Post by Laura

Where to begin?! We have all had an amazing experience here in South Africa so far and have bonded really well as a group. Each time new people came we adjusted to fit them in as if they had been here since the beginning. Now the full group of warriors are here for the next few months.

We have been working at a variety of different projects. SISCO being one which deals with street kids, Boys Town which is a home for young offenders or children that have been through the court system, YMCA a free after school club, Bobbi Bear an organisation which supports young children that have been abused and raped, St Martins a school which is also a care home and a nice wee crèche in Umlazi. The work we do varies massively from place to place so everyone’s skills are utilised. Some of them are self-sufficient in funding so we only go in to give our time. But Bobbi Bear and SISCO are definitely struggling financially.

Bobbi Bear and SISCO are both amazing organisations, but equally in need of a lot of help. As I said Bobbi Bear deals with children that have been abused and raped. It tries to get justice for children and give them a safe environment to live in. It was founded by Jackie a woman like no other! She is crazy and ballsy, but the kind of work she is successfully doing needs her to be that way. It is run by a brilliant, dedicated group of women who have all went through such hardships in their lives but are still strong and beautiful.

The last two Saturday mornings we have been to the tree of empowerment which around one hundred and fifty children gather, as they now no longer have premises. The tree is a safe place they can go to on Saturday to act like children as many of them never get the chance to have fun and be carefree. We brought footballs and some toys for them to play with. They seem at first glance to have nothing wrong with them until you look into their faces when they aren’t playing and that’s when you see the pain. It wasn’t until meeting Jackie the second week and watching the DVD ‘Rough Aunties’ (a documentary about their work), that I fully understood what Bobbi Bear actually did. Jackie spoke to us so passionately about ‘her children’ and that if we did anything out of line she would ask us to leave and not come back. The children are in need of so much help, if you compare their lives to children at home the same age as them you would find very few similarities.

Our day at Bobbi Bear, the younger one seemingly oblivious to his situation and happy to play...his big brother however..

We currently work at SISCO two days a week and have a review meeting about the work we have carried out that week on a Friday morning. On a Monday we do outreach work with Russell, Wanga and Abdul. This entails going out in small groups to different streets around the SISCO building to approach street kids and try to find out there stories to see if there is anything we can do to help them get off the streets. The children are normally quite shy so we have to approach them, but we bring sandwiches so at least we have a small something to give them while we speak. Most are quite open to share things with us and let us help, but if the SISCO building is full we can’t ask the kids to come back and stay. On a Wednesday we go into SISCO and do activities with the children. The first week or two the boys didn’t all turn up but now we are establishing personal relationships with them we are getting a really good turn out! This week we all made valentines cards with the boys which they loved.

Last Saturday the Gillespie’s school trip that was out came to SISCO to meet the boys and see the premises. We were all very apprehensive because if they boys hadn’t come to SISCO that day the visit would have been over before it had begun, but true to their word the boys turned up in big numbers. They had made signs and a huge ‘Welcome to SISCO’ banner to welcome the school. They had also arranged more volunteers to come and help us with translation to tell the boys stories. When the school arrived everything seemed quite chaotic, as I don’t think there had ever been that many people in that building all at once! Considering that, everyone got into groups quickly spread out across three floors, of about nine school kids, a teacher, one Jabulani volunteer, one or two street kids and a translator. The previous Wednesday we had tried to prepare the boys to speak to the groups and find out their stories so we could help tell them, as many of the kids are shy and have never sat and spoken to a group of white people that big. The boys explained their stories then the group were given the opportunity to ask them questions. I think the boys did an amazing job of communicating with the Gillespie’s kids and they had quite a lasting effect on them. Gillespie’s really generously brought a huge amount of clothes and resources that were then given out to the boys, although distributing clothing is always a challenge here as it is hard to do it fairly. There was madness for a short while, and I have never been so warm in my life! So, SISCO and Baba decided it would be best to keep the remaining clothes and distribute them out another time when the centre wasn’t so busy. The visit ended with the street kids performing and dancing, and of course Baba had to have a wee dance to top it off! We then walked Gillespie’s along the street to their buses so they got a feel for the area the street kids are actually living. I felt when I was on the Gillespie’s trip as if we were in a bubble as you got on and off the bus at each destination without getting a feel for any of the areas, so this was something new for them and I think very worthwhile. After Gillespie’s visit SISCO now have ten more kids staying in the centre, the day was really successful!

Personal Comments:

Amy: The past couple of weeks have been amazing and it’s surprising how much you can learn in such a small time. One of the biggest things I have learnt is that you don’t have to try and change the world to make a difference, at Bobbi Bear especially ,all these kids want is affection, company and to play. Something so small as a hug can make a huge impact.

Alice: I think we have all noticed it is the small personal things that make such an impression; in what we can offer to the young people we are working with, but also in what they do for us. At Sisco on Wednesday I sat with a young boy and we made up and practised a secret handshake, I was touched at his enthusiasm and keen attitude to repeat the action over and over until it was perfect. In all projects the young people are such a pleasure and always have a very positive outlook, this has had the greatest impact and I wish to take and obtain this myself.