My final vocational day took me along to the local Pick n Pay in Bethlehem to meet with the manager Werner Kleinhans. I was given a tour of the whole operation covering all the selling support areas, which gave me the chance to ask lots of questions and also gave me a chance to let the team know that all the usual retailers gripes are universal and we all have more or less the same challenges around the supply chain, availability, merchandising, operations and customer service facing us each and every day!
South African supermarket retail traditionally sees the majority of fresh food being prepared or manufactured on site, with a full complement of butchers, fishmongers, bakers, confectioners and chefs on site in each and every supermarket. Something that is not as common in the big brand supermarkets in the UK where we buy in the majority of our products ready for sale, with the exception of products such as part baked bread and rotisserie chickens for example!
Pick n Pay are one of the big food retailers in South Africa who are moving towards a more cost effective and streamlined operation that will see them adopting practices similar to those of UK supermarkets. This is a big change for them to adopt and they are working hard to ensure that they are doing this in a not only a cost effective way, but a way that will limit the impact on local labour, by minimising the impact on the reduction and centralisation of the specialist roles mentioned above.
Ready meals and convenience food are a small but rapidly increasing sector of the food market in SA. What currently only represents about 15 lines on the shelves of the Bethlehem PnP (over 500+ lines in an average Waitrose back home) is an area that SA consumers are being introduced to slowly but surely.
It has been fantastic to spend such quality time with so many retail colleagues during my stay here in South Africa. It truly is an experience that money can't buy! I am sat here typing away, feeling extremely privileged, as the memories of the last 4 weeks run through my mind!
I have learnt many things about retail, most importantly I have been reminded of how there are just 2 key achievements for a retailer - availability and customer service! If one achieves just these 2 (with a lot of hard work and intermediate steps in between I must add) then a retailer will be a happy and contented and profitable retailer.
I have learnt new ways of doing things, different ways of doing things, more effective ways of doing things and most of all I have been reminded why I love working in retail!
My thanks go out to all the Rotarians in the UK for making this trip possible, all the Rotarians in SA for making my vocational days possible, and all the retailers who have given up their precious time at this busy time of the year to ensure that I got the most from my experiences.
Natasha
Thursday, 19 November 2009
Bethlehem - Take 2
Wednesday 18th November
Wednesday morning saw us all completing our final vocational day for the trip!!
We will keep you all updated as usual on our individual experiences very soon!
We then all met for lunch at a local retirement facility, Sonskyn Service centre (Sunshine in English) where residents are offered sheltered housing in return for R 70 a month (State pension being R 90 a month!) For this there is one hot meal available at Lunch Monday to Friday, with the addition of a pudding on Wednesdays. Residents then prepare the rest of there meals themselves in self contained bedrooms (about 6 to a cottage) then sharing a communal toilet and shower room. The Bethlehem Rotary club support the home with not just funding for equipment and facilities but just as importantly companionship and friendship as many of the residents are either without family or many miles away from their loved ones.
It was a fantastic opportunity for us to meet with many of the residents and join them for lunch and pudding (it was a Wednesday after all!) giving us the chance to be tested on our Afrikaans and make more friends! It was interesting to hear the stories of the residents and the events that have led them to living in the facility. We were truly welcomed as ever!
Wednesday afternoon was spent in the home of Tess & Hannes who were kind enough to light a fire (the weather has been more reminiscent of home than SA!) and keep us fed and watered long enough to start work on out presentation for the conference this Saturday.
The time then came to head off to our final Rotary club meeting and presentation, and in true SA style we where greeted with a spit braai (an in-door braai - as the rain didn't let off for nearly 6 hours!) The Rotary club of Bethlehem had taken the opportunity of the get together to invite along prospective members to give them an insight into not only the work of Rotary International but also all the local projects that they support fantastically well with their 15 members. It was a lovely evening and our thanks go to all the members of Bethlehem Club for an wonderful evening.
The weather was a slight improvement on Thursday morning, as the team were taken to a local project 'Eden'. The project, run and founded by Pastor Dicky Maritz and his wife Jakkie, provides sheltered housing for abandoned and abused children and abused women. The project also provides community based education, prevention and restoration on an international basis concerning alcohol, drugs and behavioral abuse. The project started in Bethlehem in 1996 and now houses and caters for 89 individuals ranging from new born to adult. Rotary have been involved in this inspirational project for many years now through monetary and clothing donations. The project runs entirely without a budget, but from 1996 the local community has managed to contribute towards the running and up keep of the shelter and work hard to ensure its continued existence.
