Monthly update from THAF

Read the following update from Happy Africa Foundation Intern Miriam, who details the last month of her work for our charity. You can also follow Miriam on Twitter. 

The past month for THAF has been a busy one here in St. Lucia! Since you last heard from me we have had two very successful fundraising events, the first being a quiz night held at local restaurant Reef & Dune. This was a brilliant evening which had six teams attend from St. Lucia and nearby Mtubatuba. 

With a combination of funds collected from a team fee at the quiz in combination with a raffle, the night raised R1460 for the Medical Project. 

A Quiz Night will happen monthly, each time raising money for a different focal project and we can see if team ‘Quiz In My Pants’ can hold onto their winning title. 

We also had a Yoga Morning instructed by a very generous local from St Lucia who wanted no fee for teaching. Held at the Bowling Club in St. Lucia, the morning was a perfect way to start off the weekend and many of the volunteers plus some locals turned out to participate. The morning raised R280 which will go towards Christmas parcels for our 10 Families. 

This month has also seen a lot of generous donations come from outside donors, all for the Medical Project so a huge thank you to all those who have donated. Also, thanks to a past volunteer's kind donation we have been able to buy new blood pressure monitors for the Home Based Care box.

THAF has also been supporting African Impact's new Mother's Support Group at Malibongwe Creche by supplying them with useful equipment to help look after their babies. So far, mothers and babies have each received a toothbrush, tooth paste and either baby soap, baby cream or baby oil. This is an exciting new project that we are looking forward to carrying on working with the members in the future.

Volunteers at the African Impact house have enjoyed a few different "THAF Nights" over the last month, which are meant to be evenings where volunteers can brainstorm about our charity and learn about what THAF does hand-in-hand with African Impact. 

The first THAF Night was a fundraising talk accompanied by an interactive game about culture which made the volunteers examine just how different cultures can be even within the volunteer house. Another evening was spent toasting marshmallows in the garden and discussing what new items would be a good idea to add to the wishlist. Everyone had an enjoyable evening and some great suggestions came from it that we will now be seeing on the new wishlist.

In the next few weeks THAF will continue to build up to Christmas and fundraising for Inkanyezi Crèche. If you would like to donate to any of our projects please visit the Happy Africa website and follow the steps there. Please just remember to state what focal project you would like your money to go towards. Again, thank you to all those who have helped in the last month it is very much appreciated by everyone here in St. Lucia. 

Volunteer case study: Medical

Sarah on home-based care.

Sarah Marchand originally planned on volunteering for one month on the African Impact, St Lucia Medical Project. She instantly fell in love with the projects and the people and expressed her interest in extending her stay for an additional month. 

This is what Sarah has to say about her time in St Lucia as a medical volunteer.

Volunteer Profile
Name: Sarah Marchand

Age: 21

From: Connecticut, USA

Dates in St. Lucia: 20/08/12 - 26/10/12

Why did you choose the SLM project?

I was originally interested in the medical project because it seemed as if we got to visit patients in their homes and really get an insider view of their community. I was curious to see how their ways of life were different from my own. I was also very interested in being in Africa. For me it was between the Zambia program and the St. Lucia program and in the end I booked with SLM.

Why choose Africa? South Africa? St. Lucia?

Growing up I lived next door to a woman from Botswana. I would always go sit in her kitchen or on her porch and listen to stories of her childhood for hours. Ever since a young age I wanted to come to Africa because of her. I read every classic book about Africa and was just fascinated by what I learned. I’m with the project for two months as part of an internship through my university. When I was searching for a program to work with I knew that it was finally my chance to come to Africa. The St Lucia medical program just happened to be one I was particularly interested in.

Are you studying for medical related studies or have experience in the medical field?

In school I am studying Neuroscience but I am interested in becoming a Nurse Practitioner, hopefully with pediatrics. However, I also love working with the elderly population, which worked out well since we visit a lot of Gogos (grandmothers) on the home based care program. Also this summer I got certified as a Nurses Assistant back home in the US.

What is it like to be a medical volunteer?

Some days are incredible and inspiring and other days can be a little sad, but that is all part of the experience. On a daily basis we come into contact with people of various ages in intimate settings. Many times we get to sit in people’s homes and hear about the ups and downs of their lives. Sometimes we witness their hardships and try to help in any way possible, even if that is just providing them with a little bit of comfort and support. Other days we are invited inside for birthday cake or to share a good laugh and story with them. Every day is structured somewhat the same but at the same time every day as a medical volunteer holds something so new and exciting.

