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Travels to Arandis, the desert town of Namibia
I had been planning on doing a trip abroad during my gap year – it had been something tucked away at the back of my mind for the last few years or so – so it was a relief when September 10 came around and I was finally flying out to
I went out to Namibia under the wing of Africa Inland Mission, a Christian organisation dedicated to helping those most in need in Africa, as well as sharing the message of God’s love for them.
My time was spent predominately in Arandis, a small desert town stuck in the middle of nowhere. It was over 70 km to the nearest settlement, and the heat was unbearable at first (over 45°C every day), but I soon got used to it. I was working alongside a guy called Peter (23), from
My weekdays were spent with the children of the town. Arandis only held a population of 5000 people, but over half of those were kids, and so there was always something to do! I spent a lot of my time, with Peter, establishing a soccer club for the kids, and in our first session on one baking hot Monday afternoon, we had over 100 kids turn up. With just the two of us to manage it, it was a tough call, but one which we both thoroughly enjoyed! It was great, over the few months that I was out there, to see how the kids developed – not just in their soccer skills but mainly in their interaction with each other and their social skills. We placed a strong emphasis on team work and discipline – something that many of these children didn’t really know a lot about. The older group that we coached (the under 16s), were brilliant, and were running rings around me by the end of my time there!
As well as soccer coaching, I decided to try and build a drama team with the church I was connected to there, which was a great success, as we had a team of 20 young people throwing themselves with gusto at different scenarios and improv scenes which I got them to act out, and it culminated in a brilliantly performed sketch, which the team acted out to the youth group and the church. The most positive thing about this was that I was able to pass on the leadership of the drama team to a more than capable young lady (Amanda), who I have heard has been writing many a play since I left!
The other main thing I was involved with was the running of a Youth Leadership course, for those in authority in the youth group. I put together a guide on 7 essential leadership tips and values, and then we spent 7 weeks working through each of these values which I thought of as being essential to leadership. It was great fun, and we all learnt a lot from each other.
I returned to the
Tom Heasman