The Nkomazi East project has run every year since it was piloted in 2004, but for the first time in 2012 the entire group will be accommodated in homestay placements in the township. This is a very exciting new development and will allow volunteers to have a much greater impact on the community. Half of the volunteers and the two Project Coordinators will be accommodated in Maranatha’s Day Centre whilst the rest of the group will be accommodated in pairs with educators from their schools. The strength of this project is that it allows volunteers to gain a deeper insight into the daily lives, cultures and traditions of local people.

Volunteers living at Maranatha’s will be transported to and from school by combis provided by Mr Medaka and his drivers Norman and Themba. Those who are living with educators will be taken to and from schools by the educators they are living with.

Volunteers are supported by two Project Coordinators (PCs) who will oversee their placements and make sure the project runs smoothly. The PCs will have experience of volunteering and will be able to provide the volunteers with advice and guidance if needed. They’ll also organise training, manage the project budget and research ways to develop the project for future years.

The project lasts for eight weeks. The first week will be a training week run by the PCs and our project partners in country. This will prepare volunteers to start teaching in schools by building on the skills that they learned in the UK. The volunteers will then spend the next seven weeks teaching in schools.

Any questions? Contact Zoe Ives, Nkomazi East Communications Officer: safricacomms2@tenteleni.org.uk.

Accommodation

Six volunteers and the two PCs will be accommodated at Maranatha’s Children’s Home. The Home is a day centre for local orphans who come before school for breakfast and then again after school for dinner, games and educational activities. Maranatha’s has running water and hot water for showers.  

Six volunteers are accommodated in pairs with three homestay hosts, who will be educators from their placements and all live either in or near Naas and Block C. Their homes are modestly sized, but each volunteer pair will have a private room. Some might have running water, but some may use long drop toilets.

Transport

Volunteers at Maranatha’s are transported to and from school every day by either Themba or Norman, in their Combis (South African minibuses). Themba has great taste in South African house music, so volunteers will know the scene well by the time they leave. The home-stay volunteers will receive lifts from their home-stay hosts.

Food

Volunteers staying at Maranatha’s will eat communally every weeknight. There will generally be a rota and people will take it in turns to cook and wash up. Food can be bought from markets in Naas or supermarkets in Naas and Komatipoort. Spar (corner shop in the UK) is the ‘Sainsbury’s of South Africa’, and has branches everywhere! Homestay volunteers will be cooked for by their hosts. This may vary from European dishes like spaghetti, to more traditional African fare. Lunch at school will generally be rice or pap (boiled maize) with beans or meat stew.

Formal Education Placements

Primary Schools:

Maqhekeza Primary School

Maqhekeza is the only school located in the township of Naas, with all the others being in Block C (across the main road!). It’s also the only school that Tenteleni works in whose names is pronounced with a tricky ‘click’. Nompie Nkozi, one of our home-stay hosts, works with the younger grades here.

Siboshwa Primary School

Siboshwa is on the edge of Block C and is opposite the local Clinic. It has a friendly Principal – Mr Ngomane. In 2008 volunteers helped with painting a mural outside the school gates.

Tindzaleni Primary School

Tindzaleni is the smallest school Tenteleni works at in Nkomazi East, with class sizes of approximately 30. It has two big football pitches where Sports Tournaments are often held. Learners who live on the farms around the township get a school bus in and out every day.

Combined Schools:

Ingwenyama Combined School

Ingwenyama means ‘School of the Lion’ and its uniform colours are maroon and orange. It has the best netball team in the area. Our longest standing home-stay host – Francina Sibiya – is an educator there.

Mgubho Combined School

Mgubho is the biggest school in the area, and the Principal, Mr Dladla, is a senior figure in the local education authorities. It is central, has a big staff room, and is often the venue for meetings and workshops held by Tenteleni during project.

Zamokuhle Combined School

Zamokuhle is the oldest school in the area, and a lot of the educators that now work at other schools started their careers here. Its school colours are dark and light blue.

Non-Formal Education Placements

Isibindi Home-Based Care Centre

Isibindi’s work includes visits to playgrounds in Naas and Block C to play with younger children and they are also hoping to facilitate teenage pregnancy sessions at the same time with the older children. Volunteers also support care workers on home visits to help with the cleaning, which is a fantastic insight into the difficulties many of the children from their schools encounter at home.

Sitimele Disability Centre

There are around 30 people who regularly attend the centre, ranging from small children to elderly people. Volunteers have previously played games with the younger children, prepared and taught English lessons, facilitated singing and drama clubs and helped with arts and crafts.

Impalelo Youth Centre

Tenteleni help the volunteers at the centre to support young people with bursary and job applications, CV’s, school assignments and interview skills.

Thembalathu Home Based Care Centre

Thembalathu’s aim is to increase HIV and AIDS awareness through education. Volunteers assist with home visits and workshops in schools.

Tenteleni’s aims for the volunteer role on this project are for volunteers to:

• Help learners reach their full potential through education.
• Assist teachers in bringing imagination and enthusiasm into the learners’ school experience.
• Initiate or help with extra-curricular activities to enrich the learners’ school experience, such as sports or drama clubs.
• Assist with youth issues awareness amongst school children.
• Give special attention to learners who, for whatever reason, have fallen behind at school.
• Establish sustainable projects in all schools that can continue in our absence, such as IT help sessions for educators.
• Provide positive role models for children and young people.

Additional Information

Volunteers on the Nkomazi East Project are placed in pairs in one of six schools and work as Educator Assistants. This involves working with teachers – referred to as educators in the South African school system – to plan and help give lessons.

The school day starts at 7.30am, so to avoid the heat and finishes around 1.15pm. Thus the average day for volunteers starts at about 5.30 (or 5.55 for sleepy people that don’t mind rushing breakfast). For the six living at Maranatha’s, your project driver will arrive in his Combi (South African minibus) at about 6.30 to drive volunteers to their schools in Naas and Block C. Maranatha is based in Block A, which is only a ten minute drive from Block C and Naas where the schools are based. It should take roughly half an hour for all the volunteers to be dropped off at school each morning.

Assembly is generally first thing, and the educators’ and learners’ singing is a great way to start the day. There are three one hour periods from 7.30 until 10.30, and then its lunch. This will be either rice or pap (boiled maize – the staple food of sub-Saharan Africa!) accompanied with either beans or meat stew. During this time, volunteers will generally sit in the staff room and chat to educators. Then it’s another two periods until 1.15. Tenteleni encourages volunteers to get involved in extra-curricular activities like reading clubs or football, so this might go on for another half an hour or so.

Volunteers will then be driven back to their homestays. Twice a week volunteers will travel to their non-formal placements after school. Project Coordinators will have the opportunity to support one of these placements also. During the other three afternoons people often go shopping - there are big supermarkets in Naas and in Komatipoort, prepare lessons, or just relax. Homestay volunteers might visit each other or spend time with their hosts, their families or neighbours. At Maranatha’s everyone will cook and eat communally – there will generally be a weekly rota. This is a really good time to share thoughts and experiences.