For such a time as this...

I am now weeks away from my gap year coming to an end, this saddens me in an unexpected way.

I have done some much more than I could have imagined when I started this journey in September.

These past couple of months, since getting home have been no different.

I very much expected the reverse culture shock, waves of emotion and loneliness on returning home -but was drawn into a false sense of security by an easy first month. Now I have been back 2 full months the rippling effects of Cape Town are more visible. From waves exhaustion to a constant underlying sense of stress. 

It is hard to convey what it feels like to go through such an intense experience and return to people who haven’t been there with you or had a comparable gap year trip, just how odd it can feel.

Sometimes I feel like I am speaking a different language that only some people understand. I am incredibly fortunate to have some rather lovely friends who have also been on life changing gap years, who get it.

What I know to be absolutely true is the impact of Cape Town is not isolated to my time there, the year in which I went or my immediate future. I know this because I see my time in Cape Town continually crashing into my day to day thoughts and activities. 

I have recently been to New Wine and Soul Survivor. 10 days back to back of Christian festival is not for the faint hearted! But my time in those spaces has been momentous. I went to New Wine with Christians in Politics as a volunteer exhibitor. I spent most of my week on the stand in the market place talking to Christians from all across the political spectrum.

On my first day I spoke to people who were passionately committed to seeing God’s kingdom come through party political action, those who were deeply cynical of ‘the system’ and those who introduced themselves as simply ‘not political’.
In 6 days I had many incredible conversations.

  

My day at New Wine started at 7am when I would wake up, get dressed and go to the Rise service (7:15-8:15am) in the Hungry venue. Each day we unpacked a line of the Lord’s Prayer.
I then queued for a shower, had breakfast in my tent before going to the 9:15am service in the Impact Venue for more worship and a sermon.
At 10:30am my time on the stand begun.
We had seminars every day to advertise, books and many a leaflet to promote and the big question ‘what would you want to see in the queen’s speech?’.
At 2:30pm we had a seminar in the Tearfund venue with guest speakers, Christian MP’s and the heads of the respective Christian Forums in the Lib Dems, Labour and Conservative Parties.
I would sometimes take a break after that by going to a different seminar! Have some food and go to the 7:15pm service in whatever venue took my fancy and leave at 8:30pm to be back on the stand till 10:30pm before crashing in my tent.

This is a rough timetable, thankfully not all my days looked like this, but even when I took time off from CIP it was quickly filled with other fantastic things.

It was amazing! I was inspired, refreshed and enthused in so many ways.



Working at this level was very reminiscent of Cape Town, I had a deep sense of purpose in each and every hour of my day. In the moment I knew that mile stone things were taking place. I long for more of these moments at uni. 

One of the best things I heard was –
“whenever we draw a line between ‘us’ and ‘them’ just know that Jesus is always on the other side." With the nobodies, the shunned and vulnerable.
I could probably write a whole blog post on how much I agree with this statement, but I don't think it is necessary, instead I would just encourage you to read the quote several times over.

One of the best songs I sang during the week was - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9ujBoud26k
I love the lyrics -
'Who can stop the Lord Almighty?
He's roaring with power.
He is fighting our battles.
Every knee will bow before him.'

Whenever we sang a song about the breaking of chains I thought about the young people in Vredilus, Bonnytoun, Lindelani and Khayelitsha. I prayed for each of these places to be flooded with a sense of God's peace and for justice to reign. When I think of the dreams God holds for each of them, my heart breaks. It feels like there is such a void between who they are now the who they could be if they were able to fulfil their potential.

Our first seminar was called 'Israel, Judah and Brexit' and Dr Dave Landrum spoke from the Theological Alliance, one of the comments he made was 'if you want truth in politics, you need God in politics.' It was amazing to see how the audience (around 300 people each day) responded when statements like this were made. The atmosphere in the room shifted as light bulbs came on for people.
Another moment when this happened was when Sarah Latham spoke (head of the Lib Dem Christian Forum), her subject was 'Esther, Royalty and Refugees'.


