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Nkomazi East Blog 2011: 1 & 2

So, we meet again…

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Take a deep breath and imagine. It’s 10.30 am (far too early for uni students) on July 23rd and you’ve just arrived in a foreign land; a foreign land that will become home for the next 2 months. What would be going through your mind? Nerves? Excitement? Regret? Honestly, tiredness is a definite, and probably a combination of so many different emotions. Personally, I was quite nervous to meet everybody again; despite the fact that I had already been in Cape Town for 10 days. Nervous excitement is probably more accurate. The beauty is that everybody is in the same situation and semi-awkward conversation soon picked up in arrivals at OR Tambo Intl. In fact forget the awkward turtle, there was an awkward zoo. Buses were boarded with a moderate faff – more on this topic later. As soon as we left Jo’burg there was a group realisation that we were in fact in Africa – and that was an amazing moment. Although I’d been to Cape Town it definitely hadn’t felt like real Africa. And that is the thing that hit most people immediately; Africa is so much more than what you see on Comic Relief. Yes, there are some shocking sights, but there are also so many awe-inspiring people, places and traditions.

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Climate Change

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Being a geographer I can assure you that training week is the biggest cause of global warming facing the world. Let me just say that the ice was well and truly broken, in fact it was smashed into smithereens. Those of you reading will probably be confused, but ice breakers (fun activities to help us get to know each other through sheer embarrassment) are a key aspect to the training week. A positive attitude was definitely required, especially after a cold shower and fixing a leaking toilet.

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That same positivity was required throughout the week as we waded through the piles of Tenteleni training blurb. Don’t let this put you off though, it’s only 5 short days and it was over before we knew it. Everything in the training week was there for a reason, even though we didn’t realise it at the time. As a group we figured it would be great to do a drama for the educators when we first met them. A fairly corny news report was constructed with our anchorman (Mark), roving reporter (Rachel), Tenteleni volunteers (Sonali, Daisy and Rosie) as well as our weather girl and boy (Emma and me). Dreams came true during this performance…saying “back to the studio” is an experience and a half. The educators loved it, and it was great preparation for the next 8 weeks.

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The observation day was great although I was well and truly thrown in at the deep end and asked to teach a lesson. Wanting to be a teacher anyway, I secretly loved it. By Friday, feet were seriously itchy to get stuck in. The end of training week Braai (BBQ) was so hardcore we were in bed at 11.30pm. Let’s just say some people celebrated a bit too hard…

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If I still have your attention that’s great. Let’s talk accommodation. After rocking up to the Matsulu Game lodge, Spice of Life seemed a little anti climactic. Spice is located on the N4 (the main road from SA to Mozambique) about 1km from the border. Do not despair though, for you chicken lovers there is a KFC 5 minutes away. And chicken dust is in plentiful supply (more on that later). The humble pink bungalow will soon become a home from home. There was a sigh of relief when Sherelle revealed she was lying about us having to shower in stack of tractor tyres. Although to begin with there was no hot water and only one toilet, but that was soon rectified. We even had our very own pet mouse ‘Timothy’ who had a free roam of the house and often came to say hi. We haven’t seen him in a while…

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At times, Mark and I have theorised about how a mob of scheming leopards have been stalking us. Only dad (PC Jonny) believes us. Leopards aside, the African sunset is a stunner, and there are many Kodak moments down at the river (15 mins away). We once saw a hippo chilling in the water, but for a crocodile infested river, there is a distinct lack of crocodiles.

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Matthew Hussey

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October 22, 2011 at 9:40 am | Projects, South Africa | No comment

Nkomazi East Blog 2011: 3 & 4

I bet that you look good on the dance floor

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Tenteleni gives you many transferrable skills, none more important than the ability to laugh whilst making an absolute idiot of yourself. Throughout training weekend, at the weekend (not wearing one’s Tenteleni t-shirt of course) or in the classroom; it is something you will do day in day out. I find that the laughs of my grade 8’s get me through the day – of course they are usually laughing at me (or my Birkenstocks), but who cares as long as they’re learning right? Social Science would be so dry without the comedy styling’s of an assistant educator. There are some schools in Nkomazi that aren’t involved with Tenteleni. And we didn’t think it was fair that they didn’t get the chance to laugh at us Brits abroad.

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We were invited to one school to partake in traditional dance. Quite upsettingly, they had no costumes for Sherelle and I, so we left it to our colleagues to get their boogie on. Safe to say, sides were splitting – especially when Mark jabbed the ceiling fan with his spear. Our Tonga girls (Daisy, Rosie and Sonali) were epic! And our Swazi girls (Em and Rach) were wicked. LOL is all I have to say about Mark and Papa J. If their dance was a piece of class work I would have given it a ‘Good Effort’.

