What made me want to apply for this once in a life time experience? Perhaps it was because my parents worked supporting people, Mum in a pre-school and my Dad in the prison service. I am a scout leader and I like to think I help children to develop within themself to become more confident.
My Mum first suggested I volunteered to work abroad and I filled in the form as it sounded right for what I wanted to do with youth work. I received a phone call from International Citizen Service for an interview in York. After the interviews all the candidates returned home not knowing if they were successful or not.
After three weeks I got a phone call from ICS congratulating me as I was accepted and would go to South Africa for ten weeks. I told my Mum and Dad and everyone I knew as I had to start fundraising for the eight hundred pounds I needed to take the trip.
I completed a 27 mile sponsored bike ride with my Dad. It was raining on the day and muddy, but ok for the first 13.5 miles. On the way back, Dad got a puncture and it couldn’t be fixed. I continued with the ride and we did it! This was a good way to raise money and with other donations I reached my £800 target.
I went to Birmingham for training where I met everyone going to Africa. This was interesting as we were all different characters and I did not know if I would get on with them or how they would get on with me, but we all became like a big family. The training was great and we had a laugh with some of the things we had to learn.
The following months were long and I could not wait to go, and as we got all the things I needed for the trip, the days became longer and longer. With everything packed the suspense was killing me as all I wanted to do was to go to South Africa as soon as I could.
The BIG BIG day came and I was on my way, really really excited to be on a train to Manchester Airport, Heathrow to Johnannesburg and on to Cape Town and Bain’s Kloof in the moutains for in-country training.
What a view and such an awsome welcome from the South African volunteers who broke into song on our arrival. We spent a week there and then were all split up to go to our home-stay and placements for nine weeks.
I was put in the best place for me, Hout Bay, working for an organisation called “ABC for Life”. It stands for Angel Become Carers for Life and we were teacher’s assistants at Sentinel Primary School.
My home-stay hosts were very very kind to me and became my adopted uncle and aunty. They had three sons and the two elder sons had children who I got on with very well. I also had a second family, as one of my South Afican friends became my best friend over there and I enjoyed being with his wife and kids.
For nine weeks I worked with the children at the school. In class I helped them with reading and their work ready to be marked by the teacher. I also took a few of the children out of class at times to help them to read which was rewarding as they became quite confident reading out loud.
The volunteers met up at weekends for activities such as a boat ride to Seal Island, Table Top Mountain and other interesting things within Hout Bay. At the end of each week we visited an indoor market for sightseeing and enjoyed the entertainment.
The main reason for the visit was to complete an HIV and Aids awareness project. This took a lot of planning as we had to plan role-play and sports related games to help get the message across. This included planning for the World Aids Day working with three different year groups, a class at a time, of up to thirty pupils.
We split the class in half and worked around the subject and produced statements we were given at training which took about three to four days to run. We produced a poster of the school and got the children to put red ribbons on it and around the trees. We had a cake stall and sold them to raise money for paint, which was needed to decorate a room given to ABC.
I did manage to get in touch with a local scout group, the 2nd Hout Bay Sea Scouts. This was really interesting as it was a different type of Troop to the one where I am a leader at home.
It really was fun and the scouts welcomed me in. I learnt lots of things that can be used in my Scout Troop at home. I presented a necker from my group and badges, and they gave me the same things to take home.
The day came to go home and nobody wanted to leave. I was sad, but glad at the same time for the experience I had gained. I said my goodbyes got in the taxi and headed to Cape Town Airport to find all our hosts were there to wave us off. This brought on a lot of tears as we headed to the plane back home.
Once I got home I had to get used to things like cars not using their horns all the time, the absence of calls to the mosque and no siren coming from the harbour about every hour on the hour or the school bell ringing.
A month later there was a de-briefing in York where everyone met up again. We discussed ideas about “action back at home” and to pass on to our communities the story of our amazing trip to South Africa.
Bryan Witt, a 21 year old Newtonian and ex Woodham Student took an opportunity to complete
voluntary work in South Africa. He has submitted his story to encourage others to do likewise.
