Educo Africa

exchanging experiences

2009-02-03T14:18:00.004+02:00

Hello,
I’m Christina and I’m working for Educo Germany for almost five years. Since the middle of the year 2007 I’m happy to work at Educo Germany in a fulltime job. My German colleagues and Educo Africa made it possible to stay at Educo Africa for six weeks and I'm very thankful to stay here. I arrived two weeks ago and the first course lies behind me.
You may ask yourself ‘Why is she in Africa and what is she doing there?’
One of the reasons is to share the experiences in our similar and different work with youth in the nature. Learning from and with others is one of the most beautiful kind to learn and understand. Except from all the work stuff there is also a private interest and a beautiful nearly unbelievable story. When I was three years old I got the chance getting to know a wonderful woman from Umlazi (near Durban). She visited our parish and stayed at our house for two weeks. I remember that we both weren't able to speak the same speech but we understand each other very well. She wanted to come again but this happened nearly twenty years later. It was amazing and the feeling isn't still describable. Since that time there seems to be a deep love and connection to the South African country and the people who are living there. This woman was one of the most important human in my live and maybe I'm able to give that love she gave me back to others - of course I'm still interested in getting to know more about the African culture.
The first course and the time together in the office of Educo Africa show me every day again how valuable and wonderful the work of Educo Africa is. It's great to be around those lovely persons, to work and laugh together.
I'm really looking forward to the next weeks and I would be happy to write about more stories from the courses or the office later.
Lovely greetings,
Christina

Stephan Is Leaving Footprints Behind (Size 10 and a half!)

2008-10-22T12:35:00.004+02:00

Hi and Guten Tag. My name is Stephan Peter. Do I look like a South African? Certainly not. My plane from Germany arrived 2 months ago in Cape Town. Since August 13th I am on a personal mission in this renewed country. My goal is to get to know the African culture and nature and give my support to this friendly people. How do I do this? I don’t run around in flip-flops taking pictures like crazy. I chose to actually live and work in this country. Not in a shady and dusty factory but in the great wide open of the South African mountains. I chose to work for Educo Africa, learn from them and contribute my work experience from Germany. Why? Because I love to be in the outdoors and to enable young and old to experience the great potential that lies within nature and themselves.

I have worked for Educo Germany for half a year, delivered experiential courses for students at university and organized adventurous class trips with teachers. How great it is to help young people on their way to maturity and older people to discover the child in themselves again. I like the experiential way because it doesn’t give strict orders and punishment. It rather opens up a space for development for example through climbing a rock, solving a set up group-initiative or allowing each person to share their thoughts and feelings with the group.

I think that in a world of bits and pixels, screens and files, digital worlds and shopping it is crucial, to reconnect with the material natural environment again. In a world of fictive friends and heroes we should grasp the greatness of our own lives again. In a society that is impacted by isolation through fences, wires, computers, wealth it is essential to open a space for a togetherness.

A person is a person because of a person. I’ve experienced the truth behind these words over and over again in the Educo Africa courses. People cheering each other on at a rockclimbing site, carrying each others heavy backpacks and sharing deep personal experience and wisdom with the group. People from different religions and racial backrounds celebrating and laughing together, reaching for one goal, being deeply moved by the time in the mountains. I have seen people crying while they shared their personal story with the group for the first time in their life. I have seen people truly happy after struggling their way up a steep slope receiving honest applause on the summit.

It is a very grateful work leaving positive footprints in other people’s lives.

Thanks to all the Educo Africa staff.

Stephan Peter

Second Time Around...

2008-10-09T09:50:00.008+02:00

Educo Africa has a past International Educo Intern (from Educo Germany) , Martina Wolf, return to volunteer her services. We are so delighted to have her back with us!

(see photo left: Martina in Cape Town, 2006)

Martina was so impacted by her time here in 2006, that she started working and saving money as soon as she returned to Germany in order that she could come back. This time, Martina intends spending almost nine months in Cape Town. She will be volunteering at Educo Africa, and St. Georges Girl's Home in Wynberg for the first few months before assisting at Red Cross Childrens' Hospital.

(see photo below: Wiebke, Tobias and Martina doing a "Traditional German Dance" representing Educo Germany (Erlebnistage) at the Educo International Gathering in South Africa in 2006.)

Martina is a lively, funny, loving and caring individual who is concerned about the welfare of young people. She feels at home in South Africa and loves the diversity of cultures and the spirit of Ubuntu.

We look forward to this next stage in her journey and discovering what valuable lessons will be shared and learnt.

Welcome back, Martina!

Internship at Educo Africa

2008-08-11T13:32:00.003+02:00

My name is Sara. I've been staying here for a month now as an intern from Educo Germany. I'm supposed to stay until the end of August, but right now I'm trying to extend my time here. Just because I like it so much!

I had the opportunity to be part of two wilderness courses so far. Both were very different from each other and in important points also very different from my work in Germany.

