Day 7: Apartheid Museum, CIDA and farewell

This morning we set off for the Apartheid Museum. It is an excellent museum and very thought-provoking. Most of us moved about the exhibits independently, deep in concentration. Most of us are new to South Africa and it was a meaningful opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the origins and ongoing legacy of racial segregation.

We then moved on to a working lunch with students from another of Unite's partners, CIDA, Africa's first virtually free university, which focuses specifically on business and entrepreneurship training. Its 1300 students come from underpriviledged backgrounds and many are engaged in self designed projects serving the needs of their home communities.

It was an inspiring session. After three student groups introduced their business plans, we formed small discussion groups to share learnings from our own careers that can hopefully help them succeed in their endeavours.

Then, sadly, it was time to dash to the airport for a farewell toast and a debrief about an intense yet incredibly rewarding week together in South Africa. We also discussed how we plan to stay connected to and support the incredible programmes we've visted. We agreed that it certainly isn't easy to come to a new place with a group of strangers, pull together, make an impact, and learn a thing or two in the process. But we think that's exactly what we did, and it's a great feeling.

A massive thank you to all 10 of our thoughtful, adventurous, hardworking and good natured raffle winners, and to all of the partners who hosted and inspired us this week. It was an incredible experience and we can't wait until next year!

Day 6: Active Education and Life College

Today we set out for a fun day of sport at the Barkton Primary School in Jo’burg with Active Education, one of Virgin Unite’s local partners. Active Education provides children in South Africa with skilled coaches, as many schools have cut physical education from their curricula. They also provide life coaching and educate students on issues like AIDS, nutrition, and diabetes.

Our team arrived as the children were having their height and weight recorded as well as being tested for body fat percentage, body mass index (BMI), cardiovascular strength and general agility. Active Education uses this information to design a fitness plan tailored to the children which will be monitored and adjusted over time.

Many of the children don’t eat a balanced diet, and without exercise are at risk of obesity, diabetes and other health issues, so this programme provides critical support to keep them healthy.

We were invited to take part in the fitness assessment, starting off with measuring our height and progressing on to push-ups and sprinting. It was great fun and a nice chance to stretch our limbs after the inactivity of yesterday's marathon drive.

After catching our breath, we said goodbye to the children and headed across town for a mentoring session with another Virgin Unite partner, Life College. This organisation coaches disadvantaged children and teens in leadership development, emotional intelligence, and socially responsible entrepreneurship.

We were treated to a welcome song and presentation about the programme, after which we were each assigned two students for an hour long coaching session. Our group for the day was comprised of young women between the ages of 15 and 17. They face a variety of challenges at home and in their communities, being impacted by poverty, AIDS, crime and other difficulties. We talked with the students about what qualities and behaviours we felt had served us well in our own lives and careers, and learned about how they are working to fulfill their dreams, which range from becoming fashion designer, marine biologist, PR executive and even a "famous gynaecologist"!

We were truly inspired by how mature, strong, thoughtful, confident and positive these young women were. It's obvious that they are headed in the right direction and are already building a brighter future for their country. It was also a great reminder for many of us to live our best lives following the girls' example.

It was hard to leave Life College, and after lots of hugs, exchanging of email addresses and numerous group photos we reluctantly headed back to the hotel to freshen up for our farewell dinner. We can't believe how quickly the week has passed!

Day 5: Bhubezi Clinc and a very long drive

Today we were very sad to leave Ulusaba but looking forward to visiting the Bhubezi Community Healthcare Centre in nearby Lillydale.

But before we could make much progress on the road, we slotted in a 2 hour tanning session as we waited in the sun for our driver who was two hours late! We were then delayed a further hour as a truck got itself stuck in the middle of the road leaving no room to pass. On the positive side we spotted elephants, impala, and waterbuck while we waited.

Help arrived and we were finally able to make our way to the clinic.

Bhubezi is a state of the art, a one-stop centre for basic healthcare, TB, HIV and AIDS care. It was launched last year by Virgin Unite together with the US Government (PEPFAR/USAID), Anglo Coal and the Ndlovu Medical Centre.

Virgin Unite’s hope is that this innovative, public-private partnership will help tackle HIV/AIDS and save lives. This is especially critical in rural South Africa, where communities are struggling to provide decent healthcare, especially for those suffering from TB, HIV and AIDS.

We were given a tour by Dr. Gilbert Khosa, Bhubezi’s medical director, and had a chance to see for ourselves the amazing impact the clinic is having in the community.

To learn more, have a look at this short video about the clinic which Virgin Unite recently produced:



After our inspiring visit at the clinic, we set off for the long journey back to Jo’burg, where we arrived late and turned in early!

Day 4: Unveiling the crèche and revamping Wellani community library

Today we returned to the crèche to complete our makeover. While the more artistic amongst us put the final touches on the murals, the more spacially gifted in the group assembled brightly coloured mats to cover the bare cement floors. Now the children can play, read and nap on a soft and appealing surface. We also outfitted the classrooms educational toy and art supplies.

The big hits of the day were the teddy bears, Pride ‘n Purpose t-shirts and personalised colouring in books brought by Robin Lane, who rounded up her vendors to donate various items. Each child immediately took to hugging their very own teddy—for many of them the first toy they could call their own.

The looks on the faces of the little ones and their teachers when they entered the new classrooms was priceless and it was an amazing feeling to make such a tangible impact.

The scene looked like Christmas morning as we played with all of the children and their new toys. Many were unaccustomed to playing with toys and it was a great experience for us to teach them—many of us certainly felt like kids ourselves. We were particularly touched to watch one little boy show his teddy bear how to play the xylophone, holding the mallet in his bear’s hand as they made music together.

