Fionntán’s trip to Blanco

Fionntán Marley (Year 13) visits Blanco South Africa.

Fionntán’s Blog from his trip to Blanco – 7th to 22nd of February 2014.

Woke up today feeling fresh as last nights sleep was the best I’ve had yet , all I could think about was going into Blanco and putting in that extra 110% and making so much difference in the community and the people within it and of course going back to see my wee brother Nathan. Pierre told us today’s main thought is ‘ service ‘, there is so many different meanings service can actually mean so my head was all over the place , so many things and emotions running through my head for example who am I going to make smile today , am I going to make an impact on the community, has my wee bro Nathan made it through the night okay …?  So obviously today my head was completely pickled but deep down I know I’m here for a reason and I’m not letting things put me off track! So driving to Stella’s house which is in the same street as Nathan’s house and he seen the vans coming up the street, I looked back to see him chase the vans with the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on a child’s face, my heart completely dropped I rushed out of the van and Nathan came running into my arms and give me a big hug and kiss. It just made me so happy knowing this kid is the happiest he’s ever been and he sat waiting in his garden till I came to the township!

Today in the township I helped clean the streets and helped a family remove a big pile of dirt and branches from their garden and after we successfully completed this we took all the kids we could gather to the field and played games and really interacted with them, this was real fun and reinforced how the silly things to us are the biggest to them and really go a long way!

My personal overall feeling of today – I thought was really good as I got to see my best wee brother Nathan but also today like everyday I’ve been here I’ve put 110% in and put smiles across the community. I’ve realised that now I’ve got two perspectives to life while the people in Blanco only have one. They think the way they live in these mad conditions is normal were as my day to day life I get everything I want and now I’ve witnessed the complete opposite to that, so today I think I cried around 10 times which was hard because I didn’t think it would be this hard!

Obviously from reading this you can understand for me this is like a train crash of emotions , every emotion possible runs through your head in just a matter of hours, but the group I’m out with are amazing and have really helped me through every hard time I’ve had! The leaders are completely inspirational and I want to thank them so much for this life changing opportunity!

Speaking personally; “Fionntan Marley”

For me personally this trip will be the thing that gets me on the right track for the future this trip has learned me more about myself in four days than I’ve learned about myself in my entire life. People think you come out here to change there lives well yes of course that’s a part of the trip but for me the main thing is what you bring back to your own community! I’ve been happy , I’ve been sad, I’ve cried a lot to but I know deep down I’m changing lives and that this is going to change me for the best.

South Africa is just special there is something about this place that gives you the determination to help others and make people happy .. The relationships I’ve built with the staff and group are just different class a bond that will never be broke  , another main aspect about this trip is the de-briefs they are so important they are an opportunity for you to get anything you need of your chest and to share it with the group so you can learn from others and that others can learn from you! I’m going to tell you about my first day in Blanco to give you an insight on how much impact this community has on you in a couple of days … 10th February – wow today’s the day I’ve been preparing and waiting for today’s the day I go to the township in Blanco! I woke up on a roller coaster I was happy , excited but also really nervous going into someone else’s community and trying to fit in and show respect but most importantly put smiles on the community’s face! Largey,  Waitso and I were the last to arrive in Blanco as the transport didn’t go to plan but we didn’t mind we still had the mind set to go and give 110% … I arrived and the group was already in two groups and had started the work within the township so I was told I was in group 2 I went straight down and got stuck into the work me and Anto were wheeling the weeds and dirt and dumping it into a dump site , going through the town we talked to the local people and started interacting and giving hints were here to help them and respect them … After doing a numerous amount of runs with the wheel borrow I took a bit of time to get to know the young people who constantly shouted ‘ white people ‘ we didn’t take this one bit offensive we actually laughed it of and give the kids all the love and affection we could possibly give , this one boy called Nathan really stood out to me , I give him a we toy plane and from this point he didn’t leave my side , he helped me put the dirt into the wheel borrows and held my hand while walking down to the dump , automatically I fell in love with the kid I just didn’t let him leave my arms ( not that he wanted to ) I’ll talk about Nathan in more description in just a bit … The kids in this township want nothing but comfort and attention I just couldn’t believe the sights I was seeing kids from no age running about ripped clothes , no shoes and running through glass and stones … There parents not worrying or wondering were they were or anything about them! I could never have imagined a child having so much fun with an empty tin he played football with it and I even taught him Gaelic! These kids have so little but to them this is normal so they are constantly happy ! This is not a lie one wee smile to a kid will make there day , me and Paul give a young child a lolly and he completely sprinted into the house to show his mummy , a stupid 5p lolly made this kids life worth living it was like he just recieved an Xbox or a playstation! Like I said my emotions were like a roller coaster it was just blowing my mind I didn’t know wether to cry or smile this just seemed like it couldn’t be true my heart was well and truly broke!

Nathan! Well I’ve given you a short description on how I’ve met my wee mate but this kid just clicked with me he completely means the world to me already not to say I’ve only known him for four hours , he can’t understand one bit of English but all he did was hold his arms out to be lifted, he constantly cuddled me and hugged me and just smiled at me simply because I’m giving him love and affection , he has completely broke my heart in pieces! When I was leaving Blanco I had to walk him to his house I was trying my best to explain to him that’ll I’ll be back to see him tomorrow but as I was walking away from his home he run after me and shouted stay with me ! I broke into tears but didn’t let him see me upset because I wanted to keep him as happy as possible , I’m not going to go on and on but this kid means so much to me and I properly love him to bits!

Well reading that you can see how much impact this place has on you as a person and how it makes you take a step back and realise how grateful you should be! There is just something about this place and is a life changing experience!