Interns/Volunteers in South Africa!

Christina and Emma’s South Africa Adventures! WK12

November 1, 2009 on 3:19 pm | In Christina and Emma's South Africa Adventures! | No Comments

On Monday, four of the foundation phase (grade 1- grade 3) teachers were absent so there were over 150 subs (students distributed into other classes). Because some classes then had more than 60 kids of various ages, the teachers were really struggling to figure out what to do. In the morning, we tried to help out by taking about 60 of the subs kids outside. They were given the choice of playing or reading. Although some of the kids of course chose to play, it was refreshing to see how many kids wanted to spend the time reading. For the last two hours, the teachers decided to show a movie to all of the foundation phase kids. Everyone was glad to have made it through the day.

Olubayi Olubayi, the president of GLP, was in South Africa for a few days. We saw him after school on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. We met with Madame Speaker Caroline Setsiba and two people from the Social Development Department in Randfontein. It was great to touch base with both Olubayi and members of the local government. We were reminded of how much is being done to improve the school systems as well as how much is still left to do.

The finals for Master and Miss Randfontein Primary were held this Thursday. It was so much fun to see the kids perform the dances they’ve worked so hard on and model in the dresses and suits donated by local businesses for the night. The kids were so cute and did such an amazing job! So many of the parents and other students were there to cheer on the contestants and dancers. The teachers put so much effort into making the night possible. It was great to see everyone in the community come together and show their school spirit.

At Zuurbekom we have continued dotting the books and more kids have had the chance to check them out. This week we got to meet with some of the older students (grade 8), who have been repeatedly asking their teachers why only the younger kids got the chance to check out books. Although it was strange to teach kids closer to our age, it was nice to not have to worry about the language barrier. They took out books ranging from The Princess Diaries to a world atlas to AP Physics Homework Help to easy picture books. It was clear that although they were all so enthusiastic, their reading level did not necessarily match up with their desire for information. The second and third graders, who have almost all brought their books back on time, also checked out books again. It finally feels like the library seems to be functioning smoothly.

We went with Abby (Mrs. Kinney’s sister) and her family to the American Society Halloween Party. We helped set up and ran different activities like pumpkin golf, find an eyeball, and pin the nose on the pumpkin. We hope you had an amazing Halloween and are enjoying the World Series. Go Yankees!