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Mark’s playful plethora of past times

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Games become a big part of your life whilst on project. For some reason, an iPod just doesn’t do entertainment justice in Africa. I’m unsure where he gets them, but Mark seems to have a game for every occasion. Whether it is ‘Torch Dash’, ‘Contact’ or the dreaded ‘Psychologist’; there is always a game. If I’m being totally honest, I’m not a big fan of games, but they are absolutely H.I.larious.

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My personal favourite is ‘Torch Dash’. It was SO much fun. Bear with me whilst I try to explain/describe it. Are you ready? You’re about to start an offensive on the ‘Spice of Life’ hostel to rescue the hostages. One of your fellow soldiers has just cut the power to the building. All is dark. Suspecting an offensive, the guard sets up the search light. It expels a beam of light across the grounds. The attacking soldiers hit the ground. Getting caught in the beam is a death sentence. Over-descriptive explanation aside, this game is amazing. It’s actually very tense, and the long grass helped us camouflage ourselves as we crawled towards the house. I definitely advise you playing this next year. ‘Contact’ is a very good game that requires a lot of ‘clueing’ of words. It made many nights at the hostel a little more interesting.

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Matthew Hussey

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October 22, 2011 at 8:51 am | Projects, South Africa | No comment

Pienaar Blog 2011: Final weeks

Writing our final project blog, I unquestionably feel sad that the Tenteleni project in Pienaar has finally come to an end. Over the last few weeks all of the volunteers , myself included, have really felt like we’re becoming a part of the community and it’s such a shame to leave when you’re starting to really see the changes your presence has made in the schools and the surrounding areas.

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Some of the most exciting days over the last few weeks have been those our project has arranged within school which included the Arts and Cultures event and the Sports day. These were certainly lively, to say the least, and despite the frantic worrying and fretting that each event wouldn’t go to plan, both of them somehow managed to work out.

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At the Arts and Cultures events, all the schools joined together and performed cultural dances, songs and even plays and the atmosphere surrounding the event was pretty amazing to see. As well seeing the schools perform, some of the volunteers here in Pienaar also thought it would be a good idea to present something ourselves… and I don’t think any of the schools were prepared when we began our rendition of the Spice Girls complete with dance moves and solo performances. It was quite literally show-stopping. As one of the teachers said to us with a shocked look afterwards, ‘well that was certainly unique!’.

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Luckily, come the Sports day, we’d all decided that Tenteleni had had enough embarrassment for one lifetime and were instead left to referee rather than attempting to join in and wheeze our way across a sports field. This time the focus was left solely on the kids and they did an amazing job running, playing netball and football in the absolutely boiling conditions on Msogwaba stadium. Perhaps when I say kids though I should specify that the competitive streak of some schools had them entering what looked like 18-year-olds into the under-11s football squad (if you’ve ever seen Spacejam you can imagine them as the huge scary monsters) and they certainly flattened some of their fellow teams.

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For once this week, I am also not the only one writing up a story about Tenteleni, as a journalist from Mpumalanga news showed up to cover the days events. All this was fantastic until we opened the paper the following week to discover the journalist had renamed Tenteleni ‘TenteleniVic’ and had obviously found some of the volunteer’s names a little unexciting and so had changed them from Dave to Dare. All in all though the day worked out really well despite a few stressful moments and some injuries, with Shishila Primary School coming out on top with most trophies overall.

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As we reached our final week in Pienaar, I for one certainly felt the time had come far too soon. Our last days were spent taking photos of the kids, playing games and generally trying to take in as much of the atmosphere as possible before we finally disappear. On the final day of school, all of us were also taken aback by the effort the school put in to say “thank you and goodbye” to us.

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At my school, Tiga, a huge assembly was held with the entire school present, followed by performances from the children we had worked with most, speeches, dances, singing and finally they presented us with cultural clothing with the message that I must never forget them. When our bus came to pick us up, all of us were quite the spectacle in an array of African clothing, headscarves, shoes and even jewellery which the schools had given as presents and I felt quite honoured that our presence there had produced such affection from the schools themselves.

