Time to say goodbye

Well we have come to the end of our time in SA and what an emotional but great week. Sorry no pics this time but here are the highlights....

Monday

The last week at ikhaya is fun week where basically the normal programme is out and is replaced by all things fun and Christmassy! Mark led all the children in making decorations which included some rather nifty paper folding and colouring :) Very hectic and we probably decorated the floor more with glitter but great fun and ikhaya is looking very festive.

In the evening we hosted our last time with our home group which consisted of eating fish and chips, too much cake, a bit of time in the Jacuzzi (yes, we have been blessed with a hot tub during our stay!) and most importantly, the present game which is a bit of an advanced secret santa where you can swap each other's gifts if needed. Top gifts included the shoe wallet, loo roll and a tube of sweets which Mark later revealed he only wanted for the packaging (always the practical thinker!)

Great times and we are really going to miss this group who have been a great support to us while we've been here.

Tuesday

Christmas card making at ikhaya - in our own classes this time so a bit less hectic!

Wednesday

We bunked off ikhaya today to take in our gift of afternoon tea at Mount Nelson hotel, Cape Town. We were warned not to eat anything all day and so glad we didn't. We chose the tea experience which consisted of 5 different teas ranging from red bush to green blends all served in the glass set so you could see the infusion... ok sounds very geeky but it was actually a really nice experience. Food was amazing - what seemed like a million savory and sweet items which meant we were there for about 2 hours and pacing ourselves :)

Thursday

Practice and last bits for the Christmas party at ikhaya followed by dinner with Steve, Celeste and PJ (the family who we rent our apartment off). These guys have been great to us during our stay in what has been a crazy time for themselves.

Friday

Last day at ikhaya. We spent the morning putting up decorations and cooking the lunch (buffet food-pizza etc. which the kids don't usually get). All was looking good and then it was a bit of a wash out as the heavens opened (guess we need to get used to that again!). Still, didn't dampen our spirits and after the picnic we had songs from each class, presentation of certificates and what the kids were really waiting for, Christmas presents! We were given a huge card made by the children and some beautiful letters by the older girls. It was an emotional day especially hearing some of the older group who are leaving talking about their experience and what ikhaya has done for them. In the evening we went to Melt's for a braai with some of the guys involved in the Vineyard church which included Costa (the main guy) doing his Father Christmas bit - a bit of a light relief from a draining day :)

Weekend

Well today we are doing a few bits and bobs and may head out for dinner later. Tomorrow we'll be at church and then going out with some friends for lunch and saying our final goodbyes.

Some final thoughts

Thank you to everyone who has read this blog. It has meant a lot to us for so many people to take an interest and if it has inspired you in anyway, please check out ikhaya le themba and History Maker Foundation.

Thankyou to all who have supported us during our stay here:

Kim and Ian and Margy - for their hospitality and putting up up temporarily

Steve and Celeste - for their hospitality, generosity and support

Nathan - for his friendship 

Ikhaya staff and children - for all your love and being family to us

Rob and Nicky - for making us feel at home, transport and supporting us in many ways during our time here

Home group  - for fun, friendship and encouragement

Kenilworth and Shoreline church - for making us feel welcome

To everyone we've met - for making our first time in SA so memorable

I have certainly learnt a lot during our time here and am amazed at how far the 1800 pounds we raised back home went. I can definitely see us returning to Ikhaya one day as it is a wonderful place full of joy. We have been blessed in meeting a lot of new friends which I hope we will be able to maintain. Look forward to seeing all the guys at home soon. Mark x

Our time in South Africa has been an adventure. We came with open hearts and other than knowing we'd be working with the children and doing some touristy stuff, didn't really have an agenda so it's been amazing to experience the stuff we have. I will never forget the energy and joy the children and staff here have in what is often really hard circumstances...I hope that attitude is something that will stay with us. As far as visiting the country itself is concerned, one of the highlights for me is seeing elephants at the watering hole and our trip to Robben island.

To finish, a quote from a book given to me by my friend Joe who I have thought about so much during these 3 months...Nay x

Do not ask yourself what the world needs. Instead ask yourself what it is that makes you come alive. For what the world needs is people who have come alive.

Last Day Blues

Last Day

Its the last day today at Ikhaya and I am not looking forward to saying goodbye to the kids. We have already seen about a dozen of the usual suspects most of whom are celebrating passing the year and moving up to the next grade. But as sad as I am to leave I know that we have made a difference. Below is a table that shows what the money that we raised was used for at Ikhaya (in south African rand).

