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South Africa
Shazibe

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    • TravelerSouth Africa Coco's Foundation
      Day 11

      Day 9 safari a wonderful lodge

      April 14 in South Africa ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      When we arrived, I was completely overwhelmed by everything. It was so incredible and I never believed I would go somewhere so amazing. Chris gave me a hug and said, this is your thank you for all you are doing here. This is how the family you are helping feel about the home we are biulding!
      The staff are all waiting outside to welcome us and take our bags.
      The lodge is stunning, and we have it all just for us. An infinity pool overlooks a water hole and animals freely living all around us.
      My room has a huge bed, lots of weddings happen here it is stunning.      Read more

    • TravelerSouth Africa Coco's Foundation
      Day 8

      Day 8 shoes

      April 11 in South Africa ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

      In the afternoon we went and brought 10 pairs of shoes for children at the school! And we are going to get shoe laces.
      We also visited the studio where the clothes are made.

      At the biuld we took some photos of two of the children we are biulding for, they are looking out of the door of thier current tin home.

      At dinner this evening, it was hard to eat the wonderful meal cooked for us, vegetable pasta, Moroccan salad, and garlic bread, as we were all thinking of the children. We said grace, but it's was hard.

      Here is a picture of us making lunch to take out. I am writing this on the sofa in the lodge after we all had a laughter melt down. We needed it! But my sides hurt now...      Read more

    • TravelerSouth Africa Coco's Foundation
      Day 8

      Day 8 visiting Mdwina School

      April 11 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

      Chris blog.

      Up at 5am today to ensure we left at 6 am sharp, to allow time to get to Mdwina School to serve porridge to the children before they start school.
      This is the only meal many will have all day. It contains all the vitamins and minerals they need, and once digested, it quadulpes inside them.
      It's 7am, and many are already waiting. They are quiet but pleased to see us. They line up, and we can now see that many do not have shoes or if they do, they have no laces. Most are holding a plastic container in various sizes, colours, and conditions.
      We take turns to serve...
      We think it's going well, then we start noticing porridge on your faces, eyes down bowl held out.
      Hang on, you've come around again. One has taken his jacket off and quewed again.
      We try and police this worried we will run out until all have eaten. But Chris helps saying give them seconds but a smaller amount. It turned into a little game, cheeky smiling faces, but thankfully, everyone ate.
      This fuels them for a day of learning.
      Assembly is lovely singing in straight lines, and one child reads to us all.
      They all file into class, and 1 teacher can have 70 children in a class!
      All learn in English and have a book containing all the subjects for that grade. Lesley asked about science, but everything is from the 1 book, no other resources.
      We help give the school uniforms we raised money for being given to children by
      Vamsile, who made them.
      We visit classes. It's very moving, and I think it's fair to say we all became emotional at some point. For me, it was when the children say thankyou, I don't feel worthy of thanks, as my life is so easy by comparison.
      We leave having been touched by the opportunity to meet them.      Read more

    • TravelerSouth Africa Coco's Foundation
      Day 8

      Day 8 biulding 1

      April 11 in South Africa ⋅ 🌙 21 °C

      We rejoin the house biuld around 9.20am and as we are getting to know the builders we joke saying ahh the Gogo's are back! But they are so patient and I'm taught how to cover the lintels with pug and make it smooth. I stand on blocks to reach. We move the remaing blocks to the home and I find a small lizard inside one! Heather helps scoop it out and it makes us both jump when it skuttles.
      Everyone helps and we are all bonding together as a team.

      PS, a Gogo is a grandmother.      Read more

    • TravelerSouth Africa Coco's Foundation
      Day 5

      Day 5 continued

      April 8 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      (Day 5)Monday
      Bob, the builder, would be impressed! We got 6 layers of block work done!

      We drove home passing the cows as usual. And then going shopping purchasing bananas, which are far more tasty here, I ate 2 today.. and they enabled Chris to go on tour of the local bike shops! Sadly, we did not one.

      We had a restful couple of hours playing card games in the garden. Showered, then drove to Sodwana Bay and into the complex where we had dinner out.

      I sat next to Tamsine ac19 tear old from just outside Petersfield in Sussex, who has been living here for 7 months working at the children's home and living with the leaders family. She really enjoyed chatting with us and said it was great to speak English as she has struggled to learn Zulu. She hasc2 months to go then home to university in London to study tailoring.

      A wonderful choice of food, I had ribs n chips.

