A difficult goodbye from THAF

The last seven months seem to have flown by, filled with so much laughter and so many smiling faces, that when I look back on my time in St. Lucia I feel proud to be part of such a wonderful team and organisation. The work that is achieved here overwhelms me and I have loved that I have been able to be a part of it.

When I started in September 2012 after volunteering earlier that same year, I was unsure of how much I would be able to achieve as this internship was unlike anything I had done before. But as the weeks went by I felt more and more comfortable in the role and with the help of the team we managed to include and introduce more people into the work that happens in St. Lucia.

As well as fundraising and handling donations I got to spend time in the communities and working on the projects. Although I had already volunteered with African Impact St. Lucia on the medical project, interning was a different experience altogether. 

As an intern, I looked at the projects from a different angle and saw the people in a new light, which was enjoyable in a different and new way. I loved the challenge of having to handle day-to-day issues that I would not have done as a volunteer.

The local and international staff that I have worked with have all been incredible and they have shaped this experience into what it has become. It is such a team effort on the part of the St Lucia staff and those based around Africa, and it was a pleasure to work alongside them. I got the feeling that I was part of something truly special. 

This internship would be very difficult without the knowledge of the local Zulu staff as they are cultural experts and can let you know if you are going about things in the right way. It is very important to go through the correct procedures when doing anything with the communities and it would be very hard to do this without this team that I have been lucky enough to work with.

Now that my time here as an intern has come to an end it doesn’t seem possible that I have achieved all that I have. I would encourage everyone to intern at an organisation like this as it will change your life completely. I have worked with some of the most inspiring people in the most inspiring place and I would like to say thank you to everyone who has been a part of it.

How is Reading Club fairing 2013?

The registration booth at Reading Club is a popular place.

Since the beginning of our Reading Club in July of last year, the Friday afternoon Reading Club sessions have been a major hit with the Khula kids and volunteers alike.

Reading Club is off to a roaring start this year. It came as no surprise to staff that as projects began and volunteers rolled into Reading Club, so did the readers. We are very proud of the progress volunteers have already made with the Reading Club with many more books being sorted,  cleaning being done and the children's registration being executed.

Volunteers kicked off the first registration of the year at the beginning of March. As children arrived they attended the registration desk and received a member card with their name on it. Our first registration had 52 readers attend! We collected their name and their age for our records. 

Last year we were lucky to have a librarian volunteering with us at the time of sorting through all the books we had received as donations. Our books are coded into different categories by coloured stickers; baby, early reader/toddler, 7-12 years, teenage and adult. It is important for the volunteers to record a child's age, so when our volunteers are reading with a learner they are aware of roughly the level at which the child should be reading.

Since our first registration, we have had 25 more registered readers. The large number of children in attendance has not dimmed the positive attitudes of any volunteers with everyone taking the flood of readers in their stride. 

Volunteers spread their time between children and rotate between groups to ensure that their time is shared equally.

As a reader completes a book with a volunteer, they attend the registration desk again to have the book signed off on their reading card. We have introduced a bronze certificate given after 5 books have been read, a silver certificate after 15 books have been read, and a gold certificate after 30 books have been read. 

This is something the children and volunteers are very excited to work towards and at the end of every month we will hand out any due certificates to our eager readers. With the end of March fast  approaching, we have no doubt there will be several certificates to hand out!

The Apple Game

Can you spot the cheater in the group?

'The Apple Game' was introduced to our St Lucia projects on a Monday afternoon planning session by Swedish volunteer Johanna Johansson.

This game was suggested as a fun activity following a lesson surrounding healthy foods for the children of Khula Nomathiya Crèche. It has since been a hit with children both from Inkanyezi Crèche and Simunye Crèche.

In preparation for the apple game you will need:-

* A bag of apples (consider the number of children who may be partaking)

* A ball of string

* A knife

The simplicity of the game is grand.

The apples are quartered and punctured in the middle.

Thread is strung through the pieces.

String is hung from one level to a next at a height slightly above the heads of the children.

Ask the children to try and eat a piece with their hands behind their backs... keep your eyes on them! They will try and sneak their hands out!

It is a brilliant just how much the children enjoy this game, their eyes wide as the string and apples get strung and their cute desperation as they contemplate how to get the apple pieces without using their hands. Their attention is easily held here because they like to check out how their fellow classmates fair!