"For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but you have come to your royal position FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS?"

The buzz after this seminar was amazing, people immediately began chatting to us and those around them about what there next step looked like on their political journeys looked like.
It was awesome to see dots being joined in peoples minds. We were asked to reflect on the roles we have currently and think about why we are placed there.

After a seminar on how to reach young people I went up for prayer, I am so aware that when I start university I am going to be new people all the time, I hope that within the crazy mix I people who share the vision of Christians in Politics. I can see how God used me during this week at New Wine to connect with people and talk through big questions, I hope this continues in uni spaces.

Sarah was only able to come to New Wine week 1 for one day, this meant that for the rest of time I was there I was the only Lib Dem on team. This turned led to some crazy moments!

Including getting to be part of a Q&A panel after our seminar on 'disagreeing well'. I sat on stage next to Andy (head of Christians on the Left) and Gareth (head of the Conservative Christian Fellowship) we passed the mike around to respond to the audiences questions. I was first to speak when a question came up on electoral systems, managed to get in that my favourite was STV, also talked about cross party politics and Brexit.

Representation in politics now matters to me even more than before, having seen the consequences of people's voices being silenced and interests deliberately ignored on mass in South Africa.
Know that we are also guilty of this in the UK.

SIDE NOTE: I have recently read Harriet Harmens' book 'A Woman's Work' and Jess Philips' book 'Every woman' would highly recommend if you want your eyes opened to the huge amounts of discrimination women still face in every aspect of life. 
https://www.waterstones.com/book/a-womans-work/harriet-harman/9780241274941
https://www.waterstones.com/book/everywoman/jess-phillips/9781786330789






Then on my final day at New Wine I got to be on stage again for an interview in the Impact venue (the second biggest adult service). We were asked to talk about what was on our hearts at the moment. I spoke about how exciting it was to see the huge increase in youth turnout and how I really hoped this wasn't a fluke but signs of young people truly beginning to engage in politics on mass.






























I am already planning on returning to New Wine next year, I loved the atmosphere and tone of the event. I also had the best time meeting interesting, generous and kind people! Huge thank you to Pat, Alex, Becky and her fab family, Gareth, Andy, Sarah, Pete, Nicky and the Mabley family for sharing New Wine with me.


I then went home for one night in my own bed before going to Soul Survivor with Knowle and Olton coming together for 5 days. It was amazing to see my families church and mine combine in this way.

Being at Soul Survivor as a youth leader was very different from going as a young person, I really enjoyed working alongside the other adults to plan, feed and support the young people there.
I was also able to be there as a big sister, Mia went for the first time and I am so glad I was there to play card games and give hugs on demand.
Switching from taking lots in a very fast paced environment to a more chilled supporting others one was really helpful for my head space. I thought through lots of things I had heard at New Wine in the worship time at Soul Survivor.











I started writing this blog post because I was feeling so emotionally overwhelmed by the last couple of weeks and wanted to get it out of my head. At the time of writing this I have 42 days left of my gap year left, I am nervous of the huge change uni is to my life, but also excited to soak up the last few weeks of my gap year on holiday with family in Devon, going to Lib Dem conference and Harry Potter Studios in London.

Prayer Requests:

- For restful sleep! I am so exhausted all the time and I hate it.

- To not idealise the past too much and be excited and hopeful for my future.

- For friends who are awaiting A Level results this week.

Thank you for making it to the end of my twenty first blog post, I hope you have found it thought provoking. Have a great week!

Scrapbooking is the best

Since getting back from Cape Town I have put off a lot of things that I don't want to do. This has ranged from university paperwork (now mostly done) to reading difficult books and to writing this blog post.

It now astounds me that I managed to write a blog a week!