The morning continued with a team visit to Clarens. A village that for many decades has attracted many artists and craftsmen with its beautiful and inspirational scenery as the backdrop. (Think old English village crossed with the mountains of Switzerland). It was fantastic to spend time there viewing the various shops and art galleries.
After a sumptuous lunch of spaghetti bolognase courtesy of Bruce and Winnie, we all clubbed together some money to gather some provisions for the Golden Gate Hospice and hit the local Pick n Pay for a supermarket sweep style trolley fill - with requests for apples and toilet paper we shopped wisely and managed to add maize flour, fruit drinks, eggs and jam to the trolley. After our mental maths let us down! we also managed to add a huge watermelon to the list to ensure we spent every penny! We were then able to deliver the shopping to the children at the day care centre, their newly opened building officially opened 2 weeks ago. It was a fantastic and brightly coloured building funded by the local Round Tablers with a huge contribution from a Round Table club in Holland. The Dutch Tablers have a keen eye for fundraising - on a recent visit they saw the potential in the beautiful bead work created by the ladies of the hospice craft co operative and ordered beaded spectacle holders, which were shipped back to Holland to be sold in aid of the hospice. From those simple spectacle holders they funded the new new day care centre! What a fantastic achievement.
The Hospice takes care of people living with life limiting diseases and their families, irrespective of financial position. A valuable community project that aims to enhance the quality of life, provide dignity in death and support in bereavement.
With financing from the local community and PEPFAR, the hospice is able to provide palliative and residential care for patients suffering a range of life shortening illnesses. Historically, the patients cared for by the hospice were cancer suffers, but the HIV/AIDS pandemic has seen this shift to the majority of patients suffering from HIV/AIDS. The hospice also has a huge community outreach programme for all ages supporting them in all manner of ways including education, micro finance, health and nutritional support, craft cooperatives, bereavement counselling - the list goes on!
The next few hours will be spent packing for the penultimate time as we leave bright and early at 6am tomorrow morning for Durban! The wind is blowing here yet again.....the locals insist that the bad weather is very unusual for Bethlehem! However, we have just had reports that passengers out on the boat today have been hauled up inside with sea sickness, as the boat has spent the last 2 days battling high winds and ridiculously big waves! Apparently the high winds are due to a cyclone heading to SA from Madagascar! The boat is suddenly seeming a little less appealing!
Well here goes! We are going to be stocking up on sea sickness tablets in the morning!
See you all on the other side!
Bon Voyage!
Steff & Natasha
Wednesday morning saw us all completing our final vocational day for the trip!!
We will keep you all updated as usual on our individual experiences very soon!
We then all met for lunch at a local retirement facility, Sonskyn Service centre (Sunshine in English) where residents are offered sheltered housing in return for R 70 a month (State pension being R 90 a month!) For this there is one hot meal available at Lunch Monday to Friday, with the addition of a pudding on Wednesdays. Residents then prepare the rest of there meals themselves in self contained bedrooms (about 6 to a cottage) then sharing a communal toilet and shower room. The Bethlehem Rotary club support the home with not just funding for equipment and facilities but just as importantly companionship and friendship as many of the residents are either without family or many miles away from their loved ones.
It was a fantastic opportunity for us to meet with many of the residents and join them for lunch and pudding (it was a Wednesday after all!) giving us the chance to be tested on our Afrikaans and make more friends! It was interesting to hear the stories of the residents and the events that have led them to living in the facility. We were truly welcomed as ever!
Wednesday afternoon was spent in the home of Tess & Hannes who were kind enough to light a fire (the weather has been more reminiscent of home than SA!) and keep us fed and watered long enough to start work on out presentation for the conference this Saturday.
The time then came to head off to our final Rotary club meeting and presentation, and in true SA style we where greeted with a spit braai (an in-door braai - as the rain didn't let off for nearly 6 hours!) The Rotary club of Bethlehem had taken the opportunity of the get together to invite along prospective members to give them an insight into not only the work of Rotary International but also all the local projects that they support fantastically well with their 15 members. It was a lovely evening and our thanks go to all the members of Bethlehem Club for an wonderful evening.
