South Africa Service Vacation 2004 Itinerary
Dec. 8th Wednesday
Leave for LAX at 130 am ( Tuesday night)
Meet at delta airlines international check in counter at 10 pm
Dec. 9th Thursday
Arrival at 1335 into Cape Town
Evening in the city
Dec. 10th Friday
Township tour of 3 townships and cape flats with local guide
Langa, Nyanga, Mitchels Plain etc. This will bring the reality of Cape Town to hand. The objective is not to take the voyeuristic approach but integrate at the grass Root level; therefore we will have a local guide
Visit robbin island
Dinner at Ma Ma Africa
Dec. 11th Saturday
Walking tour of cape town city centre
Cape Town is the oldest city in South Africa and is full of history
and interesting venues. This city was formed on Slavery and a lot of the
sites are still standing.
Shopping at flea market/pan African market
Visit Camp Joy- new hearts street children
We will spend time with 26 children and participate in a clean-up project for the facility, giving it a spring clean. Afterwards, we visit another group of street kids and have a beach party with them with food and music. Party is from 4-8:30pm.
We will eat and play music with the kids. Luke can supply drums for everyone. Sister Beverly
will be there is inform us about her organization and Camp Joy for the homeless street children of Cape Town
Dec. 12th Sunday
Bush Radio – tentative
They serve the townships and the fellow who runs it was in exile for a long time and very
interesting fellow (Cape Malay guy) with much passion.
Outdoor Flea Market – huge Sunday market
Dec. 13th Monday
Visit HOKISA orphanage in Masipumelele with founder Karin Chubb
Cape Peninsular Tour
A great to start Cape Town is a Cape Peninsular Tour. It is a good
orientation. The trip will proceed along the cost line of the Peninsula. We begin at Sea Point, Bantry Bay and through to Hout Bay. From Hout Bay we
can take Chapman’s Peak (open again) through Noordhoek & Kommetjie to Cape
Point. The most South West Point of the African Continent. The Cape
Peninsula National Park (Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve) is breath taking
and very informative regarding the Natural Flora/history of the region. On
the way back we can visit the Penguins at boulders beach and have some lunch
in Simons Town.A swim in the ocean is a must
Lunch in Simons town
.
Dec. 14th Tuesday
Leave for Durban flight at noon
LEAN ON ME KWAZULU NATAL PROGRAM
Dec.14th Tuesday
Arrival into Durban at 1625
Welcome/braai by Lean On Me
Volunteers will be met by members of Lean on Me staff at the Durban International Airport and transported to the Lean on Me volunteer houses. (Approx. 30 minutes drive from Durban Airport) At the volunteer houses, the volunteers will be shown their rooms and given a chance to unpack and freshen up.
Welcome Braai:
Lean on Me will then host a welcome braai / barbecue at the Hillcrest volunteer house starting at 7pm. This informal function will give Be the Cause volunteers, other LOM volunteers and LOM staff a chance to get to know one another and socialize. All food and drink will be provided by Lean on Me and the meal will consist of barbequed meat (South African style) and various salads and starches. (Vegetarians will be accommodated!)
Dec. 15th Wednesday
Agape Orphanage
Volunteers will be asked to help with sorting out last minute preparations for the Agape Christmas Party. E.g. wrapping presents and preparing food for the children. Volunteers will then be taken to the Agape Orphanage where the party will be held. The fun will get under way at about 11am, with the highlight being the children receiving their presents from “Father Christmasâ€. This role is usually filled by Lean on Me Director, Claude Fourie. However, this year Lean on Me is looking for an eager Be the Cause volunteer to fill the shoes! The day will include songs and games and lots of sweets and other treats for the children.
The party will start winding down at about 3pm and the volunteers will be asked to assist the staff and children in cleaning up. Once the orphanage is in a respectable state the volunteers will say goodbye to the children and head back to the volunteer houses to relax after what promises to be an extremely hectic, yet exciting day.
Dec. 15th Thursday
Savannah park children’s home/dream centre visit and Christmas party or build a home for siyajabula children’s home
This day is public holiday in South Africa – The Day of Reconciliation. Although it is a public holiday and most businesses will be closed for the day, we have scheduled an extremely busy day for LOM volunteers. As many of our volunteer projects are quite small we have arranged for a number of activities on this day. Volunteers can choose from the following activities on this day:
Morning Activity – special Christmas visit to the Savannah Park Children’s Home to hand out Christmas presents and play some games with the children.
Afternoon Activity – Special Christmas visit to the Dream Centre to hand out presents and spend some time with the patients.
Whole Day Activity – Volunteers will be needed to help with our Siyajabula Children’s Home that we are currently building. The actual activity that volunteers will be doing will be determined closer to the time. However this might include painting, tiling and/or digging foundations for our next children’s home, depending on how far along we are with this project when Be the Cause volunteers arrive. However, no matter what task volunteers end up doing, the day will surely be filled with some blood, sweat and tears of joy.
Dec. 17th Friday
First Christmas party for Molweni Community
Today is a very special day for Lean on Me as we will be holding our very first Christmas Party in the Molweni community. The party will take place early on Friday afternoon on the site where our Siyajabula Children’s Home is being built.