History Makers
Item	Amount
Received income	21687
Table Mountain Outing
transport	1740
food	1071.34
Kirstenbosch Outing
fee	1680
food	817
Groceries
Fruit & Veg (Sept) - 3 weeks	1330
Fruit & Veg (Oct) - 4 weeks	1774.28
Brito (meat - sept) - 3 weeks	2124
Brito (meat - oct) - 4 weeks	2473.3
Other
Packs for parents (Oct)	1900
Macro (monthly shop)	5348.55
Gifts (R20 per child for bday)	500
Packs for parents (Nov)	1000

The Packs for the parents were food parcels that feed the children over the half term break.

Its good to see that 1800 pounds went so far. This will be our penultimate post before we return on Monday to the UK and Im looking forward to seeing family and friends for some Christmas frivolity.

Catch you all soon
Mark 

Cinema, carols and red balloons

Seasons greetings (can't believe we're in December!!)

Another jam-packed week in South Africa....

House update

You may recall a couple of weeks ago that a family from ikhaya had a house fire. They are still in need of a few things but the good news is that they are back in their place which has been freshly painted, new windows etc. We have seen the mum a few times since and she is so thankful to everyone who has helped them. The way this community comes together is amazing and something we won't forget.

Monday

Grades 6-8

We had our final cooking lesson with our class which resulted in persuading them to pose for a photo with the cupcakes they had made (food is always a big motivator here as you can imagine!). We've made them all recipe books which hopefully they can use at home...definitely have some African Jamie Olivers here!

Grades 6-8 will be leaving ikhaya on Friday so it's going to be an emotional time for everyone I think. These guys have been with the project since it started but it's def time for them to move on and there is alot of stuff in the pipeline such as a weekly Friday night event.

Tuesday

It was our turn to host "Tea at 2" where basically each staff member takes a turn at preparing refreshments after the weekly meeting. This seems to have evolved from a cup of tea and cake to 2 course lunches! Not to be outdone by the traditional African meal or cake selections, we opted for a very English Ploughman's lunch and scones which seemed to go down quite well. Afterwards we were presented with an early thankyou gift.....afternoon tea at Mount Nelson hotel (a very posh place in Cape Town) which we will be enjoying on Wednesday. In the evening it was our last formal home group which, to fit in with American thanksgiving,  involved sharing the stuff we're thankful for. 

Wednesday

Sharing some popcorn

As a special treat, we took 12 of the leavers to one of the local cinemas to see Twilight: Breaking Dawn. We had a chance to look round the shopping centre first which the girls thoroughly enjoyed and as usual, were posing for photos at any opportunity (much to the annoyance of the security guards!). It's very strange to be seeing Christmas decs up...not quite the same when it's 30c! Anyway we haven't seen any of the Twilight series before (sorry all you vampire fans!) and neither had the group, but that didn't stop them from clapping enthusiastically when the baddies got killed and cheering at the end!! Afterwards we had some food where the management kindly gave us a free drink. For us quite a normal experience, but for these guys it was so exciting and even better that they had raised the ticket money themselves :) 

We stayed at Nicky's place in the evening as Mark wanted to watch West Ham v Man U (her team) - Mark wasn't too pleased with the result (1-0) but was good to watch with the opposition!

Friday

After a couple of days doing bit and pieces, on Friday evening we went to Shoreline church, Hout Bay for a picnic and carols. The weather wasn't the best so everyone had blankets laid out in the main building and shared food. The carols were led by musicians and singers from Ambleside school (where the church is held) and was a short but sweet event. The best bit was that some of the older kids from ikhaya wanted to come along so, as hectic as it always is, they got to hear some of it and hopefully they will continue to get involved more in the future.

Saturday

1st December is World Aids Day and ikhaya were hosting an awareness event which involved speakers, face painting, dance, drama, music and most importantly, the opportunity for people to be tested for HIV. It was an early start as Mark was doing his braai master bit again and I was helping to put up, what felt like a thousand red balloons (not an easy task when faced with the crazy Cape Town wind!) but a great day was had by all. The mural in one of the classrooms has been repainted to basically remind people about being responsible. All  the children are affected  whether it's themselves or through family members so it's something that you can talk about quite openly here. 

Parading through the township

Happy Feet - gumboot dancers

After a hot and hectic day we decided to go to the pub to watch England v NZ in the rugby end of year games. With a win of 38 to 21 we were both happy bunnies and were able to share the moment with some locals and a few Savannas!

