in. Drugs and alcohol are also a reality for these kids. Along with that they were encouraged with the fact that God has a plan for their lives no matter what struggles they have faced and they need to wait on Him and His guidance. The camp was a YMCA camp about an hour out of OV. We got all our stuff into 2 combies (passenger vans) and a small trailer. There was about 30 of us. As we made our way to the camp we could see a roadblock in the distance. The vans pulled over and the drivers started speaking Afrikaans to each other and some of the LSE (Life Skills Educators). From what I could piece together the small trailer had no insurance on it. So we put all the stuff in the trailer into the vans (which were already pretty squishy), someone came from OV to pick up the trailer, and off we went again. The Camp was really nice with a Church, a few rooms with bunk beds, a kitchen, and a pool. Taryn and Torrina from Mountain view came on the camp and helped me get to know the other girls. All the guys shared one room, and all the girls (about 20 of us or so) shared so we didn’t get ANY sleep at all. We broke up into small groups for the weekend. In my group was Melissa (LSE Melissa), Scomie, Torrina, Lindsay, Meagan (not the LSE Meagan), and Debbie. We came up with a Team name of Chirst-like Soldiers and did a bit of a war cry (every group did this). We had a kitchen staff come with us so all of out food was prepared (it was pretty amazing actually).
The next day all the youth were really excited to go in the pool, and we finally got a chance on Saturday afternoon. OH, by the way, my intro to the pool was when Ricardo decided it would be a good idea to throw me in…with my clothes and shoes on. It was pretty funny I have to admit, and I think I may have deserved it since I got thrown in while I was trying to help a few of the other girls throw him in! It took a little while for some of the youth to open up to me (I was the only white person there so its understandable that some of them were a little weary), but after being thrown in things were good (so I guess it’s a good thing). There were a lot more activates and games, ending with each group preparing a Bible Story to act out, a Gospel Song to sing (yes, even I had to sing), and a T.V. advert to perform.
We also were asked to make our own dinner that night. Each group was given some ingredients (you will see in my pics), which were put into a ginormous pot and cooked on a grill over a fire. Chris and I made the fire as you will see from some of the pics as well. Unfortunately in our haste to make a big one we used all the wood, including what was supposed to be used for the next day (:S). Chris is as much of a pyro as I am so we made a pretty good team. What we made is called broetjie (I think…or maybe its potjie…). I am starting to learn more Afrikaans but I still get confused. Anyways it’s basically a stew served over rice. In the stew are veggies (including avocado which I didn’t really like until it was in this!), fruit like mangos, meat, and various spices (look at the pics) that are cooked over the fire for a few hours. Apparently after eating that with them I am no longer white but coloured (and I am getting pretty tanned so that is actually true!).
The last day was pretty amazing! The highlight was Church for sure. In Church I was asked to stand up and give a testimony. The Devotion for the morning was from the Book of Romans and Melissa spoke about having patience and waiting on God. I tried to tie that in with the theme of the Camp. I spoke about the last year or so of my life, going from having no idea what I was going to do after I graduated at the beginning of Summer ’07 through getting shingles because I stressed so much about it up to now. I told them about how I was taught to have patience and faith that when the time was right I would know what I was supposed to do instead of stressing about everything. Then I told them about being accepted into the Honours program when the deadline had long past, how doors were opened to me that should not have been with respect to all the volunteer positions I got which will probably get me into Medical School. I also talked about how if I had pushed to apply the year I finished my regular degree that I would not have had the time to come to South Africa and be with them. At the end of the service the Pastor asked if there was anyone who was not Christian and if they would like to take the first step. There was about 10 people who hadn’t accepted Christ and they ALL stood up and made the first step. They each received prayer from the LSE and it was quite an emotional and intense time. I have been to Church services like this before but this one was different. I do have some pictures, but they will not convey the intensity of emotion that everyone felt.
The ride home was hilarious. I was in the Combie with most of the guys, as well as Annie, Tracey, and Debbie. Imagine flying down a windy highway back home with the music playing full blast (we could barely hear each other when we spoke) and pretty much a circus performance going on inside. People were standing up in the aisles dancing. Then they decided that ganging up on the girls would be a good plan so we proceeded to have a wrestling/tickle match as we were flying down the road. And of course we had to make an entrance as we pulled into Ocean view with people sticking their heads out the windows and dancing and doing whatever else to get as much attention as possible. I do have some video of the ride home that I will put up when I can.
The next day all the youth were really excited to go in the pool, and we finally got a chance on Saturday afternoon. OH, by the way, my intro to the pool was when Ricardo decided it would be a good idea to throw me in…with my clothes and shoes on. It was pretty funny I have to admit, and I think I may have deserved it since I got thrown in while I was trying to help a few of the other girls throw him in! It took a little while for some of the youth to open up to me (I was the only white person there so its understandable that some of them were a little weary), but after being thrown in things were good (so I guess it’s a good thing). There were a lot more activates and games, ending with each group preparing a Bible Story to act out, a Gospel Song to sing (yes, even I had to sing), and a T.V. advert to perform.
We also were asked to make our own dinner that night. Each group was given some ingredients (you will see in my pics), which were put into a ginormous pot and cooked on a grill over a fire. Chris and I made the fire as you will see from some of the pics as well. Unfortunately in our haste to make a big one we used all the wood, including what was supposed to be used for the next day (:S). Chris is as much of a pyro as I am so we made a pretty good team. What we made is called broetjie (I think…or maybe its potjie…). I am starting to learn more Afrikaans but I still get confused. Anyways it’s basically a stew served over rice. In the stew are veggies (including avocado which I didn’t really like until it was in this!), fruit like mangos, meat, and various spices (look at the pics) that are cooked over the fire for a few hours. Apparently after eating that with them I am no longer white but coloured (and I am getting pretty tanned so that is actually true!).
