COUNTRY: Southern Africa (Swaziland, Mozambique & South Africa)
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Elise Dean-Jones
It has come to the point where we are 2 months into our placement, and the final weeks are creeping up on us. I don't think any of us want to leave- Africa has treated us so well!
Once the weekend at the Bushfire festival ended we returned to Lidwala and commenced our final week of volunteering at our NCPs. It felt really strange that this would be our last week teaching in Swaziland, so we tried to take full advantage of our limited time. However, there was some sort of contagious cold going around the volunteers so we endured quite a struggle that week!
During the week we all had individual school sport days where volunteers and staff would conduct some games and exercises with the kids which we could all participate in. This also took the load off our shoulders, as the kids respond much better to the staff than us. For Rosie and I at Mlindazwe, our class was certainly more challenging than previously as we were informed that our teacher had her baby (who she had named the siSwati word for 'God's Plan'), so we were left on our own to manage the kids for the rest of the week. Some days we didn't have the keys unless a cooking lady arrived, so we had to spend the majority of our time outside playing educational games. Rosie and I had made some worksheets to put in exercises books, and bought stationary for the school, as well as a ball to play with outside.
Compared to our mischievous kids, the students at Laura's school in Ezulwini seemed very well behaved and got along very well with the volunteers, who found it much easier to teach them. They brought in some products for the school, like a broom, mop, floor cleaning products, toilet paper and stationary.
Lydia's school in Ekuzukekeni had 57 or so kids, so those volunteers found it very difficult to manage them. The volunteers brought a first aid kit, toiletries and some stationary. At Josh's school in Bethany, the kids were energetic and enthusiastic as always! He bought a first aid kit and some swings as the swings they previously had had broken off the set, so they were immensely happy with that. He also got them a few soccer balls, and instantly became massive supporters of Arsenal, although it may be a few more years before any of them make the team.
As Friday was our last day, we all brought in a few things to have a party for our schools, like cupcakes, biscuits, lollies (which in hindsight gave the kids way too much energy) and other treats they normally didn't get. We also brought things like balloons and bubbles, which brought with it a ton of laughter and fun for the kids. I don't think some of them even realised we were leaving - as they waved goodbye it was like we'd be back after the weekend. We really miss those kids! As naughty as some of them were, they will always remain in our hearts.
The week after, we went on a trip with some of the other volunteers to Victoria Falls. At first we were hesitant to go and miss out on a week of volunteering, but we realised that when in Africa, we have to go all-out and make the most of it! Rosie, Laura and one of the other volunteers went on a mad rush through Mbabane and ended up getting lost in Manzini attempting to get their last minute vaccinations before heading off on the trip.
We went with our guides Bob and Mpho, and it took about two days to drive there, going through South Africa and Botswana until we arrived in Zimbabwe. On the way we managed to see cows, goats, baboons, elephants and ostriches meandering near the side of the road. For the next few nights we stayed in Shoestrings Lodge in the town of Victoria Falls. We visited the Devils Pools in Zambia, where we got to swim right by the edge of the waterfall- an amazing experience. The next day the five of us all went on a Gorge Swing over the Zambezi River, where we jumped off the edge of a cliff, free fell for four seconds and swung over the water. Rosie, Lydia and I went in tandem jumps while Laura and Josh went on their own - Josh even did a handstand and went headfirst! No regrets. We're all glad we did this, as it would prepare us for bungee jumping later on in our trip! That afternoon we visited the falls, and thank god we hired some full-length rain jackets as the mist from the falls made us thoroughly drenched! It took a couple of days for our shoes to dry after that! On our last day in Vic Falls we went white water rafting in the Zambezi River. The hike down the steep mountain was enough to put us off considering how challenging it was not to fall, but we all had a great time going through the rapids. The boat that Rosie, Lydia and Josh was on managed to tip over in the waves, which actually looked like so much fun! We may have been a little envious. Until another boat decided to attack us and try to throw us into the water!
The next two days we drove back to Swaziland, stopping at the Blyde River Canyon in South Africa, the third largest Canyon in the world. Soon we arrived back in Swaziland and got ready for our next adventure down the coast to Cape Town. But we'll save that for the next blog entry!
Until next time,
Elise, Laura, Josh, Rosie and Lydia
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