We had the opportunity to spend two weeks in Kayamundi (the township just outside Stellenbosch – in the Capetown Region). Our time was directed by Johan Horn a phenomenal man who, among other things, partners with the township community to do development work. He led us through a process where groups of four to five students were paired up a with a local guide.
On the first day each group was taken on a tour through the community. During the tour the groups were supposed to keep their eyes open for the assets of the community and possible projects they could work on that would build upon the assets that already existed. Throughout the first week – in conversation with their guide, community members and Johan – each group identified a need within the community that they could help with. Each group spent the second week working on the projects. The following are descriptions of each of the groups` projects.
Creche
Over the span of three days we spent our time at a crèche owned and run by a lady named Nolitha. She had started the crèche to provide schooling and daycare for children who didn’t have enough money to go to pay for other daycares. Each day 20 kids came to the tiny crèche at 7am and some stayed until 2 or 3. A couple of days before we arrived in Kayamundi there was a fire that burnt down about 20 shacks close by and Nolitha had opened her doors to store things while the shacks were being rebuilt. This left her already crowded in a small crèche with hardly any space outside. We decided to paint the inside of the crèche and create some organized storage to create a better environment for the kids to play in (especially because there’s no other shelter from the incredibly hot sun outside!).
We were so lucky to get to work alongside members of the community. Our guide Dzu and his friend Luvuyo helped us paint and translated so we could interact with the kids -we’re not quite fluent in Xhosa yet!
It turns out Dzu has an eye for art, and his paintings in the crèche were phenomenal and added a lot to the final project.
Nolitha is an amazing woman who pours all her energy into the crèche and the children that come, and we had the chance to see what she does and give her a bit of a break for that short while.
It was awesome how we could involve the kids - they included their painted handprints on the wall, and we felt so welcomed as we’d arrive every morning and immediately be swarmed by smiling little kids.
The final afternoon we had a big birthday party in the newly painted and organized crèche. There were balloons, food, face painting and lots of laughter as a wonderful celebration to end off a week filled with working, playing and learning together.
Jordan, Becca, Josh, Patrick, Cassie
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