Back to normal..

Its taking me until today to get back into my normal swing of things back in Retford, although i have to say the experiences from our trip are constantly with me and the things i have learnt have changed me so much. I'm missing everyone like crazy and i cant wait till the de-brief day so we can all reunite again, i hope you are all ok :)
I want to thank everyone for making this possible as well, i mean everyone because without their help we all wouldn't of been able to have this oppurtunity and complete our mission. I want to thank Matt, Alex and Sam because they really looked after us out there and they really do care, they are amazing people.

Had an amazing trip and its hard to put my finger on how i feel at the moment, a mixture of exhaustion, sadness, relief and joy. Would like to thank everyone involved in making the trip possible and thanks to everyone on the trip because i feel i have made some friends for life :) x

We're home.

I cant quite put into words all what I want to say and explain but here's my attempt....

We are all back in England and it feels strange.
I think its going to take a couple of days for it to really sink into me what we have achieved as a team.
I'm so proud of us all, there's not enough words to describe how all 13 of us bonded from the first team building day to today when we all went our separate ways. I must admit, I feel quite lost without everyone!

Id like to thank NCHA, Build for Better lives, Habitat for Humanity,African Exposure and everyone who donated to this amazing 2 weeks from the bottom of my heart. I would especially like to thank Sam, Alex, Shaun and Matt, because with out them we would have been lost. There were always making sure that we had drunk water, put suncream on, got up on time, taught us and most importantly to me being there for us 24/7.

It has been an honor  to be one of the 9 service users to go and build a home for Princess, to renovate the school in shongewni and meet the people of Umtombo. Ive learnt so much about South Africa, its culture will stick with me for the rest of my live as will the people I have meet and shared the experience with.

I feel that these two weeks have changed me so much and I hope that in the future Build for Better Lives continues to do amazing things with other tenants in South Africa as it is the most amazing feeling in the world to be able to help people and know that as an individual you have made that difference in the world.

CONGRATULATIONS TEAM!!! we did it !!!!

 :)

It's over.

Today we finally got home after 24 hours stuck in Jo'berg. In some ways I'm glad to be home, see family and friends, but in others I miss the new friends and connections I have made throughout this unbelievable experience.
I have seen poverty at an all time low and helped create something magical for an amazing family and one hell of an inspirational woman, a place they can now call home. I have seen how one groups thoughts an ideas can expand and create a safe, carefree environment for amazing kids who deserve nothing but happiness. I have seen fantastic animals in their own environment, unharmed and free. Lastly, I have seen a learning environment that was so old and run down the spark and life within the rooms had disappeared. I have seen that building progress and transform into a safe, clean and happy environment, that children can be proud to learn in and call their school.

All this has happened to me and 12 other brilliant people in just 2 weeks.

In this world day in and day out we are so lucky and privileged we hardly notice and appreciate it. This experience has provided me with a whole new perspective. Thank you NCHA for this amazing once in a lifetime opportunity, thank you Sam, Matt, Alex and Shaun for helping us along this journey and thank you Habitat for Humanity. I hope this becomes a regular thing and can give other people the same amazing feeling i have felt throughout the entirety of this trip.

We made a difference.

WELL DONE EVERYONE!
xxxxx

We've only gone and done it!!!

Well what can i say. These past two week have been truly amazing. Don't get me wrong i have missed home but there is no feeling or words that can describe what the team have achieved over the past two weeks.

I am so proud of every single person that has given their all to this experience. The service users have worked really hard throughout the last two weeks, but i can honestly say that i am emotionally, physically and mentally exhausted and i feel that Sam, Matt and Budgie feel the same.

I just want to thank everyone who has followed the blog and shown and interest in our time in South Africa and we can not wait to share our stories, pictures and experiences with you all.

I can not describe what this experience has meant to us all, we have made a lot of friends, been exposed to the extremes; from the poverty and desperation of street children to driving through smoke filled roads due to the burning of sugar cane, and from Princess dancing with joy in her new home and the Principal singing our praises for completing our mission this week, to the hundreds of orphans and reality of deprivation, HIV, and poverty housing.

The successes we have made in this short time has only gone to highlight how much more needs to be done. Many people we have met here long for a better life, and it is up to those who can, and those who can afford to continue, one house at a time, the effort we, NCHA, Habitat and those others determined to eradicate poverty housing forever have already made.

WELL DONE ALL!!!! xx

The story of today (my birthday)

hello this is natalie speaking from the heart.....
so today began with the final day, we had to finish the 3 rooms which we managed successfully, as well as that massive accomplishment we had an afternoon barbecue and watched a cow being slaughtered and butchered in a traditional zulu ceremonial ritual in preparation for the pastor's marriage. I was treated to a happy birthday song from the local children which was absolutely great, there faces really made my day as they were smiling and singing to me...it has to be the best happy birthday song ever sung to me...after that we played football with the team at the centre which was a challenge but a good laugh at the same time. When the food was ready we sat and had our last meal in Africa together, and after that i was surprised with a birthday cake which topped my day up, the cake was lovely and i really appreciate the amount of effort everyone went to to make my birthday a great day, thank you every one, lots of love nat.

