It was all smiles on Volunteer Day!

CIEE organized volunteer day on the 15^th of September, a day in which the students got to give back to the community that is graciously hosting them. The initiative was student led, whereby some students volunteered to be on the organizing committee. We sent out requests to several NGOs that the students were interested in working with and finally agreed on Camphill community trust. The organization based in Otse village (50 min drive from Gaborone) offers special education and training to people living with physical and mental disabilities. The trust has three branches; one for children between the ages of 5 and 14, for children aged 15 to 18 and one for adults. We were catering for Rankoromane which is the center for children aged between 5 and 14.

We began by planning out an itinerary of the day’s events, after which we went out to buy all the things we needed. All of us (staff and students) then met at our usual rendezvous point and left for Camphill. When we arrived we were welcomed by one of the resident mothers, she called all the children and other staff members to meet us and get the introductions going. The children then blessed us with a song after the introductions and we got on with the day’s activities. We split ourselves into two groups and carried out activities which included; washing children’s shoes and others cleaning the surrounding area. After everyone warmed-up to each other, we danced around chairs in musical chairs and danced even more with the children. Lunch was ready at around midday where we sat down and had a fun lunch; with hotdogs, snacks, fruit and juice.  When everyone was full the students handed over their donations which included toys, educational games, academic books and crayons. They were elated and that was a beautiful sight. The children serenaded us with one last song before we got back in our combi and left for the university ending a very fulfilling day…

By Maduo Magaetsho