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I find myself in the strange situation now of being the last volunteer left in Pienaar, as the others have gradually left on their flights home one by one. Instead, I will get to explore Africa even further as my project co-ordinator and I are travelling down to cape town over the next few weeks… Where we’re going first or what we’ll be doing is yet to be decided as it seems the relaxed atmosphere of South Africa has finally caught up with us. I’m certainly sad to say goodbye to my time with Tenteleni though, and for those of you reading this blog, I’d certainly encourage it both as a life experience and as an amazing opportunity to work with incredible people, both in the township and on the project itself.

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Alice Myers

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September 26, 2011 at 9:25 am | Projects, South Africa | No comment

Matsulu Blog 2011: Week 1

When packing for a two-month excursion to foreign parts, how much should one take? Well, if you’re me, the answer would be everything and anything. Now the pre-departure stress of squeezing all remnants of my life into a suitcase, followed by tediously taking out object by object of negligible weight, made little impact to the luggage weight. It wasn’t until the suitcase and I were on the road to Heathrow airport that such stress no longer overrode feelings of great anxiety and excitement. Having checked in my not-so-surprisingly overweight suitcase, I wait all lonesome with bated breath for the arrival of fellow volunteers. Complete relief overcomes me once they’re in sight, my mind now at ease knowing I’m travelling with company. I might just about manage to hop on the correct plane.

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Up in the air and on my way to Jo’burg. When the lights are dimming and heads are dropping into slumberland, it isn’t the best time to have a disagreeable stomach, especially when crammed up by the window. Fortunately for the couple sat next to me, someone must’ve been looking out for them, for my bile stayed self-contained till I was perched above the toilet. I couldn’t have been more ecstatic to have an airplane toothbrush, even if the toothpaste wasn’t the most refreshing.

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Touchdown after twelve hours of blood-clotting worry. By now I wished for a teleportation device to transport me to my final destination – a five-hour bus ride didn’t seem the most appealing. After much packing, unpacking and repacking of luggage, none of which by my account, onto a minibus filled with the most vile mixture of odours, we were finally on the road to our awaiting home. Home at last, that is Libuyile Lodge, safe and sound. Rather content to be welcomed by a good old-fashioned South African braai and some much appreciated warmth in these winter times here. I was yet to learn that my jumpers and scarves most definitely should’ve taken priority place in my suitcase.

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As Sunday morning awakes me, training week is officially upon us and it’s time to oil the rusty workings of my brain. Slowly the clogs turn, we’re eased into the week’s events with a training introduction and the first of many workshops, on aims and expectations. Our very first visit out of Libuyile Lodge landed us at the oh-so-culturally-rich Spar of Malelane, a place that would bring much happiness to our Mondays for many weeks to come. Internet access and shopping time brings a smile to any volunteer’s face!

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By the next day, Tenteleni training is thoroughly in the swing of things. 8am wake-ups for training week would seem like sweet, sweet lie-ins when the dreaded 5.30am alarms kicked in for school days the following week. But still, my body clock doesn’t agree with these lie-ins and I am yet to appreciate such restful sleep. And so, one is very eager to begin training, to settle any anxieties and to share expectations.

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Many a workshop was covered, the least enthralling being Health and Safety, despite its essential purpose for the project. Enthusiasm being the major essence of any Tenteleni volunteer, icebreakers were used extensively to break down barriers and for future reference at everyone’s placements. These brought much laughter and joy, making time speed up rather quickly. When it came to attempting to learn the local language, SiSwati, of the Mpumalanga province, much hilarity passed between us volunteers. I most certainly know, that for me, languages are a major downfall, but one can only try and try I shall. For I cannot compare SiSwati to any other language I have come across; the clicks are just almost impossible, not too natural for a native English speaker like myself to master. It is now very easy to comprehend how difficult it must be for SiSwati-speakers to be fluent and understand English, for they are two languages incomparable in many a way. Using SiSwati will be essential for gaining respect from the community, particularly elders, whilst participating in cross-cultural exchange.

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Now cross-cultural exchange has its own workshop, emphasizing the importance for every Tenteleni volunteer to be proactive in conversing with those from other cultures. A fair few locals from differing backgrounds dropped by the lodge to facilitate workshops such as SiSwati and local customs. How interesting it was to learn of others’ beliefs and traditions, and now very eager to leave the lodge and get involved with the community. By the end of the training week, we would most certainly be able to tick our box to note our involvement in cross-cultural exchange. As Wednesday night draws to a close, thoughts of my first appearance at Sehlulile Primary School rests on my mind.