On behalf of the team (ash, nat,emma,tash, dan, tom, josh, ant and my self) for the opportunity that NCHA & BFBL have given us. We would also like to thank all are sponsors cause if it wasn't for them we don't think we would have been able to get as far as we did. The team would also like to thank all are team leaders (MAT, ALEX,SAM) if it wasn't for the team leader i think we wouldn't of stuck out the tasks set forth.and a very big thank u to Amon (HFH) and one final thank you to the African Exposure team (Gavin, Bob, Alfie and Carl) so thank you to everyone that gave us this experience and opportunity to do what we have been given. THANK YOU !!!!!!!!!!

i would like to take the time to thank NCHA and BFBL for the oppertunity that they have given me. It has made me realy think about a few things in life and it has given me a realy good feeling knowing that we have given a women called princess and her family a new home and redecortrating a school has realy put things into perpective for me. i am going to have to admit it but if it wasnt for NCHA and BFBL they wouldnt of given me this oppertunity and given me the idea of comeing back and doing training to join HFH and continue what i have started so from me i would like to give a big thank you to Nottingham community houseing and build for better lives for given me the final puck thanks.

Final thoughts

Well....what can you say. Truly amazing. Thank you to everyone involved in the steering group, those that donated, those that fundraised to make this trip possible - have just read Matts blog, and to be honest I can only repeat what he has said.
Matt has referenced the Service Users - may I take this opportunity to thank Matt and Alex for being simply wonderful and doing exactly what it said in the job description written some 10 months ago. Every support worker is special, but these 2 have a little cherry on top.
Also Shaun - my god can this guy graft - from the second we arrived on site, to the last out of the classroom today with brush in hand.
We have hundreds of photo's - will upload them all when we return.
Liz - you would love these classrooms - no interactive whiteboards - back to basic chalk and board.
Hollie - your right - I have not shaved - will wear the expedition beard on Monday - advanced apologies to Karen S for looking scruffy (more than usual)
David E - Sorry - may need more than one de-brief meeting - or at very least a full day.
Design Dept - What happends in Africa stays in Africa - Budgie was a 2 week nickname....Nah - go on ask him - then when he tells you what it meant - ask me for the truth.
Mother - thank you for all the commments - all wonderful - will get down soon.
Battery going - too many other people to mention - not enough time.

Job Done! The Ultimate Work Experience

JOB DONE!!!! Final day - Build for Better Lives, Mission Accomplished...

An amazing day today, I won't bang on about the day too much, I'll leave that to the rest of the team. I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank everyone involved, NCHA, Habitat, Sam, Amon, Carl, Alex H, Budgie, Pearl, Steve W, Gavin, Bob, Alfie, but especially our team of young people, who have gone well beyond our expectations and broke their backs to get the job done. I can't tell you how proud we are of them, it's always a gamble choosing a team of people you don't know, but they've all been absolutely brilliant, and have grown and developed so much in their own individual ways - it's just been an absolute pleasure to work alongside each and every one of them, and this experience has provided the opportunity to prove that they're perfectly able to achieve amazing things simply by giving them the chance, the trust, the freedom and responsibility to take the ball and run with it. Flying home tomorrow, see you all soon, lotsalove, Matt.

Day 2 Shongweni Primary

Day two at Songweni school - the whole team have grafted solidly today to get as much done on the three classrooms as humanly possible - compare this photo to the one yesterday - and we've done 3 of these rooms in two days, the third is nearly ready for the last coat of red, but there's plenty more to do. Doors need repairing and glossing, Budgie is doing a stirling job single handedly sorting out the partitioning walls up in the eaves, blackboards need painting, windows and frames need desperate attention, and we're hoping that we can leave the children with a bright and colourful mural to remember us by, so our last days work tomorrow will need a massive final push if we're to go out on a high. We've been treated to a few more examples of local cuisine today, Carl pulled over to the side of the road on the way to the village and grabbed us a stick of sugar cane, which the local kids munch on all day long like they're chewing on marshmellow - honestly, I nearly lost what teeth I have left just trying to get through it. Tasty though. For lunch we had a local Indian speciality, 'Bunny Chow' (Durban and the surrounding areas has the highest Indian/Asian population in the whole of the country), which is basically a hot curry served inside a hollowed out half-loaf of bread. Which was a challenge in the scorching hot mid-winter weather, halfway through a good days work, still most of us managed some of it, and Anthony managed his usual two (!)

The team are dog-tired, but determined to get the job done, and make sure we go out on a high, having achieved what we set out to do, and even more - we've all learned so much, and we've all stuck together and achieved much more than we'd hoped. We might not get a chance to enter another blog tomorrow - the plan is to finish the job on the school, and celebrate Nat's birthday at a local Shongweni community centre, so we'll be unlikely to find any wifi spots! Hopefully we'll get chance to drop you all a quick line before we fly. Thanks to all who've been following us, it's been good to receive your comments each night. One more final push tomorrow. Job's a good 'un.

