Young Africa - Week One

So this is Young Africa! On our first night here we were treated to welcoming songs performed by the 12 girls who live full time in the on-campus hostel. Although we couldn’t understand the words, or repay them by singing a few tunes as Gaeilge, it was the perfect antidote to the 17 hour bus journey we had just endured. Our first week as volunteers on the Young Africa campus was a busy one. We had all been looking forward to meeting the founders, Raj and Dorien, and they didn’t disappoint. They are such interesting, engaging people who instantly welcomed us into what has essentially been their home for the last four years. In just one week we have begun to see how their approach to development works.

We had the honour of attending the graduation ceremony on Friday, when over 200 students were presented with certificates in skills such as carpentry, mechanics, computer repairs, cookery and beauty therapy. The buzz around the place was a testament to the hard work put in by all students, teachers and staff over the last year. We hear so much about how education is key in developing countries, so it was great to see some positivity and success in this area.

Saturday’s Copa do Mundo 2010, Young Africa’s World Cup tournament, turned out to be a much larger affair than we’d ever imagined. An array of football teams made up of young people from Manga and surrounding areas descended upon the campus on Saturday morning and brought with them cheers, excitement and dancing. My God, the dancing! It’s a surreal experience to see hundreds of children, with no possessions bar the clothes on their backs, smiling so broadly and dancing so heartily to Wave the Flag… literally all day long. They made us feel so welcome as we threw ourselves into dancing, balloon modeling and face painting, to such delight. While this was going on, the main purpose of the day, football matches, were taking place.

SERVE were well represented with a male team, and a female team which included some of the hostel girls. Congratulations to the girls, who came third in their competition. I feel obliged to tell you, however, that there were only four teams. Still, they managed to score in every match and even win one, whereas your male representatives finished without so much as a goal between them. Ah well, it’s the taking part that matters, right lads...?

On Sunday we attended a mass, which didn’t disappoint in terms of hand clapping and singing. The hostel girls were proud to show off their old orphanage to us, it is good to see that they still have happy ties to their childhoods.

We are being fed twice daily in Magico, the public restaurant on campus run by locals, Gift and Manoso, and incorporating the cookery school of Young Africa. If you are somebody who gets anxious at the thoughts of eating meals in a place as foreign as Mozambique, you needn’t worry. We have been treated to some of the best food of our lives here. They are not afraid to experiment with food from varying cultures, and cater to anybody’s individual needs.

The rest of the week was filled with painting flags and a banner in preparation for the football, cutting the grass on the pitch with hand-held choppers, a bit of carpentry, playing with the kids in the crèche, development education, some itchy mosquito bites, more dancing and Portuguese lessons with the hostel girls.

We have learned to be open to anything, to be prepared to do things we hadn’t originally expected, and to enjoy every moment of the experience. We have met so many new people, and somehow formed relationships despite the language barrier. The next three weeks will probably go by way too fast, and so we’ll have to make the most of it, learning, experiencing, and having some fun while we’re at it.

Atè logo!

Lindsay, Donna, Catherine, Emily, Nick, Cathal, John, Kieran and Francois.

>> SERVE in Mozambique

>> View the tour of the Young Africa campus, by the 2009 SERVE volunteers