5 weeks have now passed since I returned from South Africa and my motivation has been very low throughout this time. I hope that as I rest, and work my way through my to do list I will become more energised...

The best way I can describe life since finishing at Projects Abroad Human Rights Law Firm is dizzy. I got off a roundabout on the 26th May and have been slightly disorientated ever since.
This made my family holiday a bit blurry.
But being reunited with my family and travelling around a country I love was none the less pretty amazing!

Here are some photos of our adventures (in absolutely the wrong order.... enjoy!).

This was taken in Franshoek in the wine region of Cape Town. Dad and I spent a day on a wine tram, we swirled and sipped wine from three different places. Everywhere we went in South Africa we enjoyed the mountains, the sight of them is something I am missing here at home.

More mountains! This was taken at Chapmans Peak on a cloudy day the view wasn't nearly as impressive as I have seen it, but still rather lovely place. Spending a few days in Cape Town with my family, allowed me to show them my favourite places.

Returning to Spionkop was a dream come true. Two years ago you may remember that I went to South Africa to teach for a month and stayed with Lynette and Raymond. During this family trip we fitted in a couple of days at the lodge. It was amazing to come back to such a familiar place and introduce my guys to the place they had seen through face times. Only wish that the Arden guys could all have joined me here for the reunion. 

My guys with the lovely Lynette and Raymond, very jealous of this years group who are flying out tomorrow!

We managed a family photo! Well done us! This was taken on our final day during the morning game drive. We drove round in the very early hours of the morning seeing lionesses with their cubs, elephants and giraffe. In between taking photos I was nervously updating my phone for election results. As far away from the count as I will ever be!

These were taken on Muzinberg beach. We went after spending the morning at Heathfield Baptist Church and showing my guys around Brenda's House.  For lunch we had two of favourite foods - falafel and calamari with chips. We shared both with some exploding ginger beer. 

Almost at the end of our trip we stayed at The Ghost Mountain Inn. Mia and I enjoyed playing card games surrounded by flowers. This was also the place where we went on a boat trip, the highlight was seeing hippos jump up for air and even one go from land to water. 

This was taken at the Waterfront in Cape Town, I introduced my guys to my favourite brunch spot. We spent a lazy morning enjoying the sunshine, great food and catching up.

One of the most beautiful places in Cape Town is the Botanical Gardens in Kirstenbosh. We spent an afternoon here before picking Tom up from the airport. It was lovely to walk around and take in the views.

This was taken at Cape Point, after a long day of driving we got here. We went up to the lighthouse and looked at the two seas swirling in spiral patterns as their waters came together.

We saw several lovely sunsets on our travels, can't remember where this one was taken. Should say that if you see any holiday related photo and it is impressive it was taken by Tom (see below).

Well there we go, a random selection of holiday photos that will give you a sense of what I experienced post volunteering. If you would like to see more photos then please come over and see my scrapbook. I have been able to write this blog post because I finally got round to starting this section in my scrapbook. Whilst it isn't fully up to date it is most of the way there, enough for me to force friends and family to sit and admire the pages one by one.

Prayer Requests:

- At the end of this week I am going to New Wine with Christains in Politics, I am so excited to be part of the team there and chat to people about joining political parties. However from that I am almost immediately going to Soul Survivor as a youth leader! This back to back camping will be amazing and exhausting in equal measure. Please pray for wisdom, energy and fun!

- SLEEP! My sleep pattern has been lost since being back home, I am finding it hard to sleep and often wake up feeling stressed for no particular reason. Please pray for peaceful sleep.

-  Finally as I am sure you well know by now, I hate change. I find transitions, waiting and anticipation very uncomfortable, as the days and weeks go by there is more and more pressure/ need to prepare for uni - whilst a lot of me can't wait to go, there is also part of me that wants to bury my head in the sand till September. Please pray for me to stay grounded in this time.

Thank you SO much for making it to the end of my twentieth blog post (woooo!).
Hope you all have wonderful week.

