Liebenhaus...first impressions

Hi everyone!!!Well I’ve moved house now and started my new project at Liebenhaus! Moved on Monday and met the other new volunteers. This time we have all girls, two dutch and one Japanese girl. The new house is lovely, nice and cosy! It’s a new area as well so I’ve only just about managed to keep my bearings! So we’re pretty well settled in now, finding our feet. It’s a bit strange being the only one who already is fairly well orientated, trying to keep in mind that the other girls have a lot more to adjust to. Yesterday we had our first look at Liebenhaus which is a project of Childline P.E. and supported by the Department of Social Development. Currently there are 23 boys resident in the home, aged between 6 and 17. Yesterday we just met the staff and got a look around the home so we could get acquainted with the project. It seems really well run, lots of structure and support for the boys, with a policy of consequences rather than corporal punishment. There are 5 child care workers who work in shifts, so that one is on duty every night. We found out that there is only one child care worker on duty at the weekends, so we’ve made a preliminary plan to work Saturday and Sunday and have Monday and Tuesday off instead. It will mean getting to spend more fun time with the boys and we can organise an outing or some bigger activity for them which will be great. We also get to attend Church with them on Sundays which will be really interesting! Last night everyone was tired so we took it easy and had an embarrassingly early night haha! Today was our first full day at the project, starting at 10 and finishing at 5... a long sleep in compared to Ready4Life haha! So we started today with a meeting with the principal to discuss our roles in the project and what we hoped to get from our time and what she expects to get from us etc. Also got to talk more with the child care workers and other staff and get a good feel for what is involved in working at Liebenhaus. There are some things like copies and stationary that are really needed so we probably will put money towards that. We also want to buy wood to build a second goal for the new soccer pitch laid by the last volunteers which is growing really well and looks like it’s gonna get a lot of use! But when we were looking around today we felt that we really want to decorate the bedroom of the older boys as the little ones bedroom has been beautifully painted by previous volunteers. So we’re gonna discuss it with the principal and see what we can sort out but I think it would be great to do and would be a lasting mark of our time here. The idea is to paint goals on opposite walls of the room and then decorate the other walls with sports gear and jerseys etc...as you can see I’m quickly getting in touch with my masculine side haha! So this afternoon then we met the boys. First they had lunch and I have to say I have to say I’ve never seen boys be so orderly about food in all my life! Very impressed haha! We just stood back and observed for a while but after lunch we all sat around and introduced ourselves. They were so fascinated with Mai, the Japanese girl it was very funny! Asking “Do you know Jackie Chan?”etc! Showed them Ireland on the map and how I flew to get here, they reckon Ireland is very small...but Holland hardly counts as a country it’s like the size of Swaziland on their map haha! We joined in with homework time...no time like the present to get started! I ended up helping one boy with his maths and found quickly that maths is a definite problem here. I’ve heard that already in South Africa, it’s a national problem. So we got through all the sums, 100% and he was delighted! I’m attached already! After homework I somehow ended up having a toss around of a rugby ball with some of the boys outside. It was loads of fun! I even managed to the ball haha! Was great to just fool around and break the ice a little bit, it’s a little bit easier maybe in some ways with the older boys as they have English which the younger ones are just learning. Some of the boys have mental and physical disabilities as well so there is really a lot going on. And I’m sure on some days I will want to tear my hair out but today was a great starting day. I’m looking forward to doing something tangible in the bedroom and also to seeing if I can bring anything useful from my experience in schools at home to the project here. My mind is working already to think of relevant games, studies and reward schemes that might be useful here! Maybe after this week I will have a good feel for the place and how I can best fit in. For now I am just going to take my time and find my feet!I think that’s it for now so I will say goodbye and write again soon when I have more to tell of the new project. It’s great to hear from home so keep me in the loop! And a special thanks to Marcel for the beautiful message I was so touched by it. Hope to see you again in the not too distant future my friend.Lots of loveZoe

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