THAF Update: February

The yoga class was a fundraising
event that will surely catch on.

Miriam, African Impact - St Lucia's intern from The Happy Africa Foundation (THAF) writes all about fundraising for the focal projects during the month of February. Hear straight from her what a success her fundraising efforts have been this month past.

Although February was a short month that didn’t stop us being as busy as ever in St. Lucia! We have had a great time teaming up with African Impact Thanda as well as hosting other events and receiving some amazing donations from some excellent volunteers.

The month started with a THAF breakfast for departing volunteers. This was a lovely way to say goodbye to dedicated volunteers, while raising R250 for the medical projects. 

The following week I spent in Thanda working with their team and volunteers. It was a great experience and very different from St. Lucia (especially as we had cheetah in camp the first night!) 

It was a lovely week but I got straight back into THAF work when I got back to St. Lucia with a yoga event held by David Lawson on a Monday evening. The session was held at the house for staff and volunteers. Ten people attended, making it a very successful event. We raised R300 and split it between David and the projects, meaning that the medical project received another R150. Everyone greatly enjoyed this event and hopefully we will make it a regular activity for the house.

The next weekend, Thanda staff and volunteers descended on St. Lucia for a few days of civilisation. Volunteers teamed up with each other and embarked on a scavenger hunt through the streets of St. Lucia.

One of the winning photos from our scavenger hunt.

Some hilarious pictures were taken as well as some very questionable ones but in the end the “Fearsome Foursome” took the crown. After the hunt we all had dinner at John Dory’s who were kind enough to supply our group with a gift voucher for the winner as well as giving us 10% of our final bill back to put into our projects. 

The whole evening was very special and will definitely become a regular event on both the St. Lucia and Thanda calendars. Overall the event raised R1500 which was split between the two projects.

Along with these great events, we have also been lucky enough to receive some fantastic donations. Education volunteer Shuna arrived in St. Lucia with two huge suitcases full of donations. In partnership with her friends and family she gathered together clothes, toys, medical equipment, arts and crafts and so much more. A big thank you Shuna for this amazing contribution, everyone is extremely grateful. 

We also received 15kgs of baby clothes from new Education volunteer Sarah. This is a great help to us as we were very low on baby clothes and with our new Mother's Support Group gaining members by the week we were worried that we were not going to be able to supply everyone with something, so thank you Sarah for helping us out.

Along with donations and events we have also managed to raise R5400 from incoming donations overseas. It always amazes me how generous people are and I want to say a huge thank you to everyone that has donated this month to our projects, it really does help and everyone here hugely appreciates it. 

If you would like to donate to our projects then please visit www.happyafricafoundation.org and follow the steps to donate. Thank you once again to everyone involved over the past month, it has been great!

Malwande - one of the many who have stolen a volunteer's heart

Malwande is a four year old girl who started off as one of our Home Based Care patients. When our Medical Coordinator Nokwethemba and Business Manager Sonja had asked about her non-attendance at any creches in Khula it was discovered it was for her Gogo's fear of Malwande being left behind as a result of her disability. African Impact volunteers were thrilled to take Malwande on board and read what one volunteer has to say...

This wonderful little girl stepped right into the middle of my heart. The first time I met her she was a bit shy at first but it changed quickly. A girl with a big smile who wanted to be with and enjoyed getting to be with all the children.

When she started at Khula Nomathiya she quickly learned the different songs and participated with pleasure in her own way. Malwande has weak legs and can't walk. She could go through a little bit, but the muscles in her legs need to be trained. There is much Malwande need to practice on, but just to be with the other children stimulates her!

 It was a happy day in my life when permission was allowed for Malwande to join on the next creche rotation to Simunye.  I was afraid that she would have to stay home with her gogo and sit under a tree all day again and not be around other children. I have thought that in two years I will hopefully return and then I want to see her again. I will follow her development and progress with joy!

I miss both her and her great and many hugs.

 Marie - Education volunteer, 13 January 13 -23 March 13

           

Monthly Update: February I

Kids from Khula Nomathiya enjoy a fun game with
a tasty reward!

