Monthly Update: March I

March started with a bang (or should we say downpour?) as cyclone Irina ravaged St Lucia and the surrounding area, but that did not dampen the volunteer’s spirits or enthusiasm. Read on to find out how some of our projects developed over the course of the month, and check back soon for more March updates.

Support Groups

Yoga at Khula Support Group!

During the course of this month many topics have been discussed at both support groups with the members eager to learn and share. The members of both Khula and Ezwenelisha learned about the side effects of ARVs, becoming pregnant while being HIV+, TB, and why it is important to adhere to an antibiotic regime. Patient’s rights were also introduced and discussed at both support groups. All the members learned about the different questions that they had the right to ask their doctors and learned that they can take a more active role in their health care experience.

We also received good and bad news at Ezwenelisha Support Group. Busi, a regular attendee of the support group, has moved away from Ezwenelisha and out of her boyfriend’s house. Although we are sad to see her go, she was the victim of much domestic violence and we are happy she is now safer and happier. We also received great news that Gogo Joyce has been approved for government housing. Gogo Togo, a new member of the group who had all of her possessions stolen also received some new clothes bought specially for her from Mtuba. The group’s garden is well underway and has even been expanded, with Gogo Togo and Gogo Joyce eager to help with the farming. 

Although the numbers for our Khula Support Group have dwindled, we're happy to report that it is mostly because our group's members have found employment in the community. We're going to work on promoting the group more next month to increase the attendance.

Afterschool Club

Both Khula and Ezwenelisha Afterschool Clubs have been a blast during the month of March. Intense football battles have taken place with the children and volunteers enjoying themselves. At Khula the children have been having jump rope competitions and showing off their artistic talents in sidewalk chalk drawing. Meanwhile at Ezwenelisha the typing lessons have been progressing at a steady pace. 

Mid-month there was a little setback with the lessons as they seemed to be too difficult for the learners, who were getting frustrated. However, we're hoping to reassess upcoming lessons after the Easter break to help the learners better understand where their fingers should be while typing. 

Both Afterschool Clubs participated in the “We Speak in Art” partnership with Parsons School this month. The children enjoyed expressing themselves while exploring the medium of paint. The resulting paintings were stunning and we are excited to have the paintings exhibited in New York City in the coming months.

Creche

Community volunteer Emma playing
during Simunye Creche's break time.

March was bittersweet because we finished our two-month commitments at both the Impumelelo and Malibongwe Creches. It was also decided between Shwele and the teachers at Dukuduku creche that we would continue on to other creches who are more in need of extra attention before returning for our second month with their learners. However, we started working at Simunye and Khula Nomithiya creches with our new community volunteers during the month of March. 

However, before leaving Impumeleo we were able to teach the children about healthy and unhealthy foods, wild animals, different modes of transport, and family members. The children enjoyed making sounds and motions for the different animals. 

The volunteers enjoyed the first week at both Simunye and Khula Nomithiya Creches before Holiday Club started. In one week the learners are Simunye have showed progress in color recognition and parts of the body. The volunteers all remarked at how involved Simunye's principal is with the children, always eager to learn new methods of teaching from them. Meanwhile at Khula Nomithiya the Grade R children have enjoyed learning about wild and farm animals and getting some extra attention from the volunteers while they're learning. We are eager to resume teaching after Holiday Club ends in early April and are well on our way to completing two-month commitments at each creche in Khula. 

HIV Education

It has been a busy month for HIV education. During the month of March we were able to have two sessions of HIV education at the primary school. One session had 10 students while the other had nine. Of the 19 students that took the course and test 17 passed. 

"I will really miss my AMAZING HIV Education students at the primary school - they were all absolutely amazing and I really will miss them all." 

- Michelle, Community Volunteer - March 2012

As for the adult HIV course it has also been a successful month.  The volunteers and Shwele were able to hold a course at Reef and Dune for the women from the fruit market. We have also held other courses in Khula this month. Twelve women took the test this month and all twelve passed.