Anna Foster, 23. Australia
I was walking back from the school yesterday with one of the training teachers and her husband when he asked me what was my favorite thing about Port St Johns… And I was completely stumped! Every aspect of my time here with the Amapondo People's Project has been absolutely incredible. I am so happy that from all of the hundreds of choices which came up when I googled "volunteer and south africa", I decided to come to Port St Johns and be a part of this wonderful project with the amazing team of people who make it happen. And to choose a single favorite thing is, for me, impossible - so here goes with a list of my many favorite things! In no particular order...
- Forming friendships with the people who call Port St Johns home - from the passionate and dedicated Amapondo staff, the enthusiastic teachers-in-training at Sisonke School, the free-spirited boys from the Eluxoweni orphanage, and of course Mama Pat and her family up at the village where the sustainable development project is literally growing before your eyes. The generosity of all these people has to be seen to be believed. Never in my life have I met so many happy, friendly people and been made to feel so welcome;
- Afternoons at Eluxoweni spent playing games with the boys and teaching them acrobatic tricks - and the smiles and laughs shared with them as they learnt a new skill or we stumbled over our attempts at the Xhosa language;
- Xhosa language lessons given by one of the school teachers. A lot of fun - although the clicks are completely beyond me!;
- Participating in activities at the school - from helping out in the garden to being taught various crafts by the teachers to giving my own lesson to assisting with english lessons. Every day the activity was different but always lots of fun!;
- Spending days enjoying the fresh air and sunshine up at the sustainable development village, learning plenty about the principles of permaculture and getting my hands dirty weeding, digging, planting, sewing, watering and building;
- Our weekend camping trip to the spectacular Magwa Falls. An hour and a half drive from Port St Johns this little piece of paradise has some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen and is the home of some gorgeous children who want to play with you… or who are just as happy to walk along with you. A wonderful experience and one I will never forget;
- Spending a morning up at the absolutely stunning and tranquil Forest Glade picking mangos and being part of the team in the starting phases of a mango atchar making fundraising extravaganza!
- Morning runs followed by a swim and yoga on the beach to start the day;
- ...Followed by an always fabulous breakfast… And all of the delicious fresh meals produced by Paul and his team in the kitchen. Yummo!;
- Relaxing in a hammock and enjoying the beautiful environment - beaches, cliffs, forest, mountains, rivers and waterfalls. Simply stunning;
Before I came here I read on the website that visitors to Port St Johns often end up staying much longer than they anticipated. Now that it is me who is leaving I can completely understand the difficulty people have saying goodbye to this place. It truly is just a beautiful part of the world, and combined with the relaxed lifestyle, the friendships made and the laughs shared I have had the absolute time of my life! If you are considering volunteering with Amapondo I really cannot recommend it highly enough as a way of experiencing the "real" Africa with a truly fantastic group of people!
Volunteer in South Africa, you will not be disappointed.
November 5th 2007