Hello fellow readers!
First of all I am so sorry for not updating my blog sooner!
The last two weeks have been very busy for me as I had my best friend from the
UK come and visit. Now that I am back in my normal routine I would love to tell
you all that has been going on at the place that I now call home J
Valentine’s Day
So as you all know it was Valentine’s Day on Friday 14th
February. Some think it’s very commercial, others think it’s romantic but here
at Saint Anthony’s it is a big day. I was very surprised to find out that every
year, the Home puts on a big party for all of the children to celebrate this
special day and give them an opportunity to show their love and care for one
another. This year the party took place
in the dining room. The whole room was decorated with red and white balloons,
romantic posters and candle lit tables. As the children didn’t have school the
following day, the party started in the afternoon. Everyone was dressed in
pinks, whites and reds and entered the room holding hands... very cute! Once
seated, the oldest child of the orphanage, Tyson, gave a speech about what
Valentine’s Day is, where it originates from and why it is celebrated. Other
items included dancing, singing and raping all of which were related to love.
The night ended with an hour of loud African music, dancing and a bowl of ice
cream! It was great to see all 75 children dancing and having fun together.
First ICT lessons
After a long meeting with Malume, the Education officer and
the care worker supervisor, we have finally found a time and day for when I can
do my English and ICT lessons with the teenagers. From now on, I will be
teaching the girls from 2 – 3 pm Saturdays and the boys 11:30 – 12:30 Sundays.
So on Sunday 16th February, the boys had their first ICT lesson.
Although a few had had lessons with the previous volunteer, the majority of
them had never been on a computer before so they were all extremely excited!
With some of the boys being very shy, I decided to have a prize at the end of
the lessons for the person who participates the most during class. This
includes both answering questions, asking questions and asking for help!
We started the lesson with some basic questions such as what
is a computer used for? What makes up a
computer? Etc. I then asked them to turn on the computer and try to find the
three main programs I will be teaching them to use: Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
They then spent the rest of the lesson on Paint creating their own Valentine’s
Day Card. I thought this was the best way to get them using the mouse and the
keyboard whilst still having fun. Some of the cards were, how should I put
it...... Interesting! Now that I have a better idea of the different levels in
the class, I can try and accommodate my lessons as much as possible. One of my
main challenges however will be Sanele. He unfortunately had to leave school at
Grade 3, after his mother passed away so he could look after his three younger
siblings – all of which are at Saint Anthony’s. This means he is 15 and cannot
read or write in Zulu, let alone in English. As a result, he will need constant
assistance in class. On the other hand however, it will give him another skill
which could help him find a job in the future (no school is accepting him due
to his lack of education and age).
Sign Language Lesson
After a very busy weekend, it was the day to pick up Sarah
(Monday 17th February)! I was sooo excited to see her as normally we
spend every weekend together so 5.5 months is a long time to go without seeing
each other! During her two weeks here we did lots of different things one which
was sign language lessons! Back in England, Sarah is a carer for a child with cerebral
palsy who she signs to during his lessons. She started learning sign language a
few years ago and is now completely fluent so we thought it would be a good
idea to teach the children some basic sign! Although none of the children
currently at Saint Anthony’s have problems with their hearing, a child could be
admitted tomorrow who has. Therefore on Sunday (23rd February), Sarah
taught both the teenage boys and girls some basic sign including “Hello”, “How
are you?” and “What is your name?” They all really enjoyed the lesson and kept
asking Sarah for more signs. One of the boys, Tyson, was extremely quick at
picking up the signs and was fantastic in his facial expressions. Because of
how well he did, I’m going to find courses for him, which he can do once he has
completed his matric!
Goodbye party
As well as sign language lessons, a pilgrimage to Maria
Ratschitz and a 2 day safari, Sarah put on a goodbye party for all of the
children. Before leaving the UK, she was given an amount of money to spend on
the children and she thought the best way to use that money was to throw them
all a big party with lots of nibbles and loud music! As Sarah left on the
Saturday (1st March), we had the party on the Friday night which
worked out perfectly as the children don’t have to get up too early on Saturdays
(during the week and Sundays, they all wake up at 5 am!!!). In one corner of
the room we had the food and juice, in another the sound system and then
balloons everywhere!!! Everyone dressed up for the occasion with the teenage
girls wearing their best dress and high heels... very cute!
It was very sweet to see how they reacted to the food.
Normally at the Home, all food such as lollies, crisps and chocolates are put
into little bags and given out to the child individually. However Sarah and I
had laid out the food on plates like a buffet. None of the children went
anywhere near the food until Sarah and I took plates round to them. Once they
got the idea that they could help themselves, it was gone within 10 minutes!
Sarah had bought all sorts of things including biscuits, marshmallows, lollies,
crisps, chocolates, muffins and orange squash!!! After refuelling themselves
with the snacks, they danced the night away (until 9 pm) to African music and
English party classics such as Low, Saturday Night and 5, 6, 7, 8!!! Being the
amazing dancers that they are, they quickly learnt the steps and it wasn’t long
before the whole room joined in! All of the children had an amazing night and
still talk about it today!
Substance Abuse workshop
Whilst Sarah was here, the teenagers also had a substance
abuse workshop. This was led by Phumzile (care worker supervisor) and Hlobi
(care worker for the teenage girls). So for an hour everyday they spoke about
and discussed drugs, their effects on the body, why do people take them etc.
Drugs is a big problem in the area. I was told a few weeks ago during one of
the school meetings I attended with the education’s officer that there is a Nigerian
group living near the school who are giving marijuana to the children for free.
Once the child is hooked, they charge them and get them to sell it in school.
Drug abuse was also a topic tackled in one of the most watched soaps in the
whole of South Africa, Generations. In this case, one of the lead characters,
Senzo, became addicted to cocaine. I thought the workshop was a fantastic idea
and it was great to see that most of the children had a good understanding of
what drugs are and what negative impacts it can have on you and those around
you.
You are all now up to date with what is happening here in Blaauwbosch.
I have now been here 6 months which means I only have 6 weeks left!!! Where has
time gone?!?!
My next posts to follow will be about my trip to Limpopo (18th
– 28th March) and my final week at Saint Anthony’s!
Until next time...
Isabel x