      A great day today, very rewarding.      Read more

    • TravelerSouth Africa Coco's Foundation
      Day 4

      Day 4 Sunday afternoon

      April 7 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      We drove to visit a home biult before covid for a lovely man sponsored by Sue who is our pastoral carrer on the trip. She was overcome with emotion on seeing him again.
      Here if you do not have an ID you get no money, you cannot work, so cannot feed yourself etc
      He had been living in a tin shack and was lost and poorly. But Sue felt a connection on meeting him 5 years ago and paid for a home to be built for him. He now lives in it and welcomed us in today. After research by Coco's he was able to get ID 2 years ago and the government has built him a new home BUT he will not leave Sue's one. He loves it. He still gets food aid every month from Coco's as he has no job.
      We discovered today he is same age as Chris 54 years old.
      He has chickens a home and now pride.

      The roads were wet, its rained! We had to push the van as it got stuck!

      We visited 3 brothers who were given a new home 7 months ago. They are growing their own vegetables and biulding a chicken cope. They were pleased to see us and had a terrific sense of humor.
      We visited the family we are biulding for and start tomorrow. We leave at 7am to get to the site. It rained today hopefully it will be dry for biulding.
      Saw storks, zebras, cows and goats, loads of chickens all free roaming and often in the middle of the road!      Read more

    • TravelerSouth Africa Coco's Foundation
      1
      Day 4

      Day 4 Sunday am

      April 7 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      Had a very warm welcome in an incredible church today. So many hugs and smiles. Incredible singing and dancing so much love and energy. They shared their service with us and Dorathy from the school we met yesterday translated for us.
      We were invited up and I did a reading.
      The children were so incredibly well behaved, they could go in and out at leisure.
      I had to pop my hand over my ears a couple of times as soon loud and powerful!
      It was a very special couple of hours.      Read more

    • TravelerCoco's Foundation South Africa
      Day 3

      Day 3

      April 6 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      Visits to the Ebenezer Children's home run by
      where we were entertained by the various aged children with their recited passages from memory energetic dancing and beautiful singing with one of the children leading with a voice that was memorable. We applauded each performance which the children enjoyed encouraging others to take part as they grew in confidence at the chance of performing .
      They ended teaching a song with actions in English and Zulu .The children departed off to their lesson...
      We had a short presentation on the project that are supported to improve the lives of their children aiming to give the children confidence self esteem and self worth .
      We left as the progressing netball game was in progress with a burst ball !
      Onwards to the wher science and maths is being taught by Dorothy an inspirational lady who saw the need for children to be given the opportunity to learn the basics in science and maths in order to develop critical thinking in order to progress through life .
      Resources were in short supply but the teacher was resourceful.
      Lunch
      Onto deliver food packages to families and see their shelter one room for 12 children one blanket on a stone floor and their belongings all neatly stacked against the bare wall
      Noticeable and thought provoking were the 3 school shirts washed and on a hanging nail for the children who attend school . This particular family were then informed that they were having a house built for them in August by a group of Girl guides
      The face of the Grandma ,said it all as tears welled and she
      went into a little dance of gratitude with a small baby tied with muslin on her back .
      Called into a busy market Spar for supplies including several bags of delicious cashew nuts
      ...think we made the market holders day!      Read more

    • TravelerSouth Africa Coco's Foundation
      Day 3

      Day 3 morning

      April 6 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

      An amazing day for many reasons! Monkeys in our garden, zebras on the side of the road.
      We visited a children's home this morning, the welcome was wonderfull, warm hugs and smiling happy children. We sang and danced together and they taught us a song in zulu.
      We had a talk about the history of the home and how it runs, it has been in operation since the 1950's and currently houses 27 children, all run by a lovely lady called Nosiklay.
      Next a school just down the road run by Dorathea a truly incredible, inspirational lady. She teaches science and maths , trying to change the approach nationally. She works with universities, runs robotics classes, teachs programming, to all ages including A levels. Uses lego and duplo, 6 duplo bricks is a thing. Sadly funding is hard and she has not had a wage for 4 months!
      We drove past a chess garden on the side of the road, with children all playing chess and being taught by a local doctor.
      A packed lunch followed.      Read more

    • TravelerSouth Africa Coco's Foundation
      Day 2

      Day 2

      April 5 in South Africa ⋅ 🌬 24 °C

      Arrived in Durban which had wonderfull mosaic pillars in airport. Internal flight which was very very bumpy! 4 hour drive with goats, horned cows and antelop along the road side and in the roads. Arrived at wonderful lodge, at Sodwana Bay but just getting dark when we arrived. Gegos on the walls inside!Read more

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