Our Beloved Malungeni

Friday July 30, 2010- Created by Tanya

Our last day in the community was full of goodbyes and wishes for a longer stay. Since the MDumbi school was closed for a fundraiser, Ismay and Richard joined Michelle, Valerie, Anya, Susan, Kate, Deborah, and Tanya at Mbange. Tanya interviewed the principal Mr. Sihalhi while the others taught final lessons to the much beloved students. The appreciation for having Global Volunteers at the school was quite evident with thank you cards written by the students. Requests from them as to when we will return and a surprise thank you party from the teacher’s where they pulled us out of the classroom, so that we could enjoy some treats and juice.

At the community centre, Holly sang and danced her way through her last day with the preschool. Cam and Andrew joined the gang in continuing to paint the ceiling of the community centre. This time they used paint brushes on long poles instead of the air compressor.

Next preparations were underway for the final celebrations as sandwiches were made, popcorn was popped, and guests arrived. We all showed our appreciation for these last two weeks with heart felt thank yous, singing, a fashion show, and a short play performed in Xhosa and English

Afterwards, sandwiches, cookies and popcorns were passed around and the hunger in the community was evident. At dinner, the guesthouse staff joined us and we were all able to serve them for once while they had a chance to eat a leisurly dinner.

Now it is off to pack and prepare to leave our beloved Malungeni.