An amazing 6 months as The Happy Africa Foundation Intern

For the last six months Stacey Addison has interned for The Happy Africa Foundation (THAF) in partnership with African Impact in St. Lucia. Her time has now come to an end in St. Lucia and she has done an amazing job. Take a look at her final blog for THAF. 

When I first arrived as a volunteer in May I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was hoping that this trip would help me figure out the next step I needed to take. Those three weeks of volunteering taught me so much about myself and a new culture and it’s fair to say that I realised then that I couldn't go back home to a ‘normal’ life. 

Stacey and a young learner at reading club 

I knew that if I didn't make that decision quickly I would go home and get stuck back in the rut that I had been in for the last few months, so it was time to call the parents and explain that I had seen an advert for an internship with The Happy Africa Foundation in St Lucia.

The rest is history, within hours of arriving back in the UK I had been offered the internship for 6 months and by the end of that week I had signed my contract, handed my notice in at work and booked my flights back. 

A quick decision but the right one, I wanted to do more for the communities I had worked in for the last 3 weeks and get amazing work experience in fundraising and events coordinating and where else better to do it but the beautiful settings of St Lucia, South Africa.

After meeting Monique at Durban airport I was so excited to see everyone and get straight into the internship. Driving past Khula Village and back over the bridge into St Lucia I felt like I was back home, which may seem crazy considering I had only been here for 3 weeks previously but this place quickly takes its hold.

 

Helping at the first local Hippo Fest was a highlight for THAF 

Writing this now I can’t quite believe that I am in my last week as the intern, which has been the best 6 months of my life.

I have been lucky enough to have met some incredible people who have inspired me with their strength and community spirit. 

Some of these people which have very little and have lost many loved ones young and old, yet their smiles are still beautiful and captivating.

Some facts about what I have achieved during my time here as the St Lucia Intern. I have raised the following through fundraising events and very kind donations from volunteers through campaigns and talks during their time with African Impact:

Medical Projects: R15,329.57

10 Families Programme: R6,393.75

Inkanyezi Crèche Redevelopment Programme: R57,626.87

THAF Merchandise: R4440

Emergency Funding for House Repairs: R8640.70

TOTAL (exc Merchandise): R87,990.89 (£5136.38)

The day I stepped into my manager’s office I knew I had made the right decision to leave my friends and family behind to pursue work experience with The Happy Africa Foundation and I have never once regretted flying over 8000km away from home to follow this dream. 

For everyone that thought I was crazy to give up everything in the UK, well I proved you wrong and I couldn't be more proud of my achievements here. I never imagined that I would be able to raise so much money for such an amazing charity and that means so much.

Stacey and a little one enjoying her last week as a THAF Intern  

The last 6 months in St Lucia, have been incredibly inspiring and I have grown to call this place my home from home. 

Meeting so many new people, making new friends and learning so much about a new career path and myself, none of that would have happened if I hadn't to the leap and left the UK.

Thank You for everything St Lucia!

“Poverty is not an accident. Like slavery and apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of human beings.” - Nelson Mandela (1918-2013)

If interning for THAF  interests you then please visit their website to find out more.  

What CAN you do with old soft drink CANS?

Past education volunteer Loes Smeets from Holland passed alone some of her rather epic skills to members of Khula community, skills that she had learnt from her grandfather. Loes was kind enough to write a blog about the workshop she ran with the community members so we can all be equally as green and cool as her (plus it is in Dutch and English!)!

Workshop: Yes we can!

Hergebruik is de laatste tijd steeds meer uitgegroeid tot een van mijn grootste fascinaties. Er zijn op deze wereld zo veel restproducten waarmee je, als je er een beetje creatief mee omgaat, zoveel meer mee kan doen dan ze afschrijven en op een grote hoop gooien met de noemer 'rommel'. Ik shopte natuurlijk wel al vaker bij de kringloop, maar er zijn zo veel meer manieren waarop hergebruikt kan worden. In mijn studie architectuur zie je bijvoorbeeld dat renovatie en herbestemming ook een soort van hergebruik genoemd kunnen worden. Oude gebouwen worden daarbij namelijk geherwaardeerd. Maar ook alledaagse gebruiksvoorwerpen en materialen kunnen hergebruikt worden, zoals een blikje...
Hierbij mijn workshop van blik tot blikvanger.

