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KALAHARI BULLETIN, DONDERDAG 1 AUGUSTUS 2013
LEA addressing the Moshaweng High as sembly.
FROM the left are Thabo Mothami of loveLife with Lea and Tim Gogoll (Australian sports mentor).
Project changes lives Joanie Bergh
LEA SANDERS from Australia is part of Kalahari Experience – an organisation that has been working amongst and with the people in the Moshaweng Valley for 22 years. And today, Kalahari Experience in partnership with loveLife is changing the lives of people living in rural communities and equipping them to live better lives. For Sanders, dubbed by the villages as “Miss Lea”, this is her ninth trip to the Kalahari since 2007 and with each visit she is changing the lives of many. Where it all started Kalahari Experience started as the initiative of a small group a year of 12 students of the Frankfurt International School (FIS) in Germany who, in 1991, wanted to take an alternative end-of-year trip. Their Maths teacher, Australian-born Ambrose Kelly, had a long history of involvement in this region. He spent many years building schools here. He eventually became principal of the Bosheng Middle School and mentored many learners who today have returned to the valley in significant roles of their own. With the approval of FIS administration and parents, a team of students joined Ambrose working together to build and maintain schools and absorbing the Kalahari Experience for themselves. Now, in 2013, the programme has expanded enormously. Participants, all volunteers, include FIS, the American School of Paris (ASP) in France, Institut le Rosey in Switzerland, and several schools from Australia, including the Concordia College. These groups spread themselves along the Moshaweng Valley,
with FIS teaching in schools in Padstow and Laxey, ASP in Ganap, Le Rosey in Battlemount and the Australians in Laxey and Loopeng.
It is all about upliftment Apart from the joy the volunteers get from working in the community, the real passion, the uniting bond, is the upliftment and empowerment of learners, graduates and adults in the communities in which they work. Teachers and students now offer academic support programmes, particularly in Maths, English and Life Sciences, to learners across all grade levels. And it is this partnership with the schools that make the difference. Leah’s own role extends the learning programme beyond that of the schools. Two years ago she arranged a gathering of graduates of the Segopotso (Laxey) and Moshaweng (Loopeng) High Schools. “It was devastating to hear that 90% to 95% of them were unemployed with little hope of finding higher education, training or work opportunities. In that moment I knew Kalahari Experience had to work beyond the classrooms, but it would not be easy,” she says. The FIS has been offering scholarships to gr. 12 graduates for five years – a wonderful opportunity for some, but of course only a select few can be chosen. Going beyond learning Something else had to be considered to give them hope of a brighter future. Lea developed the Kalahari Experience Development Initiatives that were an extension of the learning that was being offered in schools. “What a joy it is to carry out
this role. I get to meet and mingle with people from all ages who live in the many villages in which we work,” she says. They are working towards creating the Moshaweng Job Support Service to offer a facilitator who will assist learners, graduates and community members to access skills training, higher learning opportunities, bursary offers, and the writing of CVs and application letters.
Active in community Kalahari Experience, under the leadership of Lea, together with Thabo Mothami of the loveLife organisation, worked together to create a community concert in 2012 which was enjoyed enormously by local and international communities. This year they brought together the bead-making groups who make the most beautiful beads for an income. Thabo engaged others from the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture to assist in delivering soccer, cricket and “ultimate frisbee” sessions to learners. All to support the idea to train a loveLife team to facilitate an ultimate frisbee competition for the Loopeng youth that will run throughout the school year. Leah recently left the Kalahari and went back to her home town in Australia. But she says she will be back next Easter. “I see my future input expanding here, such is my love of the people and their willingness to embrace my presence.” ) Keep a lookout in the Kalahari Bulletin for stories about these people whose lives were forever changed by Kalahari Experience. LEA SANDERS work ing with graduates and community members. Photo: Supplied