The last day was pretty amazing! The highlight was Church for sure. In Church I was asked to stand up and give a testimony. The Devotion for the morning was from the Book of Romans and Melissa spoke about having patience and waiting on God. I tried to tie that in with the theme of the Camp. I spoke about the last year or so of my life, going from having no idea what I was going to do after I graduated at the beginning of Summer ’07 through getting shingles because I stressed so much about it up to now. I told them about how I was taught to have patience and faith that when the time was right I would know what I was supposed to do instead of stressing about everything. Then I told them about being accepted into the Honours program when the deadline had long past, how doors were opened to me that should not have been with respect to all the volunteer positions I got which will probably get me into Medical School. I also talked about how if I had pushed to apply the year I finished my regular degree that I would not have had the time to come to South Africa and be with them. At the end of the service the Pastor asked if there was anyone who was not Christian and if they would like to take the first step. There was about 10 people who hadn’t accepted Christ and they ALL stood up and made the first step. They each received prayer from the LSE and it was quite an emotional and intense time. I have been to Church services like this before but this one was different. I do have some pictures, but they will not convey the intensity of emotion that everyone felt.
The ride home was hilarious. I was in the Combie with most of the guys, as well as Annie, Tracey, and Debbie. Imagine flying down a windy highway back home with the music playing full blast (we could barely hear each other when we spoke) and pretty much a circus performance going on inside. People were standing up in the aisles dancing. Then they decided that ganging up on the girls would be a good plan so we proceeded to have a wrestling/tickle match as we were flying down the road. And of course we had to make an entrance as we pulled into Ocean view with people sticking their heads out the windows and dancing and doing whatever else to get as much attention as possible. I do have some video of the ride home that I will put up when I can.
Week 3
After Holiday Club I realized that a lot of the LSE don’t have a lot of first aid training. On Monday I talked to Mike Talley and offered to do a workshop for the LSE on basic first aid. This has turned into 3 one-hour sessions on Fridays for both the LSE and the support workers who do home-based care. I am really excited about the training and am currently looking at first aid organizations here to determine how easy (or not) it is for my to be a certified instructor instead of running a more informal course.
I also offered to teach part of the lessons for Julie and Timmy at Mountainview. They asked me if I would teach on Health and Hygiene. In my preparation for that I have made a few colouring pages for the little kids and thought of a few games for the older ones. Then I remembered an activity that I did during my first year at SFU. It involved streaking a few petri plates with swabs of different surfaces (toilets, floors, hands, etc) and waiting to see what grew. I decided to randomly email a few professors at the University of Cape Town to see if they would lend me a few plates. A few people emailed me back all pointing in the same direction, to a Dr. Andrew Whitlock. He emailed me back Tuesday saying that he would love to lend me a few plates for my demonstration. I am really excited about this and hope the kids will like it. I know a few of them are pretty interested in science, and one actually really wants to be a doctor so anything I can do to help give them a leg up and stay interested enough to finish school is the least I can do. On Thursday Mandy took me up to the University to meet Andrew and get the plates. The meeting went really well! He seemed really interested in what we were doing and instead of giving me regular agar plates he gave me blood agar (which is a very rich media excellent for the experiments I want to do). Now I am ready to do my presentation in Mountain view next week.
The HCC was a bit of a challenge for me this week. Monday I met an older lady from Fish Hoek (where I am staying) who had literally been thrown onto the street by her family (I am not sure why but I assume it was due to an illness of some sort). She had nowhere to go and was somehow brought to Living Hope who took her in. She was absolutely sad and broken. I ended up just sitting with her holding her hand while she cried. I asked her if I could pray for her and she said no, that the Church was the one who had landed her here in the first place. I asked her if she wanted to talk about it and she said no. I asked if she wanted to talk at all and she said no, that she just wanted to cry so I sat with her while she cried. Then some family friends came and took her to a more permanent care facility. Then I moved onto some of the other patients. One of the guys said he liked my jacket and asked if he could have it. I said thank-you but I would need it when it started raining again. Apparently he is one of the more pushy ones and will ask a few more times for things but as long as I always politely but firmly say no that he will eventually stop. I am still finding it fairly challenging to start conversations with most of the patients but am assured that as long as I press on it will get easier.
After Holiday Club last week I was invited to a brie (bbq) for the OV LSE and volunteers on Thursday. It was nice to be able to see them all again. I was also asked if I wanted to join Meagan, Melissa, Al, Chris, and Nathan’s Youth group retreat this weekend. I got approval from Mike Talley and so now am really looking forward to getting to go away with them, as well as getting to know more of the Youth. I already know quite a few of them since most are volunteers for the Kids Club or come to participate in all the activities. Apparently there is a small pool as well so I will see if any of them are interested in swimming lessons since I know most of them can’t swim. After the brie I went to the Youth group and got to meet everyone who was coming to the Camp this weekend. I can tell this weekend is going to be a lot of fun…and I probably won’t be getting much sleep!
I also offered to teach part of the lessons for Julie and Timmy at Mountainview. They asked me if I would teach on Health and Hygiene. In my preparation for that I have made a few colouring pages for the little kids and thought of a few games for the older ones. Then I remembered an activity that I did during my first year at SFU. It involved streaking a few petri plates with swabs of different surfaces (toilets, floors, hands, etc) and waiting to see what grew. I decided to randomly email a few professors at the University of Cape Town to see if they would lend me a few plates. A few people emailed me back all pointing in the same direction, to a Dr. Andrew Whitlock. He emailed me back Tuesday saying that he would love to lend me a few plates for my demonstration. I am really excited about this and hope the kids will like it. I know a few of them are pretty interested in science, and one actually really wants to be a doctor so anything I can do to help give them a leg up and stay interested enough to finish school is the least I can do. On Thursday Mandy took me up to the University to meet Andrew and get the plates. The meeting went really well! He seemed really interested in what we were doing and instead of giving me regular agar plates he gave me blood agar (which is a very rich media excellent for the experiments I want to do). Now I am ready to do my presentation in Mountain view next week.