Shongweni Primary School

We headed to the Shongweni primary school today to complete stage 2 of our epic adventure. Shaun (Budgie) has been to Shongweni before and with fellow NCHA staff members completed several houses very near to the school. Shongweni village is central to the wider area of Shongweni, which itself is named after the enormous table top mountain(not to be confused with the table top mountain in Cape Town) which dominates the breathtaking landscape (confusingly, the mountain is also called Shongweni).
We arrived on site and were met by Gavin, our host affiliate rep, and the school principle. The principle thanked us for our time and explained that the school had 1098 students with 28 staff members, and the majority of his 'learners' were from single parent families or are orphans, as the estimated rate of HIV/AIDS is 70% in the local area.
Our initial job was to clear the desks and chairs from the classrooms - all the chairs seem almost dollhouse like, and almost all were broken. We then discovered these classrooms were for Grade 1 and 2 - 7 year old to 9 year olds.
Only when the furniture was out did we realise the room was covered in dust - nothing like we have seen before - inches and inches of thick dust and cobwebs that took the entire team wearing face masks literally hours to shift with brooms, mops and sponges (I'm convinced I'll be coughing up bits of Shongweni school for the next 6 months).
The furniture, blackboards and bookshelfs are all makeshift items - no interactive whiteboards and laser pens in this school - (whilst moving a box a blackboard rubber fell out - last time I saw one of them it was being hurled at my forehead)
The dust was never fully removed - in Britain it would have taken a team of specialists - costing hundreds and hundreds of pounds without doubt. We did however remove enough dust to reveal - white and green walls - first painted in 1940 and never touched again until today.
We scraped the walls to remove the flakes of old paint - delicate enough as you felt the walls may crumble.
Eventually we managed to add a lick of paint to the walls - a white base paint throughout - just this one lick of paint transformmed the classrooms making them brighter and considerably cleaner - almost immeadiately you could concentrate more on the job in hand - which made you realise this task will brighten up the room and allow the children to concentrate on their lessons and provide them with a place that they will actually enjoy being in.
Given that this is day 1 of 3 on this particular task - every effort from here on in will add to this, hopefully by the end of day 4 we shall have additional pictures and murals on the walls - actually of course we will - have you seen this team...!
We have completed the base paint in rooms 1 and 2 and have made a start on the clean up operation of room three. Tomorrow we shall paint the walls terracotta and cream - we shall also gloss the window frames which will make such a wonderful difference.
Adjacent to the three classroooms we'd been working on throughout the day, stands a small stone church overlooking the valley, and the team were treated to a impromptu choir practice by some of the local community, and we took the opportunity to take in the scenery whilst listening to the beautiful music.
The enthusiasm of the whole team was on a par with that of the very first day of last week's build, the two days off had definatley recharged the batteries, and we all it felt good to get back into our work clothes and get stuck in on another project. The whole team sends their love and best wishes to all at home. More tomorrow.

Umthombo

We arrived at Umthombo (Durban) following our journey down from St Lucia.

Umthombo is a charity based solely on donations to provide a safe and secure place for young street people aged 7 to 20. The services that they provide vary from given a child a roof over the head for the night to family mediation. The way they do this is similar to our organisation via support staff and external agencies but staff are there 24/7.

Our host SiyaBonga is residential at the base 7 days a week working 1pm - 9am - but as he is residential will also be available to assist children coming to the door in the early hours needing accommodation and sometimes medical assistance.

During the 2010 world cup, many street children were put into state cars by order of authority and forcefully removed from the area - sometimes up to 3 hours away in remote and unknown places - this was simply to ensure tourists did not witness or observe what was perceived to be an ugly stain on the face of the 'New Durban'. Some children were beaten and forced to walk back from where they were abandoned to the safe haven at Umthombo having walked in excess of 100 miles. Children were returning with extreme injuries to their feet and required urgent medical attention. SiyaBonga was imprisoned himself for attempting to defend and support the children.

Outreach workers receive no state funds at all, they go out into the community and often seek out the children - state social workers are only involved if the re-integration with the children's family fails. this means that SiyaBonga is renowned throughout the city as being a sole source of safety and protection.

A member of staff will sleep in the room ( Room being 14 X 3 high bunk beds squeezed into a small concrete dormitory - looked almost like an old garage - just one surfing poster hanged throughout this grey shell of a room.

Glue sniffing is dominant throughout the street children community - not for the suspected high that may well have been the case in early 80's western world - but simply to relive the feeling of hunger and despair of daily life in the streets. Umthombo offers support and a lifeline to those experiencing an addiction to glue and other substances that are readily available.

A vast majority of the children will have suffered abuse - including rape - staff members sleep in the large dorms in order to protect the children from further abuse from other children. The support that is offered is developing skills and interests including music, football and surfing - Art and Music is clearly and integral part of the support - this is clearly observed throughout the project. Rehabilitation is crucial to the success of developing a new life with purpose and meaning. One young man we met is now training to be a scuba diving instructor

Today has clearly moved all of the team - one of our group has already considered emptying their suitcase and donating all their clothing.

This picture clearly shows the sleeping arrangements - the same amount of beds are mirrored across the room and also a staff members sleeps in this room.

The smell of urine is overpowering - this however is not through bed wetting as we think - but through fear......

We have a funny feeling if any of the service users on this trip are present in the office when another service users complains about HWCS accommodation - eyebrows may be raised.