Re-use has become one of my fascinations lately. People often throw things away which you can re-use, if you look at them at a different perspective. People easily throw things away, because they don't see their value any more, but there are so many ways to reuse those items. I already used to shop  for clothes, bags etc. at the thriftshop sometimes. And reuse in my field of study, Architecture, can be found in the renovation and reallocation of buildings. Also objects can be reused, for example a soda can.....
This is my workshop: yes we can!

Stap 1

Neem een willekeurig leeg blikje frisdrank en spoel het uit onder de kraan.
Take any empty soda can and wash it out with water. 

Stap 2

Neem een scherpe schaar en prik een gat in het blikje, net onder de knik.
Take a sharp scissor and make a hole in the can, just below the bend in the can. 

Stap 3

Knip rondom het blikje en scheid zo de bovenkant van de onderkant van het blikje. 

Cut all the way round untill the top of the can comes of. 

Stap 4

Droog het blikje van binnen en eventueel van buiten. (Pas op de scherpe randen!)
Dry the can on the in- and outside. (Watch out you don't cut yourself!)

Stap 5

Knip stroken in het blikje van ongeveer 5mm wijd. Zorg ervoor dat je knipt tot aan de bodem van het blikje en dat alle stroken even wijd zijn. 
Cut straps from approximately 5mm. Make sure you cut them all the way down to the bottom of the can and try to cut them all at the same width.

Stap 6

Buig alle stroken naar beneden en draai het blikje om. Druk de bodem van het blikje op de tafel om ervoor te zorgen dat alle stroken naar buiten blijven staan. 
Push all the straps down and turn the can over. Press the bottom of the can firmly on the table to make sure all the straps will stay down. 

Stap 7

Knip de punten van alle stroken schuin af. Knip alle punten richting dezelfde kant af!
Cut the ends of all the straps diagonally. Cut all the straps in the same direction!

Stap 8

Vouw een van de stroken schuin naar links. 
Fold one of the straps diagonally to the left. 

Stap 9

Draai het blikje om en vouw de strook zodat hij in zichzelf terug haakt.

Turn the can upside-down and fold the strap back into itself. 

Stap 10

Duw met je vinger op de boven en onderkant van de strook om ervoor te zorgen dat het op de plaats blijft zitten. 
Press with your finger at the top and the bottom of the strap to secure it into place. 

Stap 11

Buig een tweede strook over de eerste strook heen en draai het blikje weer om. Laat ook deze strook in zichzelf terug haken. Zorg ervoor de de twee stroken in elkaar haken en duw weer de boven en de onderzijde aan. Herhaal deze stap voor alle andere stroken

Now bend a second strap over the first one and turn the can around again. Also bend this strap back into itself. Make sure the two straps interlock. Press with your finger at the bottom and top. Repeat this for all the other straps. 

Stap 12

De laatste strook moet ook op dezelfde manier gevouwen worden als omschreven in stap 11.

Also repeat step 11 for the last strap.

Stap 13

Vouw de eerste strook over de laatste heen zodat ze in elkaar vallen. 
Make sure the first strap interlocks with the last strap. Fold the first strap over the last one. 

Stap 14

Je theelichthouder/asbak is klaar voor gebruik!
Your tea light holder/ashtray is ready to use!

Theelichthouder - Tea light holder

Asbak - Ashtray

Thokozile @ workshop South-Africa

An afternoon as a 'Rural Healthcare and HIV/AIDS Awareness' volunteer: Hannah Carr

Volunteers sometimes find themselves faced with moments on projects that provoke such an intense passion, emotion and desire to make an impact, that it can often be hard to find the words to express these feelings. This entry is straight from past 19 year old Australian volunteer Hannah Carr's journal.  

October 3, 2013- Day 2 Adult HIV Education Course:

“The second HIV class was a combination of hilarious, impressive and incredibly heart-warming! The difference in all the men today compared to yesterday (day one) was wonderful! They were so confident and comfortable speaking about HIV and even about STIs, that I was feeling really overwhelmed at the end of the day, knowing I helped make that happen. 

We had to do the condom demonstration and my gosh, did that make me laugh! Between sexual jokes and awkwardness and the men momentarily thinking they had to practice on themselves, it was a huge dose of laughter! The one woman of the class was very timid, so I sat with her and we went through it together; which I’m glad I did!

