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| "Volunteering at N/a’an ku sê was a truly
unforgettable experience. I know that the memories of this awesome place and
the fantastic new friends I met will stay with me for a very long time." |
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During this time I helped at the Bushman school, interacting with and (hopefully) teaching
some of the 22 or so Bushman workers children. The school is small, especially in comparison
to Western standards. It currently consists of just an open room with a thatched roof, a few
tables, chairs and shelves, and a funky ancient fridge that is used to store the kids work! The
children that attend the school are predominantly from the local Bushman village, and age
ranges are anything from 1 year right up to 16 years old. In a Western school controlling a
class of such different ages would be challenge, but the difficulties are increased tenfold
when the children each have different levels of education; some of the older ones are almost
'illiterate', many struggle to speak comprehendible English and the need for one-to-one
tuition is necessary with almost every child.
However, regardless of these challenges, volunteering to help within the school was an
extremely rewarding experience and, once you had gotten over the intimidation of a group of
children talking about you in a language you don't understand, brilliant fun. The children
are willing to listen to you if you put the effort in, and although have a tendency to get a
little distracted every now and again will mostly do what you're telling them to! It is
impossible to show any kind of displeasure towards the children as even when attempting to
discipline them they have a tendency to make you bite your lip to stop you from laughing! They
are warm, friendly, unbelievably interested in volunteers and extremely active, in work and
play! I was lucky enough to regularly engage in sports with them, (predominantly football)
and had an awesome social interaction with all ages, throwing the smallest around for their
pleasure and teasing the older ones for friendly banter!
I am so glad to be able to say I had to the opportunity to work in an African school and
loved every minute of it, and if I ever return to N/a'an ku se I sincerely hope the children
remember me with as much fondness as I remember them!
Nathan Gilderson, UK
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