Update: 10 Families

The Zikahle family, one of our current 10 Families.

The following is an update from our 10 Families project, written by medical volunteer Miriam.

Over the last few months the 10 Families Project has gotten off to a great start. We currently have six families benefitting from this programme and will be adding more within the coming weeks. 

Rapid improvements have been seen in weight gain, body fat and the amount of energy the patients now all have. Meline Tembe, for example, has surprised everyone. When starting the project in February she was 41.9kg and her latest recorded weight was 50.6kg. This has enabled her to now do simple things that she was not able to do before such as washing, cooking, cleaning and playing with her grandchildren. She also now always has the most beautiful smile on her face!

Mcabangeleni Mthembu has also put on an amazing amount of weight. Starting at 49.1kg, now he is 62kg and his motto for life is “no problem!” As the patients are progressing so rapidly we now can start thinking about the next stage. We will be assisting them in setting up their own gardens and showing them how to make this a sustainable resource for food.

Everyone is very appreciative of the work we are doing for them and everyone is looking forward to starting the next stage of their journey. 

In Photos: April 9 - 15

We were back at creche this week since the
holidays are over! Here's community volunteer
Marly teaching at Simunye Creche. 

Our garden at the Lifeline Building in Ezwenelisha, which
was started in partnership with our support group, is coming
along nicely with pumpkin, carrots, beetroot, onions and
spinach having been planted these last few weeks. 

The Induna stopped by our Ezwenelisha
Support Group this week, and got a pedicure
along with the rest of our members!

Community volunteer Marly playing with some of the kids
at our Khula Afterschool Club on Wednesday.

Volunteers Emma and Marieke were hard at work
continuing to organise the container's books. 

Four of our medical volunteers spent a lovely weekend at
Bayete Game Reserve. Here they are at the lodge's elephant
interaction, petting Rambo.

In Photos: April 2 - 8

On Monday we welcomed five new volunteers, and
celebrated by watching the sunset on the estuary.

The new volunteers got right to work, having a Zulu lesson
with some of the African Impact staff.

The medical volunteers did yoga
with our Ezwenelisha Support Group.

On Thursday, the volunteers continued
to paint the AI logo on the St Lucia wall!

On Friday it was brick building time, with Zakhele showing
some of the volunteers how it's done. 

Then it was off for an exciting weekend in Mozambique!

Monthly Update: March II

Some of the members of the Zikahle family. 

10 Families

Our medical volunteers have been working on the Nutrition Program for a month and have enjoyed tracking both the Ezwenelisha and Khula patients. We have seen dramatic improvements in the majority of individuals taking the e’Pap nutritional supplement. Volunteers in March started to create gardens for some of the families to help them continue living healthily, beginning with the Dube family, who were healthy enough not to need e'Pap but still struggling to find enough food. 

We were saddened to learn that the mother of the Zikahle family died as a result of complications with breast cancer. We are continuing to help her family in any way that we can - we have delivered food parcels to the family and are continuing to supply the rest of the family with pap and the medical attention they require. 

On the bright side, Nonhlahla has been very compliant with taking the e’Pap and has had so much energy that it has been difficult to find her at home since she is always in town or visiting friends. Skinny Lady has enjoyed the added energy and was even able to travel to Mtuba to go shopping by herself, something that she has been unable to do for many months, and Melina has been feeling better and she has gained close to 7 kg. over the course of the month.  

Home Based Care

This month our sole medical volunteer, Teresa, was able to refine some of the improvements made to our  programme by our February volunteers. She had a very productive month, visiting many of our old patients while seeing some new patients.

The month began with volunteers bringing one of our young HBC patients, who is HIV positive, to Afterschool Club and watching her enjoy herself and play with other children. We are also happy to share with you all the Pendukile’s sister's large wound on her neck has started to heal and has decreased in size dramatically over the course of the month. The volunteers also visited with Veronique, a new HBC patient, many times this month. Veronique became a HBC patient after the volunteers and Nokwethemba found her sitting on the side of the road while they were beginning their rounds. During our visits she has been given suggestions on how to avoid constipation and been provided with nutridrinks, food parcels, and the comfort of our presence. Also, Gogo President’s leg wounds have healed and she has been feeding herself. 