This particular community, although being blessed with one of the most breathtaking settings in South Africa, has been very badly affected by HIV/AIDS and poverty over the past few years. We would like to throw the children of this community a party to remember, with lots of toys, food and good fun! The children are not the only ones who will be invited to this Christmas Party. There are a number of community members in Molweni that Lean on Me has formed close relationships with through our building project over the past few months, including the local headman or “indunaâ€.
Many community members have assisted us in this project by helping us to build the children’s home or by supporting us in spirit and kindness. Lean on Me will therefore be using this opportunity to thank these community members for their help over the past months at our Christmas Party.
The Molweni Christmas Party promises to be a unique event where everyone involved will marvel at the work achieved in the past year and look forward to the work lying ahead in the year to come. Not only is everyone involved very proud of the work that we have achieved in this community, everyone is more proud of the way in which this work was carried out. Different people, from different backgrounds and cultures working together to make a difference!
The party is scheduled to get under way at about 10am and end at about 3pm.
Dec. 18th/19th Saturday/sunday Zulu village Overnight Trip
Day 1 – Saturday
The day starts off by your introduction to the people and your community guide who will be with you as the evening unfolds. The village comes alive at night with the spirit of music and dance as the men of the village interact with each other throughout the night. Your hosts are always recognized community members and are equally interested in western culture or where you come from and what traditions you follow. The hut usually situated east facing towards the Umgeni River offers magnificent views and you can ensure that you will be well fed with delicious Zulu cuisine
Day 2 – Sunday
You will be collected the next morning around 8:30- 9:00am and you will then move on to your next adventure, the Hluhluwe Trip.
Dec. 20th/21st Monday/tuesday Hluhluwe Game Reserve Trip
Day 1 – Monday
We head straight for the KwaZulu Natal coastline heading North towards Matubatuba. On arrival guests will settle in to accommodation and then prepare for the trip to St Lucia.
St Lucia is a World Heritage site and guests will head off on a boat cruise to view Hippopotamus and Crocodile. The trip is very informative and will also highlight the five various eco-systems and the importance of the estuary to the area. Some basic history of the area is also covered.
The afternoon is spent on a short walk after lunch on the edges of Cape Vidal and some chill out time at the St Lucia Beach. In the evening guests will be returned to the lodge with a braai or potjiekos dinner on offer.
Day 2 – Tuesday
A real early start and off to the game park to get there as the gates are opening to ensure that we try and spot as many as the big five as possible. The day is taken at a leisurely pace giving guests a holistic bush experience with all the birds and fauna. Guests will get the opportunity to see lions, rhinos and leopards in their natural surroundings.
Leaving the park in the afternoon we head back to our accommodation to allow guests to freshen up before returning to Durban.
Breakfast and lunch are included in day two
After all the traveling and sight seeing of the past few days, volunteers will spend a relaxed day at the Agape Orphanage playing with the children and getting to know them a little better. A number of activities will be organized to keep volunteers and children occupied. Past volunteers have erected a very simple soccer field at the Agape Orphanage, as soccer is the children’s favorite sport. Lean on Me has promised the children that we will organize a soccer tournament at Agape if the children promise to study hard for their up coming exams. For the less energetic volunteers, many of the younger children at Agape are very artistic and really enjoy painting and drawing.
If any Be the Cause volunteers have some of their own activity ideas to do with the children they are welcome to contact us and we can make the necessary arrangements.
Dec. 22nd Wednesday
Howick Hills
Drive to Howick Hills and provide service to a lady who takes care of street children.
Dec. 23rd Thursday
Departure for Johanesburg
On the day of departure, volunteers will have chance to say goodbye to Lean on Me staff and receive their Lean on Me certificates. Once everyone is packed and all goodbyes have been said, volunteers will be transported to Durban International Airport to catch their flights.
Visit a local shopping area until flight – arriving at 1050 into Johanesburg and leaving at 1940.
Hi…I just stumbled across this website while doing a web search for information on Molweni. I am a former Lean On Me volunteer (August-October, 2004)!!! How awesome to find your posts–was this party in lower Molweni or upper (with Lindewe)? If it was in lower Molweni ( I think you mentioned the new orphanage –I helped out with the construction of the first building while I was there) that’s so wonderful. Lindewe had a Christmas party for the kids in upper Molweni as well, and Margaret Stone also told me about it!!!
In case you don’t know, there was a fire at Agape in January. A bunch of us have been raising money to support the rebuilding of the orphanage (see childrenofagape.com for more info). The Moya girls (Slindele, Snethemba, Siwapewe, Peaceful, Mbali) and Zodwa’s grandaughter Nasi were all in New York in March singing and raising money for the rebuild. They met Alicia Keys, and her foundation, Keep a Child Alive, has been very supportive in raising money for the kids.
Email me directly if you’d like to know more–a bunch of past LOM volunteers are working together to raise money and generate support for the Agape kids.
Tracie
I would like to be involved in a volunteer program with Lean On Me for 2-3 months. Does anybody have information on this?
Thanks!