April 12, 2011
July 23, 2008
I am so grateful!
I feel so very fortunate to have had such an amazing experience, meeting so many incredible individuals and connecting with such an awe-inspiring organization. After seeing all that SAEP has done in the townships and realizing the immense potential for SAEP to do so much more, I am honored to be staying on (remotely) as SAEP's development adviser. I plan to continue improving their systems and strategies for getting the needed resources for their programs while building a network of contributors here in the US.
To everyone who made this trip possible for me, I am so incredibly grateful! I hope you will continue to stay connected to this project and share in the pride of a great investment. I will be in contact to keep you updated and share the news from SAEP's projects.
Thank you so very much for your support!
July 17, 2008
Soaking in the splendor my last night
It's been a couple of very full and draining days working at SAEP as I kicked it into high gear to set up their development systems. Its been a lot of database creating, strategic planning, letter writing, and other mind-sapping activities. Now I'm waiting for the lasagna that I put together for my fellow volunteers cook and just enjoying the night. We're planning to climb Lion's Head to view the full moon and then I'll probably go back to my hostel and hang out with my roommates for awhile. It isn't sinking in at all that this is my last night though I think I'm in utter denial and I think I'll stay that way until I'm on the plane ack to New York.
July 15, 2008
Too busy to blog! or maybe just too delirious
I've started posts each of the past two days and been too exhausted to type more than a couple lines - plus, I've been fighting a cold. I've had a great coupld days despite the germs getting the upperhand and oday I was able to be very productive in creatine letter templates, a organizational plan of action for stronger development, a mission statement and even a rough version of a fundraising packet that volunteers will receive so that they can continue to contribute to SAEP ater they've completed their stay here. After several days of gorgeous weather, the day has gone in and out of rain so it was a good day to hunker down and work.
Yesterday, I had an invaluable meeting with the most responsible and bright creche principal who SAEP has helped become not only a truly self-reliant educare allstar but also a remarkable community leader and shining example of empowerment for local women. The meeting was so rich with information that I know I will be looking over my notes and Sarah's for days to come but overall it was striing how much she understood her role in the creche, the community and SAEP. Though struggling to maintain a growing creche in her mother's house before SAEP came into the picture, she was already so motivated that she took the initiative to go to ECD trainings and took an interest in children's advocacy. Soon after Nokhaya (the principal) got connected with Jane, she went to Parliament to speak on behalf of all the creches and the thousands of children they care for to implore the government to improve the accessibility of social services. Before her speech, a principal coule wait 10-12 years after applying to register with the Department of Social Services only to have them come and nit-pick about the facilities, telling these cash-strappped principals to fix this and that before they could ever get the services they were entitled to. Since Nokhaya appealed to the government, the services have become much more accessible and, in fact, all of SAEP's nine original creches have been registered with the department. Aside from the leadership qualities in her that have been effectively cultivated, Nokhaya was just such a glowing example of SAEP's successful training in financial management, development education, inter-creche cooperation and SAEP's success in improving the physical integrity of the creches (Nokhaya's Quamani building went from a delapidated corrogated metal shack to a beautiful two-story brick building). It was truly inspiring!!
I'm surprised with my cold I was able to stay awake at all because the day before (Sunday), I had hiked up Table Mountain. It was such an arduous hike up as we climbed over 800 meters straight up but getting to the top was well worth it. It was a perfect day to hike as the weather was sunny but brisk. When we got across the table and perched ourselves on a cliff overlooking Camps Bay, Lion's head and the east of the city, I thought I'd reached heaven (again, I know it's cliche but it's difficult not to be!). After scaling down on eof the twelve apostles (the stretch of mountain stretching from the table to the sea), we ate some ice cream in the sun while staring out over the idyllic Camps Bay beach. By the time I returned to my hostel, I was ready to pass out!
Yesterday, I had an invaluable meeting with the most responsible and bright creche principal who SAEP has helped become not only a truly self-reliant educare allstar but also a remarkable community leader and shining example of empowerment for local women. The meeting was so rich with information that I know I will be looking over my notes and Sarah's for days to come but overall it was striing how much she understood her role in the creche, the community and SAEP. Though struggling to maintain a growing creche in her mother's house before SAEP came into the picture, she was already so motivated that she took the initiative to go to ECD trainings and took an interest in children's advocacy. Soon after Nokhaya (the principal) got connected with Jane, she went to Parliament to speak on behalf of all the creches and the thousands of children they care for to implore the government to improve the accessibility of social services. Before her speech, a principal coule wait 10-12 years after applying to register with the Department of Social Services only to have them come and nit-pick about the facilities, telling these cash-strappped principals to fix this and that before they could ever get the services they were entitled to. Since Nokhaya appealed to the government, the services have become much more accessible and, in fact, all of SAEP's nine original creches have been registered with the department. Aside from the leadership qualities in her that have been effectively cultivated, Nokhaya was just such a glowing example of SAEP's successful training in financial management, development education, inter-creche cooperation and SAEP's success in improving the physical integrity of the creches (Nokhaya's Quamani building went from a delapidated corrogated metal shack to a beautiful two-story brick building). It was truly inspiring!!
I'm surprised with my cold I was able to stay awake at all because the day before (Sunday), I had hiked up Table Mountain. It was such an arduous hike up as we climbed over 800 meters straight up but getting to the top was well worth it. It was a perfect day to hike as the weather was sunny but brisk. When we got across the table and perched ourselves on a cliff overlooking Camps Bay, Lion's head and the east of the city, I thought I'd reached heaven (again, I know it's cliche but it's difficult not to be!). After scaling down on eof the twelve apostles (the stretch of mountain stretching from the table to the sea), we ate some ice cream in the sun while staring out over the idyllic Camps Bay beach. By the time I returned to my hostel, I was ready to pass out!
July 12, 2008
Lions, penguins and whales! Oh My!!