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The time is five thirty am, please wake up! The time is five thirty am, please wake up! The first taste of awakening this early is not quite as daunting as I initially assumed. Well, the darkness peering in through the windows is clearly a sign it’s not natural for us humans to be out of bed. Even when the sun has arisen, little light disperses throughout the lodge. Now it’s surprising one manages to dress and groom oneself in an adequate manner with such gloomy conditions, worsened by the vast amount of tree canopies that encompasses the lodge. We say our farewells to our project coordinators, and with our school lunches in tow we alight onto our minibus. How strange it is to feel as if we’re the schoolchildren on our merry little way to school for the first time ever. Excitement and anticipation fills the air as we slowly bump along the stony path. The innocent child expecting Christmas day is alive within me.

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Stepping from the comfort zone of the bus, and then treading cautiously past the principal’s office brought me to linger outside the staff room until granted permission to enter. I felt a certain lack of sense of belonging, temporarily lost for purpose. When ushered into the staff meeting, I stood rather awkwardly crammed by the door, for what seemed an eternity. Slightly intimidated by the not-so-spritely and smiling faces before me, but let me not forget the time of day, for it’s a rare quality for everyone to be chipper at seven in the morn. After much discussion between the staff, surprisingly in English, the principal officially introduced both my placement partner and I to the staff team. With my nerves now settled and my anxiety levels under control, we’re shown to the front of assembly. Surprised, was I, that the number of school children stood before me was so few. There is no assembly hall, just a congregation of learners at the steps of the school. It is already very clear the great difference of available resources the school has compared with UK schools.

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Whilst my mind wanders, I’m ever so slightly daunted by the entire school in front of me and the challenges ahead of me. The children begin singing, and suddenly I’m overwhelmed and feel completely at place at where I’m meant to be. Dazed by hundreds of beautiful, innocent faces staring up, I’m impatient to settle into the school already. And so, we’re introduced officially in assembly to all the learners. How heartwarming it was to listen to hundreds of innocent children’s voices singing so angelically.

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At Sehlulile Primary School, Tenteleni is clearly well established as two educators are enrolled as volunteer coordinators, who are there to give guidance and support specifically to Tenteleni volunteers. The day continues by successively being introduced to each class from grades 4 to 7, greeting the learners with some basic SiSwati I’ve picked up from training week. Placed on my face is a constant smile that cannot be wiped away. As I walk from classroom to classroom, it becomes more natural to stand before such large classes of children. And with every class I enter, the excitement of beginning work at the school progressively intensifies; it only just dawns on me how lucky I am to be where I am, doing what I am.

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Louise Sutton

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September 19, 2011 at 1:51 pm | Projects, South Africa | No comment

Barberton Blog 2011: Day in the Life

A day in the life! So a few people, namely my father, have noticed that most of what I write about, if not all, are the weekends I have been spending in and around South Africa. There is in fact a base reason behind me coming all the way down here. I am out here with an organisation called Tenteleni (SiSwati for “Do it for yourself”). This is an educational charity that is run by student volunteers, for student volunteers. I was recruited at Bath and after going through interviews and training weekends I eventually ended up in Barberton on project in Fairview Mine Primary school.

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A normal day starts with an alarm at 5.30am. This was excruciatingly early for the first week but now just means that the whole day is shifted and I am in bed by 10pm the latest (if I haven’t fallen asleep on the sofa before this :-p). Diana’s alarm goes at 5.45 and if i havn’t got out of bed by that point its about now that i do. I am completely fed up with Big Ben chiming away!!! (diana’s alarm tone…). Usual morning routine commences and sat down with breakfast at about 6.30am. If we are getting the noisy cramped combi that takes the other educator’s to school we would have left by now, however most mornings we are collected by the amazing Principal of the school who conveniently lives next door (has nothing to do with the fact that she found our homestay… obviously!).

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Ms Skohsana picks us up and we are on our way. Fifteen mins later and we arrive at the Gold mine. Driving in through the guarded gates, we are met by a few fenced-in dogs and a few men looking for a ride deeper into the mine. Getting closer to the school and suddenly there appear hundreds of children from both sides of the road (approx 420 learners). We slowly turn into the playground trying desperately not to hit a child and having to hoot a few times some mornings. The kids just are not aware of the BMW that is coming up behind them!!

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On Monday and Fridays there is an assembly from 7.20am to 7.30am and then supposedly 15 mins of ‘Drop and read’ although this rarely happens. Classes start at 7.45am and there is then a very confusing timetable that is kinda made up by each teacher as they go along. Most classes that are meant to take place do, although not for the 45 mins they are meant to… and when a teacher is behind, they write the date of the day the lesson was meant to take place, not the actual date…. even more confusing!

