3 months in

...Hello! Three months into my project now. I can't imagine being back at home. Scotland seems like a very, very faraway place and yet sometimes I think I'm home when I see the beautiful mountains. I am in awe every time we drive around here on a sunny day! Now that we are coming into summer, there are more and more storms every week. The storms at home are nothing compared to the ones here. The lightening is awesome and the thunder is SO loud, lights flickering or going off completely. Within about 5 minutes it goes from blazing sunshine to dark, overcast, rain and hail. 

For the past few weeks I have had a tummy bug that just doesn't seem to want to go away.. There has been lots of bugs going around the children, but mine has lasted SO long. I'm coming to the end of it now, but I'm still getting the occasional sore tummy. Oh well, this IS Africa. The benefit is that I'll be immune to illness in a few months! 

On Monday night we had the Hostel Christmas dinner! My partners and I have been preparing decorations for a few weeks and it definitely paid off. The hall did not look like the hall that we usually sit in! We were asked by our host to do some window paintings onto sheets of plastic. They look great on the windows and the kids love them. As well as that, I had been practicing 'Hark the Herald' on piano so I could play it with the kids on the day. I've not played the piano for about six years so it was challenging yet fun to start playing again. I was pretty nervous playing while the kids sang in front of the adults and governing body, but it's good to get out of your comfort zone! I feel like a new woman. Hah. 

Hall for dinner

 Practicing

Jess (my partner) and I have recently just finished organising the most amazing road trip. On the 12th of December we are travelling from Durban to Cape Town for 10 days whilst staying in various backpackers along the way. We are going to an ostrich farm, surfing and staying in a tree-house for a few days..! We arrive in Cape Town on the 22nd of December and stay there until the 2nd of Jan. We then head back and get back into Underberg just before school starts again. So excited!

We visited Reichneau Primary School today so we could have a look around and ask the headmistress if we could possibly come and help out next year as there's not much help needed at Underberg Primary School in the mornings. It is very different to Underberg, being quite run down among other things. There is a movie being filmed there just now. It's called Lady Grey. Mum thinks it's about the queen who didn't want to be queen and then had her head chopped off. Maybe. Anyway, the point is, Sean Connery was there. We didn't see him, but still. He was probably a few metres away on the other side of the wall. 

Off topic: After some thinking, I've decided I'm going to start Uni in 2014 instead of working for a year when I get home. I've applied to five Uni's to do Social Sciences. Just finished my Personal Statement so I'm excited to send it off soon. 

For me, just now, being here is getting a little harder every week (over the past month or so). Due to a number of different reasons, homesickness being one of them. I miss people and I miss Scotland. At the same time, I feel stronger every day. Being around all these happy, loving children - you just can't get anything better really. I will miss them during the Christmas holidays and am really said to hear that some of them are leaving. 

Mega close up of Khaye

 Sihle just out of the pool 

 Playing pictionary 

 Banter in Gr3

 Bongeka, Janine, Bella and I 

 Two weekends ago we went to Howick with Megan (our new friend). Howick is the nearest town to us and it takes approximately one hour and forty five minutes to get there. We went out for lunch, went shopping and visited the Nelson Mandela Capture Site. Here is the sculpture. It's amazing!

 From left to right: Khaye, Sibahle, Bongeka, Janine and Mali

Peace and love, Iona 

The ball is rolling

Sanibonani! It's another Sunday! This time, not so warm, however. Tomorrow will be the start of our 8TH week... whaaat?! The past few weeks have been good. The last week of September I met up with my family (mum's cousin and his wife) in Bushmens Nek for a few days and then we travelled up to Salt Rock for the weekend. I had a great time relaxing for 10 days. Here are some pictures of Bushmens Nek. Absolutely stunning surroundings.

In Salt Rock we went to Crocodile Creek. It was awesome!! As well as holding a baby croc, tasting croc (it was delcious I have to say) and watching them being fed (disgusting), I also saw a wolf! His name was Zeus and he was very affectionate. 

With the play finished we now have organised a structured timetable which we have up until lunchtime and then it's in the hostel doing homework until dinner. I do reading in the morning with the grade 5's and then most days after break I'm with the grade 5's again but helping in the class with Mrs Hill the teacher. She is a lovely lady and has said she'll 'teacher train' me. I have realised I prefer working with the slightly older children - grade 4,5,6's rather than the younger children. Their attention spans are too low for my patience!