After a week of child-care, creating databases, writing document templates and going to several very heady meetings, I was ready to clear my mind and what better way than to trek all over Cape Town? After work on Friday (wow, yesterday feels sooo long ago), the volunteer crew headed over to Lion's Head and we started our semi-arduous journey to the top. Words cannot do this mountain/hike/lifetime experience justice. There's nothing like taking on some craggy rock while discussing social justice with some of the most incredible individuals beginning their own journey in the field. The incline got increasingly difficult as you spiraled around the peak of the mountain, going from flat path to crude rock steps to an undefinable path of rough rocks sloping steeply to the summit. There were ladders and even these chains to pull yourself up flat rock shelves - definitely more of mountain climbing in some places than hiking. With every turn of the path there was another incredible vew of either table mountain or the city or camps bay or the seemingly ceaseless Atlantic. When we finally made it over the roughest patch of rocky cliff that seemed to really want to test if you were TRULY worthy of the rewards about to come, we reached it! And while pictures will never do it justice, I would have to be a poet to come close to describing the panoramic views of the most beautiful city in the world. The sun was late in the day and we all took turns taking pictures on various rocks and with as many differnet backgroundas as we could. There was even a full rainbow to add to the moment which eventually turned into a DOUBLE RAINBOW! We remained there for awhile but as the lights of the city in the shadow of our mountain and the sun edged closer to the horizon, we knew we had to try to get down the mountain before dark. We climbed down about a third of the way but then realize we might get caugh on the dark side and miss the sunset and so decided to wait it out. As we watched the sun slip away and leave an explosion of color in its wake, I realized the 6 pm sunset here would be the 12 noon sun in New York and I had an immense sense of it all (okay, that sounds cliche but that's bound to happen when watching the sunsetting on the ocean from the cliff of a mountain). We continued on immediately because it is no joke that being on this mountain in the dark is down-right dangerous and stupid. Aside from sprained ankles, muggers have been known to take advantage of the nightfall for jumping up on silly tourists who meander too long (and yes, we did see people just starting on the way up on our way down). It turned out to be an overall spectacular way to spend an afternoon and was topped off well with a braai when I arrived back at the hostel. This simply means bbq in South Africa as they love their spice-charred meat and we had quite a feast. I tried beetroot and, as expected, I don't really care for it but it's supposed to be very good for you. By the time I was properly recovered from the hike, I had to get to bed since I was getting up early this morning.
Today, I took on the eastern shore town and the cape peninsula which turned out to be totally incredible! We headed along the atlantic seaboard and cut across to Kalk Bay to see the seals on Douker Island. When you enter the town, a sign welcomes you to the "republic" of Kalk Bay as the town claimed it had seceded from the SA national government at the time of apartheid. It's now a facecious reference but points to a time when even the people favored by the apartheid government would stand up and refuse to let them get away with it. It;s a quiet little fisherman's town shielded by mountains on both sides with a large marina. Pretty soon after arriving, our boat took off for the island and after about 15-20 mins, we came upon what seemed like little more than some rocks where hundreds of seals covered nearly every inch and a few swam around. It was surprisingly neat to see and I leanred that this is where the juvenile males come to mature into a proper mating age (what a bachelor pad!). Back at the dock, there was a local doing tricks with one particularly fat seal. From here we drove along the eastern beach towns and stopped right above Muizenberg to have some muffins and juice. It offered a great view of False Bay - so named because early sailers would round the Cape of Good Hope and start to turn up toward what they thought was toward the east caost of Africa to discover they had entered a large bay. Onward to Simonstown (and through Fish Hoek, another fisherman's town where the sailors used to use as drinking hole until the town got tired of the drunken slumber parties and made it a dry town), where we visited Boulder's Beach and came face to face with African Penguins!!!!!! If you know me, you probably know that I hate birds but these little guys were so neat and cute and waddly and just plain awesome. They're formerly the Jackass Penguin because they bray like donkeys which I was actually able to hear! I took way too many pictures, but seriously, PENGUINS!!! Okay, okay, I guess I just wish I could share it with you. After not getting nearly enough of these cute creatures, we rode toward the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve where we would be cycling through. It was such a great way to experience the reserve and 6K turned out to be too short! There were a couple wild ostriches along the way but really it was just the scenery of rolling hills between the two different oceans on either side that really got me. We had a picnic lunch at the visitor's center where they also had loads on info on the flora and fauna of the cape (own of the most biodiverse spots on the globe). We hiked to the lighthouse of Cape Point where you can look straight out down the line of water where the Atlantic and Indian oceans collide (at some times of the year you can actually see a line created by the dramatic change in temperatures). After lots of pictures, we walked along the lowest tip of the cape toward the Cape of Good Hope (which you can see from Cape Point but takes about 45 minutes to walk). About halfway down, Roger (our fabulously knowledgeable and fun guide) challenged the group to try to beat the nine-minute record to the bottom of the cliff to the beach and back. After a few minutes, I of course took the challenge and was joined by a Dutch girl I had befriended and we soon found ourselves running down 244 steps to the beach. We ran toward the water and ended up getting knee-high, boots and all. We took a quick picture and raced back up. After just the sand hill toward the stairs I thought I'd have a heart attack but we made it all the way up and beat the 9 minutes by a whole minute! We caught our breaths and continued to the most south-westerly point of Africa. On our way we saw some whales in the distance and the guide said it seemed like they were mating because there was an awful lot of action (we'd seen some spouting earlier but only for a second and then they'd dive down but this was going on for quite some time). Again at the Cape of Good Hope(so called because the king of portugal took Dias's trip around it as a good sign that they would be able to work out a sea route to asia), the views take your breathe away and I could have sat on that rock looking ouit over the atlantic forever (well, maybe the wind would eventually get to me but the sun was taking care of that for the time being). We drove back along the western shores, spotted some babbons and wonderbok and saw the cloud over table mountain turn a bright hot pink around sunset.
Not a bad day!! Forget the big five - the penguins had me at hello!!!
Today, I took on the eastern shore town and the cape peninsula which turned out to be totally incredible! We headed along the atlantic seaboard and cut across to Kalk Bay to see the seals on Douker Island. When you enter the town, a sign welcomes you to the "republic" of Kalk Bay as the town claimed it had seceded from the SA national government at the time of apartheid. It's now a facecious reference but points to a time when even the people favored by the apartheid government would stand up and refuse to let them get away with it. It;s a quiet little fisherman's town shielded by mountains on both sides with a large marina. Pretty soon after arriving, our boat took off for the island and after about 15-20 mins, we came upon what seemed like little more than some rocks where hundreds of seals covered nearly every inch and a few swam around. It was surprisingly neat to see and I leanred that this is where the juvenile males come to mature into a proper mating age (what a bachelor pad!). Back at the dock, there was a local doing tricks with one particularly fat seal. From here we drove along the eastern beach towns and stopped right above Muizenberg to have some muffins and juice. It offered a great view of False Bay - so named because early sailers would round the Cape of Good Hope and start to turn up toward what they thought was toward the east caost of Africa to discover they had entered a large bay. Onward to Simonstown (and through Fish Hoek, another fisherman's town where the sailors used to use as drinking hole until the town got tired of the drunken slumber parties and made it a dry town), where we visited Boulder's Beach and came face to face with African Penguins!!!!!! If you know me, you probably know that I hate birds but these little guys were so neat and cute and waddly and just plain awesome. They're formerly the Jackass Penguin because they bray like donkeys which I was actually able to hear! I took way too many pictures, but seriously, PENGUINS!!! Okay, okay, I guess I just wish I could share it with you. After not getting nearly enough of these cute creatures, we rode toward the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve where we would be cycling through. It was such a great way to experience the reserve and 6K turned out to be too short! There were a couple wild ostriches along the way but really it was just the scenery of rolling hills between the two different oceans on either side that really got me. We had a picnic lunch at the visitor's center where they also had loads on info on the flora and fauna of the cape (own of the most biodiverse spots on the globe). We hiked to the lighthouse of Cape Point where you can look straight out down the line of water where the Atlantic and Indian oceans collide (at some times of the year you can actually see a line created by the dramatic change in temperatures). After lots of pictures, we walked along the lowest tip of the cape toward the Cape of Good Hope (which you can see from Cape Point but takes about 45 minutes to walk). About halfway down, Roger (our fabulously knowledgeable and fun guide) challenged the group to try to beat the nine-minute record to the bottom of the cliff to the beach and back. After a few minutes, I of course took the challenge and was joined by a Dutch girl I had befriended and we soon found ourselves running down 244 steps to the beach. We ran toward the water and ended up getting knee-high, boots and all. We took a quick picture and raced back up. After just the sand hill toward the stairs I thought I'd have a heart attack but we made it all the way up and beat the 9 minutes by a whole minute! We caught our breaths and continued to the most south-westerly point of Africa. On our way we saw some whales in the distance and the guide said it seemed like they were mating because there was an awful lot of action (we'd seen some spouting earlier but only for a second and then they'd dive down but this was going on for quite some time). Again at the Cape of Good Hope(so called because the king of portugal took Dias's trip around it as a good sign that they would be able to work out a sea route to asia), the views take your breathe away and I could have sat on that rock looking ouit over the atlantic forever (well, maybe the wind would eventually get to me but the sun was taking care of that for the time being). We drove back along the western shores, spotted some babbons and wonderbok and saw the cloud over table mountain turn a bright hot pink around sunset.
