Building Hope in South Africa

Having recently graduated from an art school with a degree in interior design, it wasn’t hard to decide whether or not I should enroll in the construction project available here at Fish Hoek.

 

I was fortunate to have been taking part in the childcare program for six weeks prior to starting my construction project. This gave me the opportunity to know the places, as well as the people, that I would be working with later on. This also gave me the opportunity to see firsthand the different needs of both project sites, and to make suggestions as to what could be done to improve the learning environments for the kids.

It was quite a memorable experience to have taken part in the first-ever construction project. I feel like I got to take part in making a lot of decisions as to what would be done during the duration of the project. Ultimately, we ended up painting the outer façade and the ceiling of one of the classrooms at Hope Centre, as well as fixing a hole in the wall and building a shelving unit to store the kids’ bookbags. At Kiddie’s Corner in Masiphumelele, we replaced an old carpet with a new vinyl floor we laid ourselves.

The best part of the construction project is that by the end of it, you can see the end result in a tangible form. If you’re lucky, you can see the way that whatever you fixed, painted, or built brings a smile to the kids’ faces and the people around you, as well as an abundance of gratitude and happiness.

Adriana Sol – Construction Volunteer

Building Hope in South Africa