In Ezwenelisha we have also a new patient, Sipho, who we met when the volunteers were intending to visit Gogo Breast Cancer. He showed the volunteers his right leg, which was covered in sores and bumps. We brought him to the clinic and advised him to check his HIV status. The volunteers have visited him twice during the month bringing him paracetemol, bandages, and non-stick dressings.    

Other projects

The month started off with our International Women's Day event, which was a great success. The community is still buzzing from the engaging speakers, poetry, dancing and music that filled the afternoon. We also held one more THAF shop this month, which raised over R700. 

March is an important month for our garden, as many of the crops we'll be giving out later in the year are advised to be planted during this month. As a result, the volunteers were busy planting carrots at the AMREF garden followed by beetroot, onions, and spinach. Beans which were planted previously have been growing steadily over the month. 

Great progress has also been made at our Support Group Garden in Ezwenelisha. The members have been taking turns helping to till the land, fertilize and plant carrots, onion, beetroot and spinach. We're excited to continue the garden in the coming months and plan to make gardening part of our weekly meeting at the Lifeline building. 

The container has been worked on throughout the month, and it's looking better than ever! We are proud to say that all the boxes have been looked through, the books have been unpacked, sorted and shelved. The volunteers even spent two days at the end of March building and painting bookends that will be placed in the container, as we're working towards decorating and organising the container over the coming weeks. 

The Khula clinic also approached us to provide our volunteers with some of our medical supplies they so desperately need each week. In the last week of March we received donations from the clinic that included bandages, antiseptic cream and gauze with much more to come, as they're going to add our list of needs to their order from Hlabisa Hospital. 

Khula Support Group also received a stall just outside of Khula in order to sell their crafts. We're hoping to refurbish the stall over the next couple of weeks to make it more comfortable for the ladies. 

Monthly Update: March I

March started with a bang (or should we say downpour?) as cyclone Irina ravaged St Lucia and the surrounding area, but that did not dampen the volunteer’s spirits or enthusiasm. Read on to find out how some of our projects developed over the course of the month, and check back soon for more March updates.

Support Groups

Yoga at Khula Support Group!

During the course of this month many topics have been discussed at both support groups with the members eager to learn and share. The members of both Khula and Ezwenelisha learned about the side effects of ARVs, becoming pregnant while being HIV+, TB, and why it is important to adhere to an antibiotic regime. Patient’s rights were also introduced and discussed at both support groups. All the members learned about the different questions that they had the right to ask their doctors and learned that they can take a more active role in their health care experience.

We also received good and bad news at Ezwenelisha Support Group. Busi, a regular attendee of the support group, has moved away from Ezwenelisha and out of her boyfriend’s house. Although we are sad to see her go, she was the victim of much domestic violence and we are happy she is now safer and happier. We also received great news that Gogo Joyce has been approved for government housing. Gogo Togo, a new member of the group who had all of her possessions stolen also received some new clothes bought specially for her from Mtuba. The group’s garden is well underway and has even been expanded, with Gogo Togo and Gogo Joyce eager to help with the farming. 

Although the numbers for our Khula Support Group have dwindled, we're happy to report that it is mostly because our group's members have found employment in the community. We're going to work on promoting the group more next month to increase the attendance.

Afterschool Club

Both Khula and Ezwenelisha Afterschool Clubs have been a blast during the month of March. Intense football battles have taken place with the children and volunteers enjoying themselves. At Khula the children have been having jump rope competitions and showing off their artistic talents in sidewalk chalk drawing. Meanwhile at Ezwenelisha the typing lessons have been progressing at a steady pace. 

Mid-month there was a little setback with the lessons as they seemed to be too difficult for the learners, who were getting frustrated. However, we're hoping to reassess upcoming lessons after the Easter break to help the learners better understand where their fingers should be while typing. 

Both Afterschool Clubs participated in the “We Speak in Art” partnership with Parsons School this month. The children enjoyed expressing themselves while exploring the medium of paint. The resulting paintings were stunning and we are excited to have the paintings exhibited in New York City in the coming months.