Not a bad day!! Forget the big five - the penguins had me at hello!!!
July 10, 2008
Lacking Spell Check
A word of apology for my wretched spelling but I'm using Word Pad which has no spell-checker and I have limited time on the internet so I type quickly - hope it's not too shabby!
Envisioning
Today, I finally got to see why Cape Town is the most beautiful city in the world!! The weather broke and the sun shone over the mountains and the skyline and the sea and the houses and it was all so breath-taking! We went out to Rondebosch for the morning ECD meeting which is sort of the weekly re-cap and planning meeting. Because of transportation limitations, we can't make it out to the creches everyday so we focus our planning on one or two of the days in the end of the week so that the beginning of the week can be focused on getting out ot the creches. There's so much going on in the creches along a lot of needs so we spent more time that I had expected. All of the volunteers are so fervent in their commitment that everyone puts in these thoughtful suggestions and opinions on the matters which makes for a pretty productive meeting. We ended up discussing bits of my fundraising plan and the overall principles of philanthopy and from that I plan to put together a piece in the Volunteers' Handbook on fundraising, a Sending-Off packet of suggestions for ongoing fundraising, and a direct ask letter for all of the volunteers. I had spent last night setting up a demo of a charitable contributions database and showed Jane this morning. I think she was a little dazzled but I'm going to try to write up some guidelines for her to be able to mess around with the database this weekend. Norton was just plain floored (he's a bit more techno-savvy) and made me feel like I had made a huge difference in the progress of the organization. I really feel like I've started into the substantial part of my development contributions here.
After the ECD meeting, I headed out to the office that houses their high school and gap year programs which turned out to be in a proper office building in downtown(ish) Rondebosch. The first meeting was to discuss a proposed budget for a prospective program that would significantly improve the high school program by having staffed tutors that hold after-school programs everyday at 2-3 high schools rather than the program now that stretches volunteer tutors across 6 high schools. This gave me sort of an intense run-down of this side of SAEP and I was able to ask some pointed questions to the people who have gotten to know the program and the challenges involved very well. We went out to lunch and I got to see more of Rondebosch which is so ridiculously like American suberbs you would forget where you are if not for the gigantic mountain towering in the sky (again, I was so happy to actually be able to see the mountain today!). For the rest of the day, I sat in with Norton and Ryan (one of the grad students from the Clinton school) and we basically discussed the vision, goals and future of SAEP which is what I had been missing in my sort of development perspective but now I really feel like I have a grasp on at least where they are in the process. It's such an incredibly exciting to be taking part in the innovative thinking and strategic planning that's going on at this time in SAEP's lifeline. I found today to be one of the most exhilerating experiences I've had working with a non-profit in quite some time and I'm very excted for the direction they're headed and the role that I can play in helping them get there. Plus, the sunny skies and the plan-making for hikes this weekend did not hurt - on to Lion's Head tomorrow after work!!
After the ECD meeting, I headed out to the office that houses their high school and gap year programs which turned out to be in a proper office building in downtown(ish) Rondebosch. The first meeting was to discuss a proposed budget for a prospective program that would significantly improve the high school program by having staffed tutors that hold after-school programs everyday at 2-3 high schools rather than the program now that stretches volunteer tutors across 6 high schools. This gave me sort of an intense run-down of this side of SAEP and I was able to ask some pointed questions to the people who have gotten to know the program and the challenges involved very well. We went out to lunch and I got to see more of Rondebosch which is so ridiculously like American suberbs you would forget where you are if not for the gigantic mountain towering in the sky (again, I was so happy to actually be able to see the mountain today!). For the rest of the day, I sat in with Norton and Ryan (one of the grad students from the Clinton school) and we basically discussed the vision, goals and future of SAEP which is what I had been missing in my sort of development perspective but now I really feel like I have a grasp on at least where they are in the process. It's such an incredibly exciting to be taking part in the innovative thinking and strategic planning that's going on at this time in SAEP's lifeline. I found today to be one of the most exhilerating experiences I've had working with a non-profit in quite some time and I'm very excted for the direction they're headed and the role that I can play in helping them get there. Plus, the sunny skies and the plan-making for hikes this weekend did not hurt - on to Lion's Head tomorrow after work!!