There were mountains to discover, eagles and zebras to watch, rivers to cross and summits to climb. There was the cold, cold winter in the Groot Winterhoek and a bit of hot African Summer in the Umgeni Valley near Durban. There was the Xhosa and Zulu culture to experience, beautiful languages to listen to without understanding a single word, having the experience of being the only person who doesn’t fit in. I watched and listened to joyful, powerful singing and dancing around the fireside and sometimes even got a part of it.

And at the same time I met wonderful, warm, openhearted and open-minded persons. Participants who taught me my first words in Xhosa, had trust in me and shared their gripping life stories with me. Staff members who gave me the opportunity to bring myself and my experiences in our work, and made me feel part of the team and belonging to where I am right now.

During all that "African time" is both a challenge and a relief for me. Everything is a little more relaxed here than back in my scheduled working days at home. There is enough time for everything and personal connection has more worth than just rushing through the days. This is a very enriching experience for me that I am definitely going take home with me.

And my journey here is not over yet. I'm looking forward to the rest of my time here and more histories, conversations, learnings and beautiful people!

Sara "The German Intern"
of the Educo Africa Team

Appreciating the Poetry of David Whyte

2008-07-31T16:55:00.005+02:00

I came across a poem that I really enjoyed and wanted to share it...

Mameen by David Whyte

Enjoy!

Chez
of the Educo Africa Team

Social Entrepreneurship - Say What?

2008-07-02T12:03:00.007+02:00

Well, here is a term that has been floating around the edges of conversation lately. "Social Entrepreneurship" - sounds really fancy, but what does it mean?

Educo Africa with Regis University SOFE Program (Colorado, USA) and the University of Stellenbosch Graduate School of Business held a Learning Forum in March of this year. Professor Carolyn Love of Regis University held a session dealing with Social Entrepreneurship.

My understanding (like the regular guy on the street) of Social Entrepreneurship is basically when a social issue or need is adressed or solved by an innovative and profitable action. But, there are many views on the subject. Some people (as I discovered in our Learning Forum session) believe that it is more philanthropic than business-minded. For now, there is no right or wrong answer. There is no saying that a Philanthropist cannot be a Social Entrepreneur, or vice versa. For me however, just the use of the word "Entrepreneur" makes me feel that the concept has something to do with an attitude of business that will ultimately benefit the social issue/need.

For more food for thought, I've posted a link to an article on the topic published by the Greater Good SA website. I would be interested in your thoughts on Social Entrepreneurship and what it means to you. Post a comment here or email us with your views...

Thanks for letting me think out loud...

Chez
of the Educo Africa Team

Hello and Goodbye

2008-06-09T11:10:00.011+02:00

Last month saw three new members join the Educo Africa team -

OUR BRAND NEW TOYOTA QUANTAM VANS!!

To maintain our high standards of safety, and stay within the confines of the new regulations by Government for public transport, we upgraded our passenger vehicles. We were also fortunate enough to have an anonymous donor fund the upgrading of two of our trailers.

For one crazy morning, we had our old and new vehicles in our yard before having to say goodbye to our old faithful vans. The feelings of excitement of the new (bigger and better) vehicles arriving and the sadness in saying farewell to our old ones was mixed. Each of our vans had particular memories attached to them. They had all been part of our adventures, our journeys, our team! The image of one of our past staff members, Thomas, standing on top of a mountain peak, silhouetted by the setting Sun (with our Eagle and Africa logo) had become a familiar sight on our roads. Some of us took the time to say goodbye and wish them well with their new owners.Here are some photos that show our old vans in action...

Now we are looking forward to branding our new vans and going on many more exciting, wonderful journeys together!

The Educo Africa Team

Bored with your Board? Try this!

2008-06-05T10:39:00.018+02:00

Are you bored with your Board of Trustees?

Educo Africa certainly IS NOT!

Educo Africa staff and its Board of Trustees took some time out to go on a Board Development Weekend at the Groot Winterhoek Outdoor Learning Centre (GWOLC). It was a weekend crammed with fun and getting to know each other better; and it gave the Board an opportunity to dedicate quality time to Educo Africa business. It worked so well that it was decided that this special time away together as Educo Africa Family should be held annually!

Photo: Some Staff and Board members coming in from the icy-cold, wet basecamp orientation on arrival at GWOLC. Don't shiver, dinner was about to be served with some hot coffee and tea!

The response from the Board was that being together and engaging with the Staff was very valuable. In getting to know more about each other, we had a session where we talked about what Educo Africa has done for us, or means to us, or how it affects us:

"I've always dreamt of sharing a part of my story with the Board. Picture a seed planted into the ground and weeding it, and watering it - I am that seed. And strangers (people not connected to me by family, by blood) did this for me through Educo Africa. I blossomed out of that seed. Now, I am the one doing the planting of new seeds, weeding and watering. I touch people because I have been touched." - Sphesh Chirwa (Staff Member)

Photo: In-between showers from heaven, Board and Staff set out on a short hike into the wilderness ...