PS. A couple of weeks ago I spoke at the family service at Olton Baptist Church. I shared what I found hard, why I felt God had called me to Cape Town and the impact people praying for me at home had. Here are some of the slides for those who couldn't quite read them on the day/ are interested.

2585 words of late reflection

I had neat and tidy plans for this blog and left my last post saying that I would have a more serious reflective post up the following week, when I had actually left work. Well I left work and went straight into a crazy holiday with my family. I sat down a couple of times to write about the 3 goals I had for part two of my trip and typed bits and pieces but found it harder and harder to make sense of.
So I left it for a while and then a bit longer. I am now home. And am starting again. It has been four weeks since my last post, and I have had lots of thoughts run through my brain since then.

My plan is still the same, but will be slower coming together then I wanted. After this blog post I will do one about my family holiday, I imagine a lot of it will be captioned photos of our travels. I want to maintain the order so that when I look back on these posts in the future they make sense.

So this is my reflective post, similar to the one I did at the end of part one.

Let’s get started!

T1) To have my eyes opened to the way God sees injustice in South Africa, and walk in step with what he is doing.

Well I think I can tick this one off. I have been overwhelmed by the amount of injustice people face. It truly feels like the world is against so many of them. Born into poverty, growing up in a township with 50 kids in a class and non-existent parents/ poverty and few role models, the lure of crime to get by and the sense of belonging in a gang. It is easy to see how one thing leads to another. Whilst this is a logical series of events, it is absolutely unnecessary.
Generations come and go and the pattern of life remains depressive for so many people here.

Moments that stick out when I think of deep inequality include going to a lady’s shack in Khayelitsha to do my first home visit. The case came to us as a problem to do with housing, but escalated to very sick children needing to be removed from their Mother.

Going into the shack I immediately became aware of the lack of space, and the fact that it is literally walls made from rubbish. Random bits of wood, sheets, corrugated iron and broken objects surrounded me. It took me a while to notice all three people in the room. Nontsasa the lady who runs Siyakhathala begun asking the lady we had come to visit a series of questions, to try and establish the current situation. They spoke in Cosa, so I listened and tried to notice as much as possible about the environment.

All three people were covered in insect bites, scars and scabs, flies were in the air and landing on the youngest child. Whilst none of them were physically healthy the youngest child was incredibly sick. When we left Nontsasa told me that I needed to get Social Development to refer a social worker to the case as soon as possible, so the children living there could be removed to a place of safety before the youngest child died.

I can imagine that reading this information is distressing even from miles and miles away, imagine at 19 years old you experienced this and then was told to play a role in solving the problem. When I spoke to friends about this later in the week, I was taken aback, I felt small and inadequate. I followed up on a previous volunteers work and chased our contact in Social Development, found out the information they needed to get a social worker involved – and left knowing that the case is in the hands of the emergency intervention team.

But I will never know what happened to those children – will they get moved? Will they get places again at school with fees paid regularly? Will they have any contact with their mother in the future? What will happen to the mother? Will she stay in the shack or get her house back?

I have a list of questions like this for all of the 35 or so cases I worked on during my time here. From my first day I took over work other people had started, as time passed I opened cases, closed cases and have now left up to date notes for the next volunteer to pick up.

When all my life up to now has been exam orientated it is a huge step to leave something unfinished. The majority of my work has been in preparation for a test which I have then done and got the result back for. It is a neat and tidy system with no lose ends!

Have found this hard to deal with in the my first week of holiday. Every couple of days both me and Tom thought about what we would be doing at this time if we were on our projects. I am still yet to really think through what I have done, I allowed the whirl wind of the holiday to give myself a bit of a break from thinking.

Now I am back home, part of me feels like Cape Town was a dream, I am struggling to hold both the fact that I spent 3 and half months in Cape Town and the fact that I am now home as both true. When I think of the me I was when I stood in the shack, I feel sadness that I was unable to feel then.