The HCC was a bit of a challenge for me this week. Monday I met an older lady from Fish Hoek (where I am staying) who had literally been thrown onto the street by her family (I am not sure why but I assume it was due to an illness of some sort). She had nowhere to go and was somehow brought to Living Hope who took her in. She was absolutely sad and broken. I ended up just sitting with her holding her hand while she cried. I asked her if I could pray for her and she said no, that the Church was the one who had landed her here in the first place. I asked her if she wanted to talk about it and she said no. I asked if she wanted to talk at all and she said no, that she just wanted to cry so I sat with her while she cried. Then some family friends came and took her to a more permanent care facility. Then I moved onto some of the other patients. One of the guys said he liked my jacket and asked if he could have it. I said thank-you but I would need it when it started raining again. Apparently he is one of the more pushy ones and will ask a few more times for things but as long as I always politely but firmly say no that he will eventually stop. I am still finding it fairly challenging to start conversations with most of the patients but am assured that as long as I press on it will get easier.
After Holiday Club last week I was invited to a brie (bbq) for the OV LSE and volunteers on Thursday. It was nice to be able to see them all again. I was also asked if I wanted to join Meagan, Melissa, Al, Chris, and Nathan’s Youth group retreat this weekend. I got approval from Mike Talley and so now am really looking forward to getting to go away with them, as well as getting to know more of the Youth. I already know quite a few of them since most are volunteers for the Kids Club or come to participate in all the activities. Apparently there is a small pool as well so I will see if any of them are interested in swimming lessons since I know most of them can’t swim. After the brie I went to the Youth group and got to meet everyone who was coming to the Camp this weekend. I can tell this weekend is going to be a lot of fun…and I probably won’t be getting much sleep!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Week 2
Right now the kids are on a break from school for 1 week (kind of like our Spring break back home). My day starts with Devotions with the team (including Nathan (leader), the LSE, the teenage volunteers, the Brentwood Team, and myself). They are lead by Timmy who is actually one of the most inspirational speakers I have ever heard. He is quite gifted. Then we start to set up. At about 9 a few kids and leaders go out with a loudspeaker to call some of the neighbourhood kids. I was surprised at how well the racket was received. While we are out and a little while after we get back we play some circle games as everyone gets registered and comes in. Then Jessica starts the Lords Prayer in English and the kids go through the whole thing by themselves (I was pretty impressed). The one of the LSE teaches the memory verse for the day. Jess asks for volunteers from the audience and a few of the LSE teach the kids small parts to act out for the Bible Story of the day. Then we do some praise and worship including a few of the theme songs. Then the kids break into their age groups (K-2, 3-4, 5-7) and rotate between 3 stations that are the Bible study/craft, the music station where they learn the song for the day, and the recreation station (where I am). Then we come back together and Jess tests a few volunteers about the memory verse, bible story, and theme of the day for prizes. The day finishes with the Lords Prayer in Afrikaans and then the kids eat lunch and go home. We stay back to eat, debrief, plan for the next day, and clean up.
The first day there were about 170 kids and it went pretty well. I was surprised that the hardest group to manage was the K-2’s. The LSE are really amazing with the kids and do a really good job of keeping them under control. It is still pretty crazy at times but if it weren’t for them I don’t think we could manage at all. I have a lot of fun working with the team and the kids. I am learning a lot about their culture and a lot from them. Working with these guys in a group situation is easier then it is working in a large back home just because they are so open to ideas and are so community and family oriented that they know how to make people feel comfortable and welcome.
On Tuesday my new roommate Claire (a volunteer from the UK; she is 22 and just graduated as a paediatric nurse) got here. She seems really nice and I am looking forward to getting to know her better. The second day there was about 180 kids at camp (we were expecting about 250). It ran a bit smoother than yesterday just because we all had a better idea of what to expect and were able to learn from yesterday’s experience. It was also nice outside so we were able to do a lot of the circle games and all the recreation outside. We (Brentwood Team and I) went to a part of Living Way (Job creation branch) where the women sew things like bags and placemats. They were absolutely beautiful and I will be going back to buy something before I leave for sure; I wanted to let the Brentwood Team get what they wanted since they are leaving Friday). After camp I was able to show Claire around the beach and town a bit.
The third day Claire actually came with me to Holiday Camp. There were fewer kids today as there was a huge event at the Mosque that a lot of the kids were probably required to go to. Some of the families are Muslim here so the religious event would have taken priority for the Muslim kids. It was still pretty crazy and a lot of fun (I think there were probably about 160 kids there but normally there are about 250). There was well over 200 kids on Thursday. It was absolutely gorgeous outside so we were able to do the circle games and all the rec outside. Most of the games I got on video instead of pics so until I figure out how to get videos on here you will just have to wait to see how much fun it all is. :P
Friday was the last day of Holiday Camp and I was able to get video of almost every activity we do so you can get an idea of how the days went. After the camp Mandy stopped by to ask the LSE if they wanted to come to the concert we are all going to in a few weekends (YAY!!!) and then she told me that Claire had decided not to stay and to continue with her work in Joberg instead. I guess she wasn’t quite as excited about her project as the rest of us are, and she seemed fairly…organized…and I’m not sure the laid back South African culture agreed with her…which meant I got my room back to myself (which was fine with me!).
