Trip Reflection - Student
When people ask me about the Kopanang Immersion, I reply saying “it was amazing” or “it was incredible.” However, these words do not provide justice to the feelings, experiences and women that come to mind and heart when Kopanang is mentioned. Upon arriving, we were serenaded by our mamas, who ran to embrace their new daughters with warmth and love. I particularly felt the love from my Mama J, who over the next two weeks made Mel and I feel like we were family. So much so that moments after we introduced ourselves to the women, Mama J proudly declared, “Those are my babies.” The things which I thought would challenge me - such as limited water, electricity and gas, very quickly become insignificant. It is impossible to detail her daily challenges, yet she is always optimistic in striving for a better day. Her joy, humour, gratitude and faith inspires me with the strength to persevere, open my heart, and embrace everything, especially the challenges. I truly can’t wait to return to the Women of Kopanang and see them all again.
Madeleine Harriss (Year 12)
Trip Reflection - Staff
One of the most difficult things about the Kopanang Immersion is attempting to answer the well-meaning question from family and friends upon return ‘How was it?’ It is such a hard question to answer because of the range of emotions all participants feel. There are no words to describe the initial nerves, the first sighting of the Kopanang Project, the welcoming from the host mother (spontaneous and beautiful singing), the warm families, the contrast between the wealthy and the desperately poor. It is an experience that moves far beyond words. Each day the staff on the Immersion would send a text message to the families in Melbourne, giving a brief update on the trip. Those text messages have been included below, along with some photos from the trip. A huge thank you to Ms Minna Denholm and Ms Bronwyn Ilott for their support on this trip. Opportunities like this are a real team effort.
Should an Immersion run in 2019, there will be an application process for all current Year 10 students commencing at the start of Term 4.
Kopanang Messages:
Day 1: It is 6pm and everyone is safely at home. We visited the Geluksdal School (Refiloe’s high school) where the 秘色传媒 students were treated like rock stars!. The girls also had orientation at Kopanang and spent some time with the children. They have a full day at Kopanang tomorrow – making meals and working in the crèche. The day has been filled with laughter and singing.
Day 2: Today the girls listened to the stories of the Kopanang women and shared their own reasons for being on the immersion. There were tears but also much laughter and singing. We also sorted through the many donations we brought with us and took some out for distribution in the shack areas. The girls were compassionate and kind and held themselves well during what can sometimes be a very confronting experience.
Day 3: Another busy day. The girls worked in the crèche and did an Easter egg hunt with the children. They also designed some embroidery with their host mothers and a few of the girls even learned some basic stitching. We then went to a large store similar to Costco and the girls spent some time selecting meaningful gifts for their host mothers.
Day 4: Good Friday started with Stations of the Cross at Kopanang. We then delivered food supplies to some of the families most in need within the township. The girls attended mas from 2pm – 5.30pm. They were respectful and engaged…even when the priest teased them about the Australian cricket team!
Day 5: It is Saturday night and we are just heading home from a three hour Easter Vigil. It was an incredible celebration and the girls all got up and sang in front of the congregation. We even have video evidence! Today we also went to Constitutional Hill and had a tour of the court as well as the men’s and women’s prisons. We also went to the Apartheid Museum.
Day 6: Happy Easter from South Africa. Today we have been at the Regina Mundi church - the birthplace of the Soweto resistance in the 1970s. We also went to the Hektor Pietersen Memorial Museum and then on to Rosebank markets. The girls have all made some purchases for their families and friends. We are on the bus now heading home. The route we are taking is through Sandton, one of the most elite suburbs in Johannesburg. It is a stark contrast to the homes we share with our Tsakane families.
Day 7: We are safely home from the Pillensburg Game Reserve. It is raining now but the weather was fine for our 3.5 hour tour through the park. We were VERY lucky and saw a rhino, giraffes, two lions and also came up very close to two elephants. A terrific day was had by all. The girls will sleep well as our day started at 5am.
Day 8: It is Tuesday night and the girls have all been dropped safely home. They spent the whole day at Kopanang working in the crèche and kitchen. In the afternoon the girls tutored students in English and Maths. The students ranged in age from 6 to 17. They did not take a break from the tutoring for a full two hours, even when they all had to run for cover from a storm. You should all be very proud of how the girls are handling themselves.
Day 9: Another day of tutoring, kitchen work and playing with the very energetic crèche kids. Home tonight to cook meals for our host mothers.
Day 10: It is nearly 7pm on Thursday night. All reports from the girls were positive regarding their cooking efforts last night (except for one or two with gluggy pasta!). Today was our last day at the Project. The girls tutored, embroidered, volunteered in the crèche, washed dishes even though they were not required to and completed beading activities with the children. Some of them even tried their hand at soccer before the rain set in.
Day 11: We have just been dropped home after our last full day in South Africa. This morning the girls laid out all the donations we brought over for the women to choose from. Everyone left with bags of fresh clothing, footwear and toiletries for themselves and their families. None of the photos you will see can do justice to the extraordinary effort made by all families and friends to provide useful goods to the women. One quote was priceless – Mumma Patience found a beautiful black and silver scarf and as she wound it around her head she said “Thank you. I feel like Winnie Mandela.” We went to the Johannesburg suburb of Kensington to the beautiful home of Sheila’s artist friend, mandy. With her guidance, the girls all produced a charcoal mandala drawing as a way of debriefing on their experiences over the fortnight. It was a fitting end to a wonderful trip.
Day 12: Breakfast at the Project and farewells complete. We are now on the bus to the airport so this will be our last message. Everyone is sad to leave but excited to see their families. See you all tomorrow.