Yesterday I did my first of four presentations on my trip. It was at Arden and to a group of yr12’s about 20 people came. I really enjoyed sharing my experience and comparing PSHE lessons at Arden on gender equality, human rights and drugs/ alcohol to the reaction I got in Bonnytoun. Initially they laughed at the absurd response the boys gave me, but then as I talked about the culture they had grown up in and the kill or be killed mindset they looked at me with shock.

The point to this tangent was that as I was describing my work and particularly the case work I did, I realised just how depressing it all is. I assured them that I also did some happy things in Cape Town and showed some photos of my weekend site seeing.

Look forward to doing more presentations and catching up with friends, am sure that I will see new things in my trip through discussing it with others.

Got to this point and am realising this is going to be pretty long post, so if you don’t have a cup of peppermint tea and some peanut butter toast (things I lived off in Cape Town) then now would be a good point to pause and get supplies.

 2)   Build empathetic trusting relationships both with fellow volunteers and the young people I am working with.

Well, I think I can say maybe to this.
I have been so fortunate to meet so many weird and wonderful people, some I truly hope are friends for life.

Fellow volunteers have come and gone, creating an almost episodic feel to my trip. I have learnt lots from lunchtime conversations, preparing group presentations and site seeing trips with people from all over the world.

I am already looking forward to meeting up with Sophie, my house mate from Manchester when she is back in the UK. I know from my previous trip to South Africa how lovely it is to reminisce with the group I went with about the amazing and challenging the moments that made up our trip were.

When it comes to the young people I met it is harder to tell if I managed to build empathetic and trusting relationships. Whenever a volunteer leaves the team they go round the facilities on their last week and tell the young people, ‘I’m off now, really good to have met you!’ but in my experience this never sinks in until the next week. I would go back in and a few of them would ask me ‘where is so and so?’ they are confused when I tell them that they have gone back home.
And my goodbyes went no differently, it is very odd, I know that I will soon be miles and miles away and it is unlikely I will ever see them again but they look at me with smiles, as if to say ‘we are listening to your goodbyes, ignoring them and look forward to playing chief with you next week!’. This was true in all of the facilities but my penultimate Wednesday in Bonnytoun.

One of my frustrations in the middle of my trip, turned out to be a blessing at the end.

For about a month we saw blue group every single week instead of fortnightly. This meant that we had to prepare extra presentations because we couldn't rely on seeing the group we planned to see. This was stressful but it meant that they got to know me better than the other groups.

So when I said goodbye to them, they understood and cared that I was going. They thanked me for what I had done and wished me well. I sat in the room listening to the music at the end of the workshop and tried to soak it all in.

Then on my final Wednesday I saw green, and at the end of the workshop they all shouted goodbye to me. We then walked past the courtyard where I think blue were chilling, they all ran over to say goodbye, one of them said ‘Amy I loved you the first day I met you and still love you now!’, whilst I have never received a marriage proposal here, some of my friends have. It is common to get declarations of love and if their crazy plans go ahead then potentially one day some of the boys will come and visit me in the UK. I told them that when they get here just walk round shouting my name they will find me eventually.

What was crazy on this afternoon is the shouting didn’t stop at the courtyard. We left the main area and were stood by the minibus waiting for Natile the driver to open the doors and some of the boys ran over to a different part of the court yard, I think a mixture of green and blue and started shouting my name again.
They saw that one my friends Lea was smoking and they told her off, saying she was killing the ozone layer! Maybe the environment presentation we had done that afternoon had some impact! We then got into the minibus and went to the gate of the facility. We got out because they wanted to search us again, and once again the boys ran over to another corner of the courtyard and continued to shout my name. 

I have never experienced this before.

