Tyume Valley Vibes

Goodbye from me (Margaret)

2010-02-13T08:25:00.000-08:00

This blogging business is a bit time consuming so I haven't done as I meant to but never mind. I'm off to Hogsback to meet four teachers from the UK (two from Hartshead Junior and Infant and two fro Ringmer Community College) so that they can meet eachother and maybe organise something joint for their partner schools. (Some problems there but too late to tell you about them now!) Tomorrow I'm off to the airport and finally back to Heathrow and the snow. Its been so hot and sticky here that I'm actually looking forward to it.

And a final comment from Tyume Valley - Sue

2010-02-10T06:20:00.000-08:00

Amazingly, we're coming to the end of our three week stay here. We've been made constantly welcome, and all the schools work hard with us, in difficult circumstances, to progress their children's education. The library course which Maggie ran was a great success and we have at least one request for the materials, so that a local teacher can run it again.

We've come to an agreement with a partner agency to supervise some of our programme when we're not here, we've replaced the missing project co-ordinator, we've agreed which schools get priority for computer installation and negotiated some good deals for the necessary security and electrics etc. We've met with the local reps of all the schools and agreed an IT teaching programme, to be provided by TVS, between now and June, when inevitably the World Cup will be taking over people's attention - and sending all the schools on holiday. We've supported a number of meetings or exchanges with partner schools in the UK - we've been to a game park to negotiate a trip there for a local school, which a UK donor is paying for, and this morning we held a farewell braai (a South African barbeque) for the pupils of the local primary school, where our resource centre is situated, and for the visiting secondary school being trained. Sadly, we've still failed to sort the transport for next week, and the air-conditioning still isn't fixed - but there's at least 48 hours to go, so who knows.

your last few days

2010-02-09T02:20:00.000-08:00

Good luck with all you are doing. It is very informative reading your comments.
Margaret Woodward (makhulu Maggie)

More impressions (Sue)

2010-02-07T02:59:00.000-08:00

Since arriving two weeks ago, I’ve visited half a dozen outlying schools and have been hugely impressed with the way staff struggle with dreadful conditions and almost no resources. It takes us half an hour, along winding, dusty, rutted tracks to get to most schools. There we find a couple of long, single-storey buildings, with corrugated iron roofs and about half a dozen classrooms in each block. There’s often just an outside tap, and an outside toilet.

Three of our committee members are called Maggie, so the children in the village call out ‘hello Maggie’ to me, as though it’s some generic name for visiting white women. The Maggie I’m with this time is currently teaching pupils from three local schools to use the library and research information about baobab trees and elephants on the internet. Meanwhile I cut out cards, allocate stickers, argue about the cost of window bars, and try and find our missing driver. It’s really difficult to manage staff and a programme from overseas, and one of the things we’re trying to do is make the objectives clearer and sort out a plan for people to follow and report back to us on. At the same time we’re also trying to sort out a relationship with another local voluntary organisation to provide some support when we’re not around. We work closely with a local committee of all the schools and keep in touch with the local university and education department.

Sad News(Margaret)

2010-02-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

Death is ever present in South Africa and during the time that I have been visiting with TVS we have lost a number of friends and colleagues. On Tuesday I visited the Sibeko homestead in Kwezana (where I and other TVS volunteers have often stayed) for a prayer meeting on the death of Sybil and Temba's grandson who died in mysterious and tragic circumstances.

The hut was full of villagers, sitting on plastic chairs or grass mats on the floor. While we waited for the family to arrive there were mournful songs but also uplifting remarks from church leaders (mostly women) - very down to earth and not at all the pious formalities I had been expecting.

Outside, the funeral directors were setting up the tent for the funeral the next day, a goat had been slaughtered and was hanging on the line that I had used for my washing the last time I stayed, and other villagers were preparing the large black three legged pots for cooking for the guests.

When the family arrived they were very dignified although obviously struggling with what had happened. I was able to speak to Sybil and Temba to express my condolences but left with a heavy heart. Sometimes South Africa is difficult to understand.

First Impressions (Sue)

2010-02-03T10:17:00.000-08:00

My first fantasy bit the dust very quickly. All through the icy winter at home I kept thinking about walking down the plane steps to be hit by the hot smell of African sun on red earth. This didn’t happen; it poured with rain and was grey, overcast and cool for the first few days.

Now, however, we’re in blazing sunshine, in a typical African village in Eastern Cape, north west of East London. The countryside is green and hilly and very beautiful. We have been made very welcome and I have enjoyed walking the 200 yards down the village, from the house where we’re staying to the small local primary school where we have our resource centre. We have a small library, a meeting room which we use for training and teaching and a separate IT centre.

There are 35 schools in Tyume Valley and we are gradually trying to help them to acquire IT and library facilities. In the meantime we bus the learners, mostly aged 10 – 12, into the centre for lessons. At the moment these are mostly delivered by Paul, an incredibly competent 19 year old German volunteer, and a trainee African assistant who’s making lots of progress and should soon be able to take over more of the teaching in the centre. This will leave Paul to do more of the development work, helping the local schools, and training the trainers and technicians who need to do the support work. One of the first key issues is to help a school secure an area where at least one computer is safe. Then, of course, there’s the funding to find.

My next step is to visit more of the schools and support some of the teaching.

About TVS (South Africa) | The Big Give

2010-01-27T16:02:00.000-08:00

About TVS (South Africa) The Big Give

2010-01-25T07:13:00.001-08:00

Success ! We -the 2 Maggies - feel a great sense of achievement for setting up the blog and managing to make the first entry! We hope that you will enjoy reading about all that goes on both in Tyume Valley and from our UK volunteers and partner schools.

Ready for the off

2010-01-22T22:54:00.000-08:00

One day to go before we (Margaret Kiloh and Sue Richards) leave for three weeks in Alice, in South Africa. Virgin Atlantic have generously given each of us an extra baggage allowance so we will be lugging two large suitcases full of donated school uniform for Yamala Primary School as well as our own more modest luggage.

We will be spending the first week on meetings school visits and organising. The first meeting (with Lorraine Lawrence who is helping to set up a Children's Centre in Peddie) is on Monday as soon as we hit the soil in East London. Sue's experience with Together for Children here in the UK should be very helpful with this.