Volunteers Build New Classroom in Rural School

The latest group of International Student Volunteers (ISV) volunteers joined VA32 in Chintsa from 24th June - 5th July and were the fourth group of volunteers taking part in several community development initiatives this winter season. This group saw the start of a major project based in local township school Silatsha which will be undertaken and completed over the next 12 months.

Silatsha school is situated around 50kms from Chintsa and receive support from VA32 volunteers as often as possible, through building and maintenance of the school facilities, sports initiatives and computer literacy classes when possible.

Silatsha currently has five small classrooms in which to teach 8 classes of children from Grade R - 7. In 2010-11 VA32 worked with ISV volunteers to build their fifth classroom and 2013 marks the start of a sixth classroom.

See How Our Garden Grows!

The afternoons for volunteers are filled with community development initiatives in Chintsa which are designed to support the schools and people who VA32 work with every day.

The last few weeks have seen a new gardening and beautification initiative begun; driven by volunteer co-ordinator Ash, Kate from Friends of Chintsa, local teacher and carer Phumla and (of course) our education project volunteers.

The Gardening Initiative

The gardening initiative has several aims and outcomes:

What it is to Volunteer in South Africa

by Paula, Brazil

Me and my fellow volunteers by the VA32 office in Chintsa

 As I stand here on my last day of this amazing experience I try to get it to sink in, what all this means and why it matters so much. My experience in South Africa has really touched me in a lot of ways.

For you to have the confidence to decide to invest your money, time and love to come all the way to this amazing country, Africa, is very special. For me, Africa has always amazed me and travelling is my big passion so coming to volunteer in Chintsa was a dream come true in many ways. How can you not be touched by the unfairness faced by people here everyday, by the misery that touches so many lives and by seeing the consequences of actions made in the past, that still affect the people here today...it's all there, you just have to open your eyes to see it.

Computer Literacy Students join our Blog!

The new volunteer co-ordinator for VA32 education volunteer projects came up with a great idea a few weeks ago - to ask our learners from the schools which we're teaching computer skills in, to write a blog; about school, about their life and them. Our first learner Asive, who is in Grade 6 at Chintsa East School, shared her thoughts on the volunteers, her hometown and computer lessons.

" My Blog

by Asive Gxakaza, Grade 6

My name is Asive, I love my teachers and the volunteers who come to my school. My town is Chintsa East. I love my town, it is beautiful.

Me with the Big Green eMachine!

My schools name is Chintsa East.

I love computer lessons because they are interesting and we learn a lot. I also have nice and lovely friends at school. I love the Big Green eMachine, thanks for the Big Green eMachine.

My spoilts I like are pops (suckers/ lollies!) and dolls.

Love from Asive "

Thank you Asive for sharing your thoughts and writing your first blog!

To find out more about the Wild Coast Schools Project which is enabling rural school learners like Asive to become competent and confident in expressing themselves through computer technology on our website at www.volunteerafrica.co.za.

Look out for more student blogs over the coming weeks!

April

Volunteers Join the Waldorf Nursery Project

The new term of 2013 has seen new little learners join the Waldorf Nursery School in Chintsa (including Nomakwezi's beautiful daughter Alizwa!). Catch the kids enjoying a day of creative learning and play with Tom, Veliswa and Ilana - our current Waldorf volunteer.


If you cannot view this slideshow properly click here to view the flickr gallery.

A big Thank you to Ilana for allowing us to share her photos :)

My First Week Volunteering on the Community Pre-School Project

By Patricia, Brazil.

This is me with Jess (left), Bianca (middle) and some of the
kids from Chintsa.

In my first day at the creche I was introduced to the ladies that work there, to the children and their routine.
There are two separate places to the creche: one for kids between the ages on 0-2 years and on the the 3, 5 and 6 years old.

My work is specially with the babies and everyday I support the ladies, helping with the food, helping the babies to sleep and stopping them crying.

After my first few days I was totally adapted and the kids were getting used to me. Now they know who I am and are not afraid to be with me.

It's not easy work as there are at least 14 children every day, but all the hard work is rewarded by their smiles and "bye-bye"'s that I get every day when I leave the creche.

I'm totally in love with these babies already!

To find more about the VA32 Community Preschool Project visit our website.

