9 Months!

After spending a lovely couple of weeks catching up with my parents I found a permanent volunteer placement for the rest of my time here in South Africa. I am volunteering for Transcape, an NPO that started working in the Nyandeni municipality (Eastern Cape) in 2004, an area comprising of 180 thousand people. They run various health, education, socio-economic and environmental projects. It is based in Mdumbi, in the Mankosi community on the Wildcoast. I live within this community, within walking distance from Mdumbi Backpackers, where the Transcape office and education centre is located. By doing this I am supporting a Transcape project, Vuykani Backpackers, which was founded as a means of sustainable income for a local family. Plus, it has possibly the best view of the most beautiful beach in South Africa!

I am assisting in the education department, primarily in the preschool and the afterschool education centre. The preschool has around 28 pupils aged 4-6 from the local community. I assist the teachers in the day to day running of the school, giving more one-on-one care to children who are falling behind and preparing teaching resources for use in the classroom. The preschool is used as an example to others in the area, and the teachers observe these other school and help them to formulate better teaching strategies. The children here are blossoming in this environment, and I feel privileged to be a part of such a successful programme. The school day is very well structured, with a short time for all activities such as table work, music, games, writing skills, maths, alphabet, health education, art and outdoor games.

 

 

The afterschool education programme provides extra classes to children from the local school in Maths and English. On Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays I hold Maths lessons for children in grades 6-7 and 8-9, and help the other teacher to prepare, and assist with, the English lessons. This has enabled these local children to gain a broader understanding of their school subjects, which gives them an opportunity to flourish and aim for further education in Mthatha, possibly on a scholarship provided by Transcape. The quality of education at the local school is poor, so these additional classes are vital. Furthermore, the centre teaches these children important life skills through educational films, which have proved very effective in the awareness of issues such as HIV/Aids and reporting rape cases. 

Additionally I am helping Transcape in other ways. For example, balancing in-out sheets and editing a business plan for a community run activity centre. It is an amazing experience for me to learn about how this small NPO runs, and learns from its successes and failures. I think this will prove to be invaluable in the future when I wish to be employed by such an organisation.

Overall I am thoroughly enjoying my time in Mdumbi. It could not be any different to life in the UK. So what if every time it rains the children don’t attend school? So what if my rondavel leaks? So what if there is no gas for the stove, or if the mice eat your food, or there are no candles for my house, or we run out of water, or if your eaten alive by bed bugs, or if the car breaks down, or if people turn up 3 hours late? This is Africa, this is my home... and I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.