I was able to stay for the worship concert that night. The concert took place in a Hall in OV and was put on by Melissa, Meagan, Nathan, Chris, and Al’s Church. After Camp I drove around with Meagan to help set everything up (well…I mostly watched and carried stuff since I know NOTHING about musical equipment…but that’s ok). It’s funny, Mandy said the concert wouldn’t start until 8 (it was supposed to start at 7) and she was bang on. The concert was amazing! Meagan, Chris, Al, Marco, Rudolph (Meagan’s cousin), Cindy, Kay-lee, Lindsay, and a few others (most of whom were staff or volunteers at the Holiday Camp) are a part of the Joyous Worship Crew and they are all so talented. Shagmie (another LSE from a different community) was also there and is a part of a Christian rap group called Majotic. The crowd was so active as well. Worship in a coloured Church is certainly quite different from back home! Vancouver Nightclubs actually don’t really have much on this concert, that’s for sure!
The weekend was pretty relaxing. We went to a place called Simons’ Town (where the penguins are!!!) We also walked around the actual town a bit (its kind of like Fort Langley). The American Navy Band was playing and they were incredible, although there was quite a bit of contrast between the Navy Band and the worship concert last night!
This week (6th – 10th) I will be in the Health Care Centre during the day and Mountainview in the afternoon. I was also invited to a brie (bbq) for the Oceanview volunteers on Thursday and the Church most of the LSE attend is having a Youth retreat this weekend which I was also invited to. I am really looking forward to it, but I may not be able to put on more pics until next week. I am almost finished a video outlining the highlights of the Holiday Camp so I will put that up as well.
The first day there were about 170 kids and it went pretty well. I was surprised that the hardest group to manage was the K-2’s. The LSE are really amazing with the kids and do a really good job of keeping them under control. It is still pretty crazy at times but if it weren’t for them I don’t think we could manage at all. I have a lot of fun working with the team and the kids. I am learning a lot about their culture and a lot from them. Working with these guys in a group situation is easier then it is working in a large back home just because they are so open to ideas and are so community and family oriented that they know how to make people feel comfortable and welcome.
On Tuesday my new roommate Claire (a volunteer from the UK; she is 22 and just graduated as a paediatric nurse) got here. She seems really nice and I am looking forward to getting to know her better. The second day there was about 180 kids at camp (we were expecting about 250). It ran a bit smoother than yesterday just because we all had a better idea of what to expect and were able to learn from yesterday’s experience. It was also nice outside so we were able to do a lot of the circle games and all the recreation outside. We (Brentwood Team and I) went to a part of Living Way (Job creation branch) where the women sew things like bags and placemats. They were absolutely beautiful and I will be going back to buy something before I leave for sure; I wanted to let the Brentwood Team get what they wanted since they are leaving Friday). After camp I was able to show Claire around the beach and town a bit.
The third day Claire actually came with me to Holiday Camp. There were fewer kids today as there was a huge event at the Mosque that a lot of the kids were probably required to go to. Some of the families are Muslim here so the religious event would have taken priority for the Muslim kids. It was still pretty crazy and a lot of fun (I think there were probably about 160 kids there but normally there are about 250). There was well over 200 kids on Thursday. It was absolutely gorgeous outside so we were able to do the circle games and all the rec outside. Most of the games I got on video instead of pics so until I figure out how to get videos on here you will just have to wait to see how much fun it all is. :P
Friday was the last day of Holiday Camp and I was able to get video of almost every activity we do so you can get an idea of how the days went. After the camp Mandy stopped by to ask the LSE if they wanted to come to the concert we are all going to in a few weekends (YAY!!!) and then she told me that Claire had decided not to stay and to continue with her work in Joberg instead. I guess she wasn’t quite as excited about her project as the rest of us are, and she seemed fairly…organized…and I’m not sure the laid back South African culture agreed with her…which meant I got my room back to myself (which was fine with me!).
I was able to stay for the worship concert that night. The concert took place in a Hall in OV and was put on by Melissa, Meagan, Nathan, Chris, and Al’s Church. After Camp I drove around with Meagan to help set everything up (well…I mostly watched and carried stuff since I know NOTHING about musical equipment…but that’s ok). It’s funny, Mandy said the concert wouldn’t start until 8 (it was supposed to start at 7) and she was bang on. The concert was amazing! Meagan, Chris, Al, Marco, Rudolph (Meagan’s cousin), Cindy, Kay-lee, Lindsay, and a few others (most of whom were staff or volunteers at the Holiday Camp) are a part of the Joyous Worship Crew and they are all so talented. Shagmie (another LSE from a different community) was also there and is a part of a Christian rap group called Majotic. The crowd was so active as well. Worship in a coloured Church is certainly quite different from back home! Vancouver Nightclubs actually don’t really have much on this concert, that’s for sure!
The weekend was pretty relaxing. We went to a place called Simons’ Town (where the penguins are!!!) We also walked around the actual town a bit (its kind of like Fort Langley). The American Navy Band was playing and they were incredible, although there was quite a bit of contrast between the Navy Band and the worship concert last night!
