YFU South Africa Newsletter April 2020 by YFU South Africa

YFU SOUTH AFRICA Newsletter April 2020 Youth for Understanding South Africa

Make the world your home!

CONTENT YFU Office News Voices Unite Volunteers & Interns Coloured Glasses Student Departures Wildlife Exchange

Visit our new website

Cultural Exchange Farm Exchange Kruger Park Tour Call for Host Families

A Message from our Chairman of the Board BY JAYMION HENDRICKS Dear YFU Family and Friends, The COVID-19 virus outbreak has impacted our lives in ways we could not have anticipated. In the past week, a number of students have been repatriated to their home countries, while the remaining students are to return home in the coming days. These are uncertain times and it is difficult to gauge how, in the coming months, we may be further affected by the measures implemented to contain the spread of the virus. We are extremely grateful to our host families, students and staff who have demonstrated resilience and a sense of community in recent weeks. Without our collective efforts and perseverance, the successful repatriation of our students globally would not have been possible.

We have worked closely with the YFU Global Office to ensure we tackle this challenge in the best interests of host families, as well as our students - both inbound and outbound. We are determined to emerge from this period a stronger, determined organisation and YFU network. Intercultural exchange and the promotion of mutual understanding and tolerance will become even more crucial as we rebuild our global community and "make the world our home" again. We will certainly require your assistance to achieve this, in the knowledge that our organisation cannot exist without its wonderful collective. In this vein, we thank YOU, our dedicated YFU Family. Keep safe, stay healthy and make the best of the time with your loved ones. Sincerely, Jaymion Hendricks

Retirement of our National Director, Dr Nina Voges BY JAYMION HENDRICKS Dear YFU Friends, Dr Nina Voges, the National Director of YFU South Africa, will retire on 30 April 2020 after 12 years of dedicated service. Nina commenced her journey with our organization in 2008 and has contributed immensely to its growth and sustainability during the past 12 years. We are sad that her professional journey with YFU will come to an end and thank her for her service. We wish her a happy and healthy retirement with the start of a new chapter in her life!

I am pleased to inform that Lena Gronbach will serve as interim National Director of YFU South Africa for a period of two years from 1 May 2020. Lena started her YFU journey as an exchange student from Germany to Chile in 2006 and joined YFU Germany as a volunteer after her return. A YFU marketing internship in 2011 brought her to South Africa, a place she now calls her home. After completing another internship in our regional office in 2014, Lena joined YFU SA as an Administrative Assistant in 2015 and took over as Outbound and Marketing Coordinator in 2017. Her vast experience and passion for YFU will contribute positively to our organisation.

YFU South Africa Partners with Voices Unite BY LENA GRONBACH We are very excited to announce that YFU South Africa has been selected as an official partner organization of the Voices Unite project which was launched in February this year! Voices Unite is a youth-driven movement which aims to survey at least 30,000 youth aged 18-34 across the country to guide and inform real change. Survey participants can win a range of fantastic prizes offered by Voices Unite partner organizations, including bursaries, training courses, cash prizes and more.

The project has been rolled out as a digital survey platform, accessible via computer and mobile phone, and includes +500 questions on the state of post-school education, skills development, job readiness and youth unemployment. Other partner organizations include Sanlam, AISEC, the University of Johannesburg, the National Youth Development Agency, the Allan Gray Orbis Foundation and many more. If you are a South African university student aged 18-34, please sign up and participate at https://voicesunite.co.za/

A Farewell Message from our Intern Santiago BY SANTIAGO SALCEDO My six-month internship in South Africa has been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my entire life. I met so many wonderful people who opened their home and heart to me. Being an intern with YFU South Africa helped me develop not only professional skills, but also, and I believe most importantly, personal skills. During my internship, I laughed, I sang, I danced, and cried out of laughter. Just like the students, I also had to adapt to a completely different environment. As the time passed, I learned to value what I have in my home country, Mexico. I am ready to share all my experiences with a big smile, and I say that sometimes my experience in South Africa felt like a dream. During these six months I also learned one of the most important lessons: how to be a big brother.