The weather was a slight improvement on Thursday morning, as the team were taken to a local project 'Eden'. The project, run and founded by Pastor Dicky Maritz and his wife Jakkie, provides sheltered housing for abandoned and abused children and abused women. The project also provides community based education, prevention and restoration on an international basis concerning alcohol, drugs and behavioral abuse. The project started in Bethlehem in 1996 and now houses and caters for 89 individuals ranging from new born to adult. Rotary have been involved in this inspirational project for many years now through monetary and clothing donations. The project runs entirely without a budget, but from 1996 the local community has managed to contribute towards the running and up keep of the shelter and work hard to ensure its continued existence.
The morning continued with a team visit to Clarens. A village that for many decades has attracted many artists and craftsmen with its beautiful and inspirational scenery as the backdrop. (Think old English village crossed with the mountains of Switzerland). It was fantastic to spend time there viewing the various shops and art galleries.
After a sumptuous lunch of spaghetti bolognase courtesy of Bruce and Winnie, we all clubbed together some money to gather some provisions for the Golden Gate Hospice and hit the local Pick n Pay for a supermarket sweep style trolley fill - with requests for apples and toilet paper we shopped wisely and managed to add maize flour, fruit drinks, eggs and jam to the trolley. After our mental maths let us down! we also managed to add a huge watermelon to the list to ensure we spent every penny! We were then able to deliver the shopping to the children at the day care centre, their newly opened building officially opened 2 weeks ago. It was a fantastic and brightly coloured building funded by the local Round Tablers with a huge contribution from a Round Table club in Holland. The Dutch Tablers have a keen eye for fundraising - on a recent visit they saw the potential in the beautiful bead work created by the ladies of the hospice craft co operative and ordered beaded spectacle holders, which were shipped back to Holland to be sold in aid of the hospice. From those simple spectacle holders they funded the new new day care centre! What a fantastic achievement.
The Hospice takes care of people living with life limiting diseases and their families, irrespective of financial position. A valuable community project that aims to enhance the quality of life, provide dignity in death and support in bereavement.
With financing from the local community and PEPFAR, the hospice is able to provide palliative and residential care for patients suffering a range of life shortening illnesses. Historically, the patients cared for by the hospice were cancer suffers, but the HIV/AIDS pandemic has seen this shift to the majority of patients suffering from HIV/AIDS. The hospice also has a huge community outreach programme for all ages supporting them in all manner of ways including education, micro finance, health and nutritional support, craft cooperatives, bereavement counselling - the list goes on!
The next few hours will be spent packing for the penultimate time as we leave bright and early at 6am tomorrow morning for Durban! The wind is blowing here yet again.....the locals insist that the bad weather is very unusual for Bethlehem! However, we have just had reports that passengers out on the boat today have been hauled up inside with sea sickness, as the boat has spent the last 2 days battling high winds and ridiculously big waves! Apparently the high winds are due to a cyclone heading to SA from Madagascar! The boat is suddenly seeming a little less appealing!
Well here goes! We are going to be stocking up on sea sickness tablets in the morning!
See you all on the other side!
Bon Voyage!
Steff & Natasha
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
Team Leader Monday 16 November - Tuesday 17th November
Upon arrival in Bethlehem we were met, as we have become accustomed to, by friendly and welcoming Rotarians and after leaving luggage at Tess and Hannes Heymans' house were taken to Lions Rock sanctuary. This was established to provide a better environment for Lions held in dreadful conditions in Romanian Zoos. Whilst their keepers tried their best to look after the animals, financial difficulties impacted on their care. Although the animals at Lions Rock do not have the area to roam in, that you would see in some of the Game Reserves, the care and attention that they enjoy is impressive and a significant improvement on their previous surroundings. After the odd drink with our Rotarian party (well it would be rude to say no!!) we left to meet our new individual Rotarian hosts and each enjoyed dinner and more hospitality at their homes.
Tuesday 17th November
This was a cultural day with our first visit being the Basothu Cultural Village situated about 25km from the world renowned Golden Gate Highlands National Park. The village depicts the architectural and life style of Basutho from as early as the 16th Century to the present day.
The guided tour started with the announcement of our arrival to the Chief as it was traditional that any visitors to the villages could not enter without the Chief's awareness and agreement. We were then offered to take traditional beer with the Chief as a sign of his friendship but in Basotho culture, it was always men first and ladies second. Whilst an interesting experience, I am not sure that it will be an export product for South Africa! However it was possibly the only occasion that I have seen Mike refuse a beer on the trip.