This week (6th – 10th) I will be in the Health Care Centre during the day and Mountainview in the afternoon. I was also invited to a brie (bbq) for the Oceanview volunteers on Thursday and the Church most of the LSE attend is having a Youth retreat this weekend which I was also invited to. I am really looking forward to it, but I may not be able to put on more pics until next week. I am almost finished a video outlining the highlights of the Holiday Camp so I will put that up as well.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Training Weekend
Thursday was the first day of training. I got to meet all of the Life Skills Educators. They are a great group of people and all seem to get along really well. There are about 23 of them from all the different communities (Oceanview which includes Mountainview, Masi, Muizenberg, Red Hill, and Capricorn; in some communities there is more then 1 club as well). Basically how it works is the LSE work in the community they grew up in. In the morning/early afternoon they go into the various school in their community and talk about Life Skills such as hygiene from a Biblical perspective (some of the schools don’t allow them to talk about God but most of them do). After school they have Kids Club (which is what I am part of). They feed the kids and a different age group each day does some kind of craft and hears a Biblical story (it’s a lot like Sunday school), as well as just hanging out and playing in a safe environment. I have a huge respect for the LSE as they have all overcome huge odds to reach where they are. They have all had experiences that I can’t even imagine but have used them to strengthen their relationships with God and have a great sense of humour about life.
In training we had a lot of fun together and they totally remind me of work back home. They all have so much energy and pretty much goof off all the time...training was pretty much like one of the inservices at the pool. The training was lead by the Children’s Ministry Administrator from the team of volunteers that were coming later this week. He and a group of other kids ministers had come up with a curriculum for kids camps. He taught us the program which includes about 5 of the most ridiculous and hilarious kids camp songs (with actions) I have ever seen. I will be getting a video of those songs for sure! The curriculum is based on 5 Biblical Principles that cover some of the basics of what it means to be Christian, plus a lot of activities that are related to those principles.
The second day of training was just as fun as the first, especially since we got to learn more songs. I’m not quite so sure I want to get videos now because to have everyone back home know that I did the moves to these songs too is pretty embarrassing… J Training ends at about 4 p.m. and I was just able to rest and enjoy the beach after training was over.
Saturday the Brentwood Team joined us so we could meet them, quickly go over some of the lessons each day, and go over all the songs and actions that go with them again (YAY…no I’m kidding they are actually a lot of fun). I still am not quite used to the roads here though because on the break one of the LSE Chris and I went across the street to McDonalds (I wanted to see what they are like here) and I just about got hit by a car since I was looking the wrong way and cars here really don’t really stop for pedestrians. Chris grabbed my sleeve and pulled me back…and then proceeded to laugh at me…oops J. After the break we went into the planning phase and I will be in the group that is in charge of recreation (YESSSSSSSSS!!!). The LSE taught us some of the circle games they play at the beginning of each day until all the kids arrive. The videos I have are a few of the games they play…SO MUCH FUN!!!
After training was over some of the OV (Oceanview) girls (Jessica, Meagan, and Melissa) invited me to go shopping with them. It was a lot of fun and I was able to get to know them a lot more. We got a few looks in the mall though because they are all from the coloured communities and I am white (obviously) and I guess generally speaking South African whites don’t really hang out with people from the coloured communities (which I think is silly since they are pretty cool people).
Ryan and Danielle have spent a lot of time with the Brentwood team since they are from Danielle’s Church and Ryan had some relatives in this team. Since Ryan and Danielle weren’t really around over the past few days there was a lot of leftover food so I invited them over to eat after we left the mall. We stopped by Melissa’s house to pick up some things (she and the other OV LSE actually live in OV) and it was really nice. Everything is so bright and colourful inside and out. We also picked up Meagan’s friend Annie. It is like that in most of the places in OV actually (although I don’t think most of the places are quite as nice as Melissa’s). Meagan said that for the most part they are pretty safe and she walks home alone at night sometimes (don’t worry I won’t be trying this). Crime does occur, but it doesn’t sound like it happens any more than it does at home. And since most of the people in the communities know each other it is kind of pointless to steal something cuz they will just come ask for it back.
One thing I have really gained an appreciation for is my education. Over the day I was asked a lot of questions that Meagan, Melissa, and Annie about myself as well as scientific questions (they knew my background by now). They all have a desire to learn but really don’t have access to post-secondary education. It’s not really fair actually. I am really going to try not to take my education for granted again.
In training we had a lot of fun together and they totally remind me of work back home. They all have so much energy and pretty much goof off all the time...training was pretty much like one of the inservices at the pool. The training was lead by the Children’s Ministry Administrator from the team of volunteers that were coming later this week. He and a group of other kids ministers had come up with a curriculum for kids camps. He taught us the program which includes about 5 of the most ridiculous and hilarious kids camp songs (with actions) I have ever seen. I will be getting a video of those songs for sure! The curriculum is based on 5 Biblical Principles that cover some of the basics of what it means to be Christian, plus a lot of activities that are related to those principles.
The second day of training was just as fun as the first, especially since we got to learn more songs. I’m not quite so sure I want to get videos now because to have everyone back home know that I did the moves to these songs too is pretty embarrassing… J Training ends at about 4 p.m. and I was just able to rest and enjoy the beach after training was over.
Saturday the Brentwood Team joined us so we could meet them, quickly go over some of the lessons each day, and go over all the songs and actions that go with them again (YAY…no I’m kidding they are actually a lot of fun). I still am not quite used to the roads here though because on the break one of the LSE Chris and I went across the street to McDonalds (I wanted to see what they are like here) and I just about got hit by a car since I was looking the wrong way and cars here really don’t really stop for pedestrians. Chris grabbed my sleeve and pulled me back…and then proceeded to laugh at me…oops J. After the break we went into the planning phase and I will be in the group that is in charge of recreation (YESSSSSSSSS!!!). The LSE taught us some of the circle games they play at the beginning of each day until all the kids arrive. The videos I have are a few of the games they play…SO MUCH FUN!!!
