Friendship Force of the Florida Suncoast

 'Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world' : Nelson Mandela.

'A Gift of Computers and Friendship for the Students of Chatsworth AME Primary School, March 2010' (See video below)

Sandy (President FF Florida Suncoast) and Terry Gourdine at Chatsworth Primary School for the handing over of the 9 netbook computers, DVD players, books, calculators and stationery. 

The exchange: Our exchange group had 21 members, 10 from Suncoast club, 9 from other Florida FF clubs, East Central Florida, Central Florida, Greater Orlando, South West Florida and 2 from Calgary, Alberta.

See the Photos webpage on this website.

Our objectives were to learn about the cultures of South Africa, and to let our hosts know something about our own. As most of the Mispah Friendship Force Club would not be likely to fly soon to the USA on a return visit, we aimed to leave something of lasting benefit. We did in fact provide 9 laptop computers and other materials to a needy school.

Our hosts were warmly hospitable, and welcomed us enthusiastically. They are part of a distinct group, the descendents of Malays, Indians, Indonesians, Khoikhoi and San and other groups, black and white. As such they form a large proportion of Cape Town residents. They were forcibly removed from a downtown area in the 1970’s and relocated to Cape Flats, then a barren sandy area. They have worked hard and prospered. Brenda and our overnight hosts, party hosts and drivers were all wonderful. There were many dinner parties, and we understood that often the hosts had walked to and from the market to buy the food, and spent a whole day cooking it with the aid of friends. One evening we had a talk on South Africa in the post-apartheid era.

The weekday activities were good, and we saw the sights of Cape Town. Brenda as a registered South African tour guide, gave us a good commentary in the bus. We went up the cable car to the top of Table Mountain, over to Robben Island to Nelson Mandela’s former prison, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, first class wineries, beautiful bays, a shanty town and many other sites.

We visited two contrasting schools. The first was a center of excellence, the Settlers School, formerly an all-white establishment, now very mixed. The staff were good, the facilities were first class, and the school had maintained its high performance in academic and sporting achievements.

We then visited a primary school in a very poor rural area in the Western Cape. The teachers were also very good, but in other respects it was a contrast! The 265 children aged 5-13 years were mainly from very poor families. We wondered why the school lunch hour was referred to as ‘feeding’ but we learned that the food is supplied under a government program, and for some children it was the mainstay of their day. The buildings were a few basic classrooms built at the side of a church which formed the school hall. One classroom had a few secondhand computers which were under-powered, very slow, and often stopped altogether. We saw few textbooks or other materials. The little books the children used for their work were worn. Like most buildings in South Africa, the windows and doors were securely barred. The playground was bare earth, and some children had no shoes. Despite this, the children were wearing clean white and navy blue school uniforms, and were motivated and enthusiastic.

We were able to set out the 9 laptop (netbook) computers at the front of the church hall with the other extensive materials. There were brightly colored papers, stars, calculators, spangly things, metric rulers, crayons, pencils, etc. all brought by the members of our exchange group, and contributed by our FF clubs. We made a few speeches of encouragement, and received tremendous thanks and happy smiles from the whole school. The teachers appreciated the mobility of the computers, which can be used in any room at any time, with or without electricity.  They were also pleased to have the up-to-date textbooks (donated by our local Florida county school warehouse) which gave ideas for lesson plans.

The teachers were good with high standards and they were motivated. It must be difficult, however, for the children to realize their full potential in the conditions we saw. We trust that the laptop computers and other materials will help. The name of the host FF club is ‘Mispah’, which means that we should care about our friends, even in their absence. We feel this about the children and teachers in Chatsworth Primary School, and that they need our continuing help and encouragement.

We want to give a big thank you to all who worked to raise funds, and to all who donated to make this computer fund such a success.  

Post-exchange.  What fun it was! We started off with a safari for 6 days in and around the Kruger National Park. This was an experience in itself, and not just because of the animals. Our group was wonderfully positive and approached the whole thing with great gusto. Some nights we stayed in luxury, despite the economical price. Our safari guide was in her early 20’s and managed to drive us around in a safari vehicle, and then cook lunch and dinner for us all.  We did see the ‘Big Five’ and many other animals, including birds, often at close range.

We went on to Johannesburg and stayed in a hotel well placed for shops and restaurants. Our bus tours were good and went as planned.

Then 11 of us continued to Zambia. We experienced the Zambezi River, the Victoria Falls and more.

We cannot give enough praise to all members of our exchange group, who remained positive and upbeat to the end. We were away for 3 weeks in all.

For more photos click here: http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=jeanclyde&target=ALBUM&id=5473820721543972961&authkey=Gv1sRgCOu_1bfyh8GM6gE&feat=email