July 9, 2008
The good and bad of love
The morning started a little rough since Shep's car wouldn't start and we ened up having to take a taxi out to Rosebank but I arrived in time to get out to the creches for what would be another great day (and again, despite the terrible weather)! I spent the day with Sarah who is a student at the Clinton School of Public Service and is working on compiling a five-year review of SAEPs work in the creches. We were supposed to interview the principals of two creches but Quamani's was off in a training so we just spent the day at Noncedo. I was originally disappointed since Quamani is one SAEPs bigger and more successful creches (like Zamukhanya is) where they've managed to actually build a two story brick building and pull in lots of funding. Yet, our welcome at Noncedo immediately erased any disappointment as they went through a slew of song and dance in which the kids were so enthusiastic that it realy took my heart (plus, many of the songs focus on counting or learning key words in english or developing motorskills that it really exemplified how this creche is doing so well). The creche has two containers (rectangular structures) and one relatively large concrete main building, all of which are now in tip-top condition. When we arrived, we learned the principal was out so we played with the children for most of the morning. They were all very active and kept Sarah and I contanstly going. From early on, a two-year-old girl named Avewa shyly held onto my fingers through the morning songs and she would stick to me like glue for the rest of the day. We spent most of our time with the 2-3 group which was full of characters, some who would vivaciously spring between me and Sarah, sparking up new activities for us to follow them in. Avewa was such a serious little girl and she would sit on my lap or hold my hand quite stoicly. During snack time I had a revolving lap of other visitors and eventually Avewa and another little boy started using me as a recliner, snuggling into me so sweetly I didn't dare move even though I felt like my abs were going to snap at any minute (i figure that's my ab workout for the week). When it was time for clean-up we moved to the rug and the play got more active (I could overhear the 4-5 group, or what's called Grade R going over some exercises in the room next door and it seems like the whole center has a good mix of active and curricular schedules). Avewa stayed with me, of course, and I had started to notice she was very protective of me to the point that she was pushing away other kids so I would try to get her to warm up to other kids but I have to say I could see she was a very clever girl because if I gently corrected any other kids for either being too rough or trying to get into my pockets too much she would reinforce this. Then, one time the boys were going around in a mix of a game of tag and duck-duck goose, tapping me as they went by and Avewa started to try to stop them until she got up from my lap (the only time she voluntarilly did this all day) and chased after them in her toddler sort of way. She didn't catch up and she soon came back over to me but it was the most adorable expression of care!!! At one point I was able to get her laughing through little games of peek-a-boo and airplane and then she would sneek me a smile off and on. For a little while, she even willingly let us play with her twin brother who was quite a smiley little character. It was such a touching connection but when it was time for Sarah and I to meet with the principal, it completely broke my heart the way she looked at me. Oh well, at least I know that she is taken care of and has a brighter future thanks to the Noncedo creche and SAEP.
Our meeting with the principal was so interesting because Sarah was quite practiced by now in the interviews and despite the challenges in communication, we were able to get a unique perspective. She went from asking more straightforward questions like are you registered with this agency or that (mostly for them to get state and other funding but also to get further established as formal educares) and moved into qualitative questions like what challenges have you faced and how do you feel about the involvement of your management committee. At times, the principal took some of the questions a little bit definsively, not understanding that we weren't evaluating her management as much as her relationship with SAEP. When we tried to move into questions about how SAEP could improve (Sarah was very good at posing the question in terms of feedback being like helping a friend) but all the principal would say was that she loved SAEP and that Jane did so much for the creche. It wasn't that she afraid to be critical but just that she couldn't think of SAEP in any remotely negative way why is flattering to the work of the organization and says a lot about the relationships it builds but isn't very constructive in the ways that SAEP can continue to improve itself. After these questions, it took the prinicipal a little while to get warmed up again but when we got to talking about the history of the creche in terms of how far its come, the principal again became warm and emphatic. She said the difference was huge (accompanied with a facial expression that relayed just how incdredible the transition has been) and that five years ago when the creche was taken on they had been so poor - so poor that her husband had to buy the food for the children and she could hardly pay the teacher she had. Yet she had around 30 kids but many of their parents couldn't pay the fee (which was only 40 cents per month at the time) and she would continue to take care of the children because she felt she had to help them develop and get education. She got out a photo album that showed pictures of the original creche and I could not believe how much of a shack it was, especially compared to the remarkable complex they have now. She described how SAEP first got the new container (now used for 2-3 group) and then built the main building a year or so later. These changes are obvious but more importantly the teachers have been trained properly, there can now be a curriculum, the organization is registered with several agencies that can help subsidize food, teaching supplies, utility bills, and even provide funds for special projects. You could tell from the confidence of the principal that her creche was reaching another important goal, independent sustainability. It's important for SAEP not to take on charity cases but to focus on ways that allow the creche to fully take care of itself so that SAEP can move on to providing these services to other creches. By the end, we all exchanged big hugs, though it had never really gotten unpleasantly tense - they actually served us lunch and tea which was very generous of them. I would have tried to decline the lunch since my hands were dirty from playing with the children and it's not always the most sanitary of conditions but it would have been incredibly rude especially since the cook had made the soup and bread for us so Sarah and I tried not to think about the germs and ate it on up.
That's probably the most important highlights of the day - aside from I had a traditional meal of Pimliya stew for dinner tonight and it was quite good. I'm working on putting together a demo of the fundraising database for the directors tomorrow (fun!) and it looks like I'll have to get up early to take a taxi again so good night!
Our meeting with the principal was so interesting because Sarah was quite practiced by now in the interviews and despite the challenges in communication, we were able to get a unique perspective. She went from asking more straightforward questions like are you registered with this agency or that (mostly for them to get state and other funding but also to get further established as formal educares) and moved into qualitative questions like what challenges have you faced and how do you feel about the involvement of your management committee. At times, the principal took some of the questions a little bit definsively, not understanding that we weren't evaluating her management as much as her relationship with SAEP. When we tried to move into questions about how SAEP could improve (Sarah was very good at posing the question in terms of feedback being like helping a friend) but all the principal would say was that she loved SAEP and that Jane did so much for the creche. It wasn't that she afraid to be critical but just that she couldn't think of SAEP in any remotely negative way why is flattering to the work of the organization and says a lot about the relationships it builds but isn't very constructive in the ways that SAEP can continue to improve itself. After these questions, it took the prinicipal a little while to get warmed up again but when we got to talking about the history of the creche in terms of how far its come, the principal again became warm and emphatic. She said the difference was huge (accompanied with a facial expression that relayed just how incdredible the transition has been) and that five years ago when the creche was taken on they had been so poor - so poor that her husband had to buy the food for the children and she could hardly pay the teacher she had. Yet she had around 30 kids but many of their parents couldn't pay the fee (which was only 40 cents per month at the time) and she would continue to take care of the children because she felt she had to help them develop and get education. She got out a photo album that showed pictures of the original creche and I could not believe how much of a shack it was, especially compared to the remarkable complex they have now. She described how SAEP first got the new container (now used for 2-3 group) and then built the main building a year or so later. These changes are obvious but more importantly the teachers have been trained properly, there can now be a curriculum, the organization is registered with several agencies that can help subsidize food, teaching supplies, utility bills, and even provide funds for special projects. You could tell from the confidence of the principal that her creche was reaching another important goal, independent sustainability. It's important for SAEP not to take on charity cases but to focus on ways that allow the creche to fully take care of itself so that SAEP can move on to providing these services to other creches. By the end, we all exchanged big hugs, though it had never really gotten unpleasantly tense - they actually served us lunch and tea which was very generous of them. I would have tried to decline the lunch since my hands were dirty from playing with the children and it's not always the most sanitary of conditions but it would have been incredibly rude especially since the cook had made the soup and bread for us so Sarah and I tried not to think about the germs and ate it on up.
