Saturday, October 18, 2008 brought unprecedented excitement to NextAid's pilot project, the Youth With A Vision Center in Dennilton, South Africa. Seventy-five grade eight students and chaperones from the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls (OWLAG) descended upon our sustainable construction project in rural Mpumalanga Province to spend a day of service for this disadvantaged community. The school group traveled over 3 hours each way to get to our site. Many of the girls had never been outside of Gauteng Province and were equally excited to be visiting a completely new place.

After their 4:30 am wake up call and a long bus ride, our visitors arrived at the center. It was quite a site to see the parade of girls in their matching orange polo shirts and khaki shorts marching down the 1 kilometer dirt road to the site. Their big buses couldn’t make it past some of the road’s treacherous dips, but the girls walked the remaining distance enthusiastically to greet us. They were welcomed to the center with a tour of our completed buildings and given background information on Youth With A Vision (YWAV) and NextAid’s plan for the center.

In the week leading up to the big day of service, Youth With A Vision’s volunteers, youth members and construction team were bustling with preparations to host the school group. South Africans idolize Oprah and even out in rural Dennilton, Oprah’s school is much talked about. The leadership academy opened in 2007 to provide opportunities for high achieving girls from disadvantaged backgrounds to receive an excellent education. YWAV’s youth and adult volunteers prepared a program of entertainment and activities for the visit. Our construction team busily cleared the site and began installation of the playground. In addition to providing volunteer labor for the day, OWLAG very generously donated an entire playground set to the project. NextAid’s program staff was able to secure paint donations from Build It in Groblersdal and tons of recycled tires from our neighbors, the Dennilton Tuck and Tyre Shop. YWAV’s soccer and sport team helped out by rolling tires down the dirt road each afternoon that week, in order to get the supplies on-site.

When it was time to work, the girls jumped to task, and worked along side our team of about fifty youth members. One of the physically smallest girls turned out to be the most willing participant when it came to physical labor. She and friends were carrying heavy poles, bridges, and ladders to assist our team of construction workers. Half of the girls made the long trek back to the tar road to collect more tires from the neighbor’s shop, while the other half got busy sorting paint and supplies. Within minutes, hands were coated in shades of blue and purple. Everyone came to appreciate the large jugs of turpentine that had been supplied. In total, we managed to paint over 60 tires in bright beautiful colors. We felt bad that the girls had gotten paint splatters all over their uniforms, but their Director of Leadership Development and Student Life, Funa Maduka, tells us, “The girls came here ready to get dirty, if they leave clean they'll be disappointed. They really wanted to feel like they've contributed and give back all they can, dust is the least of the worries, it's making a difference that matters.” The girls all seemed to embrace the spirit of day as there were hardly any complaints, despite the heat and long hours they put in.

When the bulk of the work was complete, YWAV members treated the group to some original entertainment in our jam packed Performance Center. The OWLAG girls were an appreciative audience of peers as YWAV’s group performed Zulu dancing, gumboot dancing, spoken word poetry, rap, traditional singing and a short skit about poverty. The student group reciprocated with some impromptu performances of their own. We also were led in some icebreakers and team building or leadership activities by YWAV’s adult volunteers. The day came to a close by planting beautiful flowers in the newly painted tire planters and arranging them as an edging around the playground. The young kids waited anxiously to be the very first to inaugurate the new play space. Smiles and laughter were abundant!

In a goodbye token of thanks and generosity, the girls passed out bags of sweets to the YWAV and community kids. Everyone felt that the day was a smashing success and we are so grateful to have a play area that will attract young kids to the center and provide them with a safe place to have fun for many years to come. Just as the finishing touches were being put on the planted flowers, Jabu Nkosi, our Construction Supervisor was caught standing off to the side of the property to admire the new playground from a distance. He remarked that he never thought it could look so beautiful! As a team, and in just one day, the girls from Oprah’s school along with our own kids were able to make a significant contribution to the community center. The true essence of volunteerism and service was seen this day. Girls, who come from disadvantaged communities themselves, gave their time and energy to help a community of complete strangers. The most powerful part of this day was the instant relationships and bonds that were formed between the two groups. Our kids from Dennilton are inspired and motivated by this group of students, their peers, who have managed to overcome great obstacles and are on the path to success and opportunity. We all anxiously wait for next year and hope that OWLAG will return to spend their day of service in Dennilton.

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