Again, the men blew me away today with their honesty and well-thought-out questions, as well as the way they responded to the information we gave them. It really felt like they believed in what we were teaching, particularly when I started talking about being proud of who they are- HIV positive or negative- and that they were all equal and worthy people, regardless of their HIV status.
I cannot wait for the exam tomorrow afternoon and to give out the certificates; even if they forget some of the medical stuff, removing the stigma and discomfort of speaking about HIV is so HUGE and I feel so, so lucky to be a part of that.”

- Hannah Carr, 19, Australia.

The below pictures were from the last day of the Adult HIV Education course, where each and every student in Hannah's and fellow volunteer, Jo's class passed!

For more information on volunteering our Rural Healthcare and HIV/AIDS Awareness project or any other AFrican Impact project please follow this link: http://www.africanimpact.com/

September Monthly Update

A quieter month than we are used to here in St. Lucia but none the less productive! With 14 volunteers and a few special visitors it’s been a great month for staff, community members and of course volunteers. Some very exciting changes are on the horizon for our Medical Outreach and HIV Awareness program so watch this space for more information and possible ways you could be involved in shaping its future.

The' Medical Outreach and HIV Awareness' program received a visit from Min, manager for African Impact's Healthcare projects. Volunteers led Min out on projects and were thrilled to be working closely with her as she and the team formulated ideas which will be put into place over the next few months as a way to progress the project. 

Rachel helping volunteers on 10 families

A couple of sneaky examples how things will evolve include incorporating a lot more education into the 10 Families nutrition program so that it will focus not just on weight gain but also on positive and healthy living. We will also be compiling a new and improved ‘Medical Induction’ so volunteers feel more comfortable and prepared before they head out onto project. 

The first step for all of this coming together is working alongside Rachel, our newest member of the African Impact St Lucia team. Rachel is a trained nurse who has worked for AI previously, she will be working closely with the volunteers,  communities and staff  as our new ‘Medical Adviser’ to ensure that our Medical project is the best it can be... we are very excited to see how the next few months play out!!

Veronic was thrilled to get spinach

Harvesting from our gardens to give to our 10 Families and Home Based Care patients was a brilliant achievement on the medical project this month as it really shows that all you lovely volunteers and your hard work has paid off. Every volunteer who has been a part of each of our gardens throughout the year should be very proud of themselves, these gardens really do bring a lot of people joy as well as fresh, nutritious vegetables. Top job volunteers!

We were lucky to have volunteer Emma Leek join us this month who is studying nutrition. Emma put together an amazing presentation on nutrition when living with HIV/AIDS, as well as one specific for  nutrition with infants for our ‘VulnerableChildren and Rural Families Support’ program. These presentations were given to our support groups as well as Girls Club. Everyone had a lot of questions and Emma was able to answer them all with great professionalism. Good work Em!

Pat and Selien painting a a new bed for Malibongwe

Our Community program has been on flying form! 

With beds and shelves being made and delivered, gardens tended to, garbage certificates being handed out and of course visits to the Croc Center. 

Staff member Nonhlanhla visited for the first time this month and after being very nervous at the beginning, she did manage to pluck up the courage to clean one of the pens.

Children at Simunye enjoying a lesson with volunteer Ge

The ‘OrphanDay Care and HIV/AIDS Education’ program continues to go from strength to strength. This month volunteers attended Simunye Crèche on the second round of rotations and volunteers and staff were excited to see how much the children had improved. 

They children did not disappoint! After completing Child Assessments, everyone was thrilled to see how much the children had improved and the new skills they had learnt.

Reading Club has been, as always, INCREDIBLE! Every week brings new members and more and more children receiving certificates as they reach their reading goals proving not only that it is a sustainable project, but learning is fun! This Club is something we are very proud of here in St Lucia.

Volunteers helping staff with the condom demonstartion

Along with all our projects we have been involved in a few different events this month. The clinic held a Family Planning day to raise awareness of the next contraception method, the coil. After talks from nurses and councillors, AI volunteers and staff did a condom demonstration and talked about the importance of staying safe during sex. 

It was an interesting event to be involved in and it led to women getting the coil inserted there and then. Success!