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I, on the other hand, have not been based in a classroom for much of the project. After the first few days I saw that there was a lot of work that needed to be done in the library. The teacher librarian was already very overworked due to a lack of staff and so the library had been a bit neglected for the last 8 months. This somehow has led to a massive amount of disorder and general mess.

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The library now and me with the principal!

When I first walked in I was faced with three cabinets that were lined up facing me (although they are capable of opening from both sides), behind which there were shelves, drawers but not in a cabinet, files, a white board, a metal frame and lots of books. This all belonged to the mine. After I managed to sweet talk the mine assets manager, he removed all of the rubbish and I was able to work a lot better with the space that I had. It took two whole days of sweeping and mopping before the floor was remotely near looking slightly clean. I had found some foam squares that all connected together so that became the cover on the floor and I moved the shelves around until I was happy with the space that was available for kids to use. Once all the shelves were positioned it was onto the tiresome and time-consuming job of cataloguing. Each and every book in the library is meant to have an accession number, a call number and a label on the outside. Most do, although there seem to have been several sets of accession numbers started and so some have got the same number but two different books… always confusing J. I am 6 weeks down the line now and I have made a dent but there are still more books to do. I aim to finish them all but I will not be surprised if there are some left. (It doesn’t help that I have recently run out of stickers for the outside of books…)

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Although it has been hard work, and every day at school, although with the odd few occurrences, is very similar, I am very proud of the library and I was chuffed when the principal came to visit it and was in love!

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Outside of the library I have been tutoring a few of the grade 3 boys that are somewhat behind their age group. I have taken them for a few maths lessons, worked on some reading with them and have recently started going into Grade 3 and taking English with the whole class. Their educator has said that she finds it very helpful having someone that is a native English speaker as she finds it very difficult to switch between SiSwati and English quickly. Something I can only imagine would be very hard to do. For the remainder of the project (so only a week and a half now!!) I will be in the grade 3 class more often, helping in English and also helping to correct the maths work. As from January, they will be learning English from a younger age, and grade 4 is taught completely in English, so it’s good for them to start getting used to it now!

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There is a break for ‘lunch’ at 10 till 10.30 in the morning where there is a mad rush for the kids to get their food. Diana and I normally have a quick bite to eat in the staffroom and make a drink before heading out into the playgroud. I am trying to learn some of the jumping games the kids play and more recently we have started to teach rounders!! It is the game that the kids will be competing in on our Fun Day next week!! They are all starting to get more excited which is good news!

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School finishes at 1.30pm (ish, big ish!!) and all the children get their respective buses back to their village. If we are going with the educators, we hop into our combi and bomb it to whichever non-formal placement it is we are doing that afternoon (or like today, Tuesday, I come to the URC to update you all!). If we go with Ms Skohsana we go in the same direction and get dropped off by our loving principal.

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The days can be long and hard and now the hot weather is getting hotter, things seem longer and harder!! Still having as much fun though! And still looking forward to the weekends! Will let you know how the rest of my English classes go!

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Abigail Thomas-Verweij

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September 19, 2011 at 1:25 pm | Projects, South Africa | No comment

Barberton Blog 2011: Weeks 1-3

Week one – Hardcore in-country fun-times training

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“It’s that time of night again!” was a phrase that was used every single night this week. A day (not always particularly long) of hard work and many a flipchart sheet, followed by cooking of that night’s dinner of choice, normally led to the inevitable giggly-on-the-verge-of-delirious mood that came through tiredness and pure brain drain! We practised our lessons and forms of teaching. We met our shiriki partner Puleng and the five of us spent time getting to know each other and how each other’s brain ticked.

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We had a few very interesting chats with NGO representatives from the area and tried to learn about the local customs as much as one can by listening and not living. Learning SiSwati was good fun, with lots of help from our Puleng (it turns out a fair amount of the language pack is Zulu…) Once we were well versed in the volunteer role, and one episode of Blind Date later, we were armed with objectives and aims for our time in Barberton and ready to meet our schools and our homestays!! J Emjindini watch out – the girls are moving in!

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Week two – Let’s get it started ha, let’s get it started in here!

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A lot of firsts this week. The first hike around the Barberton mountains. Amazing scenery and beautiful weather. Here’s to the rest of our 8 weeks in this beautiful country. Looking down at Barberton from a height was definitely a good way to eat lunch J.

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The first night in our new home and Diana and I are staying in quite a small room. It’s a lovely house and the family are the best. We could not have been luckier. It will definitely test our abilities to deal with each other and live in each others pockets though!