Volunteers Work to Complete Chintsa Creche

It's the start of the Summer Season here in Chintsa and our first group of International Student Volunteers arrived early in December. These groups of volunteers join us for 2 weeks and work on high impact projects in the Chintsa community. 

The first group of the year had a huge challenge with 11 volunteers and only 2 weeks to get the new Chintsa creche prepared for school to begin in the new term and ensure that it is ready to be handed over to the village by the 7th Jan 2013! 

The creche was started by last seasons ISV volunteer groups, the "shell" was in place and it was the responsibility of this group to try to complete the inside of the creche building, and the fencing around the creche. 

15 Top Tips on Volunteering in Chintsa, South Africa

Volunteer co-ordinator Katie asked last seasons ISV Group Volunteers to put together a list of top tips for this seasons volunteers...we've picked out the 15 best tips to share with you!

1. When someone tries to buy you for 30 cows, always try for 60.
2. Buy from the street vendors while it's sunny and you have the chance. You never know the next time they'll be out.
3. Don't be afraid to try Bantu's food - it's amazing and there's always seconds!
4. Don't miss out on going to Mama Tofu's for an in-depth talk on sex education.
5. Wake up for the sunrise.
6. Screw "Hakuna Matata" - it's all about "Molo Yolo"!
7. The locals around here are super cool so get to know them and their stories.
8. Practice your Xhosa throughout the workday, it's surprisingly easier than you initially think!
9.  Try every chocolate bar but guard your chocolate and stay away from the cherry chappies. Cadburys Top Deck is the best!
10. Take advantage of Miller's strength and Denver's beauty.
11. Take care of your cameras! Beware of sand and small children!
12. Beware of the monkeys!
13. Always thank Kwezi for the food, get to know her and help her out.
14. No matter what enjoy every minute of your time in Chintsa, it really will fly by!
15. Man up and work hard!

To see photos of the ISV Groups' experience in Chintsa (and maybe shed some light on a few of these tips!) check out our Flickr collection!

To all of our past volunteers - do you have any tips to add to the list? Please comment and share them below! 

Thanks to all of the ISV volunteers who contributed to this awesome (extremely entertaining) list of tips for our future volunteers and of course a massive thanks to Katie Ryan - our volunteer co-ordinator who goes above and beyond! :)

April

Volunteers Learn Xhosa with Tobz

A Short Introduction to the Xhosa Language

There are 11 official languages of South Africa and Xhosa is widely known as the second most spoken language in the country with 18% of population speaking it (that’s roughly 7.9 million people!). Xhosa is a Bantu language – the people who speak it are known as the amaXhosa and the language is known as isiXhosa. In English we call both the people and the language simply “Xhosa”.

Xhosa is a very unusual language for the Western ear – it is very tonal and consists of several different clicking sounds. And it can be extremely difficult to learn – the consonants have unusual sounds and are very close together, add in the clicks and the challenge is really on!

ISV Impact Volunteers - Round-up Group 6 (Final Group)

It's been a long time coming but check out the images of our final group of impact volunteers of the Winter Season 2012! This group helped with a really vital project long over due in Chintsa. Chintsa had no "official" crèche or crèche building although loving local lady Bantu takes in small children and cares for them while their parents and carers were at work. Our final group of volunteers helped to make Bantu's dream come true and built her a safe place to care for a play with the youngest children of Chintsa.

Check out our slideshow of pictures below:

Part 2: Volunteers Charlotte & Laura - the end of the adventure!

Here's the second part of Charlotte's awesome vlog documenting her return here to volunteer on the Wild Coast Schools Program with friend Laura...

Part ii.

So, time in Chintsa isn’t the same as time as anywhere else. Where has two weeks gone? Frankly I have no idea.

Kids walking into school in the morning

Chintsa East school is brimming with enthusiastic kids, who pop up at the start of school asking “Grade 2 computers?” and when the answer is yes, you get a sunny and excited smile. After finishing building mind maps using Microsoft Word we mixed things up a bit and studied landfill sites! Grades 6 and 7 started to make their own Powerpoint presentations on the topic. Volunteer Steffi and I have learnt the important lesson of strategic seating in the classroom and behaviour noting!

The Other Half; Reflections on an Extraordinary Volunteer Experience in South Africa

When Andrew arrived in Chintsa in 2011 to volunteer with a group of ten other International Student Volunteers (ISV) I'm not sure he was quite prepared for the extraordinary experience that he was about to embark upon. Since his time with VA32 in South Africa, Andrew has put energy into reflecting on what he learnt about himself in relation to the Chintsa community and his home community and we are lucky enough to have been included in those reflections and thoughts.