After training was over some of the OV (Oceanview) girls (Jessica, Meagan, and Melissa) invited me to go shopping with them. It was a lot of fun and I was able to get to know them a lot more. We got a few looks in the mall though because they are all from the coloured communities and I am white (obviously) and I guess generally speaking South African whites don’t really hang out with people from the coloured communities (which I think is silly since they are pretty cool people).
Ryan and Danielle have spent a lot of time with the Brentwood team since they are from Danielle’s Church and Ryan had some relatives in this team. Since Ryan and Danielle weren’t really around over the past few days there was a lot of leftover food so I invited them over to eat after we left the mall. We stopped by Melissa’s house to pick up some things (she and the other OV LSE actually live in OV) and it was really nice. Everything is so bright and colourful inside and out. We also picked up Meagan’s friend Annie. It is like that in most of the places in OV actually (although I don’t think most of the places are quite as nice as Melissa’s). Meagan said that for the most part they are pretty safe and she walks home alone at night sometimes (don’t worry I won’t be trying this). Crime does occur, but it doesn’t sound like it happens any more than it does at home. And since most of the people in the communities know each other it is kind of pointless to steal something cuz they will just come ask for it back.
One thing I have really gained an appreciation for is my education. Over the day I was asked a lot of questions that Meagan, Melissa, and Annie about myself as well as scientific questions (they knew my background by now). They all have a desire to learn but really don’t have access to post-secondary education. It’s not really fair actually. I am really going to try not to take my education for granted again.
My first week
I was allowed to rest my first day here and the only thing they had scheduled for me on my second day was a meeting with my volunteer “boss” Mike Talley. I was told that in the mornings I would be in the Health Care Center where I would to get to know the patients and form relationships with them, pray for them, and just hang out with them, and help the staff when needed. In the afternoons I would be helping the Life Skills Educators at the Kids Center in a township called Oceanview in a section called Mountainview. I would start that on Monday but I was told I could go with Becky (another volunteer) to another Kids Center called Red Hill to see what the Centers are like (I really was not quite prepared for what they were like :S)
So, with a whole set of expectations in my head I set off to Red Hill later that day. This Childrens Center is in a township mostly composed of small shacks. That day it was really cold (I was wearing 4 or 5 layers including my winter jacket…apparently its not normally this cold here this time of the year). I can’t imagine what its like to live in one of those shacks…nor do I want to. We go into the Center (kind of like one of the portables in elementary or high school) where there were already a few kids. Stanton is the Life Skills Educator there and he was beginning to set up. The other kids started coming in, ranging from age 3 to about 13. Some of them I really don’t think have bathed in months but they were all absolutely adorable and were quite friendly. And they can ALL sing and have the most incredible sense of rhythm and beat I have EVER seen. Some of the kids were singing, others break dancing, others doing handstands on tables and chairs, others using pretty much whatever they could find as drums…I was just sitting there kind of in shock at first as the younger ones decided that I made a pretty good chair…or jungle gym…depending on how you want to look at it. It is like a busy public swim…on speed…lots and lots of speed!!!!
Basically how it works is the kids all get something to eat and then the certain age group for that day gets to stay and do the activities (today it was the 10-13 year olds). The activities are pretty much what you would do in Sunday school. After the activity the younger kids can come back and they are given a snack and then we went back home. I managed to get a quick picture of some of the kids, but it’s really hard to take pictures because the kids kind of go crazy pushing each other out of the way and then they all HAVE to see the picture afterwards.
We also got news that we would be moving the next day (Friday). On Friday I got to meet our volunteer coordinator Mandy and the ACTS coordinator for Cape Town Mike Massingham. We got our stuff and headed over to our new house in Fish Hoek. When we opened the gate…and the other locked gate…and the locked door (so much security) we saw how AWESOME THIS PLACE IS!!!! It has hardwood floors, 3 bathrooms and 3 bedrooms, a storage room with fitness equipment, a huge kitchen, and cable tv…and is fully furnished with all our kitchen stuff, bathroom stuff, living room stuff…it even has board games already. When we went outside onto the GINORMOUS BALCONY and looked over we realized that the beach is about a 45 sec walk away…you can apparently see whales…and sometimes sharks from the beaches here. Just in case there was any doubt in my mind about the whales when I went for a walk along the shoreline the next morning I saw a Southern Wright Whale jump out of the water and come up for air…so cool!
Going to a Baptist Church (King of Kings) Sunday was a bit different from my home Church (charismatic), but it was interesting to see how a different Church conducts its service. We are supposed to go to another Church next week in the township called Masi where the worship is absolutely incredible and the whole Church is pretty much a choir. Ryan said he was going to bring his laptop to record them sometime soon so you can here what is it like. I will post it when I get it.
My first day volunteering (Monday) went really well. At the Health Care Center (HCC) I met with the head Chaplain Moiriece who explained my role further and boundaries for interacting with patients (eg: Cameras aren’t allowed in the HCC in order to respect patients privacy and confidentiality; there is a huge stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS so pictures aren’t allowed). I also met the staff including the Registered Nurse but didn’t interact with the patients very much. The kids center at Mountainview was great! The staff have a lot of energy and pretty much joke all the time so they are great to be around. Living Hope had hosted a picnic/bbq for all of Mountainview and pretty much all of Mountainview had showed up. They had left some of the garbage and hay in the high school field and the birds had gotten into it and spread it out in the field. We were going to clean it up. Getting to watch the kids work (and mostly play) was pretty cool. I was able to get quite a few pictures here. The kids have a spirit that most kids back home really don’t have.
I got to go on a tour of all Living Hopes facilities on Tuesday. They started as a small clinic but have blossomed into 3 facilities including Living Hope (Hospice/Home Care/Mobile Testing and Counselling), Living Grace (homeless ministry), and Living Way (Job Training) that employ about 180 people, not to mention all the volunteers. I will get the story of how it all started (I forgot a lot of it) and put it on later. It is actually pretty amazing! At Mountainview I got to meet more of the kids. One of the younger girls asked if she could play with my hair. I said ok and after a few minutes I was surrounded by kids wanting to touch and play with my hair.