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Our first day in school. Diana and I were picked up at an hour in the morning that I had not seen in a very long time, and I think the last time I did, it was probably at the end of a day rather than the start. Turns out the sunrise over Barberton is quite spectacular though!

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First breakdown over frustrations at school. I have since found a place for myself in the library but Fairview Primary and its educators were much more dysfunctional than I think I was expecting. Having found my home in the library I really hope I am able to help bring the reading programme that is already in place, back up to the surface of every day.

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First South African food experience. With the help of a few of the educators at school, Diana and I were taught to eat with our hands. It wasn’t as messy as I was scared it would be! Will definitely be practising at home when dinner is served by Nonhlanhla, my sesi (sister).

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First dive into the non-formal placements. We are based in Thandanani, which is a home-based care centre where kids come for food after school before heading home. We had a good treasure hunt where we hid questions around the centre, which they had to match to answers at the end. Then played a rather epic game which very nearly killed me!! Although it’s chilly chilly in the mornings, it is not beneficial to be wearing that many layers at 4pm and be running for your life from a 10-year-old child that insists you WILL be stuck in the mud!!

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I am also helping out in the location library – a very small but charming place that I have already enjoyed sitting and reading in, being asked every now and then by learners if I can help explain a question or help them answer a question in good English! There will also be work in the URC, the resource centre where we get our internet, but that hasn’t started yet. And I think the bulk of it will be helping with the spelling bee that they are presently organising! Yeah, we get to mark a shed load of spelling tests…. J

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Weekend exploration adventure 1 – Vibrant Maputo

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After a hard week at school, it was time to venture outside the walls of Barberton and South Africa. Last weekend was a hike, some chillaxing and church on Sunday. An explore of the Emjindini trust with all its animals filled the rest of Sunday nicely and I certainly had my eyes opened to the sheer broadness of the quality of living. This weekend the Girls were on tour. We (eventually, but that’s not the point) got into our hire car and made our way for the border. Mozambique, here we come!

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We met up with the other volunteers from Matsulu, Pienaar and Nkomazi East in the backpackers’ hostel for one night, then proceeded to meet lots of new people, left, right and centre whilst having a great weekend in what was really not the nicest of cities. The beach was not a beach that we could spend any length of time on, but then the weather was not that great until the last day (of our four-day weekend!). We did enjoy some pretty amazing seafood whilst chilling in the restaurant of a hotel on the beach of Catembe, and we left the warzone behind feeling the end-of-break blues.

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Week three – Gone in sixty seconds

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This week started on Wednesday, what with the national holidays on Monday and Tuesday. Most evenings were spent chatting with Sabelo my new 19-year-old bhuti, tasting the new foods that Nonhlanhla was putting in front of us and at school working in the library, up to my elbows in dust and what I can only figure was a rat’s old digs.

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Diana and I have been taken along to a few sports games now. Fairview are very proud of their netball and football skills and they have every right – they are very good! The educators are all very welcoming and after a very successful “Working Together Workshop”, things are running much more smoothly now. There is no pressure for us to be where we should not and I think that harmony may be reached! (as clichéd as that sounds :-p)

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Abigail Thomas-Verweij

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September 19, 2011 at 11:00 am | Projects, South Africa | No comment

Pienaar Blog 2011: Weeks 3-5

So let’s describe the story so far,

I’ll explain all the experiences we’ve had in Pienaar.

In this, our week number five

All of us have seen the township come alive.

We’ve visited the Chief’s festival, and seen all the sights

Struggled with strange food, and been visited by termites.

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But let me begin with our story in school,

Each of us has settled in and is no longer the fool.

We’ve even got a timetable – that mythical creature,

And our lessons are currently the talk of the teachers.

The kids are amazing and have been teaching us games,

But their culture and energy put old England to shame.

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In the after school placements, our projects expanded.

At Daantje youth centre – Tenteleni has landed.

Unfortunately it seems, the kids are as yet unawares…

That or they’re merely running off scared.

Hopefully next week, some of them will arrive

Otherwise our company to them, we will have to deprive.

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At Siyakhula and Two Sisters, the orphan centres of our scheme,

The kids are getting used to us and are having a scream.

Patrick as yet is still to choose a wife,

But whether they’d accept him or not is still a cause of strife.

At Msogwaba library, the quiet has been disturbed

With Tenteleni invading as a new African herd.

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We’ve still had the weekends in between all of this,

And because we’re so knackered, they’re always pure bliss.

But don’t be deceived that they may have been quiet,

In fact they’re the opposite, and always a riot.