I learned that in Africa sharing is caring, and everyone will always open their arms to someone else, even if it is a stranger. I will always remember South Africans as friendly, happy and outgoing people. I will take so many memories home with me: the springboks winning the rugby world cup, visiting Kruger, hearing a lion roar, feeding zebra and kudu from my hand, the best sunsets I have ever seen, braaing, eating vetkoek and melktart... Special thanks to my South African mom, Mama Nettie! You are a big role model for me and you are an amazing person. Thanks for being not only my supervisor but my South African mom! Thank you Papa Jottie for all the great moments together, for all the jokes and all the laughs. It is hard to leave; time went by so fast… they say that time flies when you are enjoying the moment. I will keep in touch and please remember “Mi casa es su casa!”

Coloured Glasses Workshop for Pre-School Teachers BY SANTIAGO SALCEDO Coloured Glasses is an intercultural workshop developed by YFU. It follows the principles of nonformal education and is offered to learners, teachers, companies and the general public. The workshop format aims to make participants understand the process of cultural adaptation and understanding through fun, exciting and interactive learning activities. Coloured Glasses workshops are based on the concept of cultural diversity, represented by the analogy that all human beings are born wearing a pair of sunglasses in a particular colour. Therefore, their perception is influenced and shaped by the colour of their individual glasses. When we interact with people from different cultural backgrounds - and with differentlycoloured glasses - our perspective (as well as the colour of our glasses) changes.

This year, YFU South Africa had the first Coloured Glasses workshop for a group of pre-school teachers in Pretoria. The participants mentioned they had a lot of fun and learned a lot as a team, but most importantly about themselves. The 4-hour Workshop was conducted by our intern and one of our volunteers who had just received her facilitator training. Thanks to the Coloured Glasses workshops, participants can understand and value diversity, fight stereotypes and learn more about themselves without necessarily going on exchange, like our students do. In a diverse country like South Africa, we are more and more aware of different values, ideas, opinions and traditions that people have and share. At the end of the day, through intercultural communication, we start getting to know and understanding each other. At the end of the day, we are more similar to other people and cultures, than we think!

It's not a good bye - it's a see you later! Saying good bye to our students is never easy, and this year it was particularly difficult. Due to the early termination of all 2019/20 YFU programmes worldwide in response to the global Coronavirus outbreak, our students from Germany, France, Norway and Italy had to leave South Africa three months earlier than planned. As always, tears were shed, hugs were given, and tissues were in high demand. Our German students had a particularly memorable return, being among the first passengers on the German government's repatriation flights on 03 and 04 April. We wish all our students a smooth transition back into their 'old' lives and look forward to seeing them again in our beautiful country once this storm has blown over!

Farewell Messages from Lautaro and Victoria BY LAUTARO AGUZIN & VICTORIA ACEÑOLAZA "Today, in my last month of my exchange, I realize that taking the decision of going on exchange has been the best thing that ever happened to me. In my case it was like being born again in another country, in a family, new friends and a language that I wasn’t used to.

"This year was a year of learning. Learning about the people, learning about the nature, the different cultures and learning about myself. I met people who gained an important place in my heart and whom I will always remember. I learned words in languages I didn’t even know existed!

At first, I had a lot of doubts, but luckily I didn’t give up and today I can say I’m really grateful for the year I’ve lived in South Africa!"

I laughed a lot and also cried a bit. I have so many memories with my new family and friends. I can say, without a doubt that going on exchange to South Africa was the best thing I could have done!"

Lautaro from Argentina

Victoria from Argentina

The YFU Wildlife Exchange in Thabazimbi BY SANTIAGO SALCEDO & SASHA MILLER This year YFU organized the first ever Wildlife Exchange for our inbound students. A small group of students had the opportunity to spend a weekend on a game farm in Thabazimbi. The programme was made possible by one of our wonderful host families, the Coetzee family, who hosted our exchange student Vicky from Argentina. During the Wildlife Exchange, the students experienced game drives on the farm, attended Kambuku school, and were invited to the school’s end of the year concert presentation. They also visited a local vet, learned about animal tracking and about the different types of plants and trees that can be found on the farm.

