Projects Abroad, Newsletters from South Africa

My name is Kelly Easton and I’m from Cape Town. In 2009 I successfully completed my studies in Journalism at Varsity College in Rondebosch and I continue to study for my BA degree in Communication Science and English. I have work experience from both ETV News and The Sunday Times, where I completed internships, as a prerequisite of my Journalism course.

After years of many people believing the FIFA World Cup TM would not remain on South African soil… the optimists have come out tops, and are cheering all the way to the stadiums - which were completed on time, and are definitely world-class works of art.

Legodimo has this month become the proud owner of a new landrover gameviewer. The number of volunteers here is steadily increasing and with Bertha (one of the Toyotas) in and out of the garage for repairs we have been in need of an extra car. G and Mieke spent a week down in Pretoria searching for a suitable vehicle, and we were greeted one Friday when we crossed the border into South Africa by G sitting there in the landrover.

Soccer fever has started affecting everyone – a stand offering flags, face-paint, makaraba and vuvuzelas, soccer balls and flags is the first thing I see when entering my local grocery store. Men and women sell soccer-trinkets along the side of the road. A nation-wide ‘Football Friday’ has been implemented by local television (where reporters and journalists and general staff of the station wear BafanaBafana shirts).

Some volunteers indulged in the lovely winelands. ANJUMA KAMMANANKADA tells us about the trip. The day began early for the seven eager wine tasters - some of us running to Archie’s van with our half eaten breakfast. The cloudless day brought promises of good weather as we drove to our first stop – KWV in the working town of Paarl.

The Legodimo Conservation team has started a new waterhole. The location of this waterhole is very important. We are building it in an area more North in the reserve, because winter is nearly in full swing so we will need more waterholes to manage the activities of the elephants.

The idea for the Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour can be traced back to 1978, when Bill Mylrea and John Stegmann organised the Big Ride-In to draw attention to the need for cycle paths. The Ride-In, held under the auspices of the Western Province Pedal Power Association, was well received and drew hundreds of cyclists, including the Mayor of Cape Town.

This month we went Cheetah tracking at Umkwali safaris, just outside of Alldays. It was an experience to get so close to the fastest land mammal on earth. The Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) relies on its considerable speed over short distances of up to 400m when hunting. Their long legs have non-retractable claws which provide an additional grip on the ground and aid their swift, sideways movements. Cheetahs have excellent eye-sight; this enables them to be both diurnal (active during the day) and nocturnal (active during the night).

20 years after the release of Nelson Mandela. Also known as Madiba to the people of South Africa. We celebrated today the power of freedom, the power to let good rise over evil. A special day of celebration for the man that was able to bring freedom back to the Republic Of South Africa. The spirit of Ubuntu! “ I stand before you not as a prophet but as a humble servant of you, the people” - Nelson Mandela

This month we have a visitor who was expected a bit earlier, but decided to arrive late and in full force this year... The Limpopo River. The Limpopo River acts as the border between South-Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe and flows into the ocean through Mozambique. It is the second largest east-flowing river in Africa and runs for approx. 2000km. The river sustains a large expanse of wilderness and in some areas it is the main water source.

In our travel experience we have found that major tourist attractions often fail to live up to the hype. Robben Island was no exception. However, if you have any interest in South Africa’s history – or even if you are just the type of person who likes to watch a movie and say “Hey, I was there” (see the Robben Island scene in “Invictus”) – then Robben Island is a “must –do” during your time in Cape Town.

Firstly I just want to say a huge Thank-You and Good Luck to Dave Pugh (our Conservation manager pictured here) who left us earlier this month for new adventures. Dave will be greatly missed by all the staff and volunteers for his enthusiasm for the projects (waterholes were a speciality), great knowledge of the wildlife and his time spent keeping us all entertained!

On Thursday, 29th October 2009, I had the opportunity to present to the Portfolio and Select Committees on Women, Youth, Children, and People with Disabilities. The presentation was in relation to the 11-year implementation of the Domestic Violence Act (DVA) and was presented at the public hearings held by the committees. I raised the issues that we experienced in the implementation of the DVA and suggested some recommendations for the consideration of the committees that would address those specific issues.

Many people think of Africa as a whole. Africa is considered by most people a single thing that can be defined by a few words. Would you define Canada by the Arctic or Europe by Greece or America by New Orleans? People who have never been to Africa base their ideas solely on what is covered in the media; war, famine, and sickness. Nothing positive is covered. What they don’t know is that Africa has over 50 countries that are all uniquely different and beautiful.

