We arrived in Pietermaritzburg late yesterday afternoon; its slightly overcast today but dry; we are settled into our accommodation. Bernie Goosen who has come down with us; for training; has ben overwhelmed by the beautfiul room he has. Bernie is disabled and is often stuck in rooms where the facilities are unsuitable for him; this time his room is well suited and we are all excited about the fact that Bernie can now enjoy his time in comfort. This is a great start to the ELCAD project.
Guenter and Andreas arrive later; will be met by Lindy (my sterling special office manager) and Sharon (the indomitable organiser of accommodation and logistics)…then a short trip from ORT to Durban to really start the project. I am so excited to see Guenter again and meet Andreas. We have been working on this project for a year now; after meeting with Guenter in Salzburg in December 2008 and hatching this plan to get them out here I am filled with a sense of deep satisfaction and gratitude.
It really has been a team effort to get everything done; from the finances which had to be raised; allocated; budgets organised; logistics; delegates to be managed; and through it we have build strong relationships and a team that I would take anywhere with me.
I am sitting quietly with my coffee this morning reflecting on the journey thus far; and getting very excited about the next week…dinner tonight with all the delegates; to hand out their final itineraries; their final logistics; and to meet all these wonderful people we have had the privilege of speaking to over the phone for the last 2 months; now I get to meet them tonight for the first time.
I will have time to reflect during the next week as Guenter and Andreas train these teacher trainers; all of whom will have a massive impact on the teachers they develop; and the classes they teach. I know there will be such incredibly valuable learning that takes place: in pedagogy; methodology; training; and also in forging relationships between educators from Austria and SA; learning is going to take place for everyone…on so many different levels….and I am reminded of why I do what I do..
Infundo (latin for “to pour out”; “to bless”) aptly describes what we are going to do next week; and we are also going to have so much fun together doing it. More in the days to come….