 I didn't think I would, but I really enjoy going to hymn practice on Friday mornings with all the children. I got really emotional one day when they were singing this particular song... What beautiful angelic voices they have! I am going to practice some Christmas Carols on the piano in time for Christmas... I can't wait! So happy there is a piano here so I can get into it again. I did my grade 1 piano about 4 years ago.. I'd love to start it again when I go back to the UK. I might get my mum to send me some of the books over.

Keeping fit here in Underberg is fairly easy at the weekends as there is a pool and plenty of space to run about and do Pilates/Yoga but during the week it's nearly impossible as we have such a busy day and want to be in bed for 9! So, I have decided to add in some fitness to the homework with the kids. One of the grade 4 boys has poor posture and little core muscle so I have started doing sit ups with him after he's finished his homework The other boys have joined in too... It's fantastic! 

Evening activities in the hostel vary from dancing in the TV room (Tuesdays) to playing baseball outside. Most days it is sunny so we try and do things outside to drain their energy. Last week we watched the movie 'The Secret Garden'. I've not watched that movie for ages - and they all seemed to enjoy it! On Thursdays we do swimming, bikes and roller-blades with the children. As the weather is getting warmer, we can get them into the outside pool after 6 o'clock. It is so much fun. I'm also really enjoying learning Zulu. Sawbonna! Unjani? (Hello, how are you?) Geeapeela ngiyabonga, nina ninjani? (Good thanks, how are you?).

 I was walking down from Clouds of Hope the other week (there are two Project Trust volunteers there. Anna Ford and Lauren Green), and as I walked past these two Zulu girls, I said hello in Zulu to them... One of the girls... The shock on her face! Makes me want to learn Zulu more. Last week I was in the boys dorm speaking as much Zulu as I could (most common phrases), the kids are so helpful when it comes to teaching us Zulu. It's a two way system - I'm teaching them French! 

I am building a strong bond with nearly all of the hostel children now. I can have such a laugh with them and we all have so much fun. Cheesey, but I had no idea it would be as special as it is. 

It's made me think about my future and what I would like to do for my career. I'm thinking more along the lines of a primary teacher. I'll leave it on the table. 

Quote of the month: 

"I wish you were my mother" 9 year old Janine

Bless

Salani kahle

Bye! 

Settling in

08.09.13. Sawbonna! It's sunny Sunday today! (30 degrees (!!!) )It will be the start of my 3rd week tomorrow, but it feels like I've been here a lot longer. In a good way though, I'm really enjoying myself. The past week I have been helping with the senior primary school play 'Snow White and the Seven Little People'. I am helping the men in black backstage (Grade 7's who move things on and off stage, control smoke machine etc). They get to wear these black shades with pink rims, and they're luminous in the dark! (SO cool). I'm there to make sure they are doing things at the right time behind the scenes. It's different here in SA because grade 1 would be primary 3 in Scotland. So technically, the kids are a little behind (in UK standards). So the grade 7's are 2nd year kids in UK. They're a hand full, but a great laugh. As well as that, Katie and Beth have been designing the tickets for the show. I'm doing the reading program for the grade 5's (aged 11/12) and that fills up a few hours of the week. I have filled up the rest of my time with grade 1's,2's and 3's. Hectic! The junior primary are so sweet when they get to know you, hugging you and holding your hand. 

On Tuesday I'm going to the cinema in Pietermaritzburg with the grade 2's. Some of the kids haven't been the cinema before so it will be brilliant to see their happy little faces! 

We read stories to the children (girls one night, boys the other night), which is so nice because some of the children never get read to at home. I read Captain Underpants to the boys the other night, it's amazing to hear them laugh. No words. :) 

During the first week, all the kids in school were making sandwiches for the low cost housing township. This is Onke making some beefy bovril sandwiches! 

This is Katie and I on our first or second day. The kids playground is filled with tyres! 

We get 10 days off at the end of September, so I will be spending that time with family in Underberg. What are the chances of them coming to Underberg DURING MY TIME OFF? It wasn't pre-planned or anything! Amazing. 