Our guide then took us to the various houses and were introduced to the Chief's three wives who in traditional Basotho culture offered us various foods as a sign of their hospitality. It was interesting to see how the change in lifestyle/culture altered as a result of the influence of the missionaries and European settlers.
Upon leaving the village we had a scenic drive(is anywhere not scenic here) and temporarily stopped at Little Switzerland which is an upmarket Hotel/Restaurant with fabulous views and numerous sporting activities. Sarah, ever being the adventurous sportsperson, could not resist the trampoline and wood obstacle course whilst the rest of us enjoyed the peace and splendour.
We then proceeded to the Drakensburg Pumped Storage Scheme in the picturesque mountains of the Northern Drakensberg of KwaZula-Natal. The scheme is a joint venture between Eskom(South Africa's electricity utility) and the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs. This Hydro electric power station is situated 156 metres below ground level and is capable of generating 1,000MW of electricity for the National Grid at peak times. Other than the dam wall, lift shaft buildings and transmission lines, all installations are underground. The station uses water from the reservoirs to power the huge turbines and then in off peak periods, the water is then pumped back up to start the procedure all over again. Our visit underground to see the technology at work was most impressive, although it was just as well that we had not enjoyed the usual South African hospitality beforehand, as we were subjected to a breath test!! Fortunately we all passed which amazed most of us.
Whilst we spent some time in the afternoon catching up with the blog and Conference Presentation (Geoff spent most of the time logged onto his office!) we had a "little hospitality" by being taken to the Bethlehem Club which was built in 1915 and previously known as the British Club during their tenure. We were very honoured as the Club rules stipulate "no ladies" but the Club President waived this rule, thus meaning that Sarah and Natasha did not have to enjoy a coke and crisps in the car waiting for us outside. I believe that word of their impact had clearly reached Bethlehem beforehand.
Our thanks to David and Brian for all their efforts in escorting us during the day and to the Rotarian's and others that we met in the Club for their hospitality.
Mike and I were rather late in returning to our hosts Bruce and Win, who were nevertheless their usual charming self and at the time of writing this on Wednesday morning, are still providing us with breakfast. The team are out on their own vocational visits and interesting comments will follow. This evening we will be presenting to the Rotary Club and a braai is proposed although at the time of writing this, it's RAINING!!! I believe that they are getting us used to the weather upon our return to the UK next week.
Tuesday 17th November
This was a cultural day with our first visit being the Basothu Cultural Village situated about 25km from the world renowned Golden Gate Highlands National Park. The village depicts the architectural and life style of Basutho from as early as the 16th Century to the present day.
The guided tour started with the announcement of our arrival to the Chief as it was traditional that any visitors to the villages could not enter without the Chief's awareness and agreement. We were then offered to take traditional beer with the Chief as a sign of his friendship but in Basotho culture, it was always men first and ladies second. Whilst an interesting experience, I am not sure that it will be an export product for South Africa! However it was possibly the only occasion that I have seen Mike refuse a beer on the trip.
Our guide then took us to the various houses and were introduced to the Chief's three wives who in traditional Basotho culture offered us various foods as a sign of their hospitality. It was interesting to see how the change in lifestyle/culture altered as a result of the influence of the missionaries and European settlers.
Upon leaving the village we had a scenic drive(is anywhere not scenic here) and temporarily stopped at Little Switzerland which is an upmarket Hotel/Restaurant with fabulous views and numerous sporting activities. Sarah, ever being the adventurous sportsperson, could not resist the trampoline and wood obstacle course whilst the rest of us enjoyed the peace and splendour.
We then proceeded to the Drakensburg Pumped Storage Scheme in the picturesque mountains of the Northern Drakensberg of KwaZula-Natal. The scheme is a joint venture between Eskom(South Africa's electricity utility) and the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs. This Hydro electric power station is situated 156 metres below ground level and is capable of generating 1,000MW of electricity for the National Grid at peak times. Other than the dam wall, lift shaft buildings and transmission lines, all installations are underground. The station uses water from the reservoirs to power the huge turbines and then in off peak periods, the water is then pumped back up to start the procedure all over again. Our visit underground to see the technology at work was most impressive, although it was just as well that we had not enjoyed the usual South African hospitality beforehand, as we were subjected to a breath test!! Fortunately we all passed which amazed most of us.
