Top 5 Successes of the Pienaar Project 2015

We had three brand new homestays this year with local partners in the heart of Pienaar's community. Volunteers all had an overwhelmingly positive experience in their homestays. They noted this as one of the best parts of their project experience as they were able to integrate into the local community and become part of the family.

UK volunteer Tabi commented, 'Every opportunity Clara gets she is involving us in the community and dressing us up in different tribal outfits - Clara and her family have been so welcoming'

Homestay host Clara was sad to see the volunteers grow throwing them a farewell party, 'We’re just like a family here, they live just like us and have adapted to everything.'

- pictured Tabi and April with host Clara.

Our Volunteer Partnership Programme was better than ever this year. Together our Project Coordinators and partner organisation Oneness Revival Team (ORT) successfully recruited two national volunteers, Zanele and Xolile. Both national volunteers contributed hugely in their placements working alongside the UK volunteers, sharing ideas, methods and cultures.

Zanele is now applying for a teaching course, 'I have gained valuable experience in working with children and working with people from outside South Africa - it has been so nice working with everyone in the team'

Xolile has continued volunteering with ORT and hopes to apply for a teaching degree, 'Seeing the kids raising their hand every lesson to show they understand was an achievement every day for me - I have really enjoyed the experience.'

- pictured UK volunteer Billy and his partner Xolile.

The Project Coordinators and volunteers successfully continued our partnerships with local stakeholders in the form of non-formal placements. Our partnership with Msogwaba Library was strengthened with the volunteers running a homework club for local young people. The project coordinators ran several life skills workshops focusing on customer service and conflict management.

The team also ran a careers day with speakers from local organisations and lots of information on different careers sectors to engage their students into thinking about their futures.

- pictured UK volunteers Billy and James at Msogwaba Library

This year our organiser, volunteer April, hosted Pienaar's Got Talent - a talent show for all four placement primary schools. Working alongside educators each school held auditions and came together for the final show. Students not only displayed their gifts of singing and dancing, with both modern and traditional dance categories but also their writing skills performing poetry and story readings. The team received positive feedback from staff and students with one grade 7 student commenting, ‘The volunteers helped us to display our talents. They showed us to be proud of our talents and not to be shy’.

‘The talent show was so special, to see the learners displaying their unique talents on stage and bringing the community together.’ - Busi, from Lifa Lesive, a local NGO.

The team worked hard to strengthen our long-standing partnerships with ORT, formal placement schools and our non-formals, e.g. Msogwaba Library. They also continued to work with local NGO partners SANCA, GRIP and Love Life inviting them into placement schools to run sessions on topics including life skills, drug abuse, and sexism. To find out more about our partners visit our website: http://tenteleni.org/our-partners/

They also worked hard to create new partnerships. PCs met with local organisation Lifa Lesive who run vocational skills workshops in local colleges to tackle youth unemployment. They discussed establishing how best to create links between them and our partner schools so students could benefit from their workshops. It is an exciting partnership to go forward in 2016!

- pictured project coordinators Ellie and Rachel with long-standing partner and freedom fighter Patrick Chamusso.