Sunday - Imfoluzi Game Reserve

Early start this morning; the whole team were woken at 4.30am and bundled bleary-eyed but excited into two open backed safari trucks for an hours drive to the Imfoluzi Game Reserve. Carl had warned us that the drive up there would be cold, and our drivers provided us with blankets for the journey, but we didn't realise how cold a South African winter can get in the hours before dawn - it was absolutely freezing (no brass monkeys here though, apparently) but the sunrise was an incredible and welcome sight. We arrived at the wilderness reserve and set off in search of what's generally referred to as the 'big five' - lion, rhino, buffalo, elephant & leopard. It wasn't long before we spotted Impala and Zebra, and then encountered our first White Rhino, such an unbelievable sight, considering their scarcity - our driver Musa explained that white rhino are being bred on the reserve, and that there are now over a thousand - however, this number are scattered across 96,000 hectares of reserve, so for us to spot them was amazing. We then spotted a giraffe in the distance moving through the trees, and before long stumbled across three lions basking in the sun at the edge of the riverbank below us - they were a fair distance away, but were easily visible, particularly through binoculars. Within a few more minutes we were treated to a full herd of female wildebeest with two males fighting to become the dominant male over the herd. The two males locked horns as fought for some time, which was really dramatic, and resulted in one finally giving in and being resolutely chased off by the other. Alex spotted circling vultures which we followed in the hope of more lions, but as our vehicle was restricted to dirt tracks, there was obviously quite a lot of ground we couldn't cover. After several more sightings of enormous white rhino, impala and zebra, we stopped for a barbecue lunch and basked in the sun ourselves, before setting off again to find what was rumoured to be a herd of 26 elephants. Before long, it was time to leave, with no elephants spotted, and on the road to the gate, Alex screamed in my ear that she'd spotted another Giraffe cresting a hill to our left which was amazing, and we left the reserve having not 'bagged' our elephant, and within 200 meters Alex screamed again 'EEEELEPHANT!!!!!!!' The driver slammed on his brakes and turned off his engine to let us watch a beautiful African elephant while it completely demolished a tree for it's afternoon snack (Musa informed us that an average elephant has to eat at least 300kg of vegetation a day). Just amazing!

It's been a long day today, everyone is really tired, so it's going to be an early night for all - we're being treated to a chip shop supper and a camp fire, but I can't see any of us lasting much past 8 o'clock. Heading back to Durban in the morning, more tomorrow.

Arrived Safely

We have all arrived safely at the weekend pitstop. Everyone physically and emotionally drained but ready to crack on with another week. Couple of days rest should sort everyone out.
We are currently in St Lucia, KwaZulu-Natal on the edge of a game reserve. The Health and safety/Welfare of the service users has taken another twist - the sign directly outside the hotel warns of Snakes, Monkeys, Crocs and Hippo's.
All now have 'Staying away from Hippo's' support plans with associated risk assessments - the risk being death by Hippo munching on you.
Service users are missing the site already and indeed Princess - almost every hour someone will pose the question 'I wonder what Princess is doing now' - Admiring her new home no doubt.
We observed another house very close to the site that appeared unoccupied - this is due to the family requiring to slaughter either a goat or a cow as a move-in Zulu ritual - we are not sure if Princess will insist on this ritual before moving the family. Should a cow or goat not be available for Princess we have offered Shaun as a suitable replacement.
Matt, Alex and Sam have had our first 10 minutes together (All service Users are in vision) - Although Matt seems to recognise the soles of the trainers sticking out of that Crocs mouth - We have just managed to stop and reflect on the effort, committment and dedication shown by each and every service user - Alex said that she has never been on an expedition with a group of young people who have been so dedicated, shown such spirt and gelled together so well.
Matt said that his arms are about to fall off. Some of the gang has other aches and pains - but instead of complaining - everyone is proud of their pain - in respect of what the pain achieved - amazing.
Alex Matt and I are really looking forward to leading the next part of the trip which includes painting and cleaning up a school in Shongweni.
4.30am start tomorrow - and they think the door knock was loud last week......
Budgie Smuggler has a couple of rest days to top up his tan.

On to the next destination

Saturday morning already - we are just finishing breakfast and shall be heading north for our next destination. We have arranged to meet with Umthombo but are not fully sure what to expect - needless to say it will be another rollercoaster of emotions.
Unsure what internet access we shall have over the next couple of days.

this picture was takeing directly after the ceramony. during the ceramony princess broke into a dance pictures can not discribe the dance but we have recorded it on the camcorder and for those wishing to witness this beautiful moment you will have to buy the dvd that we shall be selling to raise money for our return (hint hint). as a presant and homewarming gift we framed three pictures and a signed t-shirt. i cant describe the emotions that everyone felt but we lost as many tears as we did sweat through the week

not the wrist bands princess is wearing

I never want to leave.

Well guys, Princess' house is finally complete on our part. Today the roof was finished, the outside walls have been bagwashed and the outside rubble of the house has been shifted. I must say, it looks bloody fantastic! Everyone worked so hard today to make every little detail of this home perfection, it was none stop all day for all of us and all this hard work and determination has finally payed off. We built this house for Mama Princess!! Me and Ashley spoke to her today with the help of Pearl (Build leader) and we asked if she liked her new home, she said yes and said that she would move her bed in tonight if she could! It makes me feel so proud to have been given the oppertunity to help give Princess this new and wonderful place to now call her home.
The ending ceremony took place today where we all got to thank the builders and say our goodbyes and give gifts etc. It was the most uplifting experiance EVER. To see the joy in that poor womans face, to see her stand in what will be her living room in a few days time made me proud to be a part of this team. She danced for us to show her appreciation and that was her way of saying thank you for everything that we have done. For a woman with her injuries that woman can move! I have made her a heart shape out of the dagga that was used to make the house and gave it to her at the end and she was so happy it almost made her cry. I hope she remembers us because I know we will remember her, in our hearts forever, most amazing experiance! I am so sad to leave her and hope to come back because I will miss her, I will miss them all greatly and will think of what we have done, what we have accomplished and how we have helped that woman, this has changed my opinions, emotions and outlook compleatly. I am proud to be where I am. Thank you for this oppertunity.

we finished it!!!!