The second month of 2013 has passed! We have had volunteers from all necks of the wood; Sweden, Holland, Russia, American and Britain with ages ranging from 19 to 70 proving that age is no barrier. We are incredibly proud to be working with such a fabulous group of people whose enthusiasm and commitment to projects produce stellar results. 

Read on to hear how February panned out...

Crèche

Our first week of February was our final week at Khula Nomathiya Crèche, before rotating onwards to our next crèche. Volunteers spent the week working on lessons surrounding oral hygiene and domestic animals. Not to mention having a stack of fun when it was playtime. 

Through our final week at Khula Nomathiya Crèche, we carried out child assessments with the school's teacher, Slindile, and the children who will be attending primary school in 2014. The aim of these assessments is to see what level of learning the children have attained so that by the time our rotation brings us back to a crèche, we can reassess the learners and see what improvements have been made. It was an incredible sight to see the amounts of information the children had absorbed as a result of the work volunteers had put into their lesson plans. 

Volunteer coordinator Monique carrying out assessments.

Slindile was taking notes as the assessments were carried out. It was special to see how we can empower the teachers to be better not just for themselves but for the welfare of the children. We look forward to our return to Khula Nomathiya, so that we may see the results of Slindile's lessons with the children in our absence. 

There was one child in particular who stood out during the month of February: Malwande. Malwande is a disabled child, and one of our home based care patients, who has trouble walking and speaking. Khula Nomathiya welcomed her with open arms to start attending classes, which was a great accomplishment for Nokwethemba and her volunteers, who encouraged Malwande's family to send her to crèche. Education volunteer Marie made it her task to tend to all of Malwande's classroom needs, much to her benefit throughout the month. 

Upon leaving Khula Nomathiya, our next stop was Simunye Crèche. Volunteers were not at all intimidated by the large number of children in the classroom (38) or numbers of babies in the baby room (29). They got straight into a week of review, followed by lessons including 'my self', ABCs, 123s and farm animals. Malwande came along, and was welcomed once again by the staff at our second creche. She simply thrives in the classroom environment and her fellow classmates adore her. 

We continue to visit Inkanyezi Creche every Friday afternoon. Mama Gumede and her children are thrilled with the lesson plans that our February volunteers have compiled. 

Afterschool Club

Our afterschool club is going well, and our February group spent a total of 25 hours with the children at Senzokuhle in Khula Village. They played games, coloured, participated in sports and much more. 

The children's highlights were learning about the colours of the South African flag, followed by having it painted on their faces! Bead making was also a big hit with the children. It is lovely to see them proudly donning the results of their time with us. 

Gardens

As part of our 10 Families Project, we visited the Zikhale family and planted seeds with Gogo one afternoon. She and the children of the family were ecstatic to have our volunteers assist them in their garden, which is really thriving as a result of the family's dedication. 

Ezwenelisha Support Group have their garden ready for planting, and we have lots of seeds to plant at the beginning of next month, which everyone is excited about. 

Volunteer Katia teaching HIV education.

HIV Education

Volunteers were thrilled to hand out 21 Primary School HIV Education Certificates and 11 Adult HIV Education certificates during the short month of February. 

These education lessons are highly rated amongst volunteers as their favourite project. Students and adults alike are pleased to undertake the courses, and there's nothing more gratifying than handing out certificates to the graduates. 

Volunteers spend time with each class educating about HIV transmission, how one can protect themselves, and the importance of empowering each and every member of the community to live positively - regardless of their HIV status. 

Support Groups

Our Khula and Ezwenelisha Support Groups gathered this February and spent entire mornings catching up and learning about various topics. Volunteers prepared topics including snakes, spiders, alcohol abuse, depression and crime.

The groups were also treated to a morning at yoga instructor David's house. Members enjoyed lounging in and around the pool, using water pistols and snacking. Members were most thrilled at David's jacuzzi and did not want to leave!

Our Mother’s Support Group was also graced by the presence of volunteer Kristina who used to be a midwife back home in Sweden. One afternoon was spent with Kristina teaching the mothers about baby massaging techniques. Not only did the mothers enjoy the session, but the babies will surely reap the rewards of Kristina's teaching. The mothers were also taken on a trip to the beach. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were not deterred by the wind. 

Remember to check back on our blog for more updates from the month of February!