29 days to go!

It is only 29 days before I am going to be spending a year volunteering at Thembelihle, a place of safety providing critical love, care and rehabilitation for over twenty abused and abandoned children from 6-16 years of age in Mthatha, South Africa with the charity Project Trust.

The classroom!

It will be my job to provide home schooling for the children, as the option of attending local schools is denied them during the time they are under the protection of Thembelihle and social services. This schooling includes covering the national education curriculum and age-appropriate life skills and personal development. The school facilities are limited to one basic room with limited resources so I’ll need to use my creativity to make learning fun.  I will also be running extra-curricular activities for the children such as recreation and sport, play and group activities. In addition to the educational element, I will be helping the staff with the daily running of the home and ensuring the children feel loved and cared for in a stable and secure environment. I’m really looking forward to reading stories to the little ones at bedtime and hope to be able to take some of my old favourites with me to share.

I am very excited to have the opportunity to be involved in such a special project, and I hope overall that I can bring some joy to the children’s lives and ensure that their education is not affected by their tragic circumstances. I’m also looking forward to being able to immerse myself in the fascinating culture of South Africa. It is a complex country with a troubled history, but it’s an amazing country too, full of diverse cultures and traditions. Although I am anxious, about leaving my old life behind for an entirely new one in a developing country without the privileges we are so used to in the UK, this is counteracted by my enthusiasm to get involved in my project and really make a lasting difference. Once I have tasted life in South Africa I don’t think I’m going to want to come home!

I went back to the beautiful Isle of Coll (where Project Trust is based) for my training week. It was so exciting to find out all the details of what I'll be doing and meet my partner, country group and desk officer. Everyone gets on well, which is a relief! It was a very intense week, jam packed with talks and activities but I now feel prepared for what lies ahead.  They gave us a crash course in teaching and gave us many ideas and resources we can use.

Here is a picture of the South Africa country group! (yes, just one boy! poor guy!)

It is all very real now! Time to start packing!

South Africa country group!