After 5 days we finally did it... it felt so amazing.... the look on princesses face when we gave her the pictures and  t-shirt was amazing think we all cried but it was amazing knowing that we finished that house she really deserves it i hope she has so much happiness in that house......

We did it!!

After years of planning, it took just 5 days (albeit blood, sweat and tears) to complete this wonderful home for Princess.
Every member of the team pull out all the stops to ensure completion today - this even included donning the waterproofs and working through torential thunders storms.
Dagga Dan Harrison continued to mix Dagga right to the end, Monkey Anthony swinging from the scaffolding (safely of course) El Roofio Emma could been seen all morning adding the final touches to the roof (of course) Juicer Tash and Mama Bear Alex mixed the bagwash with such dedication it stuck perfectly to the walls, Panda Josh rubbed each and every brick down ensuring the smoothest of surfaces ready for the bagwash, 'Betty' has not stopped moving scaffolding, tiles and blocks, Brickie has moved more blocks from one end of the site that he could have built a house on the side! - Duke Ashley has been the pied piper - everywhere you looked children would follow her to safety away from the site, Pointer Nat has done exactly that - pointed every brick on the building with utmost care and attention. Bagger West - has mastered bagwash - to the point where Amon has offered him full time employment - sorry Corp Oaks - you could be losing a member of staff. Shaun - no nickname for some reason - but has been great at making tea (when you can find him)..Seriously, without Shaun - we would only be halfway im sure - his abilities are truly amazing and his ability to work from the first second to the last in every square inch of the site has been an assest. Sorry - just remembered Shauns nickname - Budgie Smugglers - Sure the design department will ask.
To all the build for betterlives steering group, to all the fundraisers, to all those that donated....We did it.
9 Service Users from Young Persons Projects will be returning as 9 truly amazing people with a foundation for nothing but success.

BREAKING NEWS - SAM SACKED

Well - I have been sacked by the group - as you will see, they have already found a more mature and qualified replacement.

End of day 4

The end of day 4 looked something like this. Amazing. Everyone currently having breakfast ready for the last push of the build week.

So proud of all the team! everyone has put their everythin into this build. Even though everyone is startin to feel tired no one has let this get in the way of what we are doing. Had a slightly frustrating afternoon and the roof is taking longer than expected but half an hour playing with the local kids washed away any ill feelings in an instant, such a joy to be in this amazing community!!

Day 4!!!!!

It's about time I got to write on this bad boy! When I woke up in the morning after we arrived, reality finally kicked in. I am in South Africa! Well, it has been a ball so far, im not kidding! I knew it was going to be hard work so on the first day myself, as well as everyone worked like mad and you know what, that first day really set the ball rolling, we havent stopped and each day is more amazing by miles and miles.
Each morning I wake up not knowing what to expect and I love it! My emotions, eventhough I havent Showed them quite as much as others, are absolutly all over the place. On Wednesday when we did the Time capsual, was just, unbelieveable, I think thats the closest word I could ever say that can explain what that experiance was to me. The school. Oh my goodness. To witness such amazing talent in what is, the middle of nowhere, so much welcome, heart and trust that the community have in us is just amazing. We was playing with the children today and to hold a strangers hand and hug them in a way that they did to us is magical. To learn their songs and cute little dances is so funny and this jurney is just a barrel of laughs with them kids around! Such amazing kids its going to be a heart breaker to leave them all, and Princess. I think shes really starting to believe this is happening to her, shes being given a new chance to start a new life and a home, new mamories and amazing times, we are helping to give her this oppertunity and I can not physically put in words how good that feels.

I cannot believe this is happening to me, and to share all these experiances with such amaing people and people that have such personalities makes me happy to be a part of this project and this team. These people, what were strangers to me not long ago are now such amazing friends! And guys, I plan to stay in touch with each and every one of you, your bloomin' amazing guys! And so special to me already!

Day 4 !!!

Well, today was a real eye opener to how much we are acheving as a group.
We knew today was going to be busy, so when we left the B&B at 8.00 we were all ready to crack on with another day of hard work.When we got to site it was all hands on deck and the whole team decided what jobs we were going to do today. I decided help put the roof up with Sam, Shaun, Dan,Tom Aamon and Pearl. Putting the trellases was really hard work as well as a little scary at times but when it finaly went up just after lunch it looked amazing, it really did. Sam and Shaun then started to put the felt on. I then decided to try some bagwashing on the back wall of the house and then lots of children came to play!! I had so much fun singing, dancing and playing catch with them. It made me smile so much as well as realize how little these children have, but how just singing nursery ryhmes and sitting with them makes them so happy.

Im really looking forward to tomorow, as I hope that the house will be finished :) However, I think that the emotions might override me to.

Team time now and then dinner ! Night all x

wow africas more amazing than i ever thought it could be. All the things that i have experieanced so far are just epic and it keeps getting better. I mean ive been working on the build for 3 days now and we almost have a house. The team im working with are epic and we get on so well. we are also shattered so lets hope we can finnish what we started

Well what can i say it has been such an emotional day today one minute i was laughing with princess the next minute i would be in tears . I am soooo proud of everyone we have all done so well and managed to complete 6 months worth of work in three days :) The house is becoming to look more and more like a house and the team is bonding more and more as the days go on . I couldnt ask for much more apart from a little bit longer here its such an amazing place with some seriously amazing people .

