World AIDS Day begins

Volunteers, staff and the communities took a vow today that "AIDS is going to lose" to kick off our World AIDS Day celebrations tomorrow. Over the next few days check back on our page and follow us on Twitter at @AI_StLucia for updates.

Callout for submissions: Twitter profile

Attention all past, present and future volunteers!

Last week, our current volunteers spent an evening creating African Impact logos out of whatever they could find - cups, condoms, even one of our boxes we take to crèche.

Now it's your turn - SO GET CREATIVE!

Create an African Impact Logo (check out our Christmas logo or the example picture for some inspiration) and send your creation in a photo to alanna@africanimpact.com.

At the end of the month we will close submissions and put up a Facebook album where you will be able to vote for your favourite, newly-designed logo!

The idea is that through a competition on our Facebook page, we will use the winning image for our Twitter avatar (the picture in the top left corner).

Looking forward to seeing your submissions!!

Monthly Update: October II

Read the first installment of our October update here. 

Support Group

Sadly this month saw the passing of Khula Support Group member Dolly's son. Her fellow members, including African Impact Staff and volunteers, have been supporting her through this difficult time.

On a happier note, the ladies from Khula Support Group were brought to yoga instructer David's house where they discussed the effect of other drugs on antiretroviral medications before enjoying a dip in his pool and a swimming lesson instructed by David himself!

An applicable topic discussed at both support groups this month was 'stress'. An interesting topic because stress can affect people in many different ways and people have their own was of coping with stress. Members shared their own ways of reducing stress and discussed what they found to be most affective. Volunteers also made stress balls using balloons and sand for the members to squeeze during the duration of the morning and to keep for future situations as a method to help them relieve stress.

Furthermore, this month at Ezwenelisha Support Group the members received new banana plants which they planted with the help of the volunteers in their garden. As bananas are a difficult crop to grow successfully, volunteers prepared information about how to take care for there plants both in  English and in Zulu. We’re confident the Gogos know how to grow the banana plants, and at the end of the month they were looking healthy. The end of the winter months also means our garden needed new crops, which were planted this month after the last of the onions, beetroot and spinnach were handed out between the members by Gogo Joyce herself.

Reading Club has flourished even more this month!

Other

It may have rained for well over half of October (the estuary and park are looking beautiful and green!) but that did not stop us from handing out over 20 Garbage Pick-Up certificates this month. Even through thunder and lightning meant the afternoon activity had to be sidelined, the volunteers managed to deliver their Khula Environmental Initiative speech underneath the cover of Jimbo’s Car Wash! 

Volunteer Gabby and Volunteer Coordinator Carla painted the ABC's on the classroom wall in Simuyne Creche. The teachers were so delighted that when they finished they came into the classroom and started to sing 'A is for apple, B is for Banana, C is for Cat...etc'.

Finally an update on our Reading Club, and there is not much more to say than it is continuing to grow each and every week. The number of children and their enjoyment of reading continues to increase along with the volunteer’s ideas to improve the Friday afternoon activity. Volunteer Ulla has suggested making library cards to issue to all the children that come and read at the library to give them a sense of belonging to a club and being part of a team – this will happen at the beginning of November.

Volunteers and staff with their delicious braai on the beach.

Weekends and special events

With few volunteers at the beginning of the month Volunteer Coordinator Carla took the volunteers through iSimangaliso Wetland Park on game drive where they saw impala, buffalo, warthog, water buck and rhino. After an eventful braai where they had to constantly chase away the monkeys they went for a walk on the beach and a dip in the sea and finally stopped at beautiful mission rocks on their way out of the park.

Volunteers have also had fabulous weekends away at Bayete Zulu Game Reserve where they got very close to the elephants and despite the weather had a wonderful time, self-guided tours of Swaziland and a long weekend at Kosi Bay on a turtle tour. One particular group’s game drive in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi park produced the Big 5 (leopard, lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo) before 9 am!

To hear all about our special events with The Happy Africa Foundation, check out THAF Intern Miriam Willmott's blog. 

Monthly Update: October I

It's been an uncharacteristically rainy October, but that hasn't affected us! We've had some great fundraisers, special events and of course our current projects are going well. Let's see what our 15 volunteers have been up to during the month of October...

