Vote for Global Volunteers!

From November 15 - November 21 the Star Tribune newspaper is holding a contest entitled 'Full Page Project' amongst MN non-profits and the winner will receive a free full page ad in the paper!

Please vote for us this week ~ you can vote once per hour!

Here is the link where you can register and then vote for Global Volunteers (please copy and paste the link): http://startribune.upickem.net/engine/Registration.aspx?contestid=22815

We would also encourage you to pass this link along to your family and friends, and post it on your personal Facebook page. Let us know if you have any questions, and remember voting goes until 5 p.m. Sunday!

Thank you for your support.

Team Journal, November 15

Monday, November 15, 2010 (Mark)

Laura, Tai, and Mar went off to the tree project and with Sikho, Lumkile, Hilda, Nokhaya (2 ladies) and Mzuyanda dug 20 post holes and 20 posts and braces for 5 tree plantings In the afternoon Tai, Olga, Laura, and Mark spent several hours in the Bakery “designing” the water supply system and making measurements. Later it was back to the Guest House for “tutoring” and games. Lily went off to Grade 1 at Mbange and Susan & Betty went to Grade 4 there. Lily had her class until 1PM. At 4PM, it was dance practice with the boys. In 4th grade Susan found that half the class misunderstood how to draw a 5cm line. They were lost with perimeter. But they had a fun time with hand sanitizer before lunch. After dinner, we had a visit from the President and VP of the boys club. They had a very well thought out and detailed plan and request for assistance from GV. Also, Wilfred, a gentleman from a nearby village met with the team and Olga for possible assistance in the future. The night was topped off with a very vigorous rain, lightning, and wind storm that ripped the door off the outside cabinet.

Message of the Day: (Lily)
"Make the most of your life as meaningful as possible, that you think less about your own concerns, and more of others. In doing so, you will find you enjoy peace and happiness yourself." Dalai Llama

Team Journal, November 12: A Creative Entry!!

Friday, November 12, 2010 (Susan)

Off went Betty, Lily, and I
To preschool with Mrs. Gebsai
Songs to sing
Games to play
See time go quickly by

Older children, six to ten
Had sums practice, then
Memory card games
Catching a ball
Coloring with pencils again

The most favorite play
Was the balloons, I’d say
On which Betty drew
Flowers, stars, and suns
For we “teachas”, a fun day!

Our labor team was free
As happy as could be
With Mark, Laura, and Tai
Sikho, Mzuayanda, and Mr. L
To fix cages around each tree

Holes repaired in net wire
Wit gloves, hammer, and pliers
Topped by wire with barb s
All hauled by wheelbarrow
Don’t you know they were tired

Ah, Friday, end of the work week
Driving through potholes deep
For our stay at Coffee Bay
With hot showers to enjoy
Watch out for the sheep!! Beep! Beep!

Message of the Day: (Mark)
You can out distance that which is running after you, but not what is running inside you (Rwandan Proverb)

Team Journal, November 10

Wednesday, November 10, 2010 (Lily)

We left the Guest House exactly at 8:45 AM and our first stop was the Mandela Museum at Mthatha. It took us an hour to reach the place. There were only 7 of us who visited the place. That included Tai, Olga, Mark, Susan, Laura, Betty, and yours truly. This is what I learned after the museum. Let me quote what Mandela said about his country. “My country is rich in the minerals that lie beneath its soil, but I have also known that the greatest wealth is its people, finer than the purest diamonds”. He added, he can only rest for a moment for with freedom comes responsibilities and he dare not linger for his long walk is not yet ended. I was really impressed by Mandela. Then, the group separated and went in different places. Mark, Tai and Laura went to the bakery and then to buy materials in order to fix a leaking faucet. Tai and Olga must have gone to a grocery too and the three of us (Susan, Betty, and I) went to a department store to look for school supplies, battery for my flashlight. It took us a long time to find the right battery. Our guide thought it had to be Duracell, but quite the contrary. With Susan’s help, she suggested Ever Ready battery could replace Duracell. So, one problem was solved. Then Betty went to a fabric store together with me. From there we separated and I joined Susan who was buying some school supplies and some soda and cookies. It was lunch break and our guide brought us to a coffee shop. We brought our lunch so we did not have to order. Then, the waitress approached us that we cannot sit in that place without ordering something. Luckily, Betty arrived and ordered a can of soda and that saved the embarrassment. Later, Mark came and Sue offered him soda which she bought from the supermarket. I’ve observed they are a loving couple. Then, we went to the bead shop with Betty and Laura. Betty bought a lot of stuff for her class in beading and sewing. Laura also bought something for herself. I did not realize Laura is a “Jack of all trades” and so is Betty. After the long day, we decided to leave for home. The rain stopped - for a while – and drizzled again. It was a day to remember because we were able to accomplish a lot of things despite the inclement weather. No time wasted. Most of all, each one in this Team 13 has something special to offer to the people of Malungeni and that includes our team leader too, Tai. Olga bought a lot of food on behalf of the youth and joined us in the van. Tai had our groceries and we all helped in bringing the stuff to our Guest House. Instead of relaxing upon arrival, we still wanted to do some dancing. Sue and I danced to Chatanooga Choo Choo to the music of Mark’s radio. Betty and Koena (our cook) joined us too. So, the day ended with everybody happy.

