This is it!

This is my last day in South Africa. What an incredible journey it has been. I have learned an awful lot and met some

South Africa

 fantastic people. It will take me a while to take it all in, I am sure. It will also take time for me to measure the impact of this experience. For me those three weeks were the beginning of something and it won’t end on the plane journey home, I promise.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank once again my sponsors who make this experience possible and all the people who read my blog and posted comments. It kept me going.

Dear friends, it is goodbye from me from South Africa.

Lots of love

Catherine  xx

I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye!

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! Those penne with salmon did not agree with me! I cannot remember the last time I was that sick. I was up all night. Not good! I was so ill that I couldn’t go to my placement this morning for my last day, which means that I didn’t see my kids and couldn’t say goodbye. At first, I was devastated, but then I thought that I don’t really remember my teachers from when I was their age and I have only been there for three weeks. I hope that I have made a difference by the attention and affection I gave them but will they remember me? I don’t think so and it is fine. Hopefully, another volunteer will come very soon and will continue to love and care for them as this is what they need.

What was not my surprise when my roommate Kristine, who worked at another placement not far from mine, came

Cape Town, South Africa

 back to home base. She had a gift bag for me. One of the ladies I worked with went all the way to her placement, which meant walking through one of the most dangerous part of the city, and asked her to give it to me. She said that they all loved me there. Apparently, this is the first time someone received a gift from my particular placement. I wanted to cry. It goes to show that sometimes you think that you are invisible and your contribution doesn’t mean much, but you touch some people without even realising it. I don’t know if I will ever see her or the kids again. The answer is probably not, but there is a part of me which hope that I will.

The rest of my day was spent sleeping. No going to Long Street for me to see the draw for the World Cup which will be in Cape Town in 2010. I needed to get some rest before the big departure tomorrow. London Calling!

Farewell South Africa

The kids were again very well behaved today, that is until they received some more gifts. Indeed, another company came by and gave the children goody bags with a lot of sweets in it and a little kit to make up some bubbles. The kids went crazy; they went in to the main room and started to make bubbles inside the room. The younger ones didn’t know what hit them. They were trying to walk and kept slipping and falling because of the soapy water n the floor. It was total chaos. I pleaded not guilty as I had about 30 kids to look after by myself, and to be honest they looked like they were having some much fun…We finally went outside so they could play some more and eat their treats.

At home base, after placement, there was a feed back meeting for all the volunteers leaving on Saturday. It was a chance to express how we were feeling and our comments about the whole experience. It was interesting but I kept quiet. I feel that so much went on in the past three weeks that I need some time to reflect and analyse them before I can express what I have learned and what this experience has given me. One thing is for sure, if I haven’t changed the world, the people I have met here have certainly changed mine.

In the evening, there was a farewell supper organised for all the volunteers. We went to a local restaurant called Mel’s

Mel's village kitchen, Cape Town

village kitchen. It was a pleasant evening. I was sitting near one of the staff and we discussed in details her personal experience of life in one of the townships of Cape Town. All and all, a very good day!

When you think things can’t get better

I guess we can all feel the strain of things now as everybody was a little bit late for the bus this morning.  I was lucky in a way though as there was another company making a donation to the hospital so they took a big part of my group to show them to the represent ants. Therefore, I only had a few children with me, which made things a lot easier. The kids seemed a bit more relax (or tired) today so it wasn’t as strenuous as the earlier part of the week.

After placement, we all went for lunch at Mzolis Tavern, it is a traditional braai (BBQ) place in Guguletu, one of the

Mzolis Tavern

township. The food was good and they had nice live music. Then, we went to a music/theatre performance by a group called Zwane Siyaya. They are 12 young adults in their early twenties performing to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS in Cape Town. They have so much talent, it was amazing. One guy even brought me to tears as he performed an opera song. I wish I could help them with the incredible work they do. Something else to think about…

In the evening, back at the home base, a storyteller from an organisation called the Institute for Healing of Memories came to talk to us about their work. They are a group of people who organise workshops to help people dealing with the traumas of the past and move on.  It is what is called here the reconciliation process. It was very interesting. They have a lot of work to do and it won’t be finish soon but luckily they seem, as a lot of South Africans I met, to be very positive and courageous. I guess it shows that when there is a will, there is a way. Another great lesson to be learned here!

World AIDS Day

There were two things to celebrate today, World Aids Day and Liberation Day, obviously two very important causes in South Africa. We did a minute of silence at placement with the children and one back at the home base with all the volunteers. When you think 1000 people a day die of AIDS in South Africa alone, the battle is far from being won. At placement, representatives of a cement company came to make a big donation to the hospital and give some goody bags to the kids. The bags were full of sweets so the children were over the moon. Little pleasures….

The children were very agitated again today. It must be the holidays coming. It is hard for me to realise that Christmas is less then a month away when it is 28 degrees outside. I am use to my Canadian white Christmas!

After work, we went to the District Six museum. District six was a multicultural area of Cape Town before the apartheid. When the regime was put in place, they declared this area a white only area so the vast majority of the residents were forced to move to the townships outside the city. Whole families were separated and, since the people were sent far from the city centre, they couldn’t afford the commute to work and lost their jobs. All of this because non-whites were considered inferior and the government didn’t want them to be seen in their cities. This makes me so angry.

On the way back, we stopped at a nice bakery call Charly’s bakery. It is located a stone throw away from Oprah’s office

Charly's Bakery, Cape Town

in Cape Town. Apparently, this is her favourite place to buy cakes in Cape Town. I have to admit they are really nice. Back at the home base, I had my third and last Afrikaans lesson. I can’t say that I can speak the language, but it was good fun trying.

