what i've been up to

I wrote this about a month ago and for some reason forgot to post it. Oops!

As you know, I’m back at site and trying to get projects started. The funny thing about South Africa is that things I think will be difficult turn out to be easy and things I think I can start in 10 minutes turn out to take a lot more work. (Maybe that’s true for all of development work.) In addition to helping with funding and with random things at my organization, here are some things I’m doing/trying to do.

OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) After-School Activities: 30 kids come to our centre before and after school to receive a free hot meal.  Usually, after school they hang out a little, sometimes organize a game, eat and leave.  I am beginning to plan activities (some educational and some fun) for them to do after-school.  I have two amazing ladies that help me and speak English, translating into isiZulu. The challenge: How do you explain what tag is? How do you explain what a puzzle is? How do you make your instructions clear enough so that they can then be translated into a different language? Needless to say, it has been an interesting experience dealing with language and cultural barriers. So far, we have played tag, a version of musical chairs, attempted to play the human knot game (huge fail), and made puzzles.  During our puzzle making session, about 5 out of 30 children successfully made puzzles. When it came to drawing and cutting out puzzle pieces, most of them couldn’t grasp the concept and instead drew squiggly lines and cut along them. Oops. If you have ideas for games, activities, arts/crafts for any age group-send them my way!

After-School Math Help Sessions: After school on Mondays, I go to the local high school to help the students with math (or maths, as it is called in South Africa).  After talking to the teachers, they told me the lowest pass rates are in maths so I figured I could lend a helping hand! So far, I am focusing on grade 11 and 12 students.  I help with their homework and have asked for topics that they need additional help on. In a pre-calculus class, some students understand everything with amazing wit while some stare at me, completely glazed over because they don’t know how to solve for x.  In my first session, a grade 12 punk decided to be the class clown at my expense. I was reviewing what sine is and everyone was giggly so I asked, “what’s funny?”  I put a problem on the board and asked if someone could do it for the class. The punk came to the front and started trying to mimic my actions and when the class laughed she asked, “what’s funny?” Even though I’m not a teacher, I had the “what type of teacher am I going to be” moment. The cool teacher? The mean teacher?  I told her to explain what she put on the board to the class, knowing she took someone else’s work. When she couldn’t explain, she sat down and I won. I survived the 12^th graders to teach another day.

Girls Club and Camp: I applied for a grant to start a girls club and hold a leadership camp and I should get my funding and be able to get the ball rolling soon.  My plan is to hold 3 consecutive girls groups that will be 12 weeks long.  The first group is going be called Zenzele (we do it our self) Girls Group and will be girls in grades 8-10.  I plan to cover topics such as peer pressure, HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy, healthy relationships, what’s in a boy’s mind, women empowerment, etc. The first hour will be a lesson and discussion and the second hour will be a fun activity. Most of the activities I’m planning are arts & crafts like tie-dye, making dream catchers, and friendship bracelets. I also want to get influential women to come and speak one day. Then, next June I’ll have a leadership camp that will build on everything in the clubs. Hopefully I’ll be starting my first club in September-wish me luck!

Gardens: We have 2 gardens-one at each soup kitchen for OVC. I am going to a training this week on permagardening and then, with the help of my South African counterparts, will take on the task of making these gardens successful.  All of the food is used in our soup kitchens, providing the kids with more nutritious food.

Support Groups: This is still in the thinking phase. I hope to start a group for Gogos (grandmothers) caring for HIV positive children. It is the norm here for Gogos to care for their grandchildren-because the parents died from AIDS, the parents are working in the cities, or the parents just left.  My organization feels strongly that these people need support in order for them to support the children.  The group will focus on good nutrition, ART support, and the importance of disclosing the child’s status to the child.  It will also serve as a place for the women to get together and feel lifted up. I’m still working on gaging interest, finding an English-speaking Zulu woman to help me, and plan the details. More to come!