Wednesday was a Holiday (Heritage Day) so we got the day off. We went to the Waterfront in Cape Town and walked around the shops. It reminded me a lot of Granville Island actually. They also have a small aquarium where I got a few pictures (I stole some of Ryans too…he has a much better camera then I do). I found out that I can scuba dive with a guide in the huge predator tank for only about $60CAD…I will be coming back here for sure!!! I also talked to Mike Talley and he said that since I was staying for so long I would be joining the Life Skills Educators in training for the rest of the week (and Saturday) as they prepared for next weeks Holiday Camp (Spring Break) with a team of volunteers from the States. I was pretty excited about the training since the LSE are a lot of fun!
So, with a whole set of expectations in my head I set off to Red Hill later that day. This Childrens Center is in a township mostly composed of small shacks. That day it was really cold (I was wearing 4 or 5 layers including my winter jacket…apparently its not normally this cold here this time of the year). I can’t imagine what its like to live in one of those shacks…nor do I want to. We go into the Center (kind of like one of the portables in elementary or high school) where there were already a few kids. Stanton is the Life Skills Educator there and he was beginning to set up. The other kids started coming in, ranging from age 3 to about 13. Some of them I really don’t think have bathed in months but they were all absolutely adorable and were quite friendly. And they can ALL sing and have the most incredible sense of rhythm and beat I have EVER seen. Some of the kids were singing, others break dancing, others doing handstands on tables and chairs, others using pretty much whatever they could find as drums…I was just sitting there kind of in shock at first as the younger ones decided that I made a pretty good chair…or jungle gym…depending on how you want to look at it. It is like a busy public swim…on speed…lots and lots of speed!!!!
Basically how it works is the kids all get something to eat and then the certain age group for that day gets to stay and do the activities (today it was the 10-13 year olds). The activities are pretty much what you would do in Sunday school. After the activity the younger kids can come back and they are given a snack and then we went back home. I managed to get a quick picture of some of the kids, but it’s really hard to take pictures because the kids kind of go crazy pushing each other out of the way and then they all HAVE to see the picture afterwards.
We also got news that we would be moving the next day (Friday). On Friday I got to meet our volunteer coordinator Mandy and the ACTS coordinator for Cape Town Mike Massingham. We got our stuff and headed over to our new house in Fish Hoek. When we opened the gate…and the other locked gate…and the locked door (so much security) we saw how AWESOME THIS PLACE IS!!!! It has hardwood floors, 3 bathrooms and 3 bedrooms, a storage room with fitness equipment, a huge kitchen, and cable tv…and is fully furnished with all our kitchen stuff, bathroom stuff, living room stuff…it even has board games already. When we went outside onto the GINORMOUS BALCONY and looked over we realized that the beach is about a 45 sec walk away…you can apparently see whales…and sometimes sharks from the beaches here. Just in case there was any doubt in my mind about the whales when I went for a walk along the shoreline the next morning I saw a Southern Wright Whale jump out of the water and come up for air…so cool!
Going to a Baptist Church (King of Kings) Sunday was a bit different from my home Church (charismatic), but it was interesting to see how a different Church conducts its service. We are supposed to go to another Church next week in the township called Masi where the worship is absolutely incredible and the whole Church is pretty much a choir. Ryan said he was going to bring his laptop to record them sometime soon so you can here what is it like. I will post it when I get it.
My first day volunteering (Monday) went really well. At the Health Care Center (HCC) I met with the head Chaplain Moiriece who explained my role further and boundaries for interacting with patients (eg: Cameras aren’t allowed in the HCC in order to respect patients privacy and confidentiality; there is a huge stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS so pictures aren’t allowed). I also met the staff including the Registered Nurse but didn’t interact with the patients very much. The kids center at Mountainview was great! The staff have a lot of energy and pretty much joke all the time so they are great to be around. Living Hope had hosted a picnic/bbq for all of Mountainview and pretty much all of Mountainview had showed up. They had left some of the garbage and hay in the high school field and the birds had gotten into it and spread it out in the field. We were going to clean it up. Getting to watch the kids work (and mostly play) was pretty cool. I was able to get quite a few pictures here. The kids have a spirit that most kids back home really don’t have.
I got to go on a tour of all Living Hopes facilities on Tuesday. They started as a small clinic but have blossomed into 3 facilities including Living Hope (Hospice/Home Care/Mobile Testing and Counselling), Living Grace (homeless ministry), and Living Way (Job Training) that employ about 180 people, not to mention all the volunteers. I will get the story of how it all started (I forgot a lot of it) and put it on later. It is actually pretty amazing! At Mountainview I got to meet more of the kids. One of the younger girls asked if she could play with my hair. I said ok and after a few minutes I was surrounded by kids wanting to touch and play with my hair.
Wednesday was a Holiday (Heritage Day) so we got the day off. We went to the Waterfront in Cape Town and walked around the shops. It reminded me a lot of Granville Island actually. They also have a small aquarium where I got a few pictures (I stole some of Ryans too…he has a much better camera then I do). I found out that I can scuba dive with a guide in the huge predator tank for only about $60CAD…I will be coming back here for sure!!! I also talked to Mike Talley and he said that since I was staying for so long I would be joining the Life Skills Educators in training for the rest of the week (and Saturday) as they prepared for next weeks Holiday Camp (Spring Break) with a team of volunteers from the States. I was pretty excited about the training since the LSE are a lot of fun!