Creche

Community volunteer Emma playing
during Simunye Creche's break time.

March was bittersweet because we finished our two-month commitments at both the Impumelelo and Malibongwe Creches. It was also decided between Shwele and the teachers at Dukuduku creche that we would continue on to other creches who are more in need of extra attention before returning for our second month with their learners. However, we started working at Simunye and Khula Nomithiya creches with our new community volunteers during the month of March. 

However, before leaving Impumeleo we were able to teach the children about healthy and unhealthy foods, wild animals, different modes of transport, and family members. The children enjoyed making sounds and motions for the different animals. 

The volunteers enjoyed the first week at both Simunye and Khula Nomithiya Creches before Holiday Club started. In one week the learners are Simunye have showed progress in color recognition and parts of the body. The volunteers all remarked at how involved Simunye's principal is with the children, always eager to learn new methods of teaching from them. Meanwhile at Khula Nomithiya the Grade R children have enjoyed learning about wild and farm animals and getting some extra attention from the volunteers while they're learning. We are eager to resume teaching after Holiday Club ends in early April and are well on our way to completing two-month commitments at each creche in Khula. 

HIV Education

It has been a busy month for HIV education. During the month of March we were able to have two sessions of HIV education at the primary school. One session had 10 students while the other had nine. Of the 19 students that took the course and test 17 passed. 

"I will really miss my AMAZING HIV Education students at the primary school - they were all absolutely amazing and I really will miss them all." 

- Michelle, Community Volunteer - March 2012

As for the adult HIV course it has also been a successful month.  The volunteers and Shwele were able to hold a course at Reef and Dune for the women from the fruit market. We have also held other courses in Khula this month. Twelve women took the test this month and all twelve passed.

Feeling fulfilled as a volunteer

Many volunteers find teaching HIV Education a really
rewarding experience because of the knowledge they pass
to a younger generation who could avoid contracting HIV.

Making a difference during a short period as a volunteer can seem like an objective that’s out of reach. However, with some alterations in what it means to make a “difference” while volunteering in sub-Saharan Africa, volunteers can feel like they’re part of a process of development that’s making a great impact on the communities in which they work.

However, volunteers must overcome the emotions surrounding the voluntourism process that can make them feel helpless and disappointed. 

Upon their arrival, volunteers never think that their emotions over the days and weeks to come can be plotted out on a chart like the one pictured here. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, volunteers are eager to jump into projects with both feet. While a great attitude to have, it’s a lack of preparedness that leads to the feeling of pessimism that follows. Often this is because volunteers arrive with a certain picture in their minds, only to have that picture altered when they land at their destination.

Others feel more fulfilled by getting their hands dirty with
manual labour projects - it's all about finding what makes
you tick as a volunteer! 

Once the rollercoaster of projects is introduced, some volunteers experience a feeling of discontent, perhaps feeling helpless or powerless against the development process. Many of the ups and downs that come with volunteering on the projects are based around the notion of making a difference, and what constitutes the measurement of a difference made.

When working with sustainable development, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where life’s pace is very slow, making a difference can seem like it takes a lifetime. As a volunteer (and even a staff member) it is important to remember that with each day on projects comes a success. Every day means we are moving towards the achievement of our goals as volunteers, staff members and as an organisation.

If you’d like to make a difference during your short time as a volunteer, think about the following quick tips before embarking on your experience:

Do your research 

Reading up on African Impact, the project you’ll be working at and the area you’re travelling to will all help you acclimatize easier once you’ve arrived on site, particularly if you’re volunteering for only two weeks.

Fundraise and bring needed materials 

Often a project will send you a list of items that are needed to help the projects work, or can supply you with a project “wish list” upon your request. Sometimes it’s as simple as bringing lightweight art supplies (like cotton balls or pipe cleaners) or medical materials like bandages, which you can see being used while you’re out on projects.