That's about all for now. Here's to our final week in SA!!! 

A busy week

This has been one of our busiest weeks to date.

The week at Ikhaya had lots of ups and downs. The usual classes we have went ok but the kids are starting to wind down now as it's the end of their school year. Some of the kids have already left for the Eastern Cape where they go to visit family for Christmas. Thursday was a bit of a hectic day after some Football training with the guys and Bram (a volunteer from the Netherlands) we were on our way home when we heard a scream and and looked up to see smoke pouring out of one of the township houses. Realizing that the place was on fire Nay called the fire brigade (who despite being 500 yards down the road took 20+ minutes to arrive) while I joined about a dozen men from the township in trying to bring the fire under control. This was no easy task as we only had some small garden hoses and an array of buckets and containers that were filled with water. After 15 minutes and a few brave men who pulled a flaming bed and mattress out of the house whilst it was still alight we managed to put the fire out. The devastation wrought in such a small space of time was shocking. The entire back bedroom was gutted along and most of the remaining things in the house were covered in smoke and water. Extraordinarily there were no major injuries just a lot of people coughing up smoke. It was only after the fire had been put out and I was standing in the house burnt out house that I noticed the pictures on the mantle piece were of one of the kids from Ikhaya.

The kids warming up to pull some moves 

Friday was a stark contrast of Thursday as we went round to the house to see if there was anything else that we could do. When we arrived at just after noon. we found about 18-20 people from the community all helping to clear the house. All the furniture had been removed, the windows were being replaced, the damaged wall in the back bedroom had been taken back and was being rebuilt and the joists in the ceiling that were damaged were being replaced. I was amazed at how much work was already being done and by how much the community had rallied round the family. There was little we could do to help at the time but we were able to get some supplies for the renovation (paint, brushes, turps and food for the busy workers). The day got progressively better from then on and we had a break from the Ikhaya program and had a fun day with the kids. Later that evening we took 10 of the grade 6-8 kids to the Shoreline church youth group where they had a RnB and Break dancing demonstration on. As always I had to pull a few moves and show them that despite being 30 I still had it, plus I learnt a few more moves.

Nay at the rhodes memorial

Mark, Rob and Nicky at Cape Point

Bedingfield concert

Boulders Beach

 The Weekend was good and we spent some time chilling on Saturday morning before going to a Braai to watch the rugby with a few friends. To lose by a point was a pain so I had to console my self by tucking into some braaied Snoek (fish). Sunday we took a road trip with Rob and Nicky and went around the Cape peninsular. We started by having a drive around Cape Town university and the Rhodes memorial before having brunch in Kalk bay and heading down to Boulders beach were we saw penguins. We then went onto Cape Point were we saw lots of Baboons and climbed up a steep hill to get a great view. We then had a late lunch at Chapmans peak before heading off to see Daniel Bedingfield in an open air concert at Kirstenbocsh. 

Until next time...................

An African adventure

Hi peops. Here's what we've been up to this week....

Friday Day

We took a day out of Ikhaya and made our way by bus to Cape Town. There we spent the day doing touristy things like going to the Dutch Fort, District six museum and Green Square market.

Friday night

Ethiopian food

 

We went to the African dance theatre which is basically an hour-long show which shows the history of African music and dance. It was amazing and we were tired just watching the cast! Afterwards we went to an Ethopian restaurant and tried some traditional food which consisted of a meat and vegetable platter and a mountain of pancake style bread which you use as your knife and fork. Couldn't eat it all but yum! That and the jungle-like decor made for a lovely evening.

 

Saturday

Well thanks to Ryan and Karlie (my bro and sis-in-law) we were up early to go to Aquila private game reserve for a safari. It's about 2 hours out of Cape Town and after the coach journey with the slightly stressed driver (the joys of African time!) we arrived where we were given a sparkling wine (never too early!!) and a buffet breakfast. After a quick nose around the resort it was time to jump on our safari truck and, armed with some binoculars, do my best Dora the Explorer impression. The elephants, zebra, ostriches, rhino. buffalo, springbok, wilderbeast were all out to play but best of all were the lions (about 100ft away, the mountain kind) One decided to pose in true Lion King style for the tourists! .

 

 We've found the South African domestic cat!!

