Sawubona! Report on St. Mary's visit to South Africa June 2017

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Photo: Ewan bringing the book to life at Zulufadder

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Our Newsletter 'Sawubona' meaning Hello in Zulu is available below:

BAMBISANANI PARTNERSHIP NEWSLETTER - SAWUBONA 2017 REPORT (PDF)

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The report contains moving quotes by St. Mary's and Mnyakanya pupils.

"To put it simply my experience in South Africa was one that will stick with me forever. It was 10 days that changed my life and the only thing I would change about is that I wish we could have stayed for longer. Every part of my time out there was amazing but for me working at Mnyakanya High School will always stand out. Whether it was coaching tag rugby or giving a lesson in poetry, I found that the South African students' attitude to learning was unbelievable, they were always focused and made teaching or coaching as easy as it could have been. This focus meant that my group of students managed to pick up tag rugby very quickly - which was a big achievement considering most had not even seen a rugby ball before - and managed to deliver an exceptional session on tag rugby to children from Ntolwane Primary School for which I was incredibly proud of them. Undoubtedly, the toughest moment of the visit came when it was time to say goodbye to the students at Mnyakanya. It was difficult to believe how close we had become to the students after just four days working with them. It also became apparent how tough life is for them, as the simplest of gifts could produce the biggest of smiles, and more broadly, the impact we had on the lives of those students just by being there, which really highlights the importance of the Bambisanani Partnership. In conclusion, my visit to South Africa has not only been the best ten days of my life but ten of the most important and gave me experiences that will impact me for the rest of my life. I made friendships with both members of our group and South African students who I will never forget and will hope to always stay in contact with." George Powell Our Sawubona Report on the June 2017 Visit to South Africa is on the Bambisanani website. Please enjoy reading the moving quotes from the St. Mary's Team and Mnyakanya leaders. Well done to everyone who shared their honest thoughts for this publication!

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"It is clear to anyone and everyone that I am a rather musical person. I sing practically everywhere I go; there is never a time where you can’t hear me and I grab any chance to be on a stage; so when I decided I was teaching a music lesson in South Africa, I became quite excited. Rosie and I did most of the preparation at home and decided to do our lesson on rhythm. We had many ideas but time restricted us, so had to select the best few. Sunday night was where the preparation started in South Africa: cutting and sticking, but most importantly making our junk band. We thought it was important to show the South African students how to make instruments out of their local resources; we used empty bottles and rice to create maracas, used pencils and pens to tap together on tables and finally used empty bottles to scrape a pencil down to get a strange noise. Monday afternoon we started our lesson. The children were so enthusiastic before we had even begun; it was quite inspirational to see how eager some children were to be in a lesson and really made me think of how much English children take for granted. As the lesson progressed it was very emotional as we taught the African children to sing ‘I like the flowers’, one of my favourite songs that holds a lot of memories from back home. The children could split into a four-part round of a song that was new to them, it was incredible to be a part of and a memory I shall never ever forget. Everyone in that room had a smile beaming from their faces and many people were crowding around the windows and attempting to come join in. For me, knowing that I had brought so much joy to these people through so little of my time was very rewarding and one of the key highlights of my visit to South Africa." Katie Fearnley Our Sawubona Report on the June 2017 Visit to South Africa is on the Bambisanani website. Please enjoy reading the moving quotes from the St. Mary's Team and Mnyakanya leaders. Well done to everyone who shared their honest thoughts for this publication!

A post shared by The Bambisanani Partnership (@bambisanani) on Nov 21, 2017 at 2:29am PST