Whilst we spent some time in the afternoon catching up with the blog and Conference Presentation (Geoff spent most of the time logged onto his office!) we had a "little hospitality" by being taken to the Bethlehem Club which was built in 1915 and previously known as the British Club during their tenure. We were very honoured as the Club rules stipulate "no ladies" but the Club President waived this rule, thus meaning that Sarah and Natasha did not have to enjoy a coke and crisps in the car waiting for us outside. I believe that word of their impact had clearly reached Bethlehem beforehand.
Our thanks to David and Brian for all their efforts in escorting us during the day and to the Rotarian's and others that we met in the Club for their hospitality.
Mike and I were rather late in returning to our hosts Bruce and Win, who were nevertheless their usual charming self and at the time of writing this on Wednesday morning, are still providing us with breakfast. The team are out on their own vocational visits and interesting comments will follow. This evening we will be presenting to the Rotary Club and a braai is proposed although at the time of writing this, it's RAINING!!! I believe that they are getting us used to the weather upon our return to the UK next week.
Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Woolworths-Bloem
I was kindly hosted for the day by the manager of the Cafe at Woolworths in the Waterfront Mall, the largest of 3 Wooloworths in Bloemfontein. The store has a large fashion offer, a reduced home offer and a full size food market (think M&S). Since opening the store has struggled to meet projected targets, so the manager spends much of his time struggling to merchandise a space that is fours times the size of it sales quota. Changes in leases i the new year will see the amalgamation of the 2 larger home and food stores into one larger full offer Woolworths.
Frikkie Jones has been working for Tribecca, who have the contract for all Woolworths Cafe's, for 3 years and it was a pleasure to spend the day with someone who was so passionate about customer service and customer experience, and to meet his team who worked really hard to support each other and to ensure that their customers received the Woolworths service!
It was interesting to compare the third party catering agreement, and the resulting service available to customers with our in house offer at Waitrose back in the UK.
I spent the afternoon with a friend of Frikkie's, the manager of Coco C, Limpy, and yet again it was fantastic to talk about how the hospitality industry and retail (Limpy is ex Woolworths) compare in SA and the UK.
Coco C is a the first of 3 beautiful 5 star restaurants, with amazing decor, amazing design, an amazing view over the waterfront and a menu to match. It was so kind of the both of them to take time out of their day to meet with me! It also gave me the opportunity to sing the praises of the GSE exchange programme with 2 potential new team members for a future District 9320 trip!
The following day it was arranged for me to visit the third but most profitable Woolworths in Bloem. It consisted of just a food offer, but on entering the store it was apparent that not only was it very well managed, but also well shopped by customers. Although I was only able to spend 45 minutes with the manager due to restrictions from their Central office, it was yet another chance to get an insight into the mind of a passionate retailer here in SA.
ER24: Paramedic Rapid Response Car - Michael Bradfield
At 7am I was dropped off at Bloemfontein Medi-Clinic and after a quick (accidental) walk through ICU found my way to the ER24 offices, where I met Paramedic Rohan Steyn. He gave me a quick tour of the hospital, which included visiting a couple of patients that he had previously treated and brought in. In London, due to the size of the area we cover (in population density, if not geography) and number of hospitals we go to, it is rare that we get to follow up on patients we meet and it was interesting to see how the care had progressed from the Emergency Department. We then met some of the ER24 ambulance crews and had the obligatory cup of coffee in the crew room, and I will repeat my remark here that I made about the metro service in Queenstown, I felt very much at home. Having previously been out with a state-funded service that had less equipment and less trained staff, it was a marked contrast here where Paramedics having a greater number of skills and use of drugs than we do in the UK (boring technical details available by request). Rohan took me for a drive around town and we went in search of something unhealthy to eat for breakfast. It was a relatively quiet morning which gave us time to compare and contrast the differences between the way in which the NHS works and how EMS functions in South Africa. ER24 is a private service, but will still respond to any calls and treat and convey patients irrespective of their ability to pay. Those with insurance will opt to be taken to one of the private hospitals, those without will be taken to the state hospital and the costs are written off. ER24 work closely with the state services here, in particular providing Paramedic support to their crews when required. During the course of the day we attended a range of medical and trauma calls and I got to meet crews from other services, the police, doctors and nurses, many of whom had some connection to the UK and were keen to chat.