Arrive with personal goals in mind

Think of your skills at home and build some expectations around what you would like to achieve personally. From there, learn all you can about how you can use your skills to positively influence the project as a volunteer. If you’re a photographer, offer your photographs to be used as promotional materials; if you enjoy writing, maintain a blog for the official page or if you possess a green thumb, offer your services more often during farming and gardening projects.

Talk to everyone 

Speak to the coordinators and managers of the project you’re on about what their upcoming goals are. Usually they’ll have a task for you to take on or an initiative you can start.

Expect a mixture of flexibility and rigidity 

Some things you can change and some things you can’t. Project managers and volunteer coordinators are willing to take volunteer ideas and use them to the best of their ability. However, remember that your suggestions must align with practices that work towards African Impact’s sustainable development agenda.

Throw caution to the wind! 

Experience everything and throw yourself into projects. Make suggestion after suggestion and work hard to put your mark on the project. That way, you’ll really see how you’re making a difference in the longrun. 

For blogs from some of our other African Impact projects, check out our Official Blog.  

Project update: The Container

The container getting delivered to the Induna's office.

Ensuring the smooth transition of our large container of donations has been a long and interesting process. It has taken us many months, but we have been fortunate enough to donate nearly all of the container’s contents to parts of the Khula community in need.

We are now well on our way to transforming the container from its original purpose towards a full-blown library where the people of Khula can come to learn, read and have fun.

Here is a breakdown of what has gone on with the container since its arrival at our St Lucia projects.

The Induna reading the names of community members who
have gardens so they can come pick up a spade or fork.

First things first

After an exciting delivery and first opening it was decided that, in true Zulu fashion, the container must have its own event. Hundreds came out during the month of July to see the container be opened and to hear speeches from Bob and Julie, who generously organised all the donations all the way from the U.K. 


Volunteers spoke about healthy eating, living positively with HIV and oral hygiene, which was important because everyone in attendance received a toothbrush. Adults also received toothpaste and if they had a garden at home they also received one of the hundreds of spades and forks that were donated. A great day was had by all!

Nadine delivering books to Ndabenhle.

Sorting, stacking, moving

Then came the extremely arduous and difficult task of organising and counting all the donations within the container. With the help of the volunteers, we made list after list, which was compiled into a spreadsheet of all the containers contents and ideas of where they could be used. It took a few months of regular visits to get all the boxes of books counted and organised along with all of the toys, bikes and other donations.

Door-to-door deliveries

Then came the time to make the donations happen – an exciting time for both volunteers and staff. After carefully evaluating the needs of all the crèches and some of the churches in Khula, with the help of the Induna’s counsellors, a spreadsheet was made of what the container could provide for each community organisation. 

Many of the crèches, including Ndabenhle, Snenhlanhla and Dukuduku crèche, received books, tables and children’s chairs. Churches in the communities were also evaluated and some received desks and desk chairs.

One of the creche boxes filled with
donations from the container.

The village’s counsellor as well as Ndabenhle crèche and one of the large churches also received computers, while some of our home based care patients received walkers and crutches. The principles and leaders of each of the crèches were so pleased to have the new items and extremely grateful.

Project help

Not only did all of the crèches and many of the churches in Khula receive donations from the container, but our projects and the people we help on a daily basis also saw a benefit when the container arrived. 


Many of the toys that were donated were put in our crèche boxes, as we often volunteer at three crèches each day and were in need of extra toys for the children to play with. The boys at Ezwenelisha Afterschool Club also received a solar panel, which is now used proudly in their dormitory.

Nearing the end

As the donations slowly filed out of the container, it was easier to see just how we would transform the metal box into a beautiful community library. Situated on the land of the Induna’s office, it was easy for the volunteers to spend a lot of time this year organising and filing away books. 


We bought stickers from the local stationary shop and began categorising books, with the help of a volunteer who luckily happened to be a former librarian!

It’s been a wonderful process to see the library in transformation, and we’re happy to report that some great progress is being made in sorting and stacking the books, though there is still a lot more work inside and outside of the container to be done before it can be used to its fullest. 


However, we’re up for the challenge and will continue working hard to provide Khula with a library while ensuring the container’s donations are received by those who need them most.

Check back on our blog for more updates regarding the container and other projects.