The Internship

While completing our final semester in the Masters program at the UT School of Social Work, our roles at Botshabelo will be as Clinical Social Worker interns. There we will participate in therapeutic processes with children of all ages, as well as adults and families in the village that surrounds the orphanage. Though we are not quite sure what our days will look like...we are certain that our time in South Africa will be an incredible journey filled with joy, challenge, uncertainty, connection, learning, peace, laughter, sadness, and most importantly, growth.


About Botshabelo

The Cloete family started Botshabelo 20 years ago--out of the darkness of apartheid--where Con and Marian (the couple) spent their entire life's savings to care for the children of South Africa. Con and Marian, along with their three adult daughters, their partners, and their children, established Botshabelo as a place where about 150 children without families could have a place to belong. Ilene and Ayla will also call Botshabelo home for the next four months, living and working alongside these amazing individuals.
Since 1990, Botshabelo has worked to become a self-sustaining community and, more importantly, a place of safety and family to South Africa's AIDS orphans and economic orphans. The community includes an orphanage, school, village, medical clinic and organic farm.

To learn more about our new home, visit: www.botshabelo.org

Monday, February 1, 2010

A fun-filled weekend!

Wedding pic



Fred, our friend the Springbok



Amazing views!


After an exhausting and draining (both physically and emotionally) week, I feel so thankful for the recharge of our weekend. It all kicked-off with our Ladies' Night activity of a movie & popcorn with the 9-15 year olds. Ayla’s view on the movie “Fame”: DON’T. Last year the UT interns started Ladies' Night as a way to give the older girls some special time and attention (as they usually spend non-school hours caring for the babies and completing chores)...and a chance to just be girls. So Ayla & I have continued on and are alternating between the older older girls (16-23 year olds) and the younger older girls (9-15 year olds).

So far the younger older girls win my vote as my favorite!! Get this: during the entire movie (the new "Fame") there was at least one (and sometimes two) girls playing with my hair! Between braiding it, putting it in a ponytail, brushing it...or just rubbing my head, I nearly feel asleep about a million times! Wow...now that's the life! They also promised to plait my hair (you know, the tiny little braids). Can't wait to rock that style!! But, other than their amazing hairstyling skills, these girls are just the sweetest, most genuine, beautiful, and caring people you've ever met. Plus, they said that they're going to teach Ayla & I some South African dance moves!!! Whoop whoop! We're planning a Talent Show for Valentine's Day (which, apparently, is SUPER big here at Botshabelo)...and the girls have already promised to choreograph and teach us a dance that we can all perform together! Watch out South Africa's Got Talent: Here come the ladies of Botshabelo!!

We spent the day yesterday on a drive with Sue. Sue runs most of the errands and does a lot of the driving for the Botshabelo community...and was nice enough to take us along. We took the long and scenic way to get to a bakery in Krugersdorp (a city about 45 minutes-1 hour away from Botshabelo) that donates all of their day old bread to the kids for teatime on the weekends. We stopped all along the way to get pictures of the AMAZING views from the top of the mountains (AKA Highveld). When the baker found out we were visiting from America, he threw in some extra special pastry treats, which were incredibly delicious!! (Poor Ayla, she's gluten-free!). Also on our trek, we met a Springbok-like animal. We named him Fred.

Today we treated ourselves as well as Shanna (the youngest Cloete daughter) and two of the older girls to a movie in the theater at a mall in Krugersdorp. If you haven't seen "The Princess at the Frog" I HIGHLY recommend it! So at the mall we encountered lots of fun/funny adventures: the best is that, at the movie theaters in South Africa, you can sprinkle different flavor powders onto your popcorn, like salt & vinegar, sour cream, or cheddar...obviously, we doused our popcorn with TONS of that stuff! And then, after the movie, we walked around the mall while we were waiting for our ride back to Botshabelo...and...ran into a wedding of course! What?!?! A wedding at the mall?!?! Oh yes. A wedding at the mall. So there is this really pretty lake that is right behind the mall, and that is where the actual ceremony took place, but the whole wedding party and guests had to walk right through the mall parking lot first. There was joyous singing and clapping alongside your Sunday afternoon shopper. It was hilarious!

I'm telling you, everyday is an adventure here...and I'm looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.

-Ilene
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