Andrews blog "An Extraordinary ISV Experience in South Africa" has been published on the ISV website:

An Extraordinary ISV Experience in South Africa 

"Four barren walls sit roofless above a decrepit foundation. In a small village on the Wild Coast of South Africa, this hollow structure echoes of failed government policy and the lingering effects of apartheid. Its initial intentions stood for a noble cause: to bring an additional classroom to an over-populated school. Yet, its realization was halted due to dried up government funds. Instead, it sat vacant for years, occasionally harboring valueless items from local villagers in need of storage..."

ISV Impact Volunteers - Round up Group 5! (Plus Chintsa's very own SCARED)

The last two ISV teams may have left Chintsa a few weeks ago but neither they nor the hard work that they put in here in Chintsa have been forgotten! This awesome team totally brightened up Chintsa with their musical ways and fun "Scare" tactics (Milton & Denver will never be the same again!) as well as putting in some much needed hard work uplifting the Bulugha School Creche. Check out our slideshow below of their time in Chintsa...

If you cannot view this slideshow properly click here to visit the set on Flickr.

A Note from Past Volunteer Claire & a VERY Successful Fundraising Event!

A note from past volunteer Claire who joined the Wild Coast Schools volunteer program in 2010 for 4 weeks and recently organised a big fundraising concert in France, to support the VA32 volunteer programs which receive no government support:

Hi everybody!

I'm so, so glad the donation will help and I am absolutely thrilled I could keep on supporting Chintsa. I've fallen in love with the place, the kids, you guys and the amazing work you're doing every day to improve everyone's standard of living.

ISV Impact Volunteers - Round up Group 4!

Group 4 of our fabulous Winter Season of impact volunteers left Chintsa around 2 weeks ago - their work on the Chintsa Sports Field was awesome! The fencing of the volleyball & netball courts is completed and they even added a genius entrance to stop goats getting into the court! Check out their work in the slideshow below...

Diary of a Volunteer in South Africa



5/2/12

First day of school!  And it actually is as exciting as a first day of school when I was a kid.  Today we went to the Bulugha school and helped with the preschool class.  Learning the names will be quite the task, let alone pronouncing them correctly, but that’s the goal.  Xhosa is the language spoke by most.  Xhosa incorporates all types of tongue clicking that has so far been lost on me.  I can only imagine it’s a skill you are born with.  My hope is to master it enough so as not to be laughed at by the time I leave. 

The schoolroom is probably an 8x8 ft. room at best.  But there are 30 kids that couldn’t be happier to be there.  It’s amazing how quickly they latch on to you.  “Miss! Miss! Miss!” is quite endearing.  We taught them the letter “C” today.  Played outside (sharks and minnows – if anything is a universal game, it’s that), colored and sang songs.  All while overlooking a field of zebras. 

Conservation Volunteers get up Close and Personal with a Rhino

It's been an incredible week for our conservation volunteer Marco who's been with VA32 for the last month - not only did the conservation team re-locate two buffalos but they also darted a fully grown Rhino!

Marco & the conservation volunteer team with the rhino

ISV Impact Volunteers - Round up Group 2!

Group 2 of our Winter season ISV left Chintsa at the end of last week. Check out our slideshow of the volunteers at work! They successfully transported the volleyball field from the lower level of the Sports Centre field to the upper level, where it will sit next to the new netball field.

Greensleeves Children's Home - A Volunteer Africa Initiative

 Greensleeves is situated on a farm and is home to orphaned, abandoned or abused children. Volunteers often say that going to Greensleeves every week is one of their favourite activities. Volunteers provide the children with much needed attention and love--we  take the children swimming at the big damn that is on the property, go for walks, do arts and crafts, or play on the playground. Despite the fact that the children have come from difficult backgrounds, the children at Greensleeves are full of smiles and always eager to play. Here are some pics from some of our recent visits!

ISV Impact Volunteers- Group 1 Round-up!

Group 1 of our ISV Impact Groups left Chintsa at the end of last week - exhausted but looking forward to their onward trip and having accomplished tons! Chek out our photo slideshow to see what our volunteers got up to!

If you can't see the slideshow properly in the vlog click here to view it in flickr!

April