Flights and Arrival
Well for those of you who know me well you know that sometimes I create needless drama…whether I like it or not…and this trip proved to be no different. I made sure I took everything out of my carry-on bag just in case there was anything there that wasn’t supposed to be (or so I thought). The only thing I left in there was in the smallest pocket. I always have a loose deck of cards in there since I took the bag I use for small weekend trips and stuff. Well when I put by bag through the X-ray machine in customs a small pair of scissors showed up. I started panicking a bit because I was positive I had cleared everything out so I had absolutely no idea where the scissors were or how they got there. The officer came over to me and asked me to pull them out. I said I was really sorry but I had no idea where they were. So we proceed to pull everything out of by bag except the deck of loose cards in the smallest pocket (too bad!!!). Of course he didn’t find the scissors and put my bag through the X-ray again. The scissors still came up. He came over again and said “It seems like the scissors are not in the bag and are embedded in the material somewhere.” I was like… “ummm I really don’t think so.” Now I was really panicking! He grabbed another officer and they took by bag back to the machine. Finally they found the small pair of scissors in between a few cards in the deck. They were really good about it and started laughing at me cuz I guess over the course of a few minutes my face went from normal to really red to white. So began my trip…
The plane ride was really not very much fun…at all. Although both Lufthansa and South African Airways were amazing (everyone had their own personal screen and access to various movies and t.v. shows on demand which was great!) I didn’t sleep on either flight (9 hours Van to Frankfurt, 11 hours Frankfurt to Cape Town) or the 6.5 hour layover in Frankfurt. The second flight was especially brutal as my stomach felt at first like it was tying itself in knots and then like it was going to explode, despite the 6 or 7 gravol I took. I was actually concerned that I had gotten food poisoning and I would spend my first days in Cape Town lying in a bed. As soon as I stepped off the plane into the fresh air however I started feeling better. By the time I had cleared immigration, got my luggage, and cleared customs I was so excited that my stomach pain was gone. I was met by an ACTS driver named Gordon who drove me to where the other long-term volunteers stayed.
I arrived at about 4:20 a.m. Cape Town time, and by the time we were on the road from Fish Hoek (East side of Cape Town) towards Noord Hoek (West side…where I would be staying) the sun was beginning to rise (really…the sun rises in the East?). Cape Town is surrounded by ocean and mountains and actually looks quite a bit like the interior of BC in places. The sunrise was timed perfectly with out ascent up one of the mountains, and was truly amazing. I will definitely be going back with my camera to take pictures.
We arrived at the B and B where I would be staying called The Sandollar (it has its own site online if you want to see more pics than what I got). After about 30 minutes waiting outside the gate for someone to wake up we were met by Danielle (one of the volunteers). She showed me to my room which had a double bed, t.v., mini-fridge, and full bathroom (I was not expecting quite this much luxury). She then showed me the common area which had a living room, dining room, and kitchen. Outside, the patio leads to the small POOL :) and chicken coop where there were some baby chicks (which were pretty much the cutest things I have ever seen). Beyond the B and B property is a marsh full of water and beyond that are mountains along the South border of Cape Town (seriously this place is gorgeous and the pics are going to do it no justice). AND not only is it beautiful here, but we get dinner made for us every night, all our dishes are done for us everyday, and our rooms are cleaned and sheets changed every week (SWEET!!!!!!).
So I had finally arrived in Cape Town and was already so excited about being here. I think that my excitement is the only reason I didn’t crash that first day.
The plane ride was really not very much fun…at all. Although both Lufthansa and South African Airways were amazing (everyone had their own personal screen and access to various movies and t.v. shows on demand which was great!) I didn’t sleep on either flight (9 hours Van to Frankfurt, 11 hours Frankfurt to Cape Town) or the 6.5 hour layover in Frankfurt. The second flight was especially brutal as my stomach felt at first like it was tying itself in knots and then like it was going to explode, despite the 6 or 7 gravol I took. I was actually concerned that I had gotten food poisoning and I would spend my first days in Cape Town lying in a bed. As soon as I stepped off the plane into the fresh air however I started feeling better. By the time I had cleared immigration, got my luggage, and cleared customs I was so excited that my stomach pain was gone. I was met by an ACTS driver named Gordon who drove me to where the other long-term volunteers stayed.
I arrived at about 4:20 a.m. Cape Town time, and by the time we were on the road from Fish Hoek (East side of Cape Town) towards Noord Hoek (West side…where I would be staying) the sun was beginning to rise (really…the sun rises in the East?). Cape Town is surrounded by ocean and mountains and actually looks quite a bit like the interior of BC in places. The sunrise was timed perfectly with out ascent up one of the mountains, and was truly amazing. I will definitely be going back with my camera to take pictures.
We arrived at the B and B where I would be staying called The Sandollar (it has its own site online if you want to see more pics than what I got). After about 30 minutes waiting outside the gate for someone to wake up we were met by Danielle (one of the volunteers). She showed me to my room which had a double bed, t.v., mini-fridge, and full bathroom (I was not expecting quite this much luxury). She then showed me the common area which had a living room, dining room, and kitchen. Outside, the patio leads to the small POOL :) and chicken coop where there were some baby chicks (which were pretty much the cutest things I have ever seen). Beyond the B and B property is a marsh full of water and beyond that are mountains along the South border of Cape Town (seriously this place is gorgeous and the pics are going to do it no justice). AND not only is it beautiful here, but we get dinner made for us every night, all our dishes are done for us everyday, and our rooms are cleaned and sheets changed every week (SWEET!!!!!!).
So I had finally arrived in Cape Town and was already so excited about being here. I think that my excitement is the only reason I didn’t crash that first day.
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