Before leaving, we had a spot of football madness with about 6 simultaneous matches thanks to footballs aka soccer balls brought by Baltazar Nuñez, Rob Green and Mark Laiolo, who were quick to show off their footwork to the amazement of the local boys. Nonetheless, this being Africa, the little ones ran circles around our boys but it was in good fun (we think).

Next, we had a short but emotional visit at one of the local orphan houses to drop off some toys, books, clothes and art supplies. The family is comprised of 16 children whose parents have died of AIDS. They live in 3 houses constructed by Pride ‘n Purpose and are looked after by community women who live there with them. Before these houses were built, they got by living in a small mud house which did not offer much protection from the elements and they had no adult to care for them.

Next, we headed to Wellani primary school to get started on sprucing up the community library which was to be opened that afternoon.

On the way, as with all of our drives through Dumphries, we were greeted with waves, smiles and hellos. Everyone was touched by the friendly welcome we were given. Baltazar even commented that with so many people waving he felt like he was in a parade! This warmth only made us want to give back more.

We spent the next few hours sorting books, cleaning, and painting shelves and signs. We then attended a formal ceremony to celebrate the library’s opening, which was presided over by the Nduna (the chief’s headman in the village) and various members of the local tribal authority. Certainly a big honour for our paint spattered crew.

Later that evening we were treated to a lesson in local cuisine, in which Lindsay taught us to cook a traditional Afrikaans stew called a potjiekos, cooked over several hours on an open fire. Then we were off to bed, exhausted but proud of a day well spent.

Day 3: Ngwenyeni Creche

This morning we were up bright and early, equally excited and unsure of what the day would bring. Mandla, Pride 'n Purpose's community liaison, joined us for breakfast and we learned about his work alongside Lindsay to serve the local people.

We piled into Ulusaba’s open roof range rovers (normally used for game drives) and were driven a short distance to meet our bukkies (that’s pick-up truck/ute here in South Africa) which would take us into Dumphries village for our first day of work in the community.

Dumphries is a traditional rural community of approximately 3,000 adjacent to Ulusaba. The residents are largely from the Shangan tribe. Poverty is a very serious issue here, and Pride 'n Purpose works very closely with the community to provide for basic needs such as access to food, water, and health services, and also helps people to help themselves through education, social and economic empowerment.

Today we focused on refurbishing the Ngwenyeni Creche, which looks after approximately 50 children between infancy and 6 years old. It’s run on a completely voluntary basis by several “mamas” who care for the children while their parents are at work.

The creche, housed in a plain concrete block structure, has very little in the way of educational resources. The walls are bare cement, there are no toys, save for a rusted jungle gym in the front yard. Thanks to the mamas, there is no shortage of love or cuddles for the kids, but still we thought we could help create a more stimulating educational environment.

We got right to work, painting the building inside and out. We outfitted each of the two classrooms with ABC murals and blackboards. Mark Laiolo, our resident artist, impressed us all with his imaginative rendering of the alphabet. The children helped us with a tree mural outside, using their handprints stamps to fill in the leaves. Even Mama Zita, the head teacher, got into it!

Outdoors was load of fun too, as we entertained the kids with bubbles and showing them how to use the new jungle gym. It didn’t take long before everyone wanted to use it!

Late in the afternoon we packed it in for the day, and headed back to the lodge for a game drive which was generously organised by Karl and Llane, the managers at Ulusaba. We had an amazing sunset drive, sighting lions with their recently killed eland (a large antelope), elephants, hippos, wildebeest, hyenas, impala, jackal, and a load of stunning birds, including a group of pied kingfishers which were Christie’s favourite.

After another delicious braai, we all passed out. This was a good day.

Day 2: Big wheels keep on turning

We touched down this morning around 8:30 am local time. The group was pretty groggy, but very excited to get to Ulusaba and begin our work in the community.

But first, we stopped at the cargo area to pick up a massive shipment of donated goods collected by Robin Lane and Baltazar Nuñez. Kudos to Adam Arenstein for organising the shipment and a huge thanks to Virgin America & Virgin Atlantic cargo.

After a seven hour drive through a tempest we reached Ulusaba (Sir Richard Branson's Private Game Reserve) well after dark. It’s an absolutely magical place, and especially after dark. We were greeted by Lindsay Tite and her husband Johan, who graciously hosted us in their home. Lindsay manages Pride ‘n Purpose, charitable arm of Ulusaba, co-funded by the lodge and Virgin Unite.

Many of us had our first braai (Afrikaans for barbeque) that evening which we loved. Our solar outdoor showers were a bit chilly and so many of us opted instead for a very rapid wash inside before heading off to bed. Girls retired to the Lindsay’s loft, while the guys had a staff house all to themselves across the garden.

Good night for now and more tomorrow.

Day 1: Off we go...

Today our group gathered at Heathrow for our flight to Johannesburg. After months of planning it was great to finally meet in person!

Our group is made up of 10 enthusiastic people from all around the Virgin Group, plus two from Virgin Unite. We're looking forward to getting stuck in and making a real difference. Play the slide show below to meet us and find out what we're most looking forward to about the trip.

We'll be spending several days in the rural community of Dumphries working with Pride ‘n Purpose, the charitable arm of Ulusaba, Sir Richard Branson's South African game reserve. Here's where it's located:


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After that, we'll travel to Johannesburg to work with Virgin Unite Partners CIDA City Campus, Life College, and Active Education.

We've got a long flight ahead of us! None of us can wait to touch down and begin our week of volunteering. Until tomorrow!