That's probably the most important highlights of the day - aside from I had a traditional meal of Pimliya stew for dinner tonight and it was quite good. I'm working on putting together a demo of the fundraising database for the directors tomorrow (fun!) and it looks like I'll have to get up early to take a taxi again so good night!
July 8, 2008
Gaining Perspective
After my second day at the creches, there was a glorious sunset over the mountain today which seemed to capture the overall greatm\ness of the past two days. Despite the wretched weather for most of the time I've been here, the skies have parted for the setting of the sun the past couple days and today I could even see Table Mountain! I was beginning to wonder if a mountain really existed behind all of those clouds - much like it's difficult to believe that such extensive poverty can exist behind such a clean and modernized city center. And especially with the weather it's been such a blessing to be able to share a ride to and from Rondebosch (the suburb 15 mins outside city center where the org has it's headquarters) Yesterday, I was picked up at 8:30 after a good breakfast of scrambled egg on toast which they serve right downstairs from my room here in the hostel (costs 14 rand which roughly equals $1.75). When I arrived at SAEP, I found out I would be heading to one of the creches that SAEP has been helping the longest which turned out to be very good since its a bit overwhelming with some of the more needy care centers. We all hopped in a chartered van - about 10 or 11 in all (there are around 25 volunteers at any one time at SAEP doing two-month to one-year commitments but they split between the three programs, Early Childhood Development, High School After-school Program, and Gap Year Interns Program). My creche, Zamukhanyo, was one of the last so I got a sneak peak at about six other creches, all in varying conditions. Luckily, I was there for the day with another volunteer who had spent last summer (their winter) really getting the building renovations underway and could speak to the incredible changes that have been made in just the past year. Kathleen had been drawn to SAEP through her environmental interests but through her time here she gained a passion for education and is now pursuing a masters at Steinhardt (go NYU!!)
My meeting with Nambantu, the school's principle, can hardly be dexcribed in words but it was a lot like a warm blanket and joyous song on the coldest day. She welcomed me into the creche with a hug that felt like we'd went back for decades and she proceeded to show us around with the greatest sense of pride and joy, pointing out each spacious clean room while pointing out her plans for more children's furniture she could get with a grant from the local Council (Kathleen had actually helped Nambantu write this and several other proposals but the principle pursued them in order to see that they came through - it's a good example of the partnership between SAEP and the creche to help the school leadership how to better take care of their own needs). She also would slap the walls, gleaming at how sturdy they are and explained to us that they are a special material that stays warm in winter and cool in summer. There were four teachers at the school for about 50 kids but Nambantu explained that usually she has 125 kids but because the schools are out for winter break, the young ones stay home to be looked after by their siblings (which creates a problem with the fees since parents will then say they shouldn't pay for July but the teachers rely on parents to pay their fees though many parents cannot regularly pay their fees (about $12 per month). Nambantu says she thinks some parents may take advantage of her because they know that she will take care of the children anyway so that they get the care and early education they deserve). She says she would like to raise funds so that her teachers could get paid better and the teachers are so sweet and dedicated I have to agree they deserve whatever it takes for them to be able to continue taking care of these children. The whole day, they kept the kids to a pretty strict schedule, moving from lesson time, to play time, to lunch, to story time, to nap time quite fluidly. We did a lot of counting with the kids and also named different body parts (the principle has a sort of curriculum set up on themes and this month is body parts). The children repeated the English very enthusiastically though the language barrier did make the interactions difficult at times (one little boy kept coming to me for help with his clothing, it took me a little while to figure out what he was trying to point out). By naptime, I felt I needed a nap but that's when we help clean the kids dishes from lunch and pick up the toys. When we went back to the office late in the afternoon, I worked with Jane on beginning a donor database and a system for tracking when reports would need to be drafted for certain donors.
THough after a full day I was ready to go home, one of the volunteers invited me to their house for dinner. I couldn't turn down an invite for Chicken Parm so we headed to get a minibus over to the area called Observatory. We got into the crammed van and I was immediately taken back to all our times in Ghana hopping on and off the tro tro (minibuses in SA are actually much less traveled by visitors than in Ghana but since we were a group of three and not going very far, this time it was fine). The fare is pretty standard and is 5.50 Rand like the train but of course the guy upcharged us to 8 Rand. This is barely a 30 cent upcharge but on principle I handed him the correct amount. He tried to push for eight but he was laughing and most of the people on the minibus were giggling at him trying to get more out of us. The only person who wasn't laughing was the other foreigner on the bus who tried to tell us it was 8 and was really not amused when the guy said 5.50 was fine and she realized she'd been had. The guy let us out fine, still giggling.
After a really fun night of food, wine and sharing public service stories in Observatory, I woke up this morning looking forward to another day. While waiting to get out to the creches, I prepared for the distribution of a load of donated books we just recieved for the ECD program. about half are in Xhosa and half in English and a couple stories were in both (which the teachers and students really enjoy). When we were ready to go, we drove about a couple hundred feet when we realized the car had a flat tire. Isabel - the car's owner - got it back to the house but not without a couple of BLOODY HELL!s. The three of us girls figured out how to change the tire (no better place to learn than in Africa!) and got on our way again surprisingly quickly. When we got to Kiddies Creche whish was where I was originally planned to stay, We discovered that the main building had been flooded and the principal, Margaret, was focused on damage control. This is a creche SAEP has recently taken on and while SAEP has been able to get Kiddies a whole new roof, it will be a little while before there are funds to replace the whole structure so water can still get in through the floor when it's been raining for as long as it has over the past week. Margaret was in great spirits despite the challenges and looked at the upside that at least the creche had relatively few children at this time (again, becuase of Winter Break) so they could cram into the adjacent structure. I offered to stay and help clean up the mess which Margaret appreciated but she asked that I come back when they are up and running and I can get to see more of the children (I could tell that she was proud of her place and wanted it to be seen in its normal conditions and not like this, even if I was tempting her with a helping hand in the clean up of it). After a cheerful parting with Margaret and her head teacher, we headed to Sakhingomso where SAEP has two volunteers. This is another one of the creches that was taken on more recently and the difference is immediately apparent. The kids are cheerful and the staff is attentive but the facility is dreadful and they are very wanting in supplies. Like Kiddies, they have a leaky roof that doesn't allow the kids to use paper or books in the winter so SAEP is getting them a new roof (also, like Kiddies) and then will work on the rest of the structure (the roof supplies are being donated by Wharton business school but we'll still need funds for labor which can be hard to obtain since it's difficult to get receipts for work done and donors prefer to donate materials rather than donate the funds that will help put the funds to use). THough there is quite some work to be done at these creches - some obvious like facilities work and some less apparent like administrative and staff trainings - it was so incredible to be able to put the work of SAEP in context by witnessing the stark differences between the conditions in which these creches begin and where SAEP can take them to.
