05 June 2010
04 June 2010
Sad to Say Goodbye
Well, today is the last full day of our adventure in Botswana. Yesterday was our last day at SOS and it was extremely difficult to leave not only the kids, but the teachers of the Kindergarden, as well as the mothers in the village and everyone else we would see on a daily basis. These people were such a big part of our experience here and they welcomed us with big smiles every day! I never realized what a big part of the trip (and the hardest part of leaving) would be, and that is the people and the friendships we have made while we were here. Alex and I gave out gifts and thank you cards to all the teachers and staff at SOS and donations to the children and mothers in the village. We have gotten really close with three of the mothers, Name, Bame and Caroline, who we called our 'Botswana mothers', so we baked them muffins and gave them some of our dresses and bracelets we had made. We will miss seeing them every day and getting to know what wonderful women they are. I can only imagine the types of friendships we would make and how much they would grow had we been given more time here.
Today we went out to Mochudi one last time to see the house. The roof is now on and the electrical is being put in. The builders were working on plastering the outside walls now and it is so close to being finished. It was great to see them one last time and give the donations we brought for the family. I also have some exciting news: with the help of everyone's generous donations and support, our group was able to raise over $4000! That amount, along with the $5000 that was donated by the University of Guelph was enough to finish the house. It covered the cost of all the materials and everything else included so thank you soo much to everyone for helping us complete the project! The family is so happy and Lisa (the founder of Stepping Stones International) will be posting photos of the house once it is complete on the website: http://steppingstonesintl.org. There is also a Facebook group (search Stepping Stones International) that anyone can join to see info and photos from the after school program and house builds.
I can't even describe the experience I have had here in Botswana, but I can say that it has definitely changed me in a lot of ways. I have now such a bigger and better appreciation for hard work and value people in a whole new light. In Canada we take our health for granted, but here I could be standing in a room with several HIV+ people who are fighting every day to survive. The children here are so precious and I hope that I can one day see them again and make sure they are doing well. I hope that when I leave Botswana the people here continue to live and love the way they have shown us. I have re-prioritized and reconsidered my post-grad plans. Before coming on this trip I had decided I would teach English over seas in order to travel and work to pay off my student loans, but after speaking with Lisa she opened my eyes to so many new and exciting options that could further me and my education in so many ways. I will definitely be keeping in touch with her because she is such a great resource in terms of networking and NGO's and I told her I would be emailing her about Stepping Stones for future experience. She will be needing a new long term volunteer in a year so I will definitely be considering it. Working with her would be such a great learning experience and I can't wait to see what lies ahead of me!
I have to go, but will see you all soon and I am so excited to share everything with you.
Love always, Claire xo
Today we went out to Mochudi one last time to see the house. The roof is now on and the electrical is being put in. The builders were working on plastering the outside walls now and it is so close to being finished. It was great to see them one last time and give the donations we brought for the family. I also have some exciting news: with the help of everyone's generous donations and support, our group was able to raise over $4000! That amount, along with the $5000 that was donated by the University of Guelph was enough to finish the house. It covered the cost of all the materials and everything else included so thank you soo much to everyone for helping us complete the project! The family is so happy and Lisa (the founder of Stepping Stones International) will be posting photos of the house once it is complete on the website: http://steppingstonesintl.org. There is also a Facebook group (search Stepping Stones International) that anyone can join to see info and photos from the after school program and house builds.
I can't even describe the experience I have had here in Botswana, but I can say that it has definitely changed me in a lot of ways. I have now such a bigger and better appreciation for hard work and value people in a whole new light. In Canada we take our health for granted, but here I could be standing in a room with several HIV+ people who are fighting every day to survive. The children here are so precious and I hope that I can one day see them again and make sure they are doing well. I hope that when I leave Botswana the people here continue to live and love the way they have shown us. I have re-prioritized and reconsidered my post-grad plans. Before coming on this trip I had decided I would teach English over seas in order to travel and work to pay off my student loans, but after speaking with Lisa she opened my eyes to so many new and exciting options that could further me and my education in so many ways. I will definitely be keeping in touch with her because she is such a great resource in terms of networking and NGO's and I told her I would be emailing her about Stepping Stones for future experience. She will be needing a new long term volunteer in a year so I will definitely be considering it. Working with her would be such a great learning experience and I can't wait to see what lies ahead of me!