Last weekend we went out for dinner to the Lemon Tree. I got a steak and chips, drink and pudding for just under 100 rand. That's just under 7 pounds!! Went for a KFC yesterday, ugh, yes!! 

Time to jol 'cause we are HERE!

Wow, well it's been a journey! It has taken me approximately half an hour to load up this computer to write a blog.. haha!! All good fun. We all arrived in Johannesburg on Thursday late afternoon after travelling for about 25/30 hours. I've never been on a long haul flight before so that was new for me. We spent a busy 2/3 days in Johannesburg and had an incredible time there visiting Soweto, various museums, apartheid prisons and visiting The Children's Memorial Institute. I don't think you really realise until you actually see it, that the rich and poor are literally living side by side. I had my mouth open driving past some of the slums and then seeing the mansions. I think we all agreed that what we did in Jo'burg was pretty much a once in a lifetime experience..! Simply amazing. We stayed in a Backpackers on the outskirts of the city. We tried billtong. I love it!

It's Monday the 26th of August, the first day at our project. (Not sunk in yet that we're even here..). Beth, Katie and I have settled in well and very much looking forward to everything. We have a large pink bedroom next to the kids (girls) who board at the school. The boys sleep upstairs. Our main task set by our host is to continue the reading program that was set up by the previous volunteer. She did an amazing job of organising all of that. As well as continuing that, we will be working with the pre-primary kids and in the mastery unit. Our host also asked if any of us liked roller blading. I said "Yes!" so he's put me in charge of teaching the kids how to roller skate! I can't wait. As well as teaching duties in the daytime, we get to be in charge of evening activities. We can go outside and play sport, we can put a CD on and sing/dance, we can watch TV or we can read stories. The kids don't really get books read to them at home so it will be a real, real treat for us to read to them. There are about 34 children who board. The children are amazing, impeccably mannered, hard working and very loving and fun. They all wear little caps as part of their uniform and whenever you walk past them in the corridor they will lift up their caps, give you a big grin and say "Good morning Ma'am!" or "Hello miss!". Food in the hostel is amazing and weather in Underberg is amazing, (although quite cold in mornings and at night during winter, can get to -4/5 degrees), summer is lovely and it doesn't go much over 30 degrees which is refreshing (Durban is really hot and humid, for example). We are just coming into summer so it's good to get climatised. We get 10 days off in October and 6 weeks off at Christmas (!) We're thinking of getting the BazBus down to Coffee Bay and then travelling the coastal route to Cape Town to be there in time for Christmas and a good ol' jol.

Until next blog
Totsiens :D 'Peace, love and happiness'

Training

Finally, I have met everyone who I am going to be spending the next year with! What can I say, they're all a pretty amazing bunch of people. We are going to have such a blast together! My partners are Jess, Beth and Katie. Here is a picture of all four of us before the Ceilidh on the last day of Training (15-19th July 2013). From left to right: Beth, me, Katie and Jess.

Training was fairly full on with lessons being straight after each other and a feeling of constant activity. In the evening we had about 1 hour of time to ourselves and the rest of that time was for paper work (Well, it was supposed to be). The South Africa group is one of the biggest groups in the history of groups at Project Trust, so there was about 63 of us altogether including the Malaysian and Hong Kong volunteers. Now, imagine only 6 showers.. The first night the water ran out due to the amount of people showering etc. Plus, when there was water, the showers were cold. This is probably sounding a bit negative, but I have come to the conclusion that this was, in fact, a good thing. We will be fully prepared for cold showers in Africa! Add the fact that there was no mobile phone signal, set meals, set itinerary, travel (getting too and from Coll, getting back home was a bit of a keffafle) and small cramped rooms! All positive experiences for our preparation.

2013 is a good year, as all volunteers going away this year have the chance to gain a qualification. It's called the Global Citizenship award. It's basically a qualification saying that you have finished your year in a foreign country and have worked hard volunteering. As well as some paperwork. There's always some paperwork.

