March News

Making the Impossible, Possible - New York trip February 2011

I was fortunate enough to accompnay ten learners from the School of Hope for an unforgettable ten days in New York, thanks to the overwhelming generosity of Active Compassion Transforms.

The trip is the culmination of a year-long mentorship programme that connects mentors in New York with Grade 12 learners at the School of Hope.

Our time in New York was incredible.  We experienced and saw so much including the well-known sites: the Statue of Liberty, Times Square and the Empire State Building.  However, my highlight was watching our learner’s thinking expand as they began to realise that they could accomplish anything they put their minds to.  They had never envisioned something as big as going to New York and now it was happening to them.  This trip made them see that they can dream big and that their dreams can become reality.

This is how some of the participants were able to put this experience into words:

Simoné Van Der Berg (23)
 “Being here has made me realise how blessed I am. Not only has God given me a second chance to finish my schooling but also this unbelievable, unthinkable, indescribable opportunity that the other people in my family would never even dream of. This opportunity is making me think bigger than I had ever imagined. Now my own children will one day think big… I mean HUGE!”

Dawood van der Fort (21)
Thanks once again to Active Compassion Transforms.  It has been great being in New York.  I am making the best of all the opportunities given to me and my mentor is so awesome!  I watched my first Broadway Show today with my mentor:  the longest running Broadway show ever –Phantom of the Opera.  I know the subway system out of my head so I would fit in easily – I will have to come and live here!

Lunga Mdingi (18)
Wow! Being in New York has been the biggest thing that has ever happened to me. It has opened my mind to new things and shown me that nothing is impossible, so thanks to everyone who made this possible for us.  The lights over here really inspire a person and it feels like there is nothing you cannot do.  Tomorrow I am coming back to South Africa ...I will kiss New York good-bye.  I will really miss this place because it helped me find myself but there is no place like home.

Deidré Railoun, Educator and School Counsellor, School of Hope