How do you get yourself ready for the experience of a lifetime? How do you prepare to expect the unexpected? What do you pack with you when you boldly go where no volunteer ( well quite a few really – I’m taking dramatic licence ) has gone before. Well for a start you bring balloons. Face paints are also a must have. And whatever you do don’t forget the football. When you’re volunteering with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart these are your indispensable tools.
For three volunteers this summer is going to be an unforgettable opportunity to work in the Holy Family Centre in South Africa. The Centre, run by the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart and under the management of Sr. Sally Duignan, is home to almost seventy children who have lost their parents to HIV / AIDS or TB. The children there range in age from babies to young people aged eighteen, but all have an incredible appetite for life.
As part of their preparation we held two training weekends in the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart community in Cork. Our volunteers come from different background and have a lot to offer. Karen is a secondary school teacher from Schull. Joanie is an auctioneer from Waterford who has spent a number of years teaching English as a foreign language. Kevin is an electrician from Scotland, but he can turn his hand to anything. You should see him design a contraption for safely throwing eggs out of a window. The group is led by Liz, a member of the Volunteer Missionary Movement and someone with extensive experience volunteering in Africa.
As important as these skills are though they are not enough! So last weekend they learned a load of new games from Sr. Susan Jones, DCU chaplain and girl guide graduate. They also brushed up on their face painting skills, child safeguarding, health, safety and security, and balloon games. They had a talk from Sr. Mary Leamy, a Bons Secours sister who works as a doctor in South Africa. The highlight of the weekend was Skyping Sr. Sally on Sunday morning and going walkabout around the Centre. It was a great opportunity to meet the children and the other volunteers, as well as getting the lay of the land. It’s less than a month now until their departure. Next stop South Africa!
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