Highlights of High Season: Part Three

Continuing with our "Highlights of High Season" blog, here are some of the goings-on throughout the last few months...

Afterschool Club

Volunteers have had a busy three months getting creative at Afterschool Club. In true African Impact style volunteers have embraced their freedom to be inventive with creating weekly plans filled with games, activities, sports, arts and crafts. They have made creations out of dough, sand pictures, papier-mâché, various ball games and educational learning games. Most importantly however they have given their time to play, read and colour, among other things, with the orphans from both the Ezwenelisha and Khula communities.

Keeping in theme with current world events, volunteers have had their own 'mini' Olympics at both the Ezwenelisha and Khula afterschool clubs. This involved the usual relay races and the like but also fun obstacle courses such as egg and spoon races, sack races and running with a balloon between their legs (the laughter from the children during this race was infectious)!

Volunteers have also spent time teaching the children the art of bracelet making. Remember when you were younger and everybody was crazy about making scooby-doo bracelets? Well volunteers were able to re-use those skills while making friendship braclets with the children from afterschool club which was a nice treat as they were able to take them home with them.

We have had a very talented group of volunteers over peak season that have utilised their skills and talents. On one such occasion, four volunteers from Venezuela shared their rhythm and dance moves with the children at Ezwenelisha afterschool club - teaching them a mixture of Zumba and Salsa and in return the students taught them Zulu dancing. Carrying on from this volunteers have also held talents shows at both afterschool clubs which erupted in song and dance and a lot of happy children.

On another note, volunteers and staff members Zakhele and Zanele put a new linoleum floor in the boy's dormatory in Monzi Primary School. The dorm now looks a lot cleaner and brighter! Over one of the holidays in August, the boys and girls living at the school were brought by African Impact to the Crocodile Centre in St Lucia and to the beach - an exciting day for everyone!

Adult Literacy / Reading Club

Although it took a number of afternoons, the container's
mural was a project favourite for many!

Peak season was also a time of great expansion for our projects and the completion of some projects that have been ongoing for a long time, like the completion of the library’s mural. 

Volunteers planned and executed a mural of a bookshelf on the outside of the container’s orange walls, leaving a space for the African Impact logo. They also painted blackboards on the outside of the container so that we can make announcements about upcoming plans for our Reading and Adult Literacy Clubs.

Adult Literacy Club has been a big hit in Ezwenelisha, where learners have practiced their reading, writing and oral skills. For a few weeks they even practiced interview skills with the volunteers. 

Despite success in Ezwenelisha, we continue to make an effort to get the community members in Khula interested in our Adult Literacy Club. 

However, our Reading Club in Khula has really taken off and is a hit amongst the Khula kids and volunteers. Every Friday afternoon, over 20 kids come to the container to read, sometimes with the help of volunteers and sometimes all by themselves. The aim of the club is to make learning fun, and it seems like that goal is being attained each and every week. We're looking forward to seeing these projects expand further.