I was told that to really see how EMS works in South Africa, I needed to be out on a weekend night. After some negotiation with the powers-that-be and courtesy of my kind hosts Wolf and Muriel (who gave me a spare key and an assurance they would not wait up) I was able to return to work with Rohan on Friday night, after we had given our team presentation. Just after 11pm we headed back out and I got to see Bloem at night. Word of my presence had spread and when we met the police flying squad at a petrol station they kindly offered to keep us informed of any calls they were attending. Rather than coming through a 999-type system, calls are picked up from a range of sources, including other ambulance services, the police, breakdown tow-trucks for car accidents (often on scene before anyone else) as well as direct calls. After much coffee and chasing calls around town I got home at 4.30am and had really enjoyed all the exposure I had to calls in the town and the level of enthusiasm I encountered.
Thanks to everyone who let me get involved and get in the way and I still blame the different type of cannulae used here rather than my clumsiness for getting blood on the passenger seat of a car during an extrication, but at least I got it in...national pride and all that. It was great to work with ER 24 in Bloemfontein and I am looking forward to going out with them again in Bethlehem.
I was told that to really see how EMS works in South Africa, I needed to be out on a weekend night. After some negotiation with the powers-that-be and courtesy of my kind hosts Wolf and Muriel (who gave me a spare key and an assurance they would not wait up) I was able to return to work with Rohan on Friday night, after we had given our team presentation. Just after 11pm we headed back out and I got to see Bloem at night. Word of my presence had spread and when we met the police flying squad at a petrol station they kindly offered to keep us informed of any calls they were attending. Rather than coming through a 999-type system, calls are picked up from a range of sources, including other ambulance services, the police, breakdown tow-trucks for car accidents (often on scene before anyone else) as well as direct calls. After much coffee and chasing calls around town I got home at 4.30am and had really enjoyed all the exposure I had to calls in the town and the level of enthusiasm I encountered.
Thanks to everyone who let me get involved and get in the way and I still blame the different type of cannulae used here rather than my clumsiness for getting blood on the passenger seat of a car during an extrication, but at least I got it in...national pride and all that. It was great to work with ER 24 in Bloemfontein and I am looking forward to going out with them again in Bethlehem.
Bloeming Lovely!! - S, S M & N
Pres. Brand Street
View from Naval Hill
After Sarah's visit to the One Stop Centre/ Child Justice Centre, she was lucky enough to be taken by Alan to Lebone Land, an orphanage for children affected and/or infected by HIV/ AIDS, run by Avril and Willem, on behalf of AIDS Mission Outreach Trust. Over the last 12 years, this amazing couple have devoted their lives to providing a loving, caring environment to children left behind after the death of their parents. What started as one house catering for 15 children has grown into almost a village with its own bakery, vegetable plots, school and workshop. It was an incredible experience, one that was enhanced by the modesty of both Avril and Willem.
Wednesday 11th November
We left Lesotho and our hosts to run the gauntlet of crossing the border back into South Africa. there were no problematic encounters and everyone arrived back in SA in one piece. We were then met by Ezanne Leach and Allan Dickens at the half way point and transported in to Bloem where we were taken straight to Oliewenhuis, a beautiful estate built in 1941 by the British. It now houses an art museum and there are sculptures galore scattered around the grounds. Tash and Sarah fell in love with some of the art and it was our first purchase of the trip! The curator of the art gallery was the father of the artist and we are now proud owners of signed prints!
After a fantastic lunch at Oliewenhuis, we were taken to Naval Hill from which we had a panoramic view of the city. From there, we went into the centre of Bloem where we were met by Mr Du Preez who gave us a 2 hour input and guided tour of the 2 most historic streets in Bloem, President Brand St and St George's St - the latter was the first street in Bloem and one which is built next to the fountain which gives Bloemfontein (Flower Fountain) its name.
Day 1 in Bloem ended with dinner at our hosts' houses.
Thursday 12th November - Vocational Day - see updates from team members.
Thursday was a special day for Mike as it was his 30th birthday. Ezanne & Herman did a fantabulous job of staging a surprise birthday dinner for Mike, starting with champagne, a 3 course meal and ending with Herman's dreaded Springboks!! A night not to be forgotten!
Friday 13th November - Vocational Day - see updates from team members.