We even dropped in on the weekend to assist with a new Environmental group in Khula launching their new club by doing a huge garbage pick-up session. This was amazing as KYD (Khula Youth Development) had organised for different speakers and organisations to get involved and talk to the community about the importance of the environment and why it is important for the younger generation to take charge. It was such a fun and fruitful day!

KYD Enviro Day! 

Months like this are only possible because of all you rad volunteers joining us and throwing all your passion into the projects! September saw lots of exciting developments, and we are looking forward to seeing how the year concludes.. stay tuned!

The Happy Africa Foundation - September

THAF Intern Stacey Addison has been working as hard as ever for us here at African Impact St. Lucia, take a look at the work she has been up to. Wait! There is more! Check out the stats from half way through her stay, it's pretty amazing! 

Limke (pictured left) saw our donation request on Facebook

A scale for our 10 Families focal project was donated! Massive thanks to Medical Outreach and HIV Awareness volunteer Limke de Hoek!!!

 3 baby packs were given out to new mothers in the communities full of clothes and essential baby items.

 Quiz Night raised R1545 for the Medical Project, with 5 teams competing for a prize of wine and beer glasses.

African Impact Thanda visited St Lucia and we got everyone together to participate in a quiz which was made by one of Thanda’s Volunteer Coordinators, Tara. All of the volunteers enjoyed meeting each other and we were able to raise money for THAF and their Rhino fund. R135.50 was raised for THAF which will go towards Inkanyezi Crèche.

Gogo was thrilled with the mattress received on a visit from Flo and Selien.

        We delivered a bed and mattress to Veronic, one of our 10 Families and Home Based Care patients. Although she wasn’t at home she had a lovely surprise when she got home to find a new bed which was made and painted by volunteers. 

      We also delivered a mattress to Gogo Khumalo. She was so happy to receive this donation and it has made her life a lot more comfortable.

       

      We held a yoga session at the volunteer house with local yoga guru David which raised R120 for Inkanyezi Crèche.

Some of the many donations we received being put to good use. 

     The donations room has been restored after peak season and all donations have now been labelled and organised with donations being sorted ready for Christmas.

       Lots of awesome crafts were made at Holiday Club, After School Clubs and in crèche lessons using donations given by past volunteers.

THAF 3 Month Update - Halfway Through Stace's Internship

We’ve held 3 Quiz Nights which have raised R5574 for the Medical Projects.

9 volunteer events have been held since the beginning of July.

      Volunteer events have raised R2912.10 for the Medical Projects.

      Hippo Festival raised R1763.05 for the Medical Projects.

           THAF Merchandise has bought in R1952.56 for The Happy Africa Foundation.

            Virgin Money Giving Page has raised around R15,000 for Inkanyezi Crèche.

     Thanks to everyone who was involved with all these events, fundraisers and projects. None of this would have been possible without all of our volunteers fantastic work. For more information about how you can help, click here to find out more about The Happy Africa Foundation.

August Monthly Update

What a month and what an incredible way to end 'peak season'! August alone saw 32 volunteers give their time, effort and skills to our three projects and we are so happy that everyone gave 110%, 7 days a week!

Some sad goodbyes were shared as we said farewell to long term staff member AlannaWallace. She will be greatly missed here in St. Lucia but we know she will be moving on to inspire and empower more people as she has done here.

Volunteers planning for the week ahead

Our MedicalOutreach and HIV Awareness project has been very busy this month with so many volunteers. 

We have been able to visit the clinic up to three times a week, community members have been getting a lot of help on home assistance and we are starting to see improvements with some patients on Home Based Care and 10 Families. 

We have begun to visit a new family on our 10 Families nutrition program who are in great need of love and support. 

Gogo has been left with her four grandchildren who are all very malnourished and in need of some serious attention.

Volunteers along with Nokwethemba visited the family and took clothing donations, toys and cleaning items. After giving all the children a bath and fitting them in their new clothes, help was given to Gogo around the house and garden.

All five of the members are now on our nutritional supplement Epap and we are beginning to see improvements in their weight and health.

Melinda and Abby on their way for a morning at clinic

Clinic has been extremely busy with volunteers seeing 1118 patients!

Amongst our Adult HIV Education graduates there were two B&Bs in St. Lucia that participated. 

All who took part passed and not only did they receive a certificate but the business did as well for showing their commitment to their staff members. 

