31 Aug 2014
Clare Brady, a nurse from Monaghan, shares her experience in South Africa with MSC Volunteering.
We arrived in South Africa on 12th June and traveled to Holy Family Care Centre with Fr Frank Bray one of the MSC priests. On arrival to Holy Family we were greeted by the children, Sisters and other volunteers. From the moment arrived we were welcomed into their family and it really began to feel like home.
So far I have really enjoyed getting to know the children and as time goes on I am beginning to learn their routine, their likes and dislikes. At the moment some of the girls are teaching me the games they like to play. I enjoy spending time with the older girls and boys who tell me about their local traditions, and are eager to learn about other traditions. I am having a great time here and I just hope that the children are having half as much fun as the volunteers are.
I enjoy spending time with the children, knitting, playing ball, skipping, and just running around having fun in general. It’s amazing to see how kind and caring the children are, especially towards the creche children.
As a nurse I have had the opportunity to work closely with Carmel, a volunteer from Australia, who is a fantastic nurse and has a great relationship with the children. Carmel played a huge part in helping me to find my feet here and her support, encouragement and kindness were greatly appreciated. I have also had the chance to work alongside the local staff, who are absolutely amazing, and do great work with the children.
I have been blessed with the opportunity to work with these wonderful children in the clinic. Spending time with the children in the creche has been amazing. They love to play games with balloons. Also just the other day I brought giant bubbles to the creche and the children had great fun chasing the bubbles around. I have had the chance to engage in play therapy with some of the creche children, the benefits have been unbelievable.
So far since I have arrived it has been a positive experience, and although there have been difficult times for us recently at Holy Family, the way the children have supported one another has been utterly beautiful.
Clare Brady
If you want to know more about volunteering with the MSCs email fralan@mscvolunteering.com