As per usual, September has been an extremely busy month for the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office! Fortunately, it seems that no sooner has one volunteer reluctantly departed than two more arrive in their place. These last few weeks have seen the arrival of fifteen new volunteers from locations across the world, who very quickly found themselves immersed in both the legal services and the social justice outreaches that are conducted at the PAHRO.

There is a rather beautiful spot here at Legodimo which is referred to as "The Office". Its name comes from the fact that Gerrit (Project Director) and other early staff used to have to drive to this picturesque high point whenever they needed to use the internet. It was the best spot for getting signal and although a bit of a mission, it’s a pretty stunning office! Most of the past volunteers will probably remember having watched the sun rise or set here at least once!

Whilst out on an early morning drive, the rarely seen African Wild Cat honoured some of our volunteers with a quick glimpse. It didn’t hang around for long before shooting off into the bush where it was soon camouflaged by its surroundings. Shortly afterwards, the volunteers were graced with the sight of some Red Hartebeest (species of antelope)...

The 9th of August marks the celebration of Women’s Day in South Africa. The public holiday is celebrated in remembrance of the Women’s March to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, in protest at the apartheid government’s “pass” system. 20,000 women from all different races and cultural backgrounds came together to demonstrate against the pass laws imposed, singing the famous freedom song “Wathint’ abafazi, wathit imbokodo, uza kufa!” In English “[When] you strike the women, you strike a rock, you will be crushed [you will die!]”.

Projects Abroad would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest member of staff at the Projects Abroad Human Rights Office, Lyndon Metembo. He has been a fantastic addition to the team during the busy months of June and July. His passion to fight for human rights and community development is impressive and inspiring. Welcome Lyndon!

At the natural seep line waterhole an incredible sight was witnessed earlier this month. Fifty plus elephants were found just drinking and hanging out at this small yet ever eventful spot. We often see smaller herds of ten to fifteen here but this was something new. Research has began to try to identify the herds that we have here and every sighting of these magnificent creatures now gets recorded...

With the return of Dave Pugh to the Legodimo staff, after a year away spending time in the UK and then studying and working on a marine project in Kenya, came the re-construction of a water hole that he’d built when here before. The waterhole, situated just behind our camp had dried up and was in need of some work. The volunteers were up early, armed with spades and the pick axe. When work commenced they were thankfully greeted by some cooler mornings, it helped when building up a sweat; ground breaking, digging and shovelling earth!

The Bo-Kaap area represents a rich and colourful piece of Cape Town’s unique history. Most of the residents are descended from slaves who were imported to the Cape by the Dutch during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. They came from Africa, Indonesia, Java Malaysia, and elsewhere in Asia. They were known as "Cape Malays", though the majority were not of Malaysian descent.

At the end of last month Projects Abroad were asked to lend a hand at this years Bike 4 Beasts cycle challenge on Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve, which of course we were more than willing to do! So on the afternoon of Friday 24th April we packed the essentials and headed over the border to the reserve. The following article about the weekend has been written by one of our current volunteers.

The winner of the 2009 elections is the African National Congress (ANC) for its 5th consecutive win since South Africa became a democracy in 1994. Jacob Zuma will be the country’s next president. ANC supporters are celebrating around the country for the first Zulu president to take office.

One of our aims over the coming months and years is to dig and build new waterholes next to the current ones, designed to fit in with the natural environment. These new waterholes will still be filled via overflow from the large reservoirs close by, as the current ones are, and once up and running the old troughs will be destroyed.

Projects Abroad South Africa is proud to announce a brand new Business Project working in the Cape Wine Industry. Volunteers will work on a South African winery outside of Cape Town in the region of Paarl. Volunteers will be involved in grape harvesting, marketing, bottling, labeling, learning the art of viticulture, history of wine making in South Africa and much more! Anyone interested in this exciting new project is encouraged to apply!

The reserve’s roads have been hit hard over the past few months with the persistent rains. There have been occasions when we have recorded 70mls of rain in a day which is almost half of the area’s average annual rainfall. After the earth is saturated, run-off water begins to collect and run down roads (a “road” is essentially the best path with the least amount of resistance), gaining momentum as it flows and increasing erosion potential.

Earlier last week the current group of volunteers kindly donated some money for us to buy new windows for the local school in Matathane village. They then spent an afternoon at the school removing the cracked windows and measuring up for the new glass before going to Bobanong to buy the required supplies.

