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Coco's Foundation South AfricaCoco's Foundation South Africa
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Met at Reigate Park Church
Heathrow
Flight taking off 4th April 2024 hopefully! Read more
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  • TravelerCoco's Foundation South Africa
    Day 12

    Day 10

    April 15 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Day 10 Saturday
    Rise and shine before sunrise and greeted with a cup of tea made by Lesley and Karen aka two turtle doves’.
    We were ready to roll at 6:00 am as requested. By 6:08 am we had seen a tower of giraffes, a confusion of guinea fowl and an implausibility of wildebeest.
    As we drove through the water there were a family of terrapins.
    We did a little detour to the river as the rangers had been told of the presence of a lioness and her two cubs. We saw her disappearing along the river bed with her two energetic cubs following. We carried on venturing into the wilderness and saw a bark spider that eats her web to replace the nutrients she needs. A bit further on we passed the sausage tree that provided great hilarity amongst the team.
    Next we stopped to have a tea break and took in the scenery where wedding ceremonies are held under an impressive fig tree. The sound of baboons echoed as we warmed up with hot drinks and chocolate muffins and rusks - not Farley’s!
    Moving on we found ourselves looking at a beautiful eland gazing at us for a few minutes. We saw another tower of giraffes a couple mongoose and then came across a troop of mischievous, playful vervet monkeys eating berries. Nestling in the savannah we spied a black jackal that posed for a photo before nimbly running into the bush. Opposite perched in a tree was an eagle searching the surroundings for prey.
    On our way home to the lodge we saw a group of wart hogs, another dazzle of zebras, wildebeest, and giraffes.
    Once we had got back to the lodge some of us had a last minute swim before breakfast and headed out.
    Little did we know that we were going to be treated to an elephant interaction with Rambo and Rachel. This was a once in a lifetime experience.
    We drove up a dusty, rural road to see Ghost Mountain. The views from here were indescribable. We took pictures which will not do the view justice. It was breathtaking to see such lush vegetation which is very unusual. (See pics.)
    We stopped to see the Jasini Dam and see what an enormous structure this is before heading home on a bone jarring road. As always Nkosie navigated his way through pot holes, goats dogs and parts of the road that had been washed away.
    What a memorable day to add to all the others.    Read more

  • TravelerCoco's Foundation South Africa
    Day 12

    Day 11 Childrens home

    April 15 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Hi Chris,
    We all jointly worked on the blog for today - see below - we’ll choose photos and send them as well……

    We started the day slowly while we were waiting for the children from the children’s home to get back from their church. When we arrived, they were all very excited to see us again as they hadn’t realised we were making another visit. We had brought several different craft activities with us along with some extra purchases we’d picked up on the way. The children filed in eagerly and patiently waited for us to set things up. We set up four tables with different craft activities including fortune tellers and friendship bracelets. We were pleased that all the children joined in with all the different activities even though there was a wide age range.
    In the afternoon we played a variety of ball games outside and they all particularly enjoyed ‘dodge ball’ and ‘duck, duck goose,’
    We were feeling exhausted so we encouraged them all to have a break with squash and some biscuits that we’d brought with us.
    To finish the afternoon off, the children were thrilled that we’d brought along some bubble wands which they had great fun with.
    We all felt sad to leave but delighted that we’d been able to catch up with them one more time.
    Before returning back to the lodge, we did two more food drops. One to an 80 year old Gogo who lives on her own. She was very pleased to meet us.
    We also visited the home of another Gogo with three grandchildren. Chris C and Nkosie are planning two sponsored events to raise money to build them a new house. The family were delightful. The Gogo was so excited at the possibility of having a safe and secure home built for her family - she picked us up in turn and swung us around in her exuberance.    Read more

  • TravelerCoco's Foundation South Africa
    Day 12

    Day 12 Recuperating!

    April 15 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Blog
    A chilling day at Foundation Lodge,as in relaxing !
    We caught up on sleep read organised the 28th service where we will give our experiences from the trip .
    Chris, Lesley and Karen went for a walk along the sandy path photographing the local environment, and then two handsome men offered us a lift so we we recklessly Continuing the blog.....the afternoon was spent preparing activities for our visit to the After school club held at Mdinwa using their motto as
    inspiration
    'Knowledge is Light' bukkie....don't fret!... it was Chris snd Nkosie!!!
    Continuing the blog.....the afternoon was spent preparing activities for our visit to the After school club held at Mdinwa using their motto as
    inspiration
    'Knowledge is Light'    Read more

  • TravelerCoco's Foundation South Africa
    Day 13

    Day 13 Mdwina school After School Club!

    April 16 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Day 13 What a daunting start thinking we were entertaining 200 excitable children at the 'After School Club' yes its changed from actually after school finishes with a few children to 11 o'clock which then involved anyone attending school that day !
    Our resources were limited but we were very resourceful and with a couple of footballs, 3 Frisbees and 6 tennis balls plus the enthusiasm which oozed from the smiling, joyful children our inhibitions deserted us.
    We introduced ourselves where we'd come from and our roles and careers, hopefully inspiring the children to work hard and make the most of opportunities.We taught and played Four Ball rounders, football, Cat and Mouse as well as teaching singing and clapping games .
    We finished with bubbles which surrounded the happy faces and left elated and hopefully the children having had a joyful morning .
    We travelled to our build and saw what we can now call a house ;..roof on, doors hinged and building site tidied .We bagwashed with watered down cement and we coated the surface of the outside walls to make it water tight...hopefully we did a good job! I think a few of us are also waterproof !
    As we cleaned our brushes we heard the most beautiful joyful sound .We walked to where the singing was coming from a small corrugated building, the local community church and we listened as the people sang praise and thanks ....It's the people that are important praising and having such a strong faith and it doesn't matter about the church building.
    As mentioned in the Bible
    'Where two people are gathered together in worship you have a church'    Read more

  • TravelerCoco's Foundation South Africa
    Day 15

    Day 15 Kosi Bay

    April 18 in England ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Last blog from the fit and fast Gogo group!!!
    Memorable day with our lovely team whom we are going to miss but we got on so well we'll be continuing this friendship .
    Having completed the house for our special family we had a relaxing day at Kosi Bay which is a couple of hours away from where we are staying .
    We swam and picnicked on the golden sands .We were very close to Mozambique.
    We also viewed where the fisherman had planted reeds in curved shapes to catch the shoals of fish as the tide turned, trapping the larger fish and allowing smaller fish to return to the sea .
    Our last evening was spent with the soulful, inspirational people we have met during our stay who have made such an impression on us all.
    Ubusuku obuhle konke-
    Goodnight all .    Read more

  • TravelerCoco's Foundation South Africa
    Day 17–20

    Day 14 Completion of the House

    April 20 in England ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    We've finished the house !What an achievement....ignoring the fact that we're the oldest group of volunteers that have accompanied Chris ,and that he actually forgot to mention ...the fittest !!!
    The result was not only rewarding and emotional ; but as Nkosie said
    "It's an amazing thing you've all done. You've given a family prosperity and they can hold their head up high as they have a bed to sleep on"
    If we can do this for
    someone in 5 days think what we could do in each of our lifetimes .
    My gratitude needs to be also given to the support of the team I have been lucky to come away with for Nkosie and his team but also Chris who is a beautiful person with a generous heart, whose inspiration has given me the opportunity to experience and give some joy to a beautiful family in a beautiful country.
    May I always be thankful .    Read more

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