Crèche 

Holiday Club at Khula opened the month of October for our community volunteers because children were on school holidays. Volunteers planned and executed a number of activities including flower making, water races, musical statues, football and a talent show.

After the holidays, volunteers taught at Khula Nomathiya and Ndabenhle crèches. As you will know from previous blogs our massive influx of volunteers this year have allowed us to teach at each of our eight crèches for an eight week period and offer each crèche an additional four weeks. This month we completed our additional four weeks at Khula Nomathiya and commenced our additional four weeks at Ndabenhle Crèche.

Volunteers finished at Khula Nomathiya satisfied with the level of knowledge of the children and felt comfortable that they will perform well at their graduation ceremony. Volunteers used new and creative ways to test the children on what they had learned throughout the year such as having them put coloured blocks in the correct colour bucket and playing a game that meant them having to get into groups with a certain number of people to test their understanding of numbers.

At both crèches volunteers taught the fun and exciting topic of 'The 5 Senses'. This allowed volunteers to get creative and the children to have immense fun while learning. Volunteers used blind folds, music, various foods and objects to engage all the children's senses. The laughs and giggles from the children in the class were infectious and definitely a highlight of the month for our community volunteers.

As it is nearing graduation for the older children at crèche it's practice, practice, practice as they will be expected to present what they have learned over the past year before beginning primary school next year. This is allowing the volunteers to pin point the areas that the children are struggling in and spend more time focusing on those particular topics before graduation. Community coordinator Shwele has said that the teachers at Ndabenhle Crèche have continued to teach our lessons and was so surprised and happy that the learners seem to have remembered everything they had been taught from our previous time there.

Let's not forget to update you on Inkanyezi Crèche, which we teach at every Friday. Since the new crèche was been built in July the learners are constantly increasing. However, this has not affected the quality of learning. Community coordinator Shwele and volunteers both agree that the children at this crèche are exceptional and credit should be given to the hard work of Principal Mama Gumede and her teachers.

All dressed up and ready for Halloween!

Afterschool Club

Let the madness begin! As the year draws to a close you would think children would start to tire after a long year in school but not our kids from our Afterschool Clubs. If anything they seem to have more energy, keeping our volunteers busy by wanting to play various ball games, make cards for volunteers and friendship bracelets, among other activities.

Lucky for us Halloween fell on a Wednesday this year so staff and volunteers dressed up as skeletons, lions, zebra and butterflies and gave the children of Khula Afterschool club the treat of an afternoon of facepainting. Let's just say there was a lot of skeletons and South African flags walking through Khula that day!

Not so far away at Ezwenelish Afterschool Club volunteers were busy making flowers using old egg cartons, crepe paper and pipe cleaners and animal masks from paper plates. Also at Ezwenelisha our iPod and speakers may have broken but that did not stop volunteer Karen from teaching them the dance to 'Stop' by the spice girls. The children here in Zululand are so musically gifted that they remembered every move the following week and have continued to perform the dance each week. 

HIV Education 

Community volunteer Elsbeth practicing the weekly
condom demonstration for our adult learners.

With the help of Inkanyezi Creche's Principal Mama Gumede, we have had an absolutely amazing turnout for Adult HIV education this month in Dukuduku. We have had an incredible 45 students complete and pass our HIV Education course. At the beginning of October volunteer Keith and Gabby had a class of 13 students, and later in the month community volunteer Elsbeth taught a large class of 17.

Community coordinator Shwele has been very impressed with the variety of teaching techniques and new ideas that volunteers have come up with. Volunteer Elsbeth even put in extra efforts, by practising her condom demonstration over lunch. 

Volunteers Sarah and Karen were were excited to report that 12 out of 14 learners who took the first  Primary HIV Education course in October passed the test with flying colours! And 10 out of 13 learners passed our second Primary HIV Education course in October.

Furthermore we had a student at our Adult HIV Education course who had also taken our Primary School class. She happily reported to Shwele that she now has certificates from both of our courses – a great accomplishment!

Adult Literacy Club

Adult Literacy Club commenced again this month in Ezwenelisha. In addition after the teachers from Khula Nomathiya Creche expressed interest in advancing their English skills we have also began teaching ALC in Khula. The learners are very keen and dedicated to improving their English skills. The volunteers have also reviewed the way in which they teach the students by trying to build their confidence when speaking English in front of others.