After Sarah's visit to the One Stop Centre/ Child Justice Centre, she was lucky enough to be taken by Alan to Lebone Land, an orphanage for children affected and/or infected by HIV/ AIDS, run by Avril and Willem, on behalf of AIDS Mission Outreach Trust. Over the last 12 years, this amazing couple have devoted their lives to providing a loving, caring environment to children left behind after the death of their parents. What started as one house catering for 15 children has grown into almost a village with its own bakery, vegetable plots, school and workshop. It was an incredible experience, one that was enhanced by the modesty of both Avril and Willem.
If anyone is interested in finding out more, please go to www.lebonehouse.com.
Friday evening saw another of our entertaining and legendary presentations to the newly merged clubs of Bloem and Raadzaal. Herman provided the food yet again with one of his spit braais - a whole sheep suspended above the coals. An enjoyable evening was had by all!
Saturday 14th November started at 0830 at the local Boeremark (Farmers Market) at Langenhovenpark, where we spent a couple of hours wandering around the stalls, testing the local produce and seeing some of the local crafts. Mike managed to get a lie-in after a 0430 finish with the ambulance service and met us at Bains Game Lodge where we spent the next 24 hours relaxing - our first time off in 3 weeks!
Our hosts met us on Sunday afternoon and we spent the rest of the evening with our hosts, saying goodbye and packing for on onward journey to Bethlehem on Monday.
Our wholehearted thanks go out to the Rotarians in Bloem for their superb hospitality and we will look forward to seeing David and Judy on the boat!
Monday 16th November - we left Bloem and travelled 2 hours to the town of Ficksburg where we were handed over to our final hosts, the Bethlehem Rotarians. Instead of rushing off to Bethlehem, we were pleasantly surprised to have a spur of the moment lunch with the Ficksburg Rotarians, during which we gave them an abbreviated version of our presentation and answered their questions. It will be a real pleasure to see some of them again on the boat next weekend.
Our adventure continues in Bethlehem...updates to follow!
Sunday, 15 November 2009
Policing in Bloemfontein - Sarah Poolman
Despite Ezanne's concerted efforts over the last few months to organise 2 days at the main police station in Bloem for me, my vocational visit didn't exactly go to plan with the police in Bloem cancelling 15 minutes before i was due to arrive on Thursday morning! They had obviously heard about me before my arrival!
Undeterred by this setback, Ezanne and Alan used other sources to sneak me into a more suburban police station and i ended up taking up a few hours of Superintendent Bennie Van Den Heever's (Station Commander - a very busy man) day at Bayswater Police Station. This actually turned out to be very useful and provided me with an insight into SAPS at a more strategic level. Bennie commanded his own police station of about 100 officers and staff in a very nice part of Bloem, but one that is a target for burglars and autocrime offenders. He is accountable directly to the Provincial Commissioner and is one of 109 Station Commanders throughout the Free State. We discussed the hierarchy and the freedom with which he was allowed to manage his police station. The systems in place for managing crime and priorities mirror those in UK, with a daily management meeting at a local level, before catching up with the other police stations in the vicinity to share intelligence etc. We also discussed openly other more controversial subject matters such as access to firearms, the alleged shoot to kill policy and affirmative action in the police service.
Coming from only one of the 43 police forces in England and Wales, it was quite incredible to gain an insight and some understanding of how the South African Police Service, a national police service covering a hugely diverse area both geographically and culturally, functions and delivers at local, regional and national levels. As this may be the future of the police service in the UK, it was interesting to witness this first hand. My thanks go out to Bennie and Alan for arranging this for me.
On Friday, I was taken to meet Insp Annel Pretorius who works at the One Stop Centre for Children in Conflict with the Law. This centre brings together under one roof all of the different agencies involved with children who come in to contact with the judicial system - police, social workers, probation, attorneys, magistrates. The purpose of this centre is to protect children's rights and to reduce reoffending amongst juveniles by exploring diversionary activities, rather than convicting them and leaving them with a criminal record. All arrested juveniles are taken immediately to this centre, where they are then initially screened by social workers to establish the root cause of their offending, their personal circumstances and any mitigating factors that the magistrate may want to take into account when deciding whether the individual is suitable for diversionary activities(only where they have taken responsibility for their acts) , or whether the case needs to be referred to a criminal court or a children's court (similar to a family court) if it is a question of welfare/neglect or issues over appropriate guardianship.
