Many of you reading this will already know this but for those that may not, here goes. On the 10th September I will be leaving to spend a year in Botswana as a volunteer with Project Trust at the Bana Ba Metsi school in the North West of the country. This school has 55 boys and young men between the ages of 11-20 and my role, along with my partner Archie, will be to teach basic numeracy and literacy, organising activities and sports clubs as well as doing anything around the school we can help with. I am incredibly EXCITED for the year that lies ahead and although I am almost certain it will be an incredibly challenging year, I'm sure it will also come with huge rewards. I hope to use this blog to update my family, friends and donors, who helped with my fundraising, on how my year in Botswana is going, bringing anyone who is interested along for the adventure (however I can't promise how regular updates will be).
It did not seem like almost a year ago that I was on the Isle of Coll for selection but being back there for training was another brilliant experience. I got to meet for the first time my partner Archie, who I will live and work with for the year, along with the other awesome volunteers going to South Africa, Swaziland and Hong Kong and my desk officer Laura, who hopefully will be out to visit us to see how we are getting on.
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| Me, Laura and Archie - the Botswana team! |
My excitement for going to Botswana grew while I was training. Although we are told of everything that could go wrong (to be able to avoid them happening - don't worry mum), I also met a few people who have been to Bana Ba Metsi and the way their eyes lit up when talking to me just showed to me what a special place and project it is. It made me feel even more thankful to have this chance to go there myself and try and make a positive difference, however small.
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The beautiful Isle of Coll
(taken by Archie) |
I just want to end my first post here with a huge thank you to everyone that helped me make this amazing opportunity a reality! It is in no way cliche to say I couldn't of done it without a lot of you. All this blog writing business is new to me, so I'm not promising story gold each time, but just to let people know what this year will bring.
Until the next one,
Ke tla go bôna kgantele (see you later).