 

After our time with the animals it was back to the resort for more food, drink and a quick relax by the pool before heading back on the coach. We can now also add the South African bus service to our transport list - timetables don't exactly exist here but thankfully we found one that would take us back to Hout Bay.

 

Sunday

 

A great service at Kenilworth Vineyard church (we love the fact it's so like our own with whoever is taking the service having to call people by name to sit down so we can start!) we some friends who were giving us a lift wondered if we'd mind going to an open house in Constantia (the wine distrct nearby). Another chance to have a glass and some food in the sun....it's going to be interesting heading back to UK winter!

 

 

Life at ikhaya le themba

 

Well we're into our last 2 weeks of teaching and a fun week before term ends. We are planning the Christmas party and helping to send off the older students who will be leaving. I'm putting together a cook book of the recipes they have been doing in their cooking lessons and I think the plan is to make some certificates and other prizes..a bit like graduation I guess. There's a real sense of wanting to make them feel special despite the fact they have a grown out of ikhaya which is great to see.Should be an interesting few weeks and we're just making the most of the time we have left. Many of the children head to the Western Cape for Christmas so there is alot of excitement about that and Mark has been asked to do the Father Christmas bit! Unfortunately his attempt at growing a moustache for Movember only lasted a couple of days so he'll definetly be borrowing a white beard if needed :). Mark has also been helping out with the grounds and along with Phila (site manager) and Bram (volunteer from Holland) dug a trench to divert some contaminated water away from the Ikhaya entrance.

 

Coming up this weekend....run on Saturday, England v SA rugby, road trip to Cape Point and Daniel Bedingfield in concert at the botanical gardens.....Think we'll be coming home for a rest :)

 

The final third

Greetings one and all.

We have had another busy week teaching the kids. One of the highlights certainly being the girls that Nay has been teaching music to, leading worship on Friday's assembly. Also we finally managed to Skype Nay's school  and some of the girls here did a traditional African dance for the assembled masses of Lexden Springs!

I have managed a few runs this week including a large hill run which was about 6-7km as I'm planning to do a charity fun run on the 24th of this month.

The weekend was quite quiet as we looked to chill a bit before the last 4 weeks which are shaping up to be a bit manic. So Saturday we headed down to the beach for some tanning before going to the yacht club to watch the Rugby (England vs Fiji). Unfortunately the African sun is very unforgiving and after only an hour in the sun between 11am and 12pm I had gotten a little red (this was mainly due to poor spreadage of the the sun cream). OOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHH.

So Sunday was a sit in doors covered in after sun day. Oh well you live and learn.

We have a lot in the pipe line the next few weeks as we move to towards the end of the term.
It's fair to say that we are going to miss this place when we leave but we are looking forward to seeing all our friends and family when we return.

Here are a few images that you haven't seen yet.

Me enjoying some ZEBRA pate in addo elephant park..... mmmm tasty

One of the amazing formations in the Cango Caves

Nay gets an Ostrich neck massage.

The whole group on the table mountain trip

Nobel Square in cape town

Compare the Meerkat (Day)

Hello one and all

 

Grandad's marble game

Well another busy week at ikhaya ending in Market Day on Saturday which is basically their summer fete.After an enormous shopping trip on Friday,  Mark was in charge of all things "manly" including collecting and blowing up the jumping castle (that's bouncy to us!) and of course  the braai. I chose to share a piece of home with the children here as I ran a marble game which is a family Christmas tradition introduced by my dear Grandad Goody! The children, armed with their 1 rand (about 8p), were queueing up to play and couldn't get enough of it - amazing what you can do with a pack of marbles, a baking tray and a hole in the top of a big yogurt pot!

 



 



Hello Kitty!

 .

Now when I say queueing, it's not exactly accurate as I don't think the word exists over here - more of a disorganised bundle particularly when it came to getting the bargains on the second hand clothes stall and castle (which I had to help deflate by rolling across it!!). Still, a lot of fun had by all and great for the local community to come together - often people don't realise events at ikhaya are for all but I think the crazy flyering worked this time (we have been handing out all week - the local children are excited to get a bit of paper regardless of what it is about!). Grand total of just over R3000 (around 220 pounds) was raised.

 

Coming up this week...more cooking for Mark as he tries shnoek (the local fish fav) with Margy tonight and tomorrow cooking for our lovely home group. Maybe a spot of rugby watching on Sat as England take on Fiji which should also be interesting in a few weeks time when we take on SA!

 

Well that's all for now folks x

 

P.S We are now 2 hours ahead from UK time :)