Last weekend saw the first full moon,

And with it, the Pienaar project descended in a swoon.

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We visited a rock gig, and partied all night,

Stayed up too late, and only went home when it finally got light.

Then next morning, feeling a little worse for wear,

We went to the chief’s festival and lost all our cares.

Watching the dancing and listening to the beats,

All of us were soon enough tapping our feet.

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Unlike the partying of last time, this week we stayed local,

Saw all the sights and were a little less vocal.

We travelled to Blyde River Canyon, a truly stunning sight,

And on Sunday visited an elephant sanctuary, where we saw them in their might.

Unfortunately all this action’s made everyone ill,

But hopefully by next time there’ll be plenty more thrills.

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Will fill you in again soon so try stay updated,

And apologies if this blog was a little belated!

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Alice Myers

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September 1, 2011 at 8:26 am | Projects, South Africa | No comment

Pienaar Blog 2011: Weeks 1 & 2

How to describe the first few weeks as a Tenteleni volunteer? Hectic seems one word that would work… new and exciting would also make excellent substitutes. One thing this trip is certainly not is a holiday. And yet, so far there have been more memorable moments than I ever thought possible for my teeny fish-sized memory to hold.

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Already by our first week in schools, every volunteer has experienced some kind of culture shock, be it with the people, the environment or the culinary delights of chicken feet. (I myself am having a love/hate relationship with the local vegetable pap). These shocks have certainly not been un-enjoyable though, and every volunteer so far seems to be really making the most of the challenges and experiences that have been set for us!-

Within the school itself, perhaps the greatest issue has been adapting to the South African school system – which without meaning to sound too critical, is often nothing short of chaotic. The teachers will occasionally enjoy excuses such as ‘woops my phone just rang I must leave!’ in order to make a speedy exit from a noisy lesson, leaving you helpless with nothing but ice-breakers as a defence. Luckily Tenteleni has trained us well: 10 rounds of Old Macdonald anyone?
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While being left in a class of 60 children is undoubtedly a little terrifying to begin with, the big plus is the children themselves. All of them are so eager to learn! Perhaps it helps that as visitors from abroad the Tenteleni volunteers are still a big novelty to them, however nearly all the children will immediately respect and listen to whatever subject you are teaching and appear with huge smiles to every lesson. Even if you’ve just been asked to teach a Siswati class, and haven’t a clue what you’re on about, the kids inexplicably continue to think you’re the bee’s knees despite the rambling.
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The after-school projects so far this week have taken our project to various orphanages, youth clubs and to the ACTS clinic (a centre which cares for those with HIV and AIDS). In considering how amazing the children we are working with are, some of the prejudice which still exists in the township towards HIV and AIDS is the issue I have found most difficult to understand. Small parts of the population obviously still attach a huge stigma to the virus itself, and it’s so difficult to see individuals pushed aside because of it. Luckily, some of the people we have been introduced to such as Nitto, and Patrick (individuals who run orphanages in Pienaar and the surrounding area) have been truly amazing in the work they are doing. Not only are they inspiring, but they’ve welcomed us into the community. To the lucky few, Patrick has even made at least 20 marriage proposals a piece – he is quite the ladies man!
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In terms of the area we are in, I think I was perhaps rather naive in thinking that Pienaar would be an area in the middle of nowhere … instead (as I discovered at the weekend) there is in fact quite a night life! All the projects have been really active, and have even travelled to Mozambique, crossing the borders into a weird and wonderful world of food markets, AK47s and exploded budgets. All in all, the project so far has been an unforgettable experience and one that I’m sure will continue to test and reassess my expectations in the following weeks.

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Alice

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August 16, 2011 at 4:46 pm | Projects, South Africa | No comment

Pienaar Blog 2010: Weeks 1 & 2

Our first experience of our schools was observation day during the training week. We spent the day being shown around the school and greeted by all the students. A few members of the group were left alone with a class of expectant learners; the day was saved by a few infamous Tenteleni icebreakers. After an overwhelming training week we all attended the Pienaar Chief’s dance ceremony on the Sunday; it was a scorching hot day and everybody (particularly the girls) enjoyed the Swazi stomping dance routines!

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The first week in the schools was disorientating and exhausting but filled with some comic and surprising moments. One volunteer in the group witnessed the aftermath of some Grade 4 learners’ attempt (and success) in hot wiring and stealing a car outside the school! The week was eye-opening for most of the volunteers in highlighting the problems and restrictions that the schools were facing, there was disappointment in the state of a few of the school libraries and most volunteers noticed the substantial lack of teachers and teaching that was occurring within the schools.

