The Connect-123 team tackled turkey stuffing and roasting in the name of Thanksgiving yesterday.  Two South Africans, one Irish, one English, & two turkeys!

We filled the Perspectives building, where the majority our interns and volunteers stay, with smells of delicious roast turkey, attracting some curious interns who sniffed us out!

We then had a potluck party up on the roof with everyone bringing a dish to the table, and what a feast!  We all tucked in to the tasty spread while looking out over Cape Town in all her glory, with views of Table Mountain on one side and the harbour on the other.

Whilst not the traditional Thanksgiving many of our Americans would be used to, a feast with new found friends from across the world, looking out over Cape Town was not a bad way to spend it, and the turkeys weren’t half bad either!

Happy Thanksgiving from us all at Connect-123…

Connect-123 recently joined forces with The Sisanda FunDaytion, a fantastic outreach organization that works with volunteers to bring fun days to disadvantaged children in Cape Town.  There are so many things for children to see and do – beautiful beaches, mountains, and parks, but these vulnerable children don’t often get the chance to enjoy them.

The Sisanda FunDaytion recruits volunteers so they can offer fun filled days to the children, when they can be what they are, children for the day.

Some of our volunteers signed up to spend a Saturday taking the kids to Ratanga Junction, a roller coaster ride and theme park.  They also had a show at lunchtime where one of the children had an opportunity to sing on stage – a dream of hers.  They commemorated Nelson Mandela’s birthday by creating cards with the children’s handprints, and singing Happy Birthday on a radio station.

Mandela’s birthday is marked in South Africa with Mandela Day, an annual celebration of the good work Mandela has done for South Africa and the world. The day recognizes individuals’ potential to make an imprint and change the world around them. We are looking forward to continuing to work with The Sisanda FunDaytion in making a positive imprint on vulnerable kids’ lives, giving them days to remember.

Do It Day was another day to give up our time to make a difference, this time building houses in one of the townships outside of Cape Town, Wallacedene.We worked with The Niall Mellon Township Trust, an Irish organization dedicated to not only building houses, but also buiding lives in South Africa through both physical, and capacity building. They have to date built over 12,000 houses in South Africa, addressing the overwhelming need of those living in shacks.

Between our keen bunch of volunteers, we were able to build the base of two houses. Everyone got really involved and learned the strenuous skills of brick laying and cement mixing. Many hands make light work – well not so sure about that, try lifting a bag of cement!  It was great to work together as a team, seeing our progress, brick by brick making a positive impact in building not only a house but a positive future for those in the community.

It is great to see our volunteers getting involved with these community outreach projects on their weekends when we know there is so much else they could be doing between wine tasting, shark cage diving, hiking Table Mountain, lounging on one of the many beautiful beaches, eating in affordable award-winning restaurants, and exploring the City’s vibrant culture and nightlife. They are all working hard during the week at their internships and volunteer placements, making every day Mandela Day and Do It Day, working hard to make a difference in this beautiful and challenging country.

Habitat for Humanity is a fantastic organization that builds houses in communities in desperate need of resources all over the world. They are currently undertaking a massive build in Mfuleni Township outside of Cape Town, and last Saturday Connect-123 volunteers rallied bright and early to get involved.

Our team was tasked with building the foundation for a house for Peter, a local Mfuleni resident, who was relocated to Mfuleni from the township of Khayalitsha due to regular flooding in the area where he lived. None of us were really sure what we were in for but with shovels in-hand and nothing but a littered plot in front of us, it was clear that it was going to be a long day of hard work.

We were immediately surrounded by young children, excited to see new people in the community and many of us made great new friends for the day.

After clearing the plot, we started digging the foundation – our supervisor and the site assistants around us made it look so easy but what we lacked in digging skills, we definitely made up for it in spirit. The shack next door was blasting out old-school R&B classics which definitely lifted the mood!

We then measured out sand, concrete and cement, one wheelbarrow at a time, laying it out in the road in layers. After a builders tea of door-stopper-sized pieces of bread and jam we soon discovered our next task. Other volunteers working on the site next to us warned that we’d gotten the easy part out of the way and the hardest part was yet to come. As soon as we got back to work we definitely understood what they meant – there were no cement mixer in sight, only us, a water hose and the giant sandpit we’d created in the road.

It was hard work and the determined attitude of the Connect-123 group was fantastic to see. When we were finally finished, a massive sense of accomplishment washed over us and we also started to notice how tired and truly covered in dirt and cement we all were.
Some women in the community invited us into their shack for a traditional African dish of umngqusho or samp and beans, which is a mixture of dried maize and beans. We were all surprised by how ravenous we were and there was complete silence as we wolfed down this unfamiliar, but very satisfying food.

After cleaning the road and saying our goodbyes, we drove out of Mfuleni with a new, warm feeling for a place we’d entered just hours before as foreigners.