During the teacher training, I was in the primary teaching lessons. There were also Social Care lessons, TESOL and Outward Bound. I had to prepare and teach a 10 and 20 minute lesson. It was actually very, very enjoyable! I have really realised now that I love teaching. I didn't prepare particularly thoroughly but I still managed to do really well.. and it was SO fun! I was pleasantly surprised at my new found confidence and "calm and authoritative" presence.

As well as doing teacher training, we also had talks on: insurance, health and safety, media, homesickness, culture shock, classroom management, sex drugs and alcohol, OCN qualification (essentially the same as the Global Citizenship qualification), and much more.

Some of the talks were pretty eye opening, scary and blunt. I now feel a lot less apprehensive about going than I did before because I now have all the information. I had a little cry one evening and shared with a fellow volunteer how scared I was. Just a hug and talking about things made me feel better immediately. That's all you need to do, let it out, talk about it. 

South Africa group 

I have hit the target of £5,400..!!! A massive thank you to granny, mum and Luisa for donating the last  amount of cash. I couldn't have reached it without you. 

Money donated at my leaving party (17th August) will go towards my medical care in South Africa (if needed) as the insurance excess is £250 (might be going up to £500). 

A few pics of training

                                                                     Hooded hooligans 

Waiting for the ferry

                                                                       At the beach

                                                                      Coll

Underberg Primary School Post Report from current volunteer

Main type of work: Assistance in learning programs for pupils who are struggling academically both at school and in the hostel. I have started up a reading program in the school and as far as I am aware your main role in the school day will be to carry on with this. It involves listening to children read and helping to improve those who are struggling the most; especially those who cannot read to their parents aloud at home as English is their second language. I have also been involved in covering teachers' classes, helping in the mastery unit for children who need extra help with Maths and English as they have learning difficulties, as well as helping with sport.

Other work undertaken: Outside of school I help the grade 1 and 2's with their homework in the hostel after they finish school. Next I then work one on one with those pupils who are struggling most, helping them to complete their homework. After dinner I then run the evening activity for those pupils who have finished all their homework.

My new postal address:

Underberg School and Hostel

1 Old Main Road

Underberg

Kwa-Zulu Natal 3257

South Africa

The usual length of time for a letter to arrive from the UK: 2 weeks

Until my next post

Totsiens :D

Get out of your comfort zone

3rd July 2013

I have started weekly volunteering for Autism Support this summer. I will be helping with the children's activities and going on day trips with them. Today was my first day. So much energy in such a small room is REALLY tiring! Good experience and good fun, however. Volunteering is fantastic for gaining new experiences and boosting your confidence. One thing I have found that I have in common with the other Project Trust volunteers.. is that most of them volunteer too. We're all very volunteery! I guess that is what makes us want to embark on this year away. I used to volunteer in a homeless centre. I cooked lunch and did the tea and coffee. I learnt so much from that 6 month volunteer, definitely got out of my comfort zone.

Talking about getting out of your comfort zone! Have any of you heard of Vine videos on Facebook/YouTube? Well, there's this one guy who has a video about 'how to get out of your comfort zone' which I found really interesting. His name is Jerome Jarre and he's a French entrepreneur. He does some strange and crazy videos. Watch on YouTube: How to get out of your comfort zone with Jerome Jarre or follow this link (if it works..).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7njBebg6BYk

Training is in less than 2 weeks! WOW! It fees like yesterday that I was on selection course in Coll.. A few days ago I found out that one of my fellow selection course friends is one of my partners!! She found out really late what project she would be on! What a wait. I feel very lucky I didn't have any major swaps or waiting.

The most common thing I get asked is "Are you excited?". I find this a strange question to ask, and maybe I should just reply with "No, I am being forced to do this against my will". Maybe it's meant to be similar to a "How are you?" question because most people will reply with "Fine, how are you?". Hardly anyone is going to reply with "Absolutely awful, how are you?". Anyway, I was thinking. Do I feel excited? Not really. I've been fundraising for over a year now. I think the excitement will hit me a few days before/on the day. But to be honest, I think I have subconsciously cut that excitement off for just now, because with it comes fear. I am very scared, deep down. A year is a long time. Some nights a few months ago I would lie in bed and just feel absolutely terrified about the whole thing. What if I don't like it? What if I hate the weather? What if I miss home so much I'm just miserable? ....

