As 2011 has come, so too has a new placement site for me. Over a week ago, I was at home with my family relaxing when Mamoruti came to me with an interesting organization she found while ‘Googling’ organizations in the Bloemfontein area. I was quickly intrigued and began clicking around the website. After fruitless attempts of getting in contact with organizations before the holidays, I decided to call the Director the next day instead of emailing. So the next day I called Peter Howe, one of the founders of the Tshepo Foundation. To my surprise, Peter was able to meet me that afternoon to discuss things. After about two hours of meeting with Peter and his wife Petro, I was officially offered placement as a volunteer with the Tshepo Foundation and Judea Harvest.
Tshepo Foundation is an organization that runs Tshepo Day-Care for children 2-6 years old, as well as conducts in orphan care and community upliftment. The Foundation regularly provides food to the surrounding community, as well as assistance to other crèches in the area. Judea Harvest is an organization that Peter works with. They work with pastors primarily in the townships who are without a church structure. Judea Harvest provides the pastor’s with large tents in order to have a place to worship. They also conduct weekly computer classes at the Tshepo crèche in which they go over basic computer skills as well as software regarding scripture.
This week was my first full week with Tshepo. There is so much to do, and I have already done activities ranging from cutting down trees to teaching a Grade R (kindergarten) class. As tshepo is a Tswana word meaning ‘hope,’ I hope to learn and interact in solidarity with the staff and children at Tshepo for the next several months. I’m excited for what lies ahead and can’t wait to share more stories with you.
To visit the Tshepo Foundation website, please visit http://www.tshepofoundation.co.za/
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