For personal reasons I am super amped to get to Buccaneers Backpackers at Cintsa – reasons that are, I confess, unrelated to this trip. My boyfriend G is meeting me there and I drive like the woman on the mission I am. Needless to say I miss the off ramp in my haste and become not a little frustrated in the process – I haven’t seen the man since mid January because of his work.
I eventually make it to the Buccs road and despite my eagerness to find my man am still blown away by the beautiful view that greets me as a crest the last rise before driving down into the backpackers. The photos speak for themselves. I track G down in our little en suite chalet and even though the kind of luxury I found at Amakhala isn’t of course in evidence I definitely rate this spot as a great place for a little romance! So chilled, so beautiful. “˜Our’ place is an en-suite double with doors opening out to a small wooden deck that same amazing view of the beach
I won’t go into details about the time I spend with G, but I will say that this backpackers has some great spots, including the bar and the big breakfast room, and my fav – the pool with its own poolside bar and pizza oven. The food is yummy and plentiful, and the people we meet are very cool – especially Sal, and Sean Price and Mike Denison, who have a hand in the running of the place and of the affiliated volunteer programme Volunteer Africa 32° South (VA32) which is FTTSA accredited.
On the Saturday evening, after a relaxed day in which we explore the surrounding area, have lunch at the lekker little Barefoot Café in Cintsa East and wander along the river at Gonubie, we attend the launch dinner / fundraiser event for the Wild Walk – an FTTSA, Friends of Chintsa and WESSA supported 30 day walk along the Wild Coast to “raise awareness and funds to support VA32’s existing projects and future schemes that will directly improve educational standards and facilities for the learners and communities of the Wild Coast.”
We both really find the guest speakers’ presentations inspirational and by the end of the evening I’m wishing I had another month “˜free’ after this trip to join the walk!
Here we also encountered the Big Green E-Machine – a Friends of Cintsa / VA32 initiative. A green (of course) bus has been converted into a mobile computer lab, run on alternative energy, which will visit rural schools to teach basic computer skills together with ecology. This is related to the VA32 Wild Coast Schools Project which builds permanent computer labs at local rural schools where this is a viable option.
Sunday we chat to Sal, Mike and Sean and realise that my checking out the VA32’s schools programme isn’t really possible on a weekend, so they persuade me with ease to stay a little later on Monday so I can spend time at the school and learn more about the various community projects. So G and I just relax, swim and have a killer breakfast at a charming farm style eatery, Tea in the Trees, run by VA32 volunteers.
Volunteer Africa
On Monday morning I meet Mike and some of the VA32 Volunteers at the Africa Heartlands offices in Cintsa East. (For clarity’s sake, the following three organizations work together as follows: African Heartland is the tour company, Friends of Cintsa is the NPO and Volunteer Africa is the volunteer programme. All three work together as a cohesive team to Get Things Done, with some involvement from WESSA). Here I also am introduced to Mikee and Jo Ford, two long-term volunteers who are using their experience and skills in education to head up the Wild Coast Schools’ Project. They are also the co-coordinators of the computer literacy programme, a key component of the Schools’ Project. The entire syllabus runs from Grade 1 to Grade 7, and is based on ecological and environmental education (as with the Big Green E-Machine) so pupils learn about their environment (including home environment and hygiene) while absorbing PC literacy skills – genius! Mikee Ford shows me one of the WCSP’s Volunteer Guide Books and I can immediately see that the programme is detailed, professional and very clear. This is important because it means that the volunteers who come to work at the schools have a definite guide as to what to expect, and what is expected of them. I think back to what Paul from Calabash Trust said about many volunteer programmes being problematic because of a lack of this kind of information and structure. “A number of the other community school projects in the Eastern Cape have shown interest in our syllabus and programme,” Mike Denison puts in from his corner of the office. “They can see the value in what we do and are keen to use the same materials in their own schools.” Later out he tells me that the value the Fords bring each week to the programme is worth an enormous amount, due to their skills as well as their passion and energy. They work 7 days a week sometimes, “We could never pay for that kind of work, from professionals such as Mikee and Jo.” It seems to me that it would make sense for other schools to also benefit from their hard work in the greater community. I hear that Amakhala has already been in touch with VA about the Schools Project. Plans are also afoot for an Adult Literacy programme in the Cintsa community.
Mike and I head out for the nearest school with which the WCSP is involved – Cintsa Primary School. En route Mike fills me in on some of the other projects that VA and their associates have been involved in locally. There’s Project Cleanup, the results of which we see as we drive through the village. In the past there was a lot of litter throughout the village, and no regular waste removal service. Mike and a team of volunteers started the project in 2008 by simply going in and starting to collect all the “˜historical’ litter that had accumulated over time. After a while some locals joined in. Next step, blue plastic bins were put up along the streets and slowly the community started making use of these for their rubbish. VA started handing out refuse bags and arranged a weekly refuse removal from the local municipality and today the result is one of the cleanest rural settlement areas you’re likely to see.
Other projects include a feeding scheme that has provided school children with 80 000 meals since 2009, a clinic, computer literacy support for High Schools on an intermittent basis and of course the Big Green E-Machine.
We stop in at the new United Cintsa Sports Club. This comprises a leveled soccer field, a soon-to-be leveled netball field, a club house with change rooms and an area for the local boxing club to train. The funds for this came from a London-based Ad agency’s football team (Mother London) who came out to play local soccer clubs during 2010 – this is a legacy project following on from that successful visit.
When we arrive at the school Mike gives me a quick guided tour and then we head towards one of the classrooms where I am to interview a teacher, Nokumphumla. As we approach her classroom, Mike turns to me, “You’re about to meet one of the most amazing people in this country,” he says seriously.
The little children seated at their brightly coloured plastic tables stare at us as we enter but the pretty woman walking towards us has a big smile and she greets Mike like a long lost friend. Over the course of the interview I discover that Nokuphumla was raised by her uncles (her mother was a domestic worker) and as a member of a large family grew up looking after many small children – and she has 5 of her own. She hails from Maclear but her husband is from Cintsa and she is the only person in the village to have a Grade 12 certificate. Now she is studying towards a diploma in Early Childhood Development and as well as being a founder member of the Friends of Cintsa she holds the Education Portfolio together with Mike. She’s come a long way, and apart from pouring her energy into the children in her classroom she also houses abused children at her own home and is involved in many other aspects of village life. “Wherever you look, there you’ll find Phumla quietly getting on with the job at hand,” Mike tells me.
“My dream for the school is for better quality education, and for more dedicated teachers in all our schools. I love my work, and I feel that I am making a difference here,” Nokumphula tells me with shining eyes.
Find Out More:
Buccaneers Backpackers: http://www.cintsa.com/
Friends of Chintsa: http://www.friendsofchintsa.org/
Volunteer Africa: http://www.volunteerafrica.co.za/
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