From here I was able to get to visit a bunch of the other creches, Noluthando, Ruth First, Nkosi and Noncedo (the 'c' is pronounced with a click through the front teeth - not to be confused with the 'q' which is a click on the bottom of the mouth or the 'x' that is a click more to the side of the mouth). There is a striking difference between all of the creches but especially between those with less and fewer years working with SAEP. Yes, I will have pictures but really it's more in the sort of confidence and professionalism that exudes from the creches SAEP has been helping longer. After today, I really feel like I have a better grasp on the context of these projects and of the tasks at hand.
The remarkable improvements that the original creche projects have enjoyed and the coming improvements that the newer creche projects can look forward to are truly awe-inspiring!!
My meeting with Nambantu, the school's principle, can hardly be dexcribed in words but it was a lot like a warm blanket and joyous song on the coldest day. She welcomed me into the creche with a hug that felt like we'd went back for decades and she proceeded to show us around with the greatest sense of pride and joy, pointing out each spacious clean room while pointing out her plans for more children's furniture she could get with a grant from the local Council (Kathleen had actually helped Nambantu write this and several other proposals but the principle pursued them in order to see that they came through - it's a good example of the partnership between SAEP and the creche to help the school leadership how to better take care of their own needs). She also would slap the walls, gleaming at how sturdy they are and explained to us that they are a special material that stays warm in winter and cool in summer. There were four teachers at the school for about 50 kids but Nambantu explained that usually she has 125 kids but because the schools are out for winter break, the young ones stay home to be looked after by their siblings (which creates a problem with the fees since parents will then say they shouldn't pay for July but the teachers rely on parents to pay their fees though many parents cannot regularly pay their fees (about $12 per month). Nambantu says she thinks some parents may take advantage of her because they know that she will take care of the children anyway so that they get the care and early education they deserve). She says she would like to raise funds so that her teachers could get paid better and the teachers are so sweet and dedicated I have to agree they deserve whatever it takes for them to be able to continue taking care of these children. The whole day, they kept the kids to a pretty strict schedule, moving from lesson time, to play time, to lunch, to story time, to nap time quite fluidly. We did a lot of counting with the kids and also named different body parts (the principle has a sort of curriculum set up on themes and this month is body parts). The children repeated the English very enthusiastically though the language barrier did make the interactions difficult at times (one little boy kept coming to me for help with his clothing, it took me a little while to figure out what he was trying to point out). By naptime, I felt I needed a nap but that's when we help clean the kids dishes from lunch and pick up the toys. When we went back to the office late in the afternoon, I worked with Jane on beginning a donor database and a system for tracking when reports would need to be drafted for certain donors.
THough after a full day I was ready to go home, one of the volunteers invited me to their house for dinner. I couldn't turn down an invite for Chicken Parm so we headed to get a minibus over to the area called Observatory. We got into the crammed van and I was immediately taken back to all our times in Ghana hopping on and off the tro tro (minibuses in SA are actually much less traveled by visitors than in Ghana but since we were a group of three and not going very far, this time it was fine). The fare is pretty standard and is 5.50 Rand like the train but of course the guy upcharged us to 8 Rand. This is barely a 30 cent upcharge but on principle I handed him the correct amount. He tried to push for eight but he was laughing and most of the people on the minibus were giggling at him trying to get more out of us. The only person who wasn't laughing was the other foreigner on the bus who tried to tell us it was 8 and was really not amused when the guy said 5.50 was fine and she realized she'd been had. The guy let us out fine, still giggling.
After a really fun night of food, wine and sharing public service stories in Observatory, I woke up this morning looking forward to another day. While waiting to get out to the creches, I prepared for the distribution of a load of donated books we just recieved for the ECD program. about half are in Xhosa and half in English and a couple stories were in both (which the teachers and students really enjoy). When we were ready to go, we drove about a couple hundred feet when we realized the car had a flat tire. Isabel - the car's owner - got it back to the house but not without a couple of BLOODY HELL!s. The three of us girls figured out how to change the tire (no better place to learn than in Africa!) and got on our way again surprisingly quickly. When we got to Kiddies Creche whish was where I was originally planned to stay, We discovered that the main building had been flooded and the principal, Margaret, was focused on damage control. This is a creche SAEP has recently taken on and while SAEP has been able to get Kiddies a whole new roof, it will be a little while before there are funds to replace the whole structure so water can still get in through the floor when it's been raining for as long as it has over the past week. Margaret was in great spirits despite the challenges and looked at the upside that at least the creche had relatively few children at this time (again, becuase of Winter Break) so they could cram into the adjacent structure. I offered to stay and help clean up the mess which Margaret appreciated but she asked that I come back when they are up and running and I can get to see more of the children (I could tell that she was proud of her place and wanted it to be seen in its normal conditions and not like this, even if I was tempting her with a helping hand in the clean up of it). After a cheerful parting with Margaret and her head teacher, we headed to Sakhingomso where SAEP has two volunteers. This is another one of the creches that was taken on more recently and the difference is immediately apparent. The kids are cheerful and the staff is attentive but the facility is dreadful and they are very wanting in supplies. Like Kiddies, they have a leaky roof that doesn't allow the kids to use paper or books in the winter so SAEP is getting them a new roof (also, like Kiddies) and then will work on the rest of the structure (the roof supplies are being donated by Wharton business school but we'll still need funds for labor which can be hard to obtain since it's difficult to get receipts for work done and donors prefer to donate materials rather than donate the funds that will help put the funds to use). THough there is quite some work to be done at these creches - some obvious like facilities work and some less apparent like administrative and staff trainings - it was so incredible to be able to put the work of SAEP in context by witnessing the stark differences between the conditions in which these creches begin and where SAEP can take them to.
From here I was able to get to visit a bunch of the other creches, Noluthando, Ruth First, Nkosi and Noncedo (the 'c' is pronounced with a click through the front teeth - not to be confused with the 'q' which is a click on the bottom of the mouth or the 'x' that is a click more to the side of the mouth). There is a striking difference between all of the creches but especially between those with less and fewer years working with SAEP. Yes, I will have pictures but really it's more in the sort of confidence and professionalism that exudes from the creches SAEP has been helping longer. After today, I really feel like I have a better grasp on the context of these projects and of the tasks at hand.
The remarkable improvements that the original creche projects have enjoyed and the coming improvements that the newer creche projects can look forward to are truly awe-inspiring!!