Night all :)
x

Day 3 - Build Site & Danganya Kwa Gumbi Primary school.

Everyone settled in brilliantly again this morning, deciding on what jobs they were going to do without too much instruction, and cracking on in high spirits. The overall feeling is that we'd all love to see Princess's house finished before Friday - obviously, this may or may not happen, but given the progress we've made so far (the builders are nearly ready to start putting up roof trusses, and Aamon and Pearl are very pleased with the rate of progress in the first few days) there's no reason at all why we shouldn't get the job completely finished. Sam had arranged with Aamon to place the 'Thought Tin' in one of the blocks in an internal wall of the house, and we invited Princess to join the whole crew and to place the tin inside herself. Aamon explained the principle and the thought behind this gesture, and no one could fail to see she was really moved. I think quite a few of us got a bit choked at this point (I noticed quite a few sunglasses getting put back on - can't imagine why).

The Build for Better Lives team leaders had spoken with Carl our host affiliate earlier in the week, with the view to arrange a visit to a local school in the Danganya area, and today we broke off work for a while to visit the children just up the road from Princess's house at Kwa Gumbi Primary school. We turned up mob handed, and were met with huge smiles from the Principal and the local kids. They'd obviously been told well in advance that we were planning to visit, as the entire school came out into the school yard, and treated us to traditional Zulu songs and dance, as well as children's rhymes in English, and we were all amazed to realise that all the kids had obviously rehearsed in preparation for our visit. Pearl explained the lyrics to one particular uplifting song - the children were singing 'thank you' to us for being there, which was incredibly touching. Three of our crew, Josh, Dan and Emma had prepared speeches for the kids, saying how we were privileged to be here in such a beautiful country, the purpose of our project, and how we are so grateful for being so warmly welcomed into their community, which Aamon had translated to rapturous applause. Today also happened to be Pearl's birthday, and everyone, kids, teachers and BfBL crew sang happy birthday to her, to her obvious embarrassment, although I get the feeling she was secretly quite pleased.

The rest of the day was spend back at the build site, mixing dagga, pointing up brickwork, moving blocks, applying bag wash, and preparing for the last few days and final push towards fully completing the build and handing the house over to Princess and her family.

For those of you aware of the 'Thought Tin' - have a look at the picture and guess which block we placed it in!

We are working on a south african building site - needless to say - health and safety differs to that of the british standards - however 12 people who have limited site work - the accidents so far
1. Trapped fingers in the minibus door on the way to the site
2. The team leader ( nothing to do with NCHA) hurt her finger and was taken to the local medical unit.
3. Alex hit me in the head with a laminated health and safety poster (while in the bus).....

Day 3 - lunch time status

This was the development at around lunchtime today - before our visit to the 200 schoold children....let someone else explain that!

build status - day 2

This is how the build site looked during day 2 - the development of the site today is truly amazing - too many amazing things today - will leave this for someone else - please read all the blogs as it will be a busy evening

Princess

Princess Ngoneni Ziney was seven years old when both her father and brother Bhekokwakhe got shot by warriors and died. We moved away from that village to another and that is where she physically got shot. "we were ambushed on our way from school by a very big mob of heavily armed people. all i can remeber is that they were silent and the next thing i remember is that i woke up in Scotsburgh hospital in the ICU and I was toled it was after 12 days coma.
I am now on a wheelchair although i can walked with the aid of a walking stick.
We tried to get the RDP house but it never worked for us and nobody knows why. My sister died of HIV and AIDS, leaving behind 2 young children. one of these children died from a mother - child transmission while the other; Hlengiwe in grade 8 at Sdelile High School is under our care.
We tried to get RDP houses but in vain. We also tried to get grant for this child but instead we pay more money on transport and end up not getting it due to reasons not known to anybody.
Will you guys please build us a house? this one takes rain water in. Please help us have a home.

Morning of Day 3

We are so sorry for the lack of photos at this time - for some strange reason the PC really struggles with uploading them to the blogsite - usually 20 minutes per photo and it then sometimes crashes. Seems odd to complain about the speed of the internet then visit Princess in a home that has never had electric or running water.....

The team are doing exceptionally well, unbelievably well - comments from the team leader, tour rep, HFH area manager are all positive.

A paramedic visiting the site commented that the stonewash was the best he had ever seen - largely due to the pointing that had been completed beforehand being of such good quality.
Dan and Emma completed an internal wall yesterday - hopefully everyone in the group will lay a block or more today - truly part of the build! - I would imagine the roof will start to take shape today - Shaun tells us this has never been the case before - the progress of our build over 2 days can usually take in excess of months to do.

We have asked everyone to write something meaningful, either a quote, a feeling, something from the heart - these have been put in a little metal tin - and at somepoint today we shall put this in a block and the lay it in the internal walls - thought that was a nice little ice-breaker idea - little did I know it would open the emotional floodgates - but in the most beautiful way of course!

Right - have plenty more to say - but we have a house to finish.

Day Two

Woke up tied, sore limbs but with very high spirits.

We left the accommodation again at 0800 ready and rearing to get onto the site. We got there and took some time to look at the previous days work. The team could not believe how much work was completed yesterday. Sam and I completed the Site safety check then the team were allowed to get on with the build. Aamon and Pearl met us on site and congratulated us on the work that we had done so far.