With the wonder, beauty and joy that travelling and leaving home brings, is the other side too. Fear, sadness and anxiety. Ying and yang. You have to let both happen otherwise the experience is not whole and complete. I will embrace both sides and remind myself that the sadness and fear will not last forever.

Here's a picture of my leaflet I designed and distributed ..EVERYWHAH

My 18th birthday Ceilidh1 I also had a raffle, auction and disco. My overall total for the night was about £900. Success!

My fundraising events, successes and thank you's

The first step for me was designing my leaflet. I would like to thank Genie Dee for helping me design it, helping me with basically everything. I honestly could not have done it without you, thank you.

I would like to thank my boss Graham Howie for printing out my leaflets for free and allowing me to have them displayed in the Bistro. Lots of customers gave me the odd tenner! Very kind.

Thank you to all those who sponsored me when I climbed Ben Nevis in August 2012. Thank you to my fellow Project Trust volunteer Rhomi for sharing with me the idea and then having me in her home for 2 days! It was masses of fun and such a thrill when we got to the top.

Then there was my Firewalking Event in September 2012. Thank you to Fiona Mackenzie for saying she would host one for me. We did it in my back garden late at night and I managed to get an amazing 6 people to attend! (Hahah) Thank you to Alex, Merryn, Pat, Claire, Chris and Zoe for participating and concurring their fears of walking on burning embers. I think everyone felt some sort of kindred spirit that night.

I would like to thank all the charitable trusts who have donated, and all my kind friends and family. I would also like to thank the odd person who I don't know very well who have given me money. One very thoughtful gentleman gave me £50 on JustGiving and I don't think I've even met him before. Thank you also to my dads dear old friend who gave me a rather large cheque. The kindness of some people!

To Jane Bechtel. Thank you very much for helping me with my birthday Ceilidh. Thank you to the Birnam Institute for giving the venue free (or maybe the invoice just hasn't arrived yet? Hahah!). Thank you to Fiddle Stix for performing in your Ceilidh band for free. Thank you DJ man for DJing for free (Urban Discos, Perth). Thank you Wendy for giving me some amazing Hilton auction prizes.. Thank you to everyone who came on the night, helped out, donated raffle prizes and brought food. Thanks to Mum, Luisa, Alex, Claire, Zoe and all her friends. for helping out.

Thank you to all those who have donated on Just Giving.


It's been one hell of a year!

I know where I'm going!

In May of 2013, I found out where I will be in South Africa! :D

I will be going to Underberg Primary School which is situated in the Drakensberg Mountains! There, I will be assisting with teaching and social care. I will also have the opportunity to work with children who have learning disabilities. Here's a bit more about it all.

"Underberg school is a new project nestled in the majestic foothills of
the Drakensburg Mountains of South Africa. The town has a sleepy feel
to it and is rural but certainly doesn’t fit into the typical picture of ‘rural
Africa.’ The picturesque mountains and cooler climate combined with a
small town with relatively good amenities give Underberg a very different
feel to what you may expect from South Africa.

As with the rest of the country, Underberg has disparate communities
juxtaposed in close proximity to each other. A comfortable middle
class community are neighboured to a government ‘low cost housing’
township. Volunteers placed in Underberg will have the opportunity to
seek out a range of different lifestyles and communities all based within a
few miles of each other.

The primary role will be within Underberg Primary school. This is a
fee-paying school and represents South African education at its best;
a melting pot of different ethnicities within all classes working side by
side with excellent facilities and standard of teaching to push them
academically as well as life outside of the classroom. The school prides
itself in its high standards of teaching and opportunities, offering small
classes from Grade 1-7. As well as helping with literacy in the younger
years, volunteers would have the opportunity to assist in the sports
programme as well as with any other extra-curricular clubs which they
have a passion for. Another interesting aspect to the project is the school
mastery unit. This unit has been set up to address the varied academic
needs of students with learning difficulties or in more need of support.

Accommodation is based at the school hostel; a residential unit with
38 pupils in residence. It is envisaged that the volunteers will immerse
themselves in the day to day running of this unit, with emphasis on
working directly with the children."