Message of the day: (Laura)
Development is about planting trees – even if you never sit under their shade (Rev. Spiwo Xapile)

A garden is one of the things in prison that one can control. To plant a seed, watch it grow, to tend it, and then harvest it, gave me a feeling of simple happiness (Nelson Mandela)

Team Journal, November 9

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 (Mark)

After 7AM breakfast, job assignments were made. Tai had administrative duties – report writing, budgeting, coordinating the new fence poles, and then swept goat “deposits” from the Community Center. Lily went to pre-school, where only 3 students were in class probably due to the bad weather. Betty went to Mbange Jnr Second School 4th grade. Bingo sight words were a big success. They worked on nouns/verbs and got locked in twice. The “instructor” did better than on the first day. Susan went to the same school 9th grade, where they had 24 students. They started with math, but soon said “we like to do English”. They also did logic games and reading. The last 20 minutes they entertained Susan with singing. Laura and Mark worked with Sikho, Pila, and Mzuyanda adding barbed wire higher on the tree planting cages until rained out about noon. Then, they went to the Bakery where they attempted to repair a leaky faucet and discussed the water supply and vent problems with Olga and Tai. As we were having an end of day discussion, we had a long visit with the local Police Commander, Kettaldas and his two assistants. They provided some Xhosa names: Tai = Nomvula (Rain Lady), Betty = Noxolo (Peace Lover), and Laura = Montombi (Good Lady). After their visit, Olga gave us another isi Xhosa phrase lesson. Then, Bonke, a male nursing student dropped in and we had a nice cultural exchange visit. After dinner, we played “musical chairs” with the electricity and candles due to the rainstorm.

Message of the Day: (Lily)
You can’t change everything, but you can always change something for the better, including the way you look at it.

Team Journal, November 8: First Day of Service!

Monday, November 8, 2010 (Susan)

Our first morning of work began with an ample breakfast of oatmeal, eggs toast, juice, tea, and coffee. We had a brief team meeting with the assignments for the day, The labor team Laura, Mark and Tai were the first off with wheelbarrows, they transported trees to the planting sites, about eight helpers from the village under the guidance of Sikho planted 16 trees. Wow!. Planters included Pila, a 17 year old student and Mzuyanda a young man with cerebral palsy. This was done on a 30 degree Celsius day, very impressive. Olga our hard working volunteer coordinator and a driver delivered the rest of us Lily, Betty and Susan to schools. Lily at Mbange school became the lone teacher of 28 Grade R students who were treated to reviewing the alphabet, numbers, singing and dancing “Here we go around the Mulberry Bush” Betty also at Mbange worked with Maxwell’s class of 5th and 6th graders. She was the lone teacher some of the time, teaching English, Betty was surprised at the level of English proficiency of the students, Expected was the students curiosity about her. Susan worked at Upper Mdumbi School with Mrs. Beauty’s 4th, 5th and 6th graders. These students were writing exams in Xhosa so Susan was an extra pair of eyes. The students are helpful and respectful to their teachers. The single long building of several classrooms was in need of repair but the teacher’s workroom had many cabinets of donated workbooks and supplies, the organization of which might make a future project.

As we all gathered back at the guest house to share experiences there was laughter and tiredness. But it was not the end of our adventure. A truck delivering bags of food was being unloaded and stacked so we volunteered to help. A serious wind and rain storm blew in which necessitated moving the food under shelter. Now we really feel part of this community.

Submitted by Susan

Team 13 Journal, November 6

1) Team Goals: Team 13’s goals:

• To have fun and work at the same time
• To contribute to community
• To experience community
• To share specific skills
• To make friends and build relationships

2) Characteristics of an Effective Team

• Every person has a voice
• Be flexible
• Team work – support each other
• Reach Consensus
• Communication/discussion
• Co-operation
• Understanding our differences
• Have same goals
• RESPECT
• Aggressive towards our goals
• Mean what you say, say what you mean
• Laugh
• Be willing to compromise
• Stay focused
• No cross talk