It was amazing to see their persistence and eagerness to get my attention, I thought about it as I travelled back to the office. Why did they do this? What impression had I given to them in all my time there that prompted them to give me this farewell? Ultimately I hope that they saw something in what I said, the way I acted and the person I am that conveyed to them I care. I have no idea how much they will remember of the workshops I did, but if they remember that a 19 year old girl from the UK came every week and chatted to them and she cared then wow that is a big deal.

These are photos from my final day of work, a mix of goodbye party, office photos and food market with friends. 

Stephanie and I at Blue Bird Food Market, enjoying falafel. 

Playing jenga as a drinking game whilst we waited for people arrive for the kitchen party. 

Bought cake for everyone at the office on my last day.

Very cheap white wine, just over a £1. Earlier in the day the legal volunteers had done a MOOT court, a mock legal trial about drink driving, note this bottle of wine warns that drinking will impact your ability to drive.

Very bright photo of Lea and I.

Darwood and I pausing to take a photo then resuming debate on prisons, human rights and terrorism. 

Very full kitchen, many volunteers and even more bottles!

Found a big empty space on the wall and wrote my goodbye, as is tradition.

Sophie and Miriam (volunteer supervisor, lovely lady I worked with on my legal cases) also lent her my west wing DVDs so she could introduce her husband to them!

Outside the office with my certificate.

Sophie, Martin and I at MARTINS PARTY! Had a wonderful evening, was tough to say goodbye to so many great volunteers I got to know over my few months.

33) Depend more and more on God for my energy, provision and guidance. Trying to be compassionate and patient with each day and the rate of change.

When I think about my trip as a whole I get a bit lost in all of the days and weeks. Right now I don’t have the head space to read my journal from the beginning but look forward to the day when I can. I know that from my first day I have been praying for wisdom and a sense of purpose to ground me in my trip. I have tried to give God control but have definitely not been consistent in this. I wish my worth wasn't still so much in my work. Factually I know that my identity is in God and not in the world. He loves me and I am enough.

But I also know that I feel a sense of failure, walking away from so many vulnerable people’s lives, in exactly the same heart breaking mess as when they became part of my to-do list.
Most of the cases I worked on, where just sheets of paper in pink files with names on the top that I couldn't pronounce. I met only a few of my clients face to face. It is unbelievable that in their time of crisis and utter desperation, they turned to Siyakhathala and they turned to Projects Abroad Human Right Law Firm who set up the social justice project who let me come and work as a volunteer.

The rate of change is something that has always frustrated me from the moment I became aware of social justice. I read my Amnesty magazines in instalments because it is so desperately sad it is too much to read all in one go. Since I have got back people have asked me if I managed to change the world – my response has been , I tried but I don’t think I got very far.

My reason for taking a gap year now was to fill up on experiences before I returned to filling up on knowledge at university. I loved doing politics A level and I wanted to see some of it in action, I think this year has certainly provided me with plenty of politics units in action! Last year I studied: terrorism, human rights, poverty and development, the power of the state, globalisation, the environment… and the EU. Now I have the summer to read books on gang culture and justice in South Africa and do research into prisons before going to university.
There are so many thoughts still to think!

Prayer requests:

- To have the energy and motivation to keep working through my very long and boring to do list of university, job and random bits of paper work stuff.

- To balance living life back home to the fullest and giving myself time out to breathe and remember what I am coming from.

- For my friends and family to be patient with me as I talk almost non-stop about my trip or politics in this country (bear in mind that I missed out on a fair amount of UK politics chatter and had to watch the general election unfold from a game drive at 5:30am in the morning, so I am now catching up!).

So there you go, I think I am finished for this update. I have set three new goals for part three and will finish off this blog in September with that.

Thank you for making it to the end of my ninetieth blog post. Have a wonderful week!

These are a few of my favourite things...