How exciting does that sound?! The Underberg project is a new one, so my partners and I will be the first people to volunteer there. What a privilege! I also found out the date I will be leaving which is the 22nd August. My confirmed training dates are the 15th-19th July. Yippee! I received an attachment along with my project details... oh my. What a lot of information. Included were things I needed to get/organise: visa application (£35), Disclosure, (£25), Medical Report (full physical examination, yellow fever, chest x-ray and BCG jab = £150). We also got the list of equipment and clothing that we will need. Spent about £50 on Amazon that day! We have to have it all sorted by the 15th of June.. that's only just under a month! I feel very lucky that I am not busy with exams at the moment like a lot of other people are.

So, apart from fundraising, there's actually quite a lot of extra expenses that you forget about until now..! Altogether, extra expenses have come up to just under £500. Lucky I saved my holiday money last summer as I am supa' organised. I think it's worth it though, especially getting the BCG and yellow fever which does you for 10 years and BCG for life. It was in fact very lucky that I went to the doctor for my physical examination, as the GP is suspicious that I may have a urinary infection. Let's hope I don't, but if I do - I have nipped it in the bud!

My fundraising total is currently at about £4,500 which is simply AMAZING. I am so proud and so thankful to those who have donated and helped me out over the past year and a bit. I have 2 months to get as near £5000 as possible. If you are thinking about doing volunteering on this scale, I would definitely recommend starting everything super early so you have time to fund-raise and organise everything. There is something called 'luck' which comes into the equation too. If you are surrounded by support from your community, friends and family, then things are going to run a lot smoother and it will be easier to raise that amount..


I still can't believe this is all happening to me. What an opportunity. Thank you.


Now, time to learn some Afrikaans and Zulu! Totsiens!

Iona

First blog

First blog

This blog is a personal blog written by Iona Wilkie. As such the views expressed in this blog are those of Iona Wilkie and not those of Project Trust.

The date today is 11th March 2013.
I can not describe to you how excited I am to be embarking on this once in a lifetime adventure to South Africa in a few months time. I have been fundraising for a whole year now and have made a whopping £3000. I would just like to take this time to thank everyone who has helped me reach this amount. It is simply mind-blowing. Even as recently as two years ago, I would never have dreamed of my life being this good in even 'five years time'. Over a very short period of time I have changed from a shy and unhappy girl to a happy, confident young woman. Everyone in my life has contributed to these positive changes in my life, as well as my impulsive thought to leave school. I have to say, for me, it was the best decision I have ever made.

It was only until I left school that I decided to approach Project Trust and see if I could attend a selection course. Unfortunately, I did not have the preferred 2 Highers, but only a C Higher French. I didn't think there was any point in applying at first but something made me try anyway.

I emailed Project Trust to see if I would be able to, even though I did not meet the entry requirements but had strengths in other areas. I was SO surprised when they emailed back saying that I could definitely come along to a selection course. (My expectations were crazy low, I seemed to always be doubting my abilities)

After going to Coll and getting selected, my whole life changed. My self-esteem and confidence grew and most importantly I was feeling happier. I felt like I could achieve something, and finally had something to work towards that my heart was also in.

The first step: Fundraising.

Fundraising for me, has been nothing but a joy. Don't get me wrong, there have been times when I wished it would be a little easier but most of it was very fun. I switched my negative attitude to a positive one. It worked wonders... and that's simply changing your attitude.

You do things you wouldn't normally do when you have to raise money for something. You have to talk to people you don't know, design leaflets, write to charitable trusts and organise events!
I have learnt so much from fundraising alone, and this is just the beginning..
One of the most memorable times was when I did a Firewalk in my back garden. A Firewalk is when you walk over burning embers.. Sounds a bit crazy but it is really good for your inner spirit, and makes you feel like you are capable of doing anything afterwards.. You've just walked on fire!
It also brings everyone who is participating together, in a very Oneness sort of way. A few of the things you don't think about are actually really difficult to do in front of a crowd of people. There was about six of us, and we each had to chant in turn around the circle... It was amazing to see the people who were too shy! In the end though, everyone sang. It was amazing.

With fundraising, my health has improved too. I trained in the gym before I went up Ben Nevis, and then went to stay with a fellow volunteer in Fort William to do it together. It was a fantastic experience and the weather was great too!



Very excited for training in July!