In August of this year, ECYCC was lucky enough to have two new faces as volunteers - Verena and Sarah from Germany. They were a joy to work with and are very grateful for their support. Verena has kindly written some words on her experience which we would like to share:
"Within my studies I did an internship from August 25th to October 6th 2012 in South Africa and, therefore I chose to volunteer at Emmanuel Child & Youth Care Centre. Thanks to Carol’s brief updates and Sarah (volunteer at that time) I did not have to be uncertain about what to expect in the centre. By beginning of August I was getting quite excited about my volunteering time.
The first days in the centre were breathtaking. Experiencing a different culture, meeting the kids (who by the way are so amazing), working with the care workers Auntie Katie and Martha, and last but not least, meeting two people who loved their work and the kids with all one’s heart. During my first week in the centre I experienced some tiredness I have not felt before ;) I guess I just was not used to being around children all day. After the first week passed I got used to that though.
Daily routine: During the week the children of school age went to school in one of the townships in Middelburg from 8am to 2pm. As Carol told me they went there due to the teachers giving lessons in Afrikaans and to help maintain their culture. During that time Sarah and I were looking after Nakwe and Chrissy who are the youngest boys and not yet of school age. At 4pm all the children had study time. During that time they did their school work, pursued their arts, read books etc. Starting at about 5.30pm every child took a shower and the smallest ones and Angel were bathed by either Martha or Katie. At six o’clock dinner was ready and everybody sat at the table anticipating some nicely cooked afrikaans kos. It was funny to see how much the 'big boys’ – and siblings – Ashley and Hendrico could eat! After some quality time together right after dinner the kids could watch some TV and then went to bed at 8pm. On weekends we sometimes gave them popcorn – they absolutely love it!
Reflection: During my internship I learned so much about South African culture, the children, their difficult and sad backgrounds and of course, about myself. It was the best decision to come to Emmanuel. I got to love the children and staff and after six weeks it was really hard to go back to everyday-life in Germany. I would definitely recommend staying at Emmanuel for a longer time. After the six weeks I just got used to everything, everything got daily routine and I finally started to understand – and speak (well, barely :D) Afrikaans. The children are incredible and despite their hard backgrounds they are getting all the love they need from Carol, Bertus, Bertie, Martha and Katie and for a short time – from me."
