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LANGUAGE LESSON:
“LET’S GO” “Asambe” in isiZulu 25 C
Clinic Assistance
Home Based Care
Nutrition
Support Group
Rural Family Support
Creche
After School Club
Reading Club
Holiday Club
WHAT’S NEW ON THE GROUND? 1. Sanibona (“hello”) to our new Business Manager, Katie, from the UK 2. We started making eco-bricks; collecting plastic waste to build building blocks 3. We launched a gender empowerment initiative, which has completed its 10week trial 4. We have a puppy! Her name is Asambe. Come and visit us to meet her!
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around the Gweru area. Volunteers at the local clinic have seen almost 200 patients, taking their vitals. We also assisted over 30 patients, helping them from their home to the clinics to receive medical care
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Volunteers worked with 20 physiotherapy patients, working on their strength and flexibility. A donated walker helped one of our patients walk again after being floor-bound for weeks
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Volunteers harvested over 10kg of spinach and over 70kg of cabbages from the garden at an HIV support group in Ezwenelisha. Our patients received some of the harvest, providing a healthy supplement to their diet
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We have implemented a new certificate system in the Reading Clubs in the villages of Khula and Ezwenelisha. Student numbers have increased and we saw more continuity with our students, impacting over 500 children!
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Volunteers assisted over 1,800 crèche children with an educational focus on alphabet and number recognition, shapes, colors, as well as covering themes including my body, transport and animals
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Volunteers hosted a fun and educational Holiday Club during the recent school break. We had incredible attendance, impacting over 1,700 children!
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We have two new families on our Family Empowerment Program. So far. we have assisted them by fixing their roof, ensuring places in creche for all of the children, securing a plot of land to build a new house for them, and delivering craft and informal education sessions for them once a week
We are launching a gender empowerment initiative here in St Lucia in partnership with The Girl Impact! To kick it off, we completed a 6-week pilot program with a group of Grade 8 girls from Silethukukhanya High School in the local village of Khulu. In interactive sessions, we covered topics including empowerment, self-esteem, healthy relationships, goal setting, peer pressure, puberty and leadership. The girls enjoyed the sessions so much that we successfully extended for another 4 weeks! Attendance remained consistent, averaging at 13 students per week.
“Just come and do it! Don’t sit around thinking I'm too old; too young; I don’t have anything to give… because you do! No matter your age or your life experience, you will be able to give something to the local community and you will take away much more than you ever thought possible!” Helen Ridgway (49 years old) Educational Volunteer
We had a once in a lifetime experience at Thanda Tented Camp last weekend. Upon arrival at the camp we got a glass of pink champagne and a nice cold towel to freshen up after travelling. On our first safari drive we encountered elephants in the dark, their sounds are quite intimidating! After an incredible dinner we went to our 5 Star tents to find a hot water bottle in our beds – so cozy! We were back in the truck early the next morning searching for lions. Luckily, we found them just as two tiny cubs were being introduced to the rest of the pride (about 4 females, 2 males and 7 older cubs) It was truly a once in a lifetime sighting! Best Day Ever!!
“Seeing the patients get better was one of my highlights, especially the wound care patients. As time went by, I believe I gained the trust of the patients and their families and they would say they were happy to see me.” Saera Choi, Medical & Healthcare Assistance Volunteer
THE ST. LUCIA TEAM ☺