What Do I Do?

January 23, 2010

What Do I Do?

I’ve come to an understanding by my mother since she kindly informed me that I have neglected to blog about what work I’m doing over here. I guess I have been mostly sharing about my spare time adventures and not about my work adventures or even maybe the cultural differences here in SA to back home in Canada. So, I’ll start with the first thing on the agenda; What Do I Do?

So, to start this is my work week schedule from Monday to Friday. Monday is at my MCC office (James & Joan’s home office), Tuesday Project Gateway admin building, Wednesday and Thursday School admin building, and Friday Project Gateway admin building.

My Mondays, working with James & Joan in the MCC office, I’ve been working on accounting journal entries. James is the MCC Finance person for MCC SwaLeSa group, and he gives me journal entries to write up. He also has given me receipt slips and had me reconcile them. So, I’ve been doing a little bit of accounting duties. I’ve also done some web research, spread sheets, and my biggest task I’ve been working months on is getting all the MCC books into a working library using a Dewey decimal system! They have quiet a few books, some really old and a few not as old. I have come across some interesting old African poetry books, and a few other interesting books. I have never ever done such a task before. One of the things James and Joan did was purchase a computer program that helps to find the dewey decimal number by using the ISBN number or the author and book title. A lot of their books, I couldn’t find the dewey number, and so with those books I have now separated from the other which I have successfully have labelled, I have located a reference book that breaks down the system. But have to borrow it from the School. I enjoy my work days at the MCC office and with the company of James & Joan! They have become about three different roles to me, MCC country reps, employers, and step-in parents. And I know come July when I leave SA, I will miss having them close by, but with technology they aren’t as far!

When I first began working at Project Gateway, I was given the task from one of the head admin manager persons Di Milford, to scout out on-line companies for possible grants. Project Gateway’s major inflow of money consists of grants. These grants go to the many different Gateway project’s to help cover the expenses, to help those in need to empower than and teach them to become self efficient and to move on confidently and securely. There have already been some of their projects that have moved on and are not under their umbrella of Project Gateway! So, I sit at a computer and search company web pages to see whether Gateway will qualify for a grant and then contact the company via e-mail to learn how to apply for such grants. I was doing this both Tuesdays and Fridays, but I find this work to be long and frustrating since companies don’t respond to my messages! And sometimes the office space I work in doesn’t always have internet air time.

So my Tuesday’s you will find me up in Bronwyn’s office (Finance office in Admin building) now, helping her reconciling invoices and receipts to statements for the different projects or maybe working on archiving some of the files. I enjoy working with Bronwyn she is a really sweet and friendly person and I enjoy sharing with her about my family and country back home and what I’m up to here.

Wednesdays and Thursdays are my school days at Gateway Christian School, which is located just outside the old prison walls. Actually the area the school buildings were built on was where the prison wardens used as a recreational space during the time when the prison was in use. Some of the things I have kept myself busy with at school are creating the award certificates and Grade R (Kindergarten) graduation certificates for the Year End Award/Christmas Concert. I created, designed, printed and laminated them. I’ve also worked on creating and printing school event posters, and event tickets for the Fun Walk Fundraiser back in September, and tickets for the Year End Award/Christmas Concert back in December. I’ve also helped going around to the different classes and taken class attendance in the mornings for Mrs. Bennett (Public Relations Manager). Mrs. Bennett is who I work closely with, but have helped the school receptionist, and secretary with a little bit of filing, typing up new class list for the new school year (school years run from January to December, but it consist of four terms with a few weeks of holidays between each term). And any other tasks they might need help with. I have now just offered to help the teachers with photocopying homework sheets. The school doesn’t have money to supply the classes with work books so teaches are consonantly photocopying sheets and sheets of work assignments for the students. I think I put my foot in my month when I suggested this help last week at school, because right after the teacher’s started giving me photocopy work and I didn’t know when I could get all done, since there is only one photocopier in the school and the secretaries needed the copier too!

One of my favourite days at school is Wednesday, since this is the day that all students and teachers meet in the hall for morning worship and devotions. I love singing along with the students and teachers with their African worship songs that I have learned here. I have not learned them all very well, but there are a couple I know and love. One of my other favourite activities here at the school is when I’ve been lucky to assist one of the classes on a class trip somewhere in the city area. The children are very sweet here, and the youngest ones are very affectionate and sometimes come running over to me as I walk through the school yard to carry my purse, lunch bag and umbrella. It looks so cute when I look down to the small child carrying my purse and noticing that it is only a few inches from the ground! Sometimes I get hugs walking through the school grounds in the morning, and I very much love getting them.

Friday mornings at Project Gateway, I start the morning off at Chapel for an hour of worshiping. We used to sing African songs for the first 20 minutes but now Pastor Jabu (CEO of Project Gateway) only wants 10 mins of singing and more time focusing on the word. I love singing in the chapel here with my co-workers and friends, they sing from their hearts and it’s so incredible to sing along side with them. The rest of the day I’ve designated to spend on on-line grant research when I have internet access, and when I don’t I go asking others if they need any help with stuff.
So, as you can see I’m all over the place doing different stuff. Some days or weeks I don’t know what I’m going to do until I get there. This I find hard and frustrating since I’m used to a very scheduled work day back home and I knew what to do and when to do it, but here not always. One of the things I read about before leaving home about living and working in a warm climate culture is that the people are social orientated and not task orientated as in colder climates like back home.

Well I think that about wraps up in general what I do, I hope that has answered some questions about my days here.

Signing off in Zulu,
Hamba kahle (good bye or go well)