July 6, 2008
Wine, cheese and the Congolese
The weekend really flew by! I was able to get out to the wine region and experience the delicious fruits of the beautiful estates. The area was strikingly similar to the wine country of Northern California, especially Sonoma. From the four estates we visited, I really liked the Pinotages and they also do the cabs well. I had salami and a burger that had been flavored by the Pinotage which were both really good. We also went by the community center which has a program that ensures that the people living in and around the winelands are given proper social services. It was a great day and then last night I went to a a live music club called Rafikis with an Irishman and an Aussie which was fun but it felt like we were back in America and not in Africa. The city center of Cape Town is so Western but then there is a stark difference in the surrounds. The disparity is really unbelievable. I'm anxious to get out to the creches tomorrow and get working. Today I tried walking around for awhile but aside from the bad weather, it was really quiet and most shops were closed so I didn't feel like I should go very far on my own. I do really like where I'm staying since I get to meet people from all over (lots of Dutch and Aussie) and the other night I had a long conversation with Congolese guy who had been a soldier for 15 years which I would have never guessed from his quiet mannerisms. He's here working to take care of his family, including his parents and siblings. It was so interesting to hear his story as he went from a place of prestige (he was actually well known by high-up political leaders like Mbeki and Mugabe) and then to come here to work the security night shift 6 days a week.It was also striking how blase we was about how close he was to being killed so many times but I guess that's from being a trained soldier. There are a lot of people from all over Africa working here and I can see how it would create tension but I thankful that the xenophobic violence hasn't really affected Cape Town.
July 4, 2008
From the other side of the world!
So I've made it!! And it's incredible! The weather is not really cooperating as it is winter here but even the Cape of Storms isn't getting in the way of my experience. Today, I made it out to Rosebank to get sort of oriented with SAEP and what I would be doing there. To my surprise and delight, the organization is in need of a development professional to improve its systems and get the resources needed by the programs. After just one day of digging deeper into the workings of SAEP, I'm already floored to be able to help the org in more of a consulting role while getting to experience all of the programs they are currently working on - early childhood development, high school computer literacy program (their winter school program for high schoolers just wrapped up), and Gap Year Internship program. Plus, I'm here at the same time that an education professional is here doing a thorough review of SAEP's programs, results, challenges, etc. spanning over the past 5 years - it's a very exciting project and the leadership of the organanization is very open to suggestions, critiques and proposed actions (which is so refreshing after some of my experiences with non-profits whose staunch commitment to their mission can make them a little resistant to change and a bit over-protective of the way things are currently done). SO IT'S GREAT!! And the volunteers are all incredible individuals from all over the world. So on early next week I'll go into the townships but over the weekend I'm reviewing materials that Jane (amazing director of SAEP and super social justice woman) has sent me to help inform my development review - YAY homework! And tonight a bunch of us American volunteers are all getting ribs on the waterfront to celebrate July 4th (horrah!)
Otherwise, exploring Cape Town has been very fun. When I came in on Wednesday from the auport, the sun was just setting over Table Mountain (which has been covered in clouds everday so far, but I think it's so fun that they call that the table cloth). The hostel I'm staying at has a great location (quiet but very near the action), fun staff and a great crew of travelers. The first night, I got myself situated and exchanged traveling stories with other guests. There was a group of volunteers from the Eastern Cape whoe are staying in rural communities for a year and their experiences so far were so neat to hear about. I met an Aussie at the hostel and we ended up palling around yesterday. The morning was very nice and we just waled up long street and around the city bowl, making our way over to the waterfront. I'm surprised at how CLEAN everything is, I mean it's cleaner and more developed than most of New York! The waterfront shops are so posh looking - it's kinda set up like a shopping center wrapping around the water area. By the time we got there it was really beginning to rain so we hopped on a double-decker bus that takes routes around the city. We got to see a lot through that, stopping off in the beatiful city gardens, looking around the District Six museum which captured the many tranistions of cape town's history (especially the worst of the apartheid years), and having a delicious seafood lunch at the gorgeous Camps Bay beach. I go tto try a local fish called Kingklip which was a delicious white fish and reminded me of catfish. By the time we got back we were worn out from the rainy weather but stumbled upon a wine tasting in a nearby shop and got an earful of information on the wines of South Africa. We got abottle of Pinotage which I LOVED! Smooth like a Pinot Noir but with more body and a tiny hint of pepper on the nose (yay for becoming a snobby wino!) After chilling at the hostel for awhile we hit Long Street which is the center of night life in Cape Town (and conveniently close to the hostel). I discovered a lager, Whale Pale Ale, which was rather nice and love the name. While walking around, we were overtaken by the most enticing aroma and came upon the sausage stand that was responsible. The sausages were delicious and there was an extensive sauce bar with different dippings including a green chile sauce the could burn your tongues off! Overall, it was a great night.
Did I mention that I sat with a South African travel agent on the plane who let me pick her brain and offered lots of valuable advice? To me, she was like an angel and I felt very fortunate to have someone so knowledgeable. I never knew 18 hours on a plane could fly by so quickly! It was a bit annoying stopping in Dakar halfway through for the crew change as the Senegalese guards game on and checked the whole plane (baggage, seats, floors, etc.) but I was quickly asleep after that.
So far, so good!
Otherwise, exploring Cape Town has been very fun. When I came in on Wednesday from the auport, the sun was just setting over Table Mountain (which has been covered in clouds everday so far, but I think it's so fun that they call that the table cloth). The hostel I'm staying at has a great location (quiet but very near the action), fun staff and a great crew of travelers. The first night, I got myself situated and exchanged traveling stories with other guests. There was a group of volunteers from the Eastern Cape whoe are staying in rural communities for a year and their experiences so far were so neat to hear about. I met an Aussie at the hostel and we ended up palling around yesterday. The morning was very nice and we just waled up long street and around the city bowl, making our way over to the waterfront. I'm surprised at how CLEAN everything is, I mean it's cleaner and more developed than most of New York! The waterfront shops are so posh looking - it's kinda set up like a shopping center wrapping around the water area. By the time we got there it was really beginning to rain so we hopped on a double-decker bus that takes routes around the city. We got to see a lot through that, stopping off in the beatiful city gardens, looking around the District Six museum which captured the many tranistions of cape town's history (especially the worst of the apartheid years), and having a delicious seafood lunch at the gorgeous Camps Bay beach. I go tto try a local fish called Kingklip which was a delicious white fish and reminded me of catfish. By the time we got back we were worn out from the rainy weather but stumbled upon a wine tasting in a nearby shop and got an earful of information on the wines of South Africa. We got abottle of Pinotage which I LOVED! Smooth like a Pinot Noir but with more body and a tiny hint of pepper on the nose (yay for becoming a snobby wino!) After chilling at the hostel for awhile we hit Long Street which is the center of night life in Cape Town (and conveniently close to the hostel). I discovered a lager, Whale Pale Ale, which was rather nice and love the name. While walking around, we were overtaken by the most enticing aroma and came upon the sausage stand that was responsible. The sausages were delicious and there was an extensive sauce bar with different dippings including a green chile sauce the could burn your tongues off! Overall, it was a great night.