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We had a fascinating visit to the Acts clinic (treatment of HIV/AIDS), which left us feeling quite optimistic that the problem was being faced by some members of the community but saddened that stigma appeared to be the biggest problem faced by South Africa in the AIDS epidemic. The same day led us to Two Sisters where we met Patrick; an inspiring and eccentric individual who owns and built the orphanage single-handedly.

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On the Thursday of the first week in school we held the Working Together Workshop at Tiga School. Our group had prepared a humorous song for the teachers but we were definitely out-sung when the teachers all sang the South African national anthem together! All the volunteers were well received in their schools; a few of us were given letters and notes by the learners, inquiring to know more about us. The learners were keen to teach us as much of their culture as possible but they overestimated our Siswati and dance skills!

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Our second weekend was long due to a national Women’s’ Day on the Monday, so a few of the group escaped to the paradise islands and beautiful markets in Mozambique. Others visited Blyde River Canyon and other local attractions around Mpumalanga.

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Unfortunately, a strike had been brewing amongst the public services so it wasn’t safe for us to go into school on Tuesday, we all felt oblivious to the problems surrounding us in our safe haven of Kirby’s. Luckily, the strike didn’t disrupt school for too long and we were back in the classroom on Wednesday. The classes however were sparse and the teachers unenthused, so it was difficult to gain momentum with our ideas; nevertheless we had some positive experiences in lesson planning and were glad to build some good relationships with the educators.

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Overall our first two weeks on project have been full of exciting new experiences, with some high and low moments; but generally a great start to our time in South Africa.

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Leanne Graham

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September 8, 2010 at 12:56 pm | South Africa | No comment

Pienaar Blog 2010: Weeks 3 & 4

Reaching the third week in the schools, most of the volunteers felt that they were finally making some progress. In my school I had some successful practical science lessons despite the lack of resources and relations between all the volunteers, learners and educators were growing stronger every day. A few of the volunteers had realised the
substantial lack of maths and science skills amongst the learners which seems to be a widespread problem around South Africa. A niche was being filled by the majority of the volunteers and everybody was beginning to have high hopes and ambitious plans for the coming weeks.

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At the weekend a few of us hired a car (which involved seeing the brilliant architecture that is Kruger International airport) and we drove to Blyde River Canyon which is a beautiful landscape and a must see in Mpumalanga. It was also one of the volunteer’s birthday so on the Saturday night we celebrated with a tasty Mexican meal. On the Sunday we had a game of murder mystery and went next door to Jatinga for afternoon tea. We definitely baffled the staff at Jatinga by acting out our very eclectic mix of characters!

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The next week was dismal in terms of the ongoing strike situation. We had two days of school which had been cut short and we were unable to go into the schools for the remainder of the week. We spent plenty of extra time at Two Sisters orphanage but we had problems with the locals being unhappy about us reading with the children during the strike. With the worry that reading with the children would be viewed as undermining the educators we spent the Friday at Tentele Centre, which is a day centre for disabled members of the local community in Pienaar. We spent the day helping with gardening, picking up litter, in the kitchen and most of us got the chance to learn some beading skills from the women who were making beaded jewellery to sell in the little shop they had in the centre.

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One evening at Kirby’s, Liz Mackintosh, who is the outreach program director of an independent school in the area, came to visit us. She spoke to us about various NGOs in the area and about the strike. We gained a good insight into the system of education in South Africa and despite the positive ideas being proved by the NGOs it was made clear to us that the education system is far from its potential.

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In the fourth weekend the majority of us visited Kruger National Park. We had a brilliant time on a night drive seeing some elephants up close and we finished the evening with a braiie in the park before another animal filled day of safari drives.

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After such a good weekend we were disappointed to be facing another week of strikes. We spent a few days a Siyakhula orphanage in Pienaar, playing and socialising with the children. We also began to paint on some of the walls at Two Sisters, the paintings included a landscape, a world map and vegetables next to the vegetable garden. Seeing as the strike was becoming indefinite we started working with the Oneness Revival Team, an organisation which is heavily involved in youth support. After discussions with the ORT volunteers we joined with the Lekazi Tenteleni volunteers to provide support lessons for children around Pienaar during the strike. After weeks of tedious strike action that has dashed our hopes and ideas for the schools we have been working in, it was supportive to be able to concentrate on something productive that might provide sustainable links for the future of Tenteleni.

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Leanne Graham

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September 8, 2010 at 12:35 pm | South Africa | No comment

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