Medical volunteer Sarah with home-based care patient / Ezwenelisha Support Group member Bheki.

What were your highlights?

It’s hard to pick one project I’ve enjoyed the most or one day that has been the best. I have loved support group and getting to know the different members. I’ve also loved teaching HIV education at the primary school. It always feels good when a child in the community sees you outside of school and remembers your name or when someone from another project shows appreciation toward you. I remember at one support group when the members sang thanks to each person in the group and when they say thanks to their “Sisi’s” all of the volunteers got to dance in the middle of the circle. I was so moved. I felt incredibly loved and accepted by these women of the community. I don’t think I will ever forget that.

You can also read Sarah's personal blog to hear all about her experience as a medical volunteer.

Volunteer blogger: Elsbeth

Another one of our current volunteers is keeping a blog! Visit community volunteer 

Elsbeth's site to read all the latest updates from a volunteer on the ground. One of

our many Dutch volunteers, Elsbeth's blog is in her native tongue, but those who

don't speak Dutch can still view her beautiful photographs from her blog. 

Dinnertime with African Impact

Many who come to volunteer on our projects spend their last few hours writing down our cook Nonhlanhla's best recipes. Most are surprised at how Nonhlanhla is able to create dish after dish of mouth-watering food each day and want to take a little bit of her wholesome cooking home with them.

Many of our cook's recipes are derived from well-known African dishes, with some wholesome South African meals thrown into the mix along with the occasional cottage pie, pasta dish or lasagna.

Because these meals are so popular, we've decided to give you the recipe for one in particular - Chakalaka!

Chakalaka is a spicy South African vegetable relish traditionally served with bread, pap, stews or curries. At our dinners, we eat Chakalaka typically over pap or rice, and sometimes even on a baked potato if there are leftovers the next day.

Thought to have originated from the townships of Johannesburg, there are many variations on how to make Chakalaka, normally depending on region and family tradition, as well as the palate of the diners. Many versions include beans, tomatoes, onion, garlic and curry paste. 

Chakalaka is a quick and easy meal to make - not to mention delicious! 

Here is a recipe for basic Chakalaka: 

Ingredients:

3 medium onions, diced

3 medium carrots, diced

2 medium green bell peppers, diced

3 medium tomatoes, diced

curry powder, to your taste

salt, to taste

1 vegetable bouillon cube

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 - 2 tablespoons of oil for frying

1/4 cup of water

Directions:

1. Fry the onion and pepper together with oil in a large skillet until the onions are clear.

2. Add the grated carrots tomatoes, water and all the seasonings to your liking and cook for about 15-20 minutes. 

You can find more recipes for Chakalaka here, here or here. 

Guestbook update: Starfish

A man walked on a beach where hundreds of thousands of starfish lay stranded, and there was a boy throwing them back into the sea. The man said: "There is too many to make a difference." The boy threw another starfish into the water and said "I made a difference for that-one!" - I hope I made a difference to one or two starfish in my two weeks here. 

-Keith Porter, UK, October 2012

Staff Profile: Miriam

After volunteering for the St Lucia medical project for two months in May of 2012, Miriam Willmott decided to return to the projects as the intern representative for the Happy Africa Foundation (THAF).

A Cambridge native and drama enthusiast, 19-year-old Miriam enjoyed her first volunteer experience, saying she “enjoyed meeting all the people and getting to do all different types of projects.” Hungry to experience more, Miriam applied and was granted a position in St Lucia as the THAF intern. The position includes duties such as raising funds for the programme’s focal projects, increasing the charity’s visibility in the area and overseeing THAF projects.

“I thought it would be good to get experience in this kind of field,” says Miriam. “To be honest I was a bit lost and I had no idea what I wanted to do and it turned up at the right moment.”

Although interning for a charity is not something Miriam ever pictured for herself, she does find it a great experience in contrast to her friends, who are mostly attending university back home in the UK.

“I am learning more life skills that you wouldn’t if you were just in university,” claims Miriam, who feels volunteering and interning is a great alternative to work in the classroom, and is an education in and of itself.

Eager to make a difference and leave her mark, Miriam’s experience as both a volunteer and an intern make her a great mentor for current and future volunteers. To them, she says:

“You’ve got to be very open to new experiences and you’ve got to try everything.”