I am going to bed now. This project is a fantastic experience but an exhausting one. Good night…

Without the past, there is no future

There were four new kids at placement today, including a little girl who was covered in bandages as she is burned to the third degree on most of her face and hands. It is really hard to understand why things like this happen. The most inspiring part of this situation is though that she was playing with the other children and having fun as if there was nothing.

The children were quite badly behaved today. There was a lot of crying and they went on strike when it was time to tidy up the playroom. The music teachers came for half an hour, which gave me a little break, and when they left one of them told me that I had the patience of an angel and she didn’t know how I managed with those 13 kids on my own. I wanted to tell her that a, I didn’t have a choice as there is nobody else around to help, and b, I am just there for 3 weeks as some of the nurses deal with them day in, day out. I have to admit though that it is really hard work and I am totally exhausted comes lunch time and need a nap.

After work, I did the one thing that I really really wanted to do in Cape Town, and that is to go to Robben Island. This

Robben Island Prison, South Africa

 is the Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years. The tours of this ex-prison are given by former inmates. They showed us the cells and where the hard labour was done. It was very emotional, especially since the men who describes life in the prison has been through it themselves. Mr Levy, who took us on part of our tour was incredible, especially when he told us how he was disappointed to get a job at Robben Island at first, after spending many years there as a prisoner.

This has been a very good day and Robben Island has definitely been one of the highlight of my trip.

Sunday Concert in the park

It rained a little bit today. Not too much and I have to say I cannot complain about the weather so far. It was just refreshing and the showers didn’t last long, so still good.

Kelley, Nicola and I started the day with breakfast at a cafe in our neighbourhood. Then, we went with some other volunteers to a vintage market where they sold antique jewellery and vintage clothes. After that, we went to another market call Green Point market. That one was a more traditional one, with wooden sculpture and jewellery, and African paintings. It was nice but I have to admit I am a bit market out now and want to do other things.  

Early evening, a group of us went to an open air concert at the Kirstenbosh botanic garden. The concert started at

Kirstenboch Botanical Garden, SA

5.30pm and lasted about an hour (it had to finish before sunset for safety reasons). It was jazz music. There were two artists, a group called Black Sunshine and a singer call Claire Philips. I really enjoyed Ms Philips, who is considered one of the best newcomers in Cape Town at the moment. I bought her CD so I will be able to remember the time when I was listening to some jazz in the park in South Africa looking at the mountains in the clouds. I think that is cool.

Cheers!

Today, five of us went wine tasting. I didn’t think I would make it as I was feeling feverish and had muscle pain all night but I was fine in the end. I wasn’t really surprise to feel like this as everybody has been ill but it is funny how I felt awful during the night and was totally fine during the day.

We started our tour by going to the Old Biscuit Mill, which is a food market. We bought some breakfast and food for a

Just one more I promise....

 picnic. Then, we went to a first winery call Vergelegen. The Sauvignon Blanc was very nice. Afterwards, we went to a second winery call Blaauwklippen. My favourite wine there was the zinfandel.

I went on a wine tasting trip to France earlier on this year and the main difference for me was the size of the places. If they have Chateaux in France, here, they have manors that go on forever! And the impressive thing is that a lot of them were privately own until very recently.

We finished our day by visiting the town of Stellenbosch in the middle of the wine region. It reminded me of some of the small towns on the east coast of America. It was very peaceful and friendly. I had a great day.

Little Dancers

It was the two Danish girls’ last day at placement today. They were very sad to leave but they told me that they are planning on coming back within a year for a year. I don’t know if I would do that but I totally understand why one would want to.

The children were very cheerful and in a good mood. One of the older one even attempted to show me some African dancing moves. All my children have so much rhythm, even the little ones. I might take African dancing lesson when I go back to London.

Something that strikes me whilst working with the kids is what they eat. I have never seen 3 years old eating fresh fish (not fish fingers) back home or cutlets of lamb with the bone on. They also drink very hot tea (too hot even for me to drink). It makes me wonder if we don’t over protect our children in the western world.

After placement, a few volunteers and I went to the waterfront. We went shopping first and then had dinner on a

The girls at Quay-4, Waterfront, Cape Town

terrace. It was lovely. There was a live rock band call Aking. I think they are quite famous here because a lot of people seemed to know the words to their songs.  I liked them.

It is so funny to go from placement in the morning to something like that in the evening. It is like two completely different world altogether. A very interesting city…

Well, it is goodnight from me for tonight.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Work was good today. When I arrived, we fed the kids and then, we took them to the dormitory while the playroom was being cleaned. The children started jumping on the beds and that is when we discovered that one of the kids was still in its bed. The poor little girl wasn’t woken up for breakfast and she looked puzzled and sad to see that all the other kids had already eaten and were all dressed. I went and got her breakfast but I felt so sorry for her. Poor thing….

I was assigned to the little ones today and spent a very long time being assistant nappy changer for about 20 kids. I only did it for a day but believe me, those ladies deserve a medal! At lunchtime, the older ones came to join us. There is a new boy with us. His English is excellent. He is at the centre because he is burned on most of his torso. As you know, kids can be really tough amongst themselves when they play and every time a kid hit him and he started crying, my heart skipped a beat. Luckily, he never cried for too long so I guess if he can live with it, so should I.

After placement, the other volunteers and I went to Ko-Kaap, which means Upper Cape Town. It is an area situated on

Ko-Kaap, Cape Town, South Africa

 the side of a mountain and has got fantastic views on the rest of the city. Ko-Kaap is a Muslim area where all the houses are painted blue, green, yellow, pink, etc… It is very pretty, an apparently a very safe place. Then, we went to the Slave Loge, a museum on the history of slavery in South Africa. It was extremely interesting.

Finally, we all came back to the home base where some of the American volunteers had prepared a traditional Thanksgiving diner of turkey, stuffing, Brussels sprouts and pumpkin pie. It was delicious.