I have to go, but will see you all soon and I am so excited to share everything with you.
Love always, Claire xo
01 June 2010
Save Our Souls
June 1st already and time is flyyyyiiinng by! I am so sad that this is our last week here in Botswana and can't believe it crept up so fast :( This past Sunday at approximately midnight, my Uncle Richard interviewed me on his radio show, AM740 Toronto. Unfourtunately, I could not get to the internet to notify everyone about the interview before hand; however, the interview was about the volunteerism involved in the trip, the SOS Children's Village and the house build. I was also able to thank everyone who donated to the house build from the girls, the family, Stepping Stones International and myself - we couldn't have done it without you, so thank you again. The group went out to Mochudi again this weekend to continue with the build and were amazed to see that the walls were up. We mixed the cement again and helped the builders plaster the walls. It took a lot of practice to get the cement to stay on the wall, but once we did we got quite a bit done. Tinny (an employee of Stepping Stones) was able to get some paint donated and they are working on digging a hole for the pit latrine. The electrical and the roof still need to be put in place, but it's really starting to look like a house. Lerato and her family are so excited to move in and we are very happy to be able to get them out of the welfare housing they currently reside in. We had a great weekend bonding with the kids and captured lots of photos.
Last week was an amazing week at SOS. It's really sad to think that we are leaving soon - our last day at the Kindergarden is Thursday. Last week we worked on a colour project with the kids. We got them to mix the primary colours to make secondary colours and taught them what each of them were called. Alex and I also painted two large colour wheels on the walls of the main room so that the children could see them and learn what they looked like. We got each of the kids to help paint and had such a great time doing it. The project was a huge success and a great way for the kids to get involved in something that they can now see up on the wall every day. Last week was also an awesome week because we have really gotten to know each of the teachers and staff at SOS. We are now starting to build such great relationships with not only the teachers and staff, but the children as well. Six weeks seems like a long time, but it isn't even close! I feel like now that I am getting comfortable with everything and really starting to make friends I have to leave. It has been such an amazing experience that I could never have even imagined I would get the opportunity to have. I've learned so much here that I will bring back home with me and carry with me for a long time. The children here are phenomenal and it's going to be a very sad day on June 5th when we have to fly home. This week will mostly consist of handing out the donations we brought with us and giving thank you cards and gifts to the staff and our friends at SOS. Yesterday, Alex and I gave out soccer balls and t-shirts and tomorrow we will be bringing things for more of the children. Although Thursday is our last day at the Kindergarden, I hope to go back Saturday before we fly out to spend the final day with the kids. I have so much to learn from them and I can only hope they have learned at least one thing from me.
I will try to post once more before we leave, but am unsure if I will get the chance to come back to the internet cafe. If you don't hear from me before I leave, I can't wait to see everyone when I get home!
Love you all, xo
Last week was an amazing week at SOS. It's really sad to think that we are leaving soon - our last day at the Kindergarden is Thursday. Last week we worked on a colour project with the kids. We got them to mix the primary colours to make secondary colours and taught them what each of them were called. Alex and I also painted two large colour wheels on the walls of the main room so that the children could see them and learn what they looked like. We got each of the kids to help paint and had such a great time doing it. The project was a huge success and a great way for the kids to get involved in something that they can now see up on the wall every day. Last week was also an awesome week because we have really gotten to know each of the teachers and staff at SOS. We are now starting to build such great relationships with not only the teachers and staff, but the children as well. Six weeks seems like a long time, but it isn't even close! I feel like now that I am getting comfortable with everything and really starting to make friends I have to leave. It has been such an amazing experience that I could never have even imagined I would get the opportunity to have. I've learned so much here that I will bring back home with me and carry with me for a long time. The children here are phenomenal and it's going to be a very sad day on June 5th when we have to fly home. This week will mostly consist of handing out the donations we brought with us and giving thank you cards and gifts to the staff and our friends at SOS. Yesterday, Alex and I gave out soccer balls and t-shirts and tomorrow we will be bringing things for more of the children. Although Thursday is our last day at the Kindergarden, I hope to go back Saturday before we fly out to spend the final day with the kids. I have so much to learn from them and I can only hope they have learned at least one thing from me.
I will try to post once more before we leave, but am unsure if I will get the chance to come back to the internet cafe. If you don't hear from me before I leave, I can't wait to see everyone when I get home!
Love you all, xo
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