COUNTRY: Southern Africa (Swaziland, Mozambique & South Africa)
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Teaching & Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Emily Forbes
My last blog post begins with an end as today we all head our separate ways.
The last three weeks in Cape Town have been the perfect end to our African adventure. We jumped head first into our second volunteer projects and have enjoyed the challenges of working in an urban setting, which faces very different social issues to that of it's rural counterpart like we experienced in Swaziland. Many children here are exposed to violence, drug abuse and the toll of HIV/AIDS from a very young age.
We have been working at the local primary school in Hout Bay. This school has overwhelming numbers of students and classes are overcrowded with children. Many of the teachers struggle to give the necessary time and attention each student requires to excel. Our role was thus to spend time with the weaker students in the class, offering them some one-on-one help with the hopes that they would not have to repeat a year. It was amazing to see how quickly they improved when we gave them the attention they had required for so long. With the school year coming to an end we also helped the students learn Christmas carols and prepare for the Christmas play.
Those who weren't placed at the primary school participated in childcare projects in the Hangberg and Imizamo Yethu townships. Here we helped plan and carry out lessons, prepare the children's lunch and love, laugh and play with the children. We wanted them to receive the love and care they deserve that many unfortunately do not receive at home.
With our morning projects over we would make our way back to our stunning accommodation at Hout Bay backpackers for lunch before heading off to three different afternoon placements. Most of the girls were working at an after school care in the Imizamo Yethu township. This program is for children who were either affected or infected with HIV/AIDS. This really was a haven and safe environment for the children, who came after school to both learn and play. We participated in a myriad of activities over our time there, which included maths tutoring, reading and organising games to play with the children. On our last day the kids put on a show for us where we witnessed their amazing singing and dancing skills.
Our weekends were jam-packed as we attempted to experience as much as we could of Cape Town in our short time here, and there was an endless list of things to do. Our weekend activities included visiting canal walk, a huge shopping mall, shark cage diving, eating lunch at the beautiful V&A waterfront and experiencing Cape Town's vibrant nightlife.
One particular highlight was a day trip to Cape Point, the most south-westerly point in Africa (photo above). On this day we got to experience beautiful scenic views from both lookout points and on bikes. Another highlight was our trip out to Robben Island, which over it's history has served as a point of exile for people with leprosy and most famously as a political prison for those who opposed the apartheid regime. Our tour guide was a formal political prisoner who shared with us his history and we were all incredibly moved. Witnessing Mandela's prison cell was not something we're going to forget.
As our African adventure comes to an end today we are all extremely sad to part ways. We arrived in Africa as strangers but we leave as a family. We have made memories and friends here that will never be forgotten and we all hope to return one day, as it really does feel like a second home to us all. So, to the 16 incredibly talented Antipodeans I have had the privilege of working with over the past three months, thank you. We have all learnt so much from each other and I know there are many more memories to be made in the future.
For the last time,
Usale Kahle!
Emily Forbes
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