Last year, this centre was recognised by the United Nations for its work in safeguarding children's rights, something that the centre is quite rightly very proud of. I met the resident attorney, clerk, prosecution, probation officer and the magistrate himself, a Louw Schoeman. He gave me the lowdown on the judicial system in South Africa and how he had played a part in the creation of this One Stop Centre in 1996. There are only two such centres in the whole of South Africa (the other is in Port Elizabeth) and the government here has decided to roll out this pilot all over the country as of April 2010 as part of the Children's Justice Bill. Louw has promised to send me more information on the work at the centre - which i will be glad to receive if i can ever get my email to work!!
Everyone I spoke to at the One Stop Centre was so positive about the work they were doing there and Marga, the attorney, stated that she would never leave to work elsewhere. It was clear that they were all dedicated to working together and improving the situation that many of the very poor children find themselves in. It really was partnership working at its very best ... refreshing and enlightening!
So, despite the initial problems with my vocational days, thanks to the work of Alan i was able to make the best of my time in Bloem and actually learnt a great deal in the areas of command, strategy and partnership working, some of which i will take back to the UK.
Undeterred by this setback, Ezanne and Alan used other sources to sneak me into a more suburban police station and i ended up taking up a few hours of Superintendent Bennie Van Den Heever's (Station Commander - a very busy man) day at Bayswater Police Station. This actually turned out to be very useful and provided me with an insight into SAPS at a more strategic level. Bennie commanded his own police station of about 100 officers and staff in a very nice part of Bloem, but one that is a target for burglars and autocrime offenders. He is accountable directly to the Provincial Commissioner and is one of 109 Station Commanders throughout the Free State. We discussed the hierarchy and the freedom with which he was allowed to manage his police station. The systems in place for managing crime and priorities mirror those in UK, with a daily management meeting at a local level, before catching up with the other police stations in the vicinity to share intelligence etc. We also discussed openly other more controversial subject matters such as access to firearms, the alleged shoot to kill policy and affirmative action in the police service.
Coming from only one of the 43 police forces in England and Wales, it was quite incredible to gain an insight and some understanding of how the South African Police Service, a national police service covering a hugely diverse area both geographically and culturally, functions and delivers at local, regional and national levels. As this may be the future of the police service in the UK, it was interesting to witness this first hand. My thanks go out to Bennie and Alan for arranging this for me.
On Friday, I was taken to meet Insp Annel Pretorius who works at the One Stop Centre for Children in Conflict with the Law. This centre brings together under one roof all of the different agencies involved with children who come in to contact with the judicial system - police, social workers, probation, attorneys, magistrates. The purpose of this centre is to protect children's rights and to reduce reoffending amongst juveniles by exploring diversionary activities, rather than convicting them and leaving them with a criminal record. All arrested juveniles are taken immediately to this centre, where they are then initially screened by social workers to establish the root cause of their offending, their personal circumstances and any mitigating factors that the magistrate may want to take into account when deciding whether the individual is suitable for diversionary activities(only where they have taken responsibility for their acts) , or whether the case needs to be referred to a criminal court or a children's court (similar to a family court) if it is a question of welfare/neglect or issues over appropriate guardianship.
Last year, this centre was recognised by the United Nations for its work in safeguarding children's rights, something that the centre is quite rightly very proud of. I met the resident attorney, clerk, prosecution, probation officer and the magistrate himself, a Louw Schoeman. He gave me the lowdown on the judicial system in South Africa and how he had played a part in the creation of this One Stop Centre in 1996. There are only two such centres in the whole of South Africa (the other is in Port Elizabeth) and the government here has decided to roll out this pilot all over the country as of April 2010 as part of the Children's Justice Bill. Louw has promised to send me more information on the work at the centre - which i will be glad to receive if i can ever get my email to work!!
Everyone I spoke to at the One Stop Centre was so positive about the work they were doing there and Marga, the attorney, stated that she would never leave to work elsewhere. It was clear that they were all dedicated to working together and improving the situation that many of the very poor children find themselves in. It really was partnership working at its very best ... refreshing and enlightening!
So, despite the initial problems with my vocational days, thanks to the work of Alan i was able to make the best of my time in Bloem and actually learnt a great deal in the areas of command, strategy and partnership working, some of which i will take back to the UK.
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