What is your FSJ in Namibia like?
What does your FSJ in Namibia look like? We asked this question to the two volunteers from Rehoboth, who came to Namibia together in August 2022 and began completing their voluntary service with steps for children. They describe what their daily tasks are, what they show the children in preschool, and how they work with them.
Hello, I’m Hanna!
Hanna and the children in afternoon care at our partner project Bridge of Hope. The two volunteers mainly support English.
I am completing my international FSJ at the placement Bridge of Hope, which is located in Rehoboth, Namibia. There, children aged 2-6 come in the mornings, and in the afternoons older children also come, from first to ninth grade. With the younger children, I try to support the teacher as much as possible and help the children with coloring, gluing, or crafting. Numbers, days of the week, colors, and months are also taught to them in Afrikaans and English. While I still have to learn the Afrikaans myself, I can of course provide better support and advice with the English terms.
From time to time, I also help in the kitchen to prepare the food for the children. In the afternoons, I support the older children with their homework and especially with reading in English. For this, we (Liz and I) set up a small library and sorted the books by different grade levels. The children then choose a book — appropriate to their age and reading level — and have to read it aloud to us. I feel very comfortable at Bridge of Hope; the facility is very well organized and the staff are super kind and friendly.
Hello, I’m Liz!
Liz and the after-school kids at afternoon care in Rehoboth, Namibia at our partner project Bridge of Hope.
In Rehoboth, Hanna and I live with two other volunteers who are doing an FSJ with Volunta (Volunta gGmbh, sending organization weltwärts), in the Block A neighborhood in an apartment on the property of our landlords. The social institution with kindergarten and preschool, Bridge of Hope, is located in Block D — that’s a bit farther away, so we have to walk about 35-40 minutes to the project every morning. Lessons start for us at 8 a.m. I am assigned to a class with 13 children at the moment. The children are between 4 and 5 years old, and we do preschool lessons with them — that means we introduce them to numbers and letters, do crafts, or paint together. At first, I still assisted a lot in class. By now, I often teach independently and supervise a small group. Sometimes that is a bit difficult, as not all children can speak English. But I have found ways to make sure everyone still understands what to do. We now also have Afrikaans lessons once a week, so hopefully communication will soon become easier.
From 12 to 2 p.m. we have a lunch break. But here we also often help in the soup kitchen. From 2 to 4 p.m. the after-school kids arrive. We do homework with them and often read English books, since many children can only read English poorly or not at all. We also practice writing English words with them so that they won’t have such big problems in school in 4th grade, when everything is taught in English. At 4 p.m. our day at Bridge of Hope ends. I feel very comfortable in the project and am already looking forward to the next period!
Dear Hanna, dear Liz, on behalf of the entire steps team, we wish you a wonderful and enriching time, in which you can get to know the country of Namibia and the people who live here in all their facets.
Thank you for your great commitment!
