This month
Expat Girl has been doing humanitarian work in Namibia. The preparations have been in the works for a while. Now that they are “sur place” the parents receive a group update via WhatsApp once a day.
It is the highlight of my day. Admittedly my days are very mellow given that summer holiday have started and I am hanging out in Madrid soaking up the sunshine and tanking up on good vibes from my gang of girlfriends.
Expat Girl is happy surrounded by her gang of like-minded International friends who have been digging, sawing, constructing, laying down foundations, painting walls, building fences, giving English and French classes, cooking, cleaning all while singing what seems to have become their group song of “Don't stop me now" as in ... I am having a good time!
They send us upbeat voice messages, videos of them full of excited energy at the end of a hot, dusty and hard-working day, smiling photos with local children, and I just can’t help but feel a tiny bit envious. I would have LOVED to join the troup on their adventure.
I am forever greatful for the cool IB teacher whom year after year volunteers to gather a few motivated students to join her Sustainability Develoment Project and takes a dozen teenagers on a journey of a lifetime.
Upon arrival the International group were granted an audience with the Namibian President followed by a typical Namibian dinner with all sorts of local game on the menu much to the vegetarians' dismay.
They were guided towards the hardware stores in the capital to buy materials with the money they had raised over the past nine months before heading into the desert to a tiny place called Otjimanangombe.
A garden fence was mounted which meant the students had to hand saw the wooden posts first which were then rammed into the red sandy earth. They had to dig trenches to create a foundation for the new boarding house. This involved excavating huge heavy rocks under the scorching heat.
At night they cuddle up in the sleeping bags under a tent that they share with three other peers. It gets dark at 18:30 and temperatures drop to minus zero at night.
Throughout the day they alternate their chores of cooking, cleaning, teaching English and French to the local kids all while taking turns in digging and digging and digging!
They have restored the old boarding house, set the foundations for a new one, fixed up and painted the exsisting school and built an enormous fence with an infaticabile smile on their faces.
Today we received photos of the girls dressed in colourful Namibian Herero dresses and headgear. We watched videos of the local children singing and dancing to their African rhythms while our group of kids sang Queen’s “Don’t stop me now” in response.
They are having fun, they are seeing results, they are making new connections, they are learning in a whole different way, they are exploring foreign boundaries and discovering unknown territory.
They are so far out of their comfort zone that they don’t even care because they know this is what they signed up for in the first place. It was never suppose to be compfy.
So you go kids! You rock in every sense of the word. We parents are terribly proud of your tenacity and determination. We are in awe to see how well you have handled yourselves the other end of the globe .... without us needless to say!
Your capability to relate to others, no matter what language, nationality, race or background is amazing. Your curiosity is your guide while your sense of humor rarely seems to leave you. You are willing to take on the world and during this trip you have proven to us parents that you are ready to make your mark each in your own way and time.
We could not be more proud of you! But next time... we are coming with you! 😂😁😎
Digging the foundations of a new boarding house
Expert advice on how to set up a fence
Let's get to work
A brand new water tank ... a total luxury.
Restoring the existing buildings
Teaching English and French while learning the Herero dialect
Just your regular PE lesson in the desert!
