SADLY OUR LAST DAY ...

We arrived at Alpha bright and early together with Heather (Kelli's mom) , Ros and Colleen. These 3 ladies together with Val, Jen and Kel hit the classrooms and sports field to give their final classes for the week. The kids really enjoyed the activities the teachers prepared and the moring flew in. John, Fergal and Karen worked extremely hard to try and finish the staffroom renovations.

At 11:30 we attended the assembly where the kids sang for us and thanked us so many times for uplifting their school and coming to teach them. We felt extermely privilaged to have been involved in this project.

We then officially opened the new staffroom and enjoyed a delicious meal with the staff.

Many tears were shed as we said goodbye to the children with whom we had formed such special bonds.

That evening we (together with Heather, Ros and Colleen and Michelle Brussouw) hosted a cocktail party to thank all the companies and sponsors who have helped us achieve our vision for Alpha.

Our MC Marius was fantastic and the speeches and votes of thanks were well received. The food was delicious and the evening was a fantastic culmination of the project.

Thank-you again to everyone who has contributed towards the ALPHA PROJECT 2009 we have had the most rewarding and emotional week of our lives.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!

ALPHA TEAM 2009

Nearing the end of our visit

On Thursday Jenny and Valerie were fortunate enough to go and visit Collegiate Junior School (who were the link between us and Alpha). They thoroughly enjoyed their class visits and were able to get inspiration from both children and teachers.

John, Fergal, Karen and Kelli went to Alpha to do some DIY in the staffroom. As usual milk was given to every child including a yummy biscuit. The boys worked till 5:30pm on the kitchen cupboards and certainly learnt a great deal from the other workers on site.

The children continue to interact with us and valuable friendships continue to grow.

We decided not to go out this evening as we were all exhausted and therefore remained at our respective homes for an early night!!

Another productive day!!!

Day 3

Wednesday was another fantastic day with unbelievable weather. We have been so blessed to have had the weather, it has made all the activities much easier.

In the classroom things seemed different from the previous two days, with a far more relaxed approached and a bit more chaos with the kids. The size of the classes certainly became more obvious to me as Kel and I tried to do PE with a class made up of 26 boys and 13 girls.

As for the staffroom that we are renovating, things went slowly as the varnish on the floor dried for the second day. On an upside, the kicthen cupboards arrived and the men finished the painting of the windows on the outside.

In the afternoon we challenged some of the boys to fix a cricket net that was very broken. We managed to interest 8 boys and teacher into doing some degree of fixing and sweeping of the pitch. This was followed by a quick team challenge, the challenge that if the boys pull together two teams and practise up to Christmas, then I will treat them to a day out with a game of cricket and some good grub. Following this challenged we did a quick practise session made of batting practise and fielding. The potential in these boys was eye opening. Just needs encouragement.

To end the day we had a site visit to the new Soccer stadium that has been built for the World Cup Soccer in 2010. What a treat.

Last night Bill and Ros Holdeness treated us to a fantastic meal. Thank-you

That is all for now, we promise pictures are on their way.

The Alpha Team

Day 2

The day started off with a bit of a panic as we ran slightly late. Nevertheless, we arrived on time and got straight to work on all fronts. The ladies were teaching and coaching sport while the lads got to work on the staff room.

The time in the class room has been amazing as the skills from our people and the techers combine to add value to the knowledge of the students. The desire to learn is tremendous and very encouraging.

The staff room that is being renovated, was completey sanded and received its first varnish. The walls have been sanded and are ready for a wash down before we paint them on Thursday. A new kitchen has been ordered with a new oven and hob. We receive this tomorrow morning.

A local journalist visited the school to report on the story and we got some great pictures with the kids.

At 3 o'clock we decided to visit Sister Ethel at the Missionvale centre. Sister Ethel is an Irish nun that has dedicated the last 22 years to the people of missionvale. Missionvale is poverty at a whole new level and the work she is doing is truly amazing. What a fantastic visit to her center that does such good work.

Sorry that we have not loaded more pictures but we promise to do so shortly, we have 100's of awesome pics to share with you.

The Alpha Team.

PS the weather is fantastic, was 30 c yesterday.

First day at Alpha Primary School

At 8:10am this morning we arrived at Alpha Primary School where we were greeted by the students. Grade one and Grade two classes lined the avenue as we drove in. They were all waving and singing songs. After we greeted the younger children we moved onto assembly to where the other students were waiting. Veronica introduced us and John then introduced us individually. After assembly we moved onto our glasses where Kelly was teaching sports, Jenny was teaching some Irish history and Valerie was teaching the students how to make clocks. I moved around helping each of them with the classes. John and Fergal got started on the staff room. The room had to be dusted down, the windows sanded down and taped up ready for painting tomorrow. At 12:00pm we handed out over 750 glasses of milk and cookies to the students. This evening we went to Kelli’s mums for dinner and it was beautiful! It has been an amazing first day and we are all very much excited to go back tomorrow.

The Alpha team, by Karen Kennedy

Day 2 - Sunday Adventure in PE

A sunny Sunday morning in Port Elizabeth. Before commencing work in the school tomorrow we went to spend some time at Veronica’s parish. Veronica is a member of St. Martin de Porres Catholic church in Gelvandale near to Alpha Primary School. From the church we went to the Kragga Kamma game park where we saw animals such as cheetah, giraffe, wildebeest and bushpig among others. Following this we visited Seaview Lion Park where we saw Tigers and Lions but the highlight was playing with the 2 month old lion cubs. Afterwards we had a delicious braai at the Thorntons house. What a tough day in Africa!

Early night, early start.

The Alpha team, by Jennifer McClleland

The team enjoying a meal out....fillet steak for 4 pounds!!!

Flights and Arrival in South Africa

After an exhausting 11 hour international flight we finally made it to Cape Town at 8.30am. Two flights down, one to go! Our last flight was at 10am and we had an average flight to Port Elizabeth. However our arrival was anything but average as we had a welcoming group waiting for us in the airport that would make sports stars jealous. The teachers , staff and friends from the Alpha School were all there. It was truly an amazing and humbling experience. To see the look of excitement in the teacher’s faces was testimony to how grateful they really are to each and every person who contributed to the project. We haven’t begun work at the school yet but already it is clear that we are creating an impact.

Later we went to a hardware store to pick up essential tools and paint etc. Some very price conscious shopping ensued and we just hoped we had everything.

We then went to source the milk. A major element of our visit this week is to provide a glass of milk for each child everyday. The amazing thing is that the majority of these children do not get milk on a regular basis – if at all , something most of us take for granted.

After a beautiful diner it was off to bed for the team, a big week ahead but everyone even more determined than ever to make a difference this week.

BY TEAM MEMBER Fergal McAdam