Sasha, our exchange student from the USA, shares her experience: “The farm exchange has been one of the best weeks of my exchange so far. I got to experience so many new things that I never would have ever experienced back in America and I overcame fears I never knew I had. We did so many farm things like looking for the game, seeing how animals are taken care of at the vet, and learning how to track and navigate the bush. Most importantly, I gained a second family here in South Africa. I was welcomed into a home and treated as if I had always been family and I don’t think I have felt that much love from a group of people ever. I’m so thankful I chose to go on the farm exchange!“

The YFU Cultural Exchange: A new Perspective BY SANTIAGO SALCEDO From Pretoria we headed towards the other side of the country: to Ramatjowe for the Cultural Exchange. The students had the unique opportunity to experience what life in a rural South African village is like. Two host families opened their homes and hearts to our students and included them in all their family activities for a week. The students spent a lot of time with the locals, played with the kids, spent time with their host families and went to church with them. They also participated in a big braai where they could meet people from the community and taste some of the local food and traditional dishes.

Sasha from the United States, Inja from Germany and Santiago from Mexico, with the now local Sunniva from Norway, enjoyed spending time together, playing board games, visiting Polokwane for a day, doing morning walks, watching the sunsets, and watching the moon and the stars together. Trips like this are what makes an exchange in South Africa so special and filled with different experiences. The Cultural Exchange allowed our students to see and also understand a different way of life, far away from the leafy suburbs. It taught them to value diversity and different points of view. Both the students and the intern had an amazing time and found it very hard to say good bye to their new families and friends.

One Week on a South African Farm BY GILIAN SAUTTER One week on a South African farm ´ - when I heard that I thought about milking cows and collecting eggs!

My host mother was really nice and gave us lots of opportunities to see and experience as much as we could.

But my experience was completely different. The farm where I spent 1 week was at Thabazimbi. The owners are a friendly family with two daughters and one son. They own a game farm where they breed boks to sell them.

We did, for example, a ride through a nature reserve. My personal highlight was when we went to a wild animal shelter were they heal injured or motherless animals.

When we arrived, we were warmly welcomed by the whole family. We helped with different kinds of work on the farm, like fixing the road, feeding the boks or cutting the trees next to the road. It was hard work and everything was exhausting, but also a lot of fun!

What I liked the most about the farm exchange was being the whole day in the bush and being surrounded by nature. In this short week, the bush and my host family in Thabazimbi grew very close to my heart and I will always remember this as a very special experience!

The Kruger Park Tour with Bushward Safaris BY SANTIAGO SALCEDO As every year, our international students had the opportunity to visit the Kruger National Park on a trip organized by Bushwards Safaris. The tour included game drives (at both day and night), outdoor lectures about the local flora and fauna, anti-poaching and endangered species. The group also visited the Berlin Waterfall and Blyde River Canyon, explored ancient caves and did a fun river rafting excursion. As always, the focus of the tour was on wildlife and conservation education, teaching our students about South Africa's natural beauty, as well as the need to protect and preserve our beautiful animals and plants.

Our inbound students come from six different countries: Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Norway, France and the United States. On the Kruger Tour, the students got to know each other better and had an opportunity to share their experiences in South Africa. They forgot about their personal and cultural differences, learned about each other’s way of living and thinking,and shared an unforgettable week. Hence, the tour was so much more than just a fun trip or an educational experience: it was an opportunity to bond, connect, and build life-long relationships. The Kruger National Park always amazes our foreigners and locals, and it was certainly one of the highlights of the year for our students!

Host a YFU Exchange Student in 2020/21! BY LENA GRONBACH Being in a national lockdown does not mean that our programmes will stop - on the contrary! Building bridges between countries, communities and individuals is more important than ever, and we look forward to receiving our next group of exchange students in August! As every year, we are looking for loving and caring families who are willing to open their home and hearts to one of our students. Our host families come in all shapes and sizes and from different backgrounds and areas all across South Africa. Are you ready to bring the world into your home?

A YFU host family provides their exchange son or daughter with a nurturing environment in which they can experience life in South Africa. They give love, support and encouragement as the exchange student confronts, considers and adapts to cultural differences by including them into their normal daily life. YFU South Africa receives students from all over the world, including Germany, France, Sweden, Italy, Chile, Argentina, the USA, and many other countries. Our exchange students are carefully selected and thoroughly prepared for their exchange experience in our country - and they cannot wait to explore South Africa's diverse culture, languages, food and traditions and to meet their new families!

Get in touch with us!

Visit our new website

Pretoria Office

Cape Town Office

Rynette Scholtz Cell: 082 464 3957 Email: Rynette@yfu.org.za

Lena Gronbach Cell: 084 715 6373 Email: Lena@yfu.org.za