Wow! What a trip!
So how did it go?
This trip surpassed all of my expectations. The volunteers; James, Simon and Tyrone, worked their socks off for the eight days and delivered a fantastic experience to the kids of Botswana. Initially each of the guys said that they were not sure how they could help or the value that they could add. They need not have worried because all of the work they did was appreciated and certainly very memorable.
What with the cinema experience and the daily activities, I’m not sure who got most out of the trip, the kids or the volunteers. Derek James the National Director of SOSCV orphanage’s said "the trip was a resounding success. The children thoroughly enjoyed all of the activities that we put on and the village mothers were pleased for the break, but also enjoyed the bead making". He was very impressed with the level of organisation and the effort that the guys put in to give the children a fantastic experience.
One of the highlights was creating a cinema and showing Monsters inc to the children in every village. If you can imagine that some of these children have never been to the cinema before and a few subjected to local television this was a real treat. The sweets were donated from the UK and drinks were provided by a local businessman who we managed to hijack for 500 carton drinks.
I cannot remember hearing so many children laughing at once and seeing the sheer joy and delight on their faces and the pleasure they got from simply watching this film. A big thank you to Tyrone from Genesis Cinema for providing the film and technology to make it happen.
You can get a flavour of our trip by looking at our pictures to see what happened at each of the villages. In addition I have created a travel log for a day by day account of what happened in each of the locations. This will give you a good indication of what to expect if you were to volunteer and come on our trip next year.
Building Project
We have just sent over £10,000 as part funding for the Project Volunteer house that is being built in Serowe. This house will house a further 15 children and 2 carers.
As you will see from the pictures of Serowe from last year to this year 5 new house have already been built housing 70 children and there are plans for a further four.
We need to raise in the region of a further £30,000 to complete the building and also fully furnish the house. The guys who went will all tell you that this is a worthwhile project and deserves the funds, and by supporting through PV you are guaranteed that all of the funds go direct to the building project and that you can at anytime go and see the progression of what we are doing. Transparency is the key here and I am very proud of what we have achieved this year.
We are still looking for donations to assist the project and pay for ongoing support of the children so if you have a spare £1 or more please feel free to donate online at the following
http://www.justgiving.com/projectvolunteer/donate
Events
Please check back to this website for details of up and coming events, we have in the planning phase; PV golf day, annual ball on the 11th July 2009 a cinema evening and of course next years trip.
If you are new to this website and want to find out more or have any questions about Project Volunteer or wish to help in any way then please leave a message on the 'contact us' page.
On behalf of the committee, the children and SOSCV team in Botswana I would like to thank you for your continued support.
Kind regards
David Villa-Clarke