COUNTRY: Southern Africa (Swaziland, Mozambique & South Africa)
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Emily Forbes
Greetings to our friends back home in Australia. I am writing this watching the Mozambican countryside fly by, as we make our way to Tofo Bay for a week of rest and recreation!
Our first two weeks at our volunteer placements have been an exciting challenge to say the least. We have been placed at different neighbourhood care points all around Ezulwini Valley, teaching underprivileged children aged 3-7, helping them to prepare for primary school. While these children are there they are fed both breakfast and lunch, which is an important incentive that makes many children show up each day to learn. When it comes down to it, all these gorgeous children want is love, a cuddle and some attention.
The past fortnight has certainly not been easy but we are finding that each day there is something new to learn which helps us become better teachers. Our typical day begins at 8.30am when we leave the lodge for our various placements. We spend 3-4 hours there, conducting English lessons where we teach numbers, the alphabet, seasons and days of the week, amongst other things. After our lesson is finished we have playtime with the children before heading back to the lodge for lunch.
Our lunch breaks are most often spent soaking up the beautiful weather Swaziland has put on show for us by lounging by the pool. Our afternoon schedules vary day to day, and we try to make the most of the time. We have visited the local hospital, had Siswati lessons, spent time with the children at orphanages and visited the Manzini markets.
Our weekend was spent on a zip-lining canopy tour at Malolotja nature reserve, right next to the border of Swaziland and South Africa. The tour encompassed 11 zip-lines and a canopy bridge, the highest being 60 meters above the ground. The area was set between mountain ranges, which offered stunning scenic views.
With just two weeks left at our placements in Swaziland we are frantically working to help better the lives of the children in Ezulwini. We have successfully started and completed a veggie garden as a more sustainable food option for our kids. Mitch, Anna and Lucy are also working hard to get bars put on the windows of their kitchen to stop their children's food being stolen.
All in all, we are settling in well to the Swazi lifestyle and feeling more and more like locals each day.
Until next time,
Usale Kahle!
No comments:
Post a Comment