Sara Glen was one of our first volunteers at the Rainbow Educare Centre, she worked there for six months and played a huge role in Projects Abroad's beginning stages at the creche. Since Sara's departure the creche has undergone some serious transformations, thanks to many donations from our volunteers and a construction project that has been going on for most of the December holiday time! Welcome back to Cape Town Sara!

Projects Abroad is proud to introduce a brand new surfing project at Muizenberg beach! "A Break Away" is a backpackers/surf school located in Muizenberg near Surfer's Corner. Mandy Weschta is a passionate and seasoned surfer, who loves the ocean and wants to share her wealth of knowledge with the underprivileged children in the Cape Town surrounding township areas. Mandy started her surf program with the goal to teach township children how to swim and surf.

No better news from the Youngsfield refugee camp: The camp is closing at the moment and many refugees have been ejected. The Department of Home Affairs decided that no refugees can stay here and they have to go back to their communities, even if they prefer to be repatriated to their home countries. In the last weeks the refugees got results for their applications for asylum. But according to individual stories of each refugee, the results were only influenced by the current situation in countries where the refugees came from. If for example the government declares Zimbabwe as safe although it for refugees, all Zimbabwean refugees are ejected.

I worked for a children's rights organization called RAPCAN which stands for Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. I went in not knowing what to expect but came out changed forever. While working for RAPCAN I helped research and develop a program for boys ages eleven to fourteen that seeks to help prevent gender-based violence and strengthen their relationships with their families. Before I began my research I knew very little about South African culture, especially in regards to gender-based violence.

This last month has been full of surprises and it seems that when anyone comes to visit here they are rarely disappointed. Before coming to Legodimo and Botswana I had spent nearly a year in reserves around South Africa. I loved every minute of it and thought that this was what Africa and living in the bush was all about. However, there was always something about my time in South African reserves which didn't quite feel right and I could never put my finger on it that is until I crossed into Botswana and first laid eyes on what I can only describe as the real, untamed wild.

Coming to Legodimo as a Conservation Volunteer has been one of the most rewarding and enjoyable things I have ever done. The camp is gorgeous and right on the Limpopo River, so you stand a good chance of watching crocs while you eat breakfast. Work, whether clearning roads or taking part in surveys of the fauna, never seems like work. Everybody pitches in and has fun and the occasional unexpected animal leaping from the undergrowth and looking at us rather startled always breaks up the day.

The 27^th of April 1994 was a monumental day in South African history. After more than fifty years of a government system based institutionalized racism, apartheid (in Afrikaans meaning "apartness"), South Africans from all over the country, no matter what race came together to vote in the first ever democratic election. That is why the 27^th of April is considered "Freedom Day" and celebrated by South Africans as a public holiday.

International AIDS Day calls citizens all over the globe to recognize that HIV/AIDS is a worldwide pandemic and move people to take action in order to educate, treat and save people's lives. Volunteer Chantelle Terrio organized an HIV/AIDS march in Lavender Hill, where she lives and works, to hand out red ribbons and pamphlets educating about HIV/AIDS infection. The HIV/AIDS infection rate is unknown in this area, but most likely close to 30%. The march was also to voice outrage at violence against women. Lavender Hill is plagued with unemployment, drug use, domestic violence, lack of education, alcoholism, etc. We marched through the streets of Lavender Hill talking to some of the local residents, we had a lot of receptive people taking interest. Thank you Chantelle for all your hard work!

Gary's Surf School is one of our newest projects for Projects Abroad volunteers. Gary Kleynhans, a former South African surf champion, owns a surf shop located in Muizenberg, one of the most popular surf spots in the Cape Peninsula. Gary focuses his energy on teaching the surf culture to street and township children from neighboring disadvantaged areas.

On September 9th, our volunteers, some host family members and staff strapped on our walking shoes and participated in the Blisters for Bread Walk, to raise money for lunch programs for schools in the Western Cape. The Blisters for Bread Charity Walk is orchestrated by the non profit organisation, Peninsula School Feeding Association (PSFA), who was established in 1958 when the previous apartheid government discontinued school feeding.

Dana Myers is the new Country Director for South Africa. He started as a Care and Teaching volunteer for Projects Abroad in the northern part of South Africa, and has since taken over the role as Director, creating Cape Town as a new destination point for volunteers and overseeing the conservation project in Botswana on the Legodimo game reserve. He holds an undergraduate degree in History and Education from Washington State University and a Masters in Intercultural Youth and Family Development.