If you're interested in learning more about the African Impact internship programme, visit our official website. 

Monthly Update: September II

Volunteer Amanda using a balloon with the learners to
demonstrate the destruction of the immune system by HIV.

Continued from Monthly Update: September I...

HIV Education

A total of 19 members from both the Khula and Ezwenelisha community have passed our HIV Education course during the month of September, with much credit being owed to Mama Gumede for finding us two large groups.

Community coordinator Shwele has reported that volunteers have used a variety of ideas and techniques in order to help the students learn more. She says the volunteers improvise and put so much enthusiasm into what they are teaching instead of reading from the booklet and translating she follows the lead of the volunteers.

We also had some very innovative lessons being taught at HIV Education in the primary school, thanks to some very enthusiastic volunteers who have made the lessons easier by adding props and interactive activities for the kids. With our newly revamped "You Me and HIV" workbook, the volunteers are already seeing an improvement in the performance by the learners - 11 out of 13 of our one September group passed the test. 

The blackboard on the container has also come in handy!

Reading Club

Even a holiday weekend can't stop the Khula kids from joining volunteers at our library by the Induna's office to read and engage in learning games. 

A clear favourite among volunteers, on Friday afternoons volunteers have spent their time reading with children of all ages. Some of the younger children prefer to have the volunteers read to them and repeat back certain words, however the majority like having an English speaking person to read to. Volunteers help out the kids by correcting their mistakes, answering their questions enabling them to improve - helping with our goal of making learning fun! 

Adult Literacy

September saw the completion of our first Adult Literacy Course in Ezwenelisha. We had two ladies successfully complete the course. Both ladies had a good grasp of the English language, and informed volunteers that they had come to the course to improve their English levels to help when applying for jobs. This lead to the volunteers tailoring the course to the need of their students by teaching them how to write and present a CV, to write a letter of application and take part in a mock interview. 

The ladies were delighted with how much their English had improved over this seven week course. 'I want to thank African Impact for teaching me English' says one of the students (also an Ezwenelisha Support Group member). Nokwethemba told volunteers the students now have much more confidence and enjoy speaking English during the weekly support group meetings.

Afterschool Club

What have our volunteers not done at Afterschool Club this month?! Along with taking the Ezwenelisha Afterschool Club to the beach for an afternoon in the surf, the following activities were all ideas from our volunteers that they planned and executed themselves: a talent show, 'mini' Olympics, soccer baseball, and a fun day involving water races and obstacle courses. 

This month, the groups also did loads of crafts including paper flowers made using empty egg cartons, coloured paper and pipe cleaners as well as mask making using cups, paper plates, pipe cleaners and lots of various arts and crafts resources. Both afterschool clubs also had great fun designing and creating music makers made by making holes in bottle tops, threading string through them and tying them around the children's wrists/ankles resulting in afternoon of Zulu dancing! 

Volunteers and staff attending a traditional Zulu wedding.

Extras

September was a month filled with small projects, and entertaining weekends. Firstly, the volunteers were able to attend a Zulu wedding near the end of the month, which was surely a highlight for many. Although a long day for most, the wedding provided great insight into Zulu culture, and we were awed by the dancing and singing of the families and the traditions throughout. 

Small projects like the painting of one of the local churches was started and nearly finished in September, and a much-needed cleaning of the container was done one week before Reading Club. We are proud to say all of our gardens are doing wonderfully, and with the end of winter we are preparing for the changing of the seasons, and with it the planting of our summer crops like beans and potatoes. 

Over the coming months, we'll continue to update you on the progress of these small projects (like the brick building we are continuing to do for our extension to Inkanyezi Creche), and many more, so stay tuned! 

Monthly Update: September I

Volunteers were back at Malibongwe Creche this m

While most schools and Universities are commencing around the world and many countries prepare for winter, here in St Lucia summer is upon us. The onset of the rainy season and wind has us water-logged but it has not dampened our spirits!

September has seen a total of 23 volunteers come and go which means we have lots of stories to update you on. Let’s start with the community shall we...

Creche

The first week in September was our last week teaching at Snenhlanla Crèche, a favourite among volunteers who reported that the children there are very smart. Volunteers finished their time there with a review of all the topics that they have covered there over the past eight weeks while also teaching the children about the four 'African' seasons which was interesting and fun for the volunteers too, seeing as it is almost the complete opposite to their home countries!