Throughout the day Aamon and pearl had to leave the site as there were two other builds happening in the near by area. It was great as the team knew what needed to be done without being prompted. It felt really good to know that they trusted us to continue without them being there and supervising us.

Everyone fell into their roles in which they felt comfortable doing, some mixing Dagga, some building internal walls, some moving blocks and some preparing the external walls. It was a great feeling to see that we all assumed a role and worked on whatever the build required without being told.

For an hour in the afternoon, Ashley went and had her hair braided by Princess's neighbour and Josh went along for moral support and chief photographer, and they came back having had an amazing experience with their face painted with clay (Zulu sun screen) and knowing and learning more about the community bond they have in that area.

It was amazing to see that the house started to look like a house (sounds silly to say) but all of us have never been in a situation to have hands on experience of this type of work except Shaun of course!!!!!

During the afternoon Natasha, Anthony and Natalie applied a bag wash of cement to one of the external walls and Emma and Dan were building walls internally when Princess came over to the build to visit her new home. She has been watching everything that we had been doing over the past two days but due to problems with mobility she had not ventured onto site until this afternoon. Just seeing her reactions to the progress we had made on her new home was really emotional and blew us away as she was so lost for words.

Throughout the day Alex SD, Tom and Matt worked incredibly hard shifting blocks, making dagga, preparing walls and moving scaffolding from different ends of the build.

Aamon approached the team at the end of the day and said that he was very proud of our hard work, but it is thanks to Aamon that we had materials and facilities available for us to do the work at all, as the organisation and logistics involved is very complex and without him, Pearl, Carl, and Bob we would not have been able to achieve so much is such a short time.

Sala Gashle (Stay Well)

Just finished the second day of the build and already this trip has been truly inspiring and lifechanging! I feel so amazing i can barely feel how sore all my muscles are because i am on such a high. Everyone i have met has been wonderful, cant wait to get back on site!!

Day One

First of all I just want to apologise for the lack of photo's at the present time, for some reason it is taking approx 15 minuets to upload one photo. More photo's to come........

The team we up and ready to leave the accommodation at 0800 this morning after having a hearty breakfast, everyone was very excited and very keen to get on the road.

I had so many thoughts running through my head this morning, is i did not know what to expect. It took approximately 20 minuets to get to the site and when we arrived i had to have a minuet on the bus because it really hit home what we were here to do. I saw Princess coming out of her house with a big smile on her face a had to shed a tear. Princess is the lady we are building the house for.

Looking at the site we could see where Princes currently lives and next to it was the site in which the new house was going to be build. Some builders had already prepared the site by completing the foundations and the slab and also the first two courses of blocks.

Once all the site safety checks were completed by Sam and the H4H host (Aamon) we were allowed onto the site where we were introduced to princess. She showed us her home and as the introductions were being made the H4H host pointed out to me a grave in the garden where her sister was buried, she passed away last August. My heart sunk and i felt a lump in my throat, my eyes filled up and i had to go and have another minuet. The area in which Princess lives is so peaceful and there are homes dotted all over the hillside. Princesses neighbour must live about 30 meters away.

Once the introductions were completed we were given out first jobs to do which were to move the blocks from one part of the site to another and the easiest was to do that was to do a human chain. The next job was to mix Dagga (Motar).

We all got stuck in with these jobs but mixing the dagga was the hardest job all day. We then helped the builders to build a couple of courses and ensured the dagga kept flowing............

We had to carry blocks from A to B, shoveling sand and cement, carrying water, erect scaffolding while at the same time meeting and interacting with Princess, her family and the local children who were fascinated with us.

Today the team worked so well together. The communication was good, the morale was excellent and i feel that the team had bonded fantastically. Everyone's individual characters began to shine and i was very proud that the team openly and actively supported each other without any interventions from staff.

Sala Gashle ( Stay Well)

Day One 0800 - The team ready to get on the mini bus and start the build!!

Everyone very excited......

This is what the site looked like when we arrived. As you can see there was the foundations done, and the two first rows of bricks laid which i think were done yesterday.

When we arrived we were given a safety briefing by Sam and the H4H host and were given our first jobs to do.....

Build day 1

The pictures from today are taking forever to upload. - Shall attempt 1 at a time - please look through them.
Just for the record - today was the most amazing thing I have ever witnessed - Lost for words - will let the photos do the talking

Day 1

Just having breakfast and ready to go to site. Photos are proving difficult to upload to the blogsite, we shall keep trying this evening.
Please read all the blogsite this evening, we shall encourage all service users to upload thier thoughts - I suspect emotion overload today.

Thoughts and Feelings

After a 14 hour journey and feeling physically and emotionally drained we finally arrived in Durban. We were met by the Habitat for Humanity Rep, Carl, who drove us to our hotel. During the car journey we were allowed time to absorb the reality in which poverty is affecting people.

As it is our first time to South Africa it has really hit home what role we will have in this experience. We could clearly see a divide in poverty and wealth, being just across the road from each other. Carl told us a little on the history of the economics of South Africa which was proven to us when a car full of people being illegally driven came by as it was obviously over crowded with people who couldn't afford there own public transport.

As well as that the shacks in which we saw families living in really hit home on how lucky our economic well being is in the UK. We feel that this is going to be an extremely emotional but worth while trip and after our first hand view today we just can't wait to start the build.

We feel that the team are bonding really well, we are talking amongst ourselves about the positives we want to make on peoples lives here in South Africa.