These are a few of my favourite things…

I thought I would do a light hearted reflection this week before a more serious post when I am actually finished. So here are some things I’ve loved…

Favourite Restaurant: Bardellis

This is the place to go if you want amazing food and a slightly crazy atmosphere, so naturally I am taking my family here on Saturday! It is an Italian restaurant that does pizza with cold avocado on top, which is an amazing combination. I have been twice now, both for goodbye meals and had a brilliant time. When we went for Danielle’s meal - we witnessed the manager give every table including ours a free bottle of wine and when he was done pouring them he would smash a bottle on the ground by the fire. This is only a bit safer than it sounds, not near people! Many hilarious memories made there.

Favourite Museum: Slave Lodge

Talked about the Slave Lodge in my touristy blog post in the first half of my trip and have recommended it to all the new volunteers who have come since. The divisive history of South Africa lingers heavily still. When I talk to the young people in the detention facilities it is clear their opinions have been passed down generations.

Favourite Tourist Site: Table Mountain

Can’t wait to take my family to Table Mountain, a second time for all of us. But hopefully first time, weather permitting for us to watch the sun go down. Beautiful doesn’t seem a big enough word to describe the view and peaceful atmosphere at the top. Look forward to reflecting on my trip there and saying goodbye to the mountain I have become so accustom to seeing.

Favourite Workshop in Vredilus: Peer Pressure

One of my early workshops at Vredilus was on peer pressure, I think it was the first topic I talked about there. It involved a match up activity, simply words, definitions and pictures. But with a group of 35 teenage girls with big personalities it was a huge success to see them work together in teams to complete the task.
Something I haven’t seen again in my time here at this facility. Although my workshop this week on Refugee’s involved one of the girls remembering what the UN is. I mention the UN in almost every workshop I do, and when I ask in the other places no one can remember even now what it is. But one girl not only remembered but later in the workshop said ‘we should treat everyone as humans no matter where they come from – with respect!’ this was the best thing to hear.

Favourite Workshop in Lindelani: Dancing

I don’t have a favourite workshop in Lindelani but my favourite part of the workshops we do there is the music. We start every workshop with a group game, then present the information whilst having group discussions, ending with music to chill. In theory the music also gives time for the information to sink in, but I think this is very much in theory rather than reality!
Of all the places the boys at Lindelani always get the most involved when the speaker comes on. Whether they are having a dance off all standing in a circle cheering each other on or doing their own thing in their own space it is fabulous to watch. No matter how the workshop has gone this always brings a smile to my face.

Favourite Workshop in Bonnytoun:

You are going to think I am crazy but my favourite workshop at Bonnytoun was last week in the blue group. We were doing the Refugee and Migration topic, talking about xenophobia a view the majority of them understand and carry without hesitation. Whilst the workshop started optimistically with the boys looking at photos of Refugee camps around Africa and saying they wouldn’t want to live there, and they would help refugees it certainly didn’t end that way.

After talking about legal vs illegal immigration and the difference between a migrant and a refugee I finished by asking them what they would do in a refugee crisis if they were president?

You will not be able to guess the response they confidently gave me.

I was told they would take the refugees as personal slaves, the men would be given drugs to sell – they said it was okay for the men to make money on the side for themselves during this process as long as the majority of the money went to them. The women would keep home and cook for everyone (really encouraging to see the presentation on women’s rights and gender stereo types has sunk in!) and the children would be fed until they were old enough to join one or the other.

I said that funnily enough no world leader that I was aware of is currently taking this approach, they said ‘we know Amy but you asked us what WE would do if WE were running the country.’

At this I had to laugh.

After assuring them they wouldn’t get my vote, I had to step back and appreciate that these young boys were thinking about their opinion and articulating their honest view in response to my question. Whilst obviously I wish they had said we would welcome them with open arms and support them in rebuilding their lives in South Africa that was always a long shot.

They look at people who are different to them and instantly judge, many of them said they would shoot a refugee on sight. This breaks my heart on so many levels, both for the victims of their views of which there are many, but also for their absoluteness in their kill or be killed attitude.