We have had some difficult times on the medical project with Big Mama passing away from Home Based Care and Skinny Boy from 10 Families. This was tough for volunteers and Nokwethemba as they both were patients who we visited regularly. Both funerals were attended and we took a donation of food to show our support to the families. 

So much happened this month on our Medical Project, and volunteers were instrumental in it has being so amazing! 

Our VulnerableChildren and Rural Family Support project has gone from strength to strength over peak season with the garden in Ezwenelisha for our Support Group being a huge highlight. 

With the fence completed and the soil ready, volunteers and support group members have planted all types of seedling; spinach, onions, green peppers, tomatoes and beetroot are all starting to take great shape.

This has been such an achievement for all involved and we hope that it will continue to develop and grow as the weeks go on. 

The girls enjoying their garbage pick-up day

Garbage Pick-up and Girls Club joined forces for one afternoon and cleaned the primary schools play ground collecting 15bags of garbage, bringing the total of bags for the month to 60 bags of garbage! 

Girls Club have also journaled on topics on inspirational women, and were able to decorate new journals whilst learning about taking pride in everything that you do. 

This group of girls are very special and we are excited or the rest of the years activities.

Inkanyezi Crèche continues its makeover with all the tyres in the play group getting an expert paint job. Volunteers spent one morning painting amazing designs on the tyres and it really brightens up the yard. Needless to say Mama G was delighted by the results. 

Meeting the crocs!

One of the highlights of this month’s community project was returning to the Crocodile Center as volunteers.

 Each week volunteers have been visiting the centre or go out into iSimangaliso Wetland Park and clean crocodile pens, cut back alien plant species and make new paths in the forest.

 Volunteers and staff have learnt a lot about crocs whilst at the centre and have even had the chance to get up close and personal!

 We are excited to continue our work with this fantastic project.

Peak season is always a great time for our OrphanDay Care and HIV/AIDS Education project as we can visit multiple crèches! This month we attended Snenhlanhla Crèche, Khula Nomathiya and a week at Inkanyezi Creche (still including Fridays).

One very happy learner

Child Assessments were completed and it was amazing to see how much the children at Khula Nomathiya and Snenhlanhla had improved since the assessments at the beginning of the year.

The teachers were thrilled with the progress the kids had made and it was lovely to see our Zulu education coordinator Shwele so proudly showing the report cards to the principal.

 All the children at Khula Nomathiya can now write their ABCs and 123s without help or looking at the wall chart!

 Well done to all the teachers, volunteers and of course Shwele for all the hard work that has been put into helping these children achieve such great things.

 Reading Club has now seen 5 members gain their gold certificate status with three of these becoming ‘Zulu leaders for Zulu readers’.

Adult English Class enjoying an afternoon of lessons

All the children at Reading Club continue to impress us with their reading skills and more and more reading goals are being achieved each week.

Adult English Class is fast becoming a volunteer favorite as the students are getting more confident every week in their ability.

Mama Doris especially is practicing her English whenever possible and she is really enjoying the lessons volunteers have been putting together.

With the amount of volunteers this month we were able to put on some awesome events nights as well as attending some in the community.

 THAF (The Happy Africa Foundation) intern Stacey held some great fundraisers, including quiz nights and a Mexican themed evening, all raising a lot of money for THAF, find out more by visiting the monthly update from Stacey!

Happy Hearts vs AI 

International Women’s Day was a highlight for many people as a game of netball pursued. African Impact played against ‘Happy Hearts’, the local team in Khula. Happy Hearts did extremely well and beat African Impact hands down!

 THAF delivered a donation of football jerseys received from some lovely Irish volunteers to the local football team. 

Following this hand over everyone cheered on the football teams who battled it out for the winning title.

Although the rain was pouring down it didn't dampen anyone's spirits and everyone had a great day. 

After both the matches volunteers performed a short play on drug awareness demonstrating the dangers of how drugs can affect you.

Our final group of peak season

Overall it has been an amazing month and a fantastic way to finish peak season. Thank you to everyone who has been part of the year to date. 

The passion and dedication shown by all the volunteers is truly inspiring, and we are so proud to have you join us as part of the African Impact St Lucia team.

 You all really have made an impact! 

We look forward to keeping you updated on how everything in St. Lucia is going!