#ubunye

During the Easter holiday my mum and I decided to do Alfred Wainwrights Coast to Coast walk to help raise money for the Ubunye project, in the end we raised around £500. We started walking from St Bees to Ennerdale. We had to walk up Dent Hill which was incredibly steep. At the top of Dent hill we could see the Mountains of Mourne in Ireland. Our first campsite was in the Fox and Hounds garden over looking a graveyard, it was -7 degrees. The next day we had to walk to Rosthwaite and we almost had to call the mountain rescue. We had to climb over Scarth gap instead of Loft Beck because of ice, but Scarth Gap had snow up to our waist! We met some other Coast to Coasters and walked with them for a while and we kept bumping into them at different times. Another cold night camping. The following day was to Patterdale where we had another cold night on a campsite by ourselves. I was looking forward to the next day as we had booked a B&B, warmth! Then from Shap we had to walk to Orton, the campsite was owned by a lovely older couple and again we had the campsite to ourselves. Then it was off to Kirkby Stephen where we followed about 10 miles of dry stone walls! We stayed in a youth hostel but I was ready to go home. In the town we saw 8 parrots flying around that belonged to a man who lived a few miles out of town. I left in the morning, but my mum carried on to the end, Robin Hoods Bay.

Day 1 - We arrived in camp at Camp Africa, Cape Town just before lunch time on Sunday 10th February 2013 After a quick lesson on how to put up our tents and a light lunch off we went for a hike up to Cape Point to visit the Cape of Hope followed by a visit to the Penguin Colony where the unique African Penguins reside in their unusual surroundings…Sand !! On our return to camp we grouped into teams of four to be camp cooks where we would help Sophie (our cook) prepare and cook all our meals.  Exhausted we went to bed at 9.30 for an early start the next day.

Day 2  - We visited the historic Table Mountain & Robben Island The cable car took us high up into the clouds to walk along this beautiful mountain bustling with nature, flowers, shrubs and small animals. We took a short boat ride to Robben Island, we had a guided tour and were brought up to speed about the history of some of the prisoner’s lives and Nelson Mandela’s time there.

At the end of the day we all gathered for circle time to reflect on the day’s events then off to bed we went.

Day 3 We were on the move to a different camp site, we all had the challenge of taking down our tents, packing up our belongings and heading for the road.  A short drive away was our next stop to Storms River Campsite in Tsitsikamma. This campsite was situated right on the beach edge. 

After we set up camp we headed for a walk over some interesting terrain, a nature reserve and three wobbly bridges for a short visit to Boulders Beach.  On our return to camp and after circle time 17 very tired students and 4 very tired staff retired to their tents listening to the waves crashing against the rocks as we all fell asleep under the very beautiful Milky Way. Day 4 Up and early the next day we travelled to Canopy Tours with Stormsriver Adventures at Tsitsikamma, where we zipped through the tree tops learning about some of the ancient trees of South Africa,  some of which were 650 years old.

Day 5  On the move again. We dismantled our tent and took the long 9 hour drive to Port Elizabeth, our final destination; we were all excited about meeting the children from Mboliselo School, but first we visited the township of Motherwell. We were very emotional when we saw the poverty and challenge this community and its children faced as they try to live their lives.

Day 6 Work at Mboliselo School. We first laid our eyes on the waste ground that was to become a fantastic full size sports field. We all gasped as we realised the heavy task in hand. We spent all day clearing away the boulders and rocks that covered this vast space.

Day 7 We needed help on this project and a trip to Amakala Wildlife reserve should help with some friendship building as we took 17 Mboliselo students with us.  All the students paired with each other, shared lives and chatted about each other and the much talked about sports pitch.

Now geared up, fired up and ready to make that difference. Let the work begin.

Organised and orderly work had begun. Wheelbarrows full of top soil , rakes to evenly distribute it and the sound of singing from everyone, then the bell went and suddenly we were bombarded by over a hundred local school children, some as young as four or five. Some with no shoes, all with no gardening gloves they ran to us picking up spades and rakes, we couldn’t believe how strong and fast these children were and how hard they worked. We realised, the children were desperately trying to help us create their dream sports field. For four days we all worked very hard as a team, both Chaucer students and Mboliselo students. Gradually the sports pitch was coming together. Bit by bit we cleared the rocks, raked and scattered top soil and laid hardy turf in a chequer board style surface to encourage speedy growth onto the rest. We are told that within three weeks the children will be able to play on the sports pitch and have some well-deserved recreation and sports activity time. Work complete! We all looked back at what we had achieved together. How well we have worked as a team to achieve this massive task. After a fantastic farewell ceremony from Mboniselo School and tents packed away for the final time, it was time to head home on that 24hour journey back to our very privileged lives.  Challenging experiences and wonderful memories had by all.  See you soon Mboliselo School.

On Saturday 9th February students and staff left to fly to Africa for our second ‘Ubunye’ expedition returning on Sunday 24 February.  The project links the Parson Cross community with a community in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.  Chaucer, partner primary schools and local business, churches and pubs/clubs together raise money and awareness of the challenges faced by people living in a South African township.

Some students involved in the Ubunye project were invited to talk to Radio Presenter Sarah Major about their expedition to South Africa in February 2013.

Sarah interviewed two very nervous but excited students Ashley Mercer and Shannon Leggitt. They held their nerves as the ‘on air’ button was released. Sarah recorded them talking about the project, how they think it will change them and what they think will be the most enjoyable part of the visit to South Africa and what they have been doing to raise money for the expedition.

Sarah’s relaxed approach soon made Ashley and Shannon very comfortable and confident as they explained their own thoughts and expressed their excitement.