So why was this my favourite workshop? Because they engaged! They listened to the information and formulated opinions, they heard both sides of the argument and decided where they stood. I may be on the opposing side every time but for them to care enough about what I am saying to form an opinion is in itself a success. At the end of every workshop we have to write a report, stating the topic, what we did, how it was received and suggestions and tips – for this workshop my suggestion was to keep going. Keep talking about the difficult topics, keep giving information and hope that one day the information about everyone being a human being deserving of dignity and respect will hit home. Until then we must keep going.

Perhaps I would not have been able to write this way earlier in my trip but this is my mind set as I leave. Keep going and keep hoping that education will bring change in these people’s lives.

This is an activity I found whilst doing research for the Amnesty workshops I did at Alderbrook and have used it in all my refugee workshops, think it is such a brilliant resource. Encourage you to spend a few minuets making the decisions refugee families are having to take - http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32057601

Favourite Workshop in St Anne’s: Public Speaking

I love talking. This will not come as a surprise to anyone. Nor I suspect will the fact that I enjoy analysing and unpicking the way others do public speaking. So to do a workshop on this meets my idea of fun.
Last week I did a workshop at St Anne’s on communication, covered verbal and non -verbal communication and how to plan a talk. We ended the workshop by asking the women to plan and give a 2 minute talk on something they were passionate about (used a lot of the techniques Lesley Cheese taught me a couple of years ago in her workshop! Thank you!).
It was brilliant to see these shy women stand up in front of the group and share. Several of them spoke about their children or family, one lady spoke about why Fathers should have a role in their children’s lives and one on her previous life as a paramedic. All of them were so surprised at the end that they had managed to do it, am so proud of them.
Not looking forward to saying goodbye this week. Unfortunately this week will not only be my final workshop there but also the end of the connection between Projects Abroad and St Anne’s. So pleased I was able to attend in my time here, wish future volunteers could.

I spoke about Mia – I said Mia is my younger sister by 7 years, she loves twirling in pretty dresses and is currently doing her grades in ice skating. I also mentioned the tremendous role she played in my study, couldn’t have got my grades without all those mind map sessions and walks round Dorridge. LOVE YOU!

Favourite Church: Every Nation

Finally my favourite church, I have now been to 9 different churches but sort of 10 because I went to a Hillsong Service and conference service at a different venue.

But my favourite service in all of this took place at the Baxter Theatre with the Every Nation Church, the same church my home group comes from. It was last Sunday, which is Mother’s Day in South Africa and it turns out most of the world apart from the UK and the talk was about empowering women. Was so powerful to hear about the stereotypes and cultural pressure on women in South Africa to be wives and mothers. In addition to this the negative assumptions that would be placed on a Father if they had ‘too much’ of a role in looking after their children. On top of this the limitations the church place on women, all being broken down in one talk with amazing biblical grounding! So pleased I chose to go to this service.

Before the talk even begun, I was in awe. I don’t know if I have ever experienced anything like it before, the sound of enthusiastic African men and women on stage singing their hearts out, layering their voices and dancing was nothing short of incredible. So wish I had filmed some of it, but didn't want to blink and miss part of the experience. 

There are so many other moments and experiences I could mention in this list! Can't wait to catch up with friends and family when I am home and talk in even more detail about my time in South Africa.

Prayer requests:

- To really step back and notice the details and individuals in the projects this week, focus on remembering this experience as best I can.

- For goodbyes to go as smoothly as possible, especially on Friday when I say goodbye to a lot of the friends I have made here.

- Safe travelling for Mum, Dad and Mia as they fly from Heathrow on Friday evening. 

- Safe travelling for Tom as he flies from Port Elizabeth on Monday morning.

- A brilliant family holiday that celebrates my time here and begins the tough transition home. 

A side note LEA is back! YAY! I am no longer the only volunteer on social justice.

Thank you for making it to the end of my eighteenth blog post, have a lovely week! x