Did I mention that I sat with a South African travel agent on the plane who let me pick her brain and offered lots of valuable advice? To me, she was like an angel and I felt very fortunate to have someone so knowledgeable. I never knew 18 hours on a plane could fly by so quickly! It was a bit annoying stopping in Dakar halfway through for the crew change as the Senegalese guards game on and checked the whole plane (baggage, seats, floors, etc.) but I was quickly asleep after that.
So far, so good!
July 1, 2008
And I'm off!
My Delta flight (#128) leaves at 3:55pm so I'm about to leave for JFK - I'm incredibly excited! I should arrive tomorrow at 3:55 pm (Cape Town time which is 6 hours ahead so it should be about 9:55 am EST). Cheers to an eighteen hour flight an incredible experience on the other side!!!!
April 21, 2008
Happy Hour!!
Please join me on April 30, 2008 at the Village Pourhouse (64 3rd Ave. at 11th St) for our sponsored Happy Hour! Your $15 cover for the cause will open this popular bar for an hour - open bar runs from 6pm-7pm and drink specials will follow. Click on the title of this post to view the invite. All guests welcome!
Come out and help make this a fantastically fun fundraiser!!!
Come out and help make this a fantastically fun fundraiser!!!
March 14, 2008
My Partner Organization
SAEP is dedicated to helping children and young adults in South Africa’s disadvantaged township
communities through educational support programmes at every level of a child’s academic
development which help children build their academic and life skills, obtain productive
employment, and contribute as leaders to the economic and social development of theircommunities and their country.
communities through educational support programmes at every level of a child’s academic
development which help children build their academic and life skills, obtain productive
employment, and contribute as leaders to the economic and social development of theircommunities and their country.
March 7, 2008
Introduction to the Project
I am embarking on an important journey and I invite all of you to join me. I have had the very special oppotunity to partner with an incredible service organization, South African Education and Environment Project, to be able to contribute to the progress of South Africa's social supports and the development of future leaders. Thank you so very much for taking the time to learn more about this project and I hope you will join in supporting my efforts toward global progress.
During my five months in Ghana, I learned so much from the people and their experiences. It struck me how much perspective they wer eable to bring to their own challenges and I realized that they are the agents of progress, when given the chance. The process of building public institutions, creating opportunity and ensuring the stability for sustainable development poses so very many challenges but what it needs most is a resilient, resourceful and persevering population. While international aid organizations and governments focus on economic issues, I belive that answers lie in the people and the empowerment of those people. I believe that the focus should be on strengthening a society through universal access to education, better nutrition, civic engagement, and community building. I am honored to have the opportunity to work with an organization that shares my passion for service and I want to do everything I can to support SAEP and the people they are helping.
SAEP demonstrates an impressive commitment to furthering education from early childhood development and continues that nourishment through young adulthood. I am particularly impressed by their resolution to help those schools that will make the effort to build upon the resources given to them. Plus, it’s really wonderful how the Gap Year program presents young leaders with the opportunity to hone their skills and broaden their perspectives.
I have partnered my efforts of service with this organization because I believe they are on the right track to really make a difference on the ground. They are in a place to identify the root causes of poverty, social inequality, HIV/AIDS and a multitude of childhood afflictions. From this grassroots perspective, we can tackle these pressing issues with deeper understanding and a greater likelihood of success.
While I am in Cape Town, I will be helping with all three stages of education. Much of my time will be dedicated to evaluating and improving the conditions of young children, helping to build a stronger educational foundation for them and their dreams. I am currently working on a pen pal program that will target high school students so that South African children and American children can have the opportunity to connect across cultures and share their perspectives. From this program, I hope to get American parents involved in sponsoring the classrooms of their children’s new friends across the Atlantic. Finally, I am orchestrating a one-to-two day leadership and service learning seminar for the Gap Year interns. These aspiring young stars of social justice deserve every opportunity to grow and learn how to better serve their communities.
In an effort to serve these children of South Africa and the organization that faithfully dedicates itself to them, I am fundraising for a goal of $3,000. I have already reached $700 of my goal and am so grateful for the support I am receiving for this important journey. SAEP is a registered 501(c)3 organization through its base in Washington D.C. so if any donors would like to claim their tax exemption they should make their checks directly to SAEP. Otherwise, I am tracking the funds I raise in order to grow the momentum of my fundraising, a portion of which will go toward my trip to deliver supplies and hundreds of service hours. Anything that you can contribute would be greatly appreciated – your support is an inspiration for this ongoing project!
Thank you, again, for your interest and I look forward to your involvement.
During my five months in Ghana, I learned so much from the people and their experiences. It struck me how much perspective they wer eable to bring to their own challenges and I realized that they are the agents of progress, when given the chance. The process of building public institutions, creating opportunity and ensuring the stability for sustainable development poses so very many challenges but what it needs most is a resilient, resourceful and persevering population. While international aid organizations and governments focus on economic issues, I belive that answers lie in the people and the empowerment of those people. I believe that the focus should be on strengthening a society through universal access to education, better nutrition, civic engagement, and community building. I am honored to have the opportunity to work with an organization that shares my passion for service and I want to do everything I can to support SAEP and the people they are helping.
SAEP demonstrates an impressive commitment to furthering education from early childhood development and continues that nourishment through young adulthood. I am particularly impressed by their resolution to help those schools that will make the effort to build upon the resources given to them. Plus, it’s really wonderful how the Gap Year program presents young leaders with the opportunity to hone their skills and broaden their perspectives.
I have partnered my efforts of service with this organization because I believe they are on the right track to really make a difference on the ground. They are in a place to identify the root causes of poverty, social inequality, HIV/AIDS and a multitude of childhood afflictions. From this grassroots perspective, we can tackle these pressing issues with deeper understanding and a greater likelihood of success.
While I am in Cape Town, I will be helping with all three stages of education. Much of my time will be dedicated to evaluating and improving the conditions of young children, helping to build a stronger educational foundation for them and their dreams. I am currently working on a pen pal program that will target high school students so that South African children and American children can have the opportunity to connect across cultures and share their perspectives. From this program, I hope to get American parents involved in sponsoring the classrooms of their children’s new friends across the Atlantic. Finally, I am orchestrating a one-to-two day leadership and service learning seminar for the Gap Year interns. These aspiring young stars of social justice deserve every opportunity to grow and learn how to better serve their communities.
In an effort to serve these children of South Africa and the organization that faithfully dedicates itself to them, I am fundraising for a goal of $3,000. I have already reached $700 of my goal and am so grateful for the support I am receiving for this important journey. SAEP is a registered 501(c)3 organization through its base in Washington D.C. so if any donors would like to claim their tax exemption they should make their checks directly to SAEP. Otherwise, I am tracking the funds I raise in order to grow the momentum of my fundraising, a portion of which will go toward my trip to deliver supplies and hundreds of service hours. Anything that you can contribute would be greatly appreciated – your support is an inspiration for this ongoing project!
Thank you, again, for your interest and I look forward to your involvement.
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