"Educo Africa creates the space for you to bring what you are ready to bring, or choose to bring, at that point in time." - Sorayah Martin (Board Member)

"What I love most about Educo Africa is the people. Educo Africa is a family. The staff give everything they have - they have incredible emotional stamina. Educo Africa allows a space for you to be creative and involved." - Trevor Johnston (Chief Executive Officer)

"Educo Africa has given me the richest and most ruthless 14 years of my life. I would say this is my life work. Crystal clear moments that are extraordinarily precious. Educo Africa has given me a playing field to prove that anything is possible... We can play with accepted theories, turn them upside down and say "Look! We can do it!"" - Marian Goodman (Founding Director)

"When I see Educo Africa, I see people working with a passion!" - Bruce Fraser (Friend of Educo Africa)

"Educo Africa has the right Human Spirit. The people are not here to work, it's who they are - the life that they live. I have never experienced such passion and mature responses before, especially from young instructors." - Marlene Whitehead (Staff Member)

"Educo Africa is an interesting place. "Organizations don't work" - and Educo Africa is one of the few where people are happy to be where they are. It has a secret. I want to find out what it is." - Rory Wilson (Board Member)

PHOTO: Sharing dinner around a table with each other was really special. Besides food, we also shared stories, laughter and tears, and hopes and dreams!

The response to what Educo Africa has meant to everyone around the table was unique to each person. However, EVERY single one was a story of gratitude for being impacted in a positive way.

So, it is not just our participants on our programmes that benefit from being part of Educo Africa, but also our Staff and Board Members!

The Educo Africa Team

Something To Do

2008-05-26T16:16:00.004+02:00

Hello Friends

Most of our staff team is out in the field at the moment. Some are as far away as Tanzania and others are in South Africa's Northern Cape and Western Cape. Hopefully we will have some riveting and inspiring "Stories from the Field" to share with you on their return...

In the meantime, those of us who were here today attended our usual Monday Morning Meeting. It was in this meeting that we opened a space to share our feelings and experiences of the Xenophobia that is sweeping through our country.

Sadness, shock, humiliation, and disbelief were some of the common feelings shared. However, after writing down three things that we complained about in our lives last week that we thought were impossible situations and compared them to three things that are happening on a global scale today that could be complained about - like famine, war, global warming, etc. - our own problems seemed almost trivial.

We took inspiration from a quote by Theodore Roosevelt: "Do what you can, with what you have where you are."

After thinking about what we CAN do, with what we have where we are, we found that EVEN global issues can be tackled bit by bit - by doing OUR BIT! Hope lies in our action.

We each wrote down three things that we believe is in our power to do, that could create a small change for the better. This list of actions is now up on our noticeboard as a challenge to our staff team to act. We hope to be ticking the actions off one by one within the next month.

Our challenge to you is to do the same. Think about what you can do with what you have where you are to help make a difference - AND THEN DO IT!

Let's make a difference together...

The Educo Africa Team

The New Look Staff Team Photo 2008

2008-05-22T12:48:00.008+02:00

Hello Friends

This is the FIRST official staff photo with the new LOGO! Snazzy, huh? It took us a while to arrange ourselves in an orderly fashion (the boo boo photos are hilarious!).

You may spot some new faces and miss some old familiar ones. Firstly, Nox (Nokuzola Mnyani) is still deeply missed and fondly remembered by all of us. We can't think about her without a smile appearing on our faces because Nox brought laughter into our lives. It is how she will always be remembered.

Some other staff members (after many, many, many years of dedicated service) have taken steps to further their dreams and live with passion. Coleridge Daniels, Cindy Jansen and Alistar Harris have all stepped from being staff members to becoming Friends of Educo Africa, although are still available for us to call on. Once you know Educo Africa, it becomes a part of you, and you never REALLY leave!

The NEW faces belong to Alex Eppel, Khaya Baba, Marlene Whitehead and Alison Lee. We are delighted by the wonderful new energy that they bring with them, and how they have embraced the Spirit of Educo. Better introductions to the newbies will be posted here in the future so you will get a chance to "meet" them too.

So many exciting things are happening out in the field as we speak, and hopefully the Educo Africa programme staff will share some of their stories with you on this blog once they get back to the office. (It's way too quiet in here when they are out there!)

In the meantime, here is something to think about... "Don't live your life for tomorrow at the expense of today" - Anita Williams (Educo Africa, Bookkeeper)

Take care

The Educo Africa Team

Our staff team 2008!

2008-02-19T16:25:00.003+02:00

Hello all!

We are ready to roll and this is the first of many posts to come. To kick this off we would like to show you our staff team for 2008. A few new staff has joined the organization since the beginning of this year and sadly a few are leaving also. So this picture is of currently employed staff.

As soon as we have an updated pic we will post it here. At present we have a few programmes out in the field and things happening at the office, which makes for a busy time. This year started with a bang and will continue to play out at warp speed, so stay tuned for an exciting Educo year!

Thank you for your support over the last couple of years and all the best for an awesome 2008!

The Educo Team.

The start...

2008-02-03T21:46:00.000+02:00

This is it! The start of the new Educo Africa blog for all those Educo fans out there! Admit it, you know you love us!

This blog is still in its design process, so come back soon and get regular updates in Educo life in the office, on the road and in the mountains! In the meantime, have a look at our website, Educo Africa or our flickr website Educo Africa

love and light,

The Educo Team