Written by Alex H and Natalie

We're here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We`ve finally arrived we got here safely...... the plane wasnt as bad as i thought i was dreading it the closer we got to heathrow.........it was a long flight followed by an extra hour waiting because of the pilots seat wasnt right.......but Africa is truly breathtaking....On the way from Durban airport we saw some of the house`s that have been built by habiat for humanity...then you soon realise that poverty is there and its bigger than you think i dont no how many houses we passed that were for poor or homeless families......... I just hope everyone back at England is ok..... Miss everyone.......

We're here!!!

I cant believe it, in all honesty. Were here at last!
The journey outbound has been quite long and tireing but we have all got here safely :)
The flight from Heathrow to Johannesburg went better than I expected and we only had a minor delay at Johannesburg to Durban which we didn't mind :)

The trip from the airport to the B & B has already been a massive eye opener as you can plainly see a differences between poverty and wealth, and sometimes they are only a town away from each other.

Im glad Ive had a shower and freshened up as I was starting to smell!!We have also just been very well fed and watered by the hosts at the B&B :)
We're having a meeting with Habitat for humanity in a bit which is awesome, as I am ready to get stuck in to work.

We have arrived!

The Build for Better Lives team have safety arrived at the trade winds accommodation. Luggage has been placed in the room and we are now sharing a wonderful lunch with Carl and Bob from Habitat for Humanity and Pam and June from the Tradewinds B and B.
The journey has gone with military precision, with the exception of the plane from Johannesburg to Durban - The pilots chair had to be changed (honest!)adding an hour to the final part.
2 of the Service Users have never flown before - so talk about throwing them in the deep end - but no concerns at all.
On our Journey to the accommodation we have already witnessed affluent housing to the right of the motorway - and poverty stricken townships to the left, quite an amazing yet difficult concept to understand at this early stage.
I think its about 13.30 here at the moment - I'll be honest - it could be midnight on Christmas day for all anyone knows at the moment...Everyone will spend the next hour unpacking and freshening up - ready for our Habitat for Humanity brief at 15.30hrs.
We shall update later.

Thank You

Typically of social care providers, additional workloads and assistance with such projects as the Build for Better Lives go unmentioned and thanks are never expected.

On the day before we go, we should reflect on the last 2 years of steering group meetings and prepartion. £27,000 was raised. £27,000. Thats twice I have said it - £27,000 - third time because thats how unbelivable it is.

Those on the steering group and those that fundraised know who they are - thanks will not come in the form of letter or card, but it will come in the knowledge that the efforts will transform the lives of people, both in South Africa and indeed those returning to Great Britain.

2 More Sleeps!! Excited Much?? YES !!

Going on Nottingham BBC radio tomorow to talk about B4BL !!! How awsome is that??!!

Really looking forward to tomorow and even more for saturday !!!!

:)

notlongnow team

cant wait now got every thing sorted now woohoo

Two Days To Go...

We're busy tying up loose ends, making final arrangements and running around madly making sure we've all got what we need. We've had our last steering group meeting before the trip - a huge thankyou to everyone involved, it seems like a long time in the making, and we're almost there - in a matter of days we'll be on the plane and start making everything we've been planning for two years into a reality. Could everyone make sure you're listening to the BBC Radio Nottingham breakfast show on Thursday, about 8.30am (ish) - Sam and Emma will be doing an interview about Build for Better Lives.

2 days to go !

Im so excited, packings almost done :)

Camberley Court

On Friday 10th June, all members of the Build for Better Lives spent the day at Camberley Court learning how to lay bricks correctly. Our sincere thanks to all at DMS that arranged and assisted throughout the day.

Also huge thanks to Terratruck and M&F Fire Safety for the kind donation of tools, equipment and clothing.

The tools, equipment and clothing will be used by us all during the build and then further donated to the local builders as we leave.

Nearly a week!!!!!

Next saturday we`ll be going!!!!!!!! Really nervous thinking that it only a week away, all the training is out of the way its the real thing soon, cant wait but really nervous

7 dayyssss !!!

I'm getting so excited!
I can't believe that in a weeks time all the plans will be coming to life !

:)

Starting to get nervous bout having all the right stuff to take over :/

Its slowly sinking in that were going out to africa to help change peoples lives...... cant waith to go

16 Days to go!! Absolutely buzzin! Really hitting home now that I am actually going. Cant wait to get out there and get stuck in!!

its going to be great

Money Raised

We have finally reached our target of £27,000. May we take this opportunity to thank everyone who had donated to this truly wonderful opportunity - from the pipedream in that original steering group meeting to being less than 8 weeks of it becoming a reality.

The History of Build for Better Lives...

NCHA's relationship with Habitat for Humanity over the past several years has previously involved maintenance workers travelling to South Africa to lend skills, such as plumbing and wiring, to assist in house building.

This inspired the idea to continue the relationship with Habitat for Humanity but this time, instead of sending maintenance workers, we decided that they should send NCHA service users from their young persons projects. Some of them even named the project: Build for Better Lives.

The idea of sending service users instead of maintenance workers has huge advantages. Critically, the service users have either been homeless or at risk of homelessness and so will have some idea of what it's like not to have an adequate place to live. However, it is obvious that being homeless in South Africa is very different to being homeless in the UK. For starters, they do not have businesses like NCHA to house them and assist them in improving their lives. Therefore, this is their chance to give back.