Most of our time throughout September was spent at Malibongwe and Simunye Crèches. Malibongwe is a small home-run crèche. The children are all quite young which meant volunteers had to approach teaching these children with a different technique compared to the other crèches. Volunteer Julie and Alice created a life size human named 'Sipho' upon which the children could attach and remove various body parts when learning about the human body. 

Having found a learning style that suited the children, volunteers built on this by creating a "family members" poster to help the children identify themselves as well as mother/father, sister/brother and grandmother/grandfather figures by attaching the appropriate clothing and face onto a template. 

At the end of the month, our creatively-inclined volunteers also created a beautiful sign for the crèche, and Malibongwe principal Doris was thrilled with the result. 

At Simunye Crèche where the children are slightly older, volunteers were able to pick up where they left off last time we taught there. The large number of children has proven to be quite a handful but our volunteers have risen to the challenge. 

After a review week to recap and gage what the children can remember from our last visit, the volunteers have taught oral hygiene, garbage pick-up and how to use the toilet. Each child at Simunye Crèche has their own toothbrush and cup of water that they can use to brush their teeth each day with the help of the volunteers. 

Having been brought to African Impact's attention about the cleanliness of the toilets, community coordinator Shwele cleaned the 'long drop' toilets at the creche to the delight of the children who can now actually use them instead of going to the toilet outside. 

Preparing for Ezwenelisha Support Group.

Support Group

We have had an interesting few support groups these past four weeks. Volunteers planned the topic 'discrimination' to discuss with the members of the Khula Support Group over a three-week period and once at Ezwenelisha. The different support groups interpreted the topic in different ways and took the discussion in different directions such as discrimination between rich and poor, discrimination between employed and unemployed and discrimination based on one's HIV status.

The Ezwenelisha Support Group garden is still going strong, with members still taking home vegetables each week. The group has also had some interesting discussions about Zulu culture, mostly stemming from a wedding attended by the volunteers. The Gogos in particular gave some great insight into what it was like when they got married. 

Sadly, the end of this month saw the passing of Khula Support Group member Dolly's son. Volunteers spent the morning at Dolly's house with her fellow support group members to offer condolences and show their support during this difficult time.

10 Families

Volunteers have been hard at work creating new gardens for our 10 Families. This month Sibusiso and Cute Baby Mama both received gardens with spinach, cabbage and chilli's. 

Sibusiso has gained 4.5kg over the month of September. Volunteers have reported that he is looking very good, has been going for longs walks and says he feels great! Furthermore, Cute Baby Mama has gained 3.5kg throughout September even though she was battling with the flu earlier in the month. She has also been warmly welcomed as a member of the Ezwenelisha Support Group.

The Gogo of the Zikhale family from our 10 families program has been experiencing difficulties with her 11 year old granddaughter not wanting to help around the house. Nokwethemba and volunteers spent an hour with the Zikhele Family one Friday afternoon as Gogo shared her story. 

Gogo Zikhale has also fallen and hurt her ankle and as a consequence has been unable to look after her grandchildren to the best of her ability meaning she could not make them their Epap resulting in the family loosing weight from the previous week. However, the family are still gaining compared to two weeks prior and this is being closely monitored. It has been suggested that Gogo Zikhale join Khula Support group to have additional support from African Impact and the members of her own community.

Medical volunteer Tucker giving a 'Khula environmental
initiative' speech to one week's participants.

Garbage Pick-Up 

In other news, our Garbage Pick-Up is fast becoming one of our most popular projects among volunteers and members of the community. 

To regulate the vast number of participants (57 showed up one week alone), it was decided that we would put a cap on the number of people that could take part at any given time. The Khula community was informed that 15-20 participants could take part in the Garbage Pick-Up.

Upon completion of three afternoons on the programme, the participant will receive a certificate of appreciation. 

Each week volunteers deliver a 'Khula environmental initiative' speech composed by volunteers Tiago and Sarah, which is meant to educate the members of the programme on the advantages of keeping their community clean. 

So far, we have had 28 members of the Khula community receive garbage certificates and over 40 members have taken part in one or more garbage pick-ups. This project is a great way for volunteers and the community to see a difference being made straight away, to spend time with one another (volunteers have reported that their Zulu is improving because of this) and also to walk through the beautiful community that is Khula.

Keeping checking back for more updates from the month of September...