Literary Expeditions: Two Weeks of Novelty

Molo!

I hope that you are all doing well wherever you may be in the world! I am currently in the GRS office in Port Elizabeth during my lunch break sneaking a couple of minutes to update the blog. I know as the weeks progress and the work picks up this will not be possible, so I am taking advantage now:) This particular rendition is dedicated to my first two weeks in Port Elizabeth. I want to let you know how I am transitioning to a completely new culture and lifestyle. However, before diving in I want to share a quote from Nelson Mandela.
“No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite.”
-Madiba
This quote resonates with me as I have already seen the lingering effects of apartheid in PE and my prayer is that every circumstance and situation I am put in I'm not judging but I'm loving.

Look at it, read it, think on it, memorize it (if you desire), commit it.

Day One

The first day of the internship we came into the office 8am sharp ready to conquer the world. However, we also knew in the back of our minds that was not exactly going to happen. It would take time to acclimate to the office and learn exactly how GRS functions in Port Elizabeth. We met with our site coordinator, Siya; who is all smiles, but all business. He expects the most out of everyone and we were no exception even though we are just starting to orient ourselves. He gave us a small outlook of what office life is like, our roles, and expectations, and then answered any questions we had. We then had a chance to meet the rest of the staff which include the Finances Coordinator and three CPC's (Community Project Coordinators) who all primarily work out of the office. They are a fun-loving bunch who love to crack jokes and could not get over my last name. Husbaaaannnddd!!!

I was then tasked with driving (which has become a theme the first couple of days) a CPC and two coaches (I'll explain their role a little bit later) to a work site for an intervention. GRS primarily works with children in schools, but sometimes we get the chance to work with businesses that want their employees to be educated with our curriculum. The business, which picks and sells oranges, was a 90 minute drive away. The drive was a bit bumpy as I got used to South African driving in a little Toyota Spark, with only one incidence of driving off the road:), but I didn't stall out, so hey that's a victory in itself!

When we showed up to the site all of the employees were playing soccer, and we were told they were on their lunch break and did not want to participate in our program. They said it was unfair that they participate on their own time. They said we needed to talk to their management (who coincidentally was not on site) and come back another time during their work hours. So, a 90 minute drive, a quick 5 minute talk, and that was that. I was hoping to sit in on my first intervention, but if that wasn't going to happen I wanted to get in on that soccer game! However, it was not to be and we made our long trek home.

At the end of the say I got to drive the staff home from work and got to see all of the townships that we primarily work in. We are currently working in 5 townships: Zwide, New Brighton, Motherwell, Northern Area, and Utinhage. It was very humbling to see the townships and definitely put things into perspective. However, the communities are vibrant with life and it is commonplace to see men leaning on fences talking with each other, or kids running around the streets in complete bliss. I am also proud to know that most of the GRS staff hail from these townships and cannot wait to hear their individual stories and unique experiences growing up. I have been reading a book by a Zulu (he dubs himself a Zulu warrior) that was raised in a Durban township who now lives in the suburbs. He says the relationships formed in the townships are completely different to those of the suburbs. In the townships, the entire community knows and interacts with each other, while in the suburbs you are lucky to know a neighbor or two. Thought provoking question of the day: How many people do you know in your neighborhood?? If the answer is less than four, go out and meet someone new today!

Meeting the Coaches

On Friday (my third day on the job) we had the opportunity to meet all of the coaches that are a part of GRS in PE. There are 38 coaches in PE and their job is to directly teach the curriculum to the kids at school. As an icebreaker we played a game called When I went to Joburg... Everyone stands around in a circle and says what they are going to bring with them to Joburg. Then the next person goes and says what the previous person is going to bring and then what they are going to bring, so on and so forth. It was great fun hearing the crazy possessions people decided to bring. Some people used xhosa to describe their possession which made it extra hard trying to remember them all. My possession was a xhosa dictionary which brought smiles and laughs to the group.

The coaches are the crux of the GRS program. There is an extensive application process to become a coach (that I will hopefully be a part of). If the individual is accepted as a coach they are given a rigorous, 5 day training to learn about GRS, how to engage the curriculum with the kids, and how to make a lasting impact in the community.
Hopefully, as an intern I will have the chance to really get to know the coaches. There is a new program that was designed by a former intern to help coaches with any extracurricular training they desire. So, some coaches can come into office hours with the interns and learn how to right a Curriculum Vitae, or learn how to type, or learn to interview for future jobs. So hopefully I will be able to be a part of this new program.

My Role in GRS

Siya asked the three interns to come up with expectations for our year and try and think what we thought our job descriptions would be for the year in Port Elizabeth. So I will share with you my understanding of what I will be doing this year!

Methods and Evaluation Intern-Matthew Husband

These are the expectations of the Methods and Evaluation Intern in Port Elizabeth (the most productive site in South Africa (yeah I said it):

· Send statistical reports from every township on the first Monday of every month to Cape Town. These reports should be fully completed without blemish.

o It is my responsibility to physically collect these reports from the coaches even if they do not bring them into the GRS PE office.

· Coaches want updates on their individual progress and the progress that each school is making.

o It is my responsibility to set up a meeting with the coaches about the reports that I send to Cape Town.

o It is my responsibility to point out any “gaps” or areas of improvement for the coaches based on the reports; however relying this information to the coaches needs to be done in a positive manner that will call for change, not in a manner that will be un-motivating for the coaches

· Create detailed description of the results for each school that we have interventions. These results must be relayed to the principal to allow him to see the progress that his students have made.

o In the past we have had trouble building capacity for the schools themselves. We want our impact to go longer than when our coaches are physically at the school. If a detailed report is sent to the principals they can continue the work we have done with the teachers in the school

§ It is just as important to teach the principals about our program as it is to teach the students. The principals will have a much longer impact than we will ever have

· Inaugurate a monthly meeting with the GRS staff in the office. This meeting should give an overview of the reports for each month. This meeting should be similar to the meeting with the coaches and should include the report that will be sent to Cape Town.

o It is my job that the coaches and the GRS staff are on the same page. It would not be productive for the coaches to have information that the staff does not have or vice versa.

· Continue to develop the Skillz Bafana Curriculum with VIP. This curriculum was started with Will Devon-Sand last year and needs to be continued and improved upon.

o It is my job to not only work with VIP, but coordinate Will’s vision for the program

· Help out wherever needed in the office

o Make coffee

o Make Photocopies

o Drive staff to schools

o Drive staff to the bank

o Bring energy and enthusiasm to the office on a cold Tuesday morning when no one wants to be at workJ

Here are a few pictures of my house, so you can understand where I will be leaving the for the next year!