What a journey it has been...

As I write this blog, my last for LETCEE, it is a bitter sweet experience. On the one hand I am very excited about all the new adventures coming my way and on the other hand I know I am going to miss the communities and the people that I have been working with over the past three and a half years.

I was asked to reflect on my time here at LETCEE and as I began to reflect hundreds of memories, feelings and emotions flooded my mind. As I began to wade through them all and to sort them all out I realized one thing....I have grown  incredibly over the time that I have been here. One of our core beliefs is that we want to see women empowered and see them grow into the women they were created to be...not only have I been witness to this growth in many women's lives but upon reflection, I am one of those women who have grown.

I came to LETCEE having worked in communities for almost four years as an Occupational Therapist, either in district hospitals or community schools. I was also about half way through my Masters course in Early Childhood Intervention and I really thought that I knew what it was to work IN a community and with families. One of my greatest learning curves was learning what it is to work WITH a community and not tell them what they need. I learnt that working IN a community does not necessarily mean that you are working together WITH them and helping them to meet THEIR EXPRESSED NEEDS. It has been a frustrating yet rewarding process and it has really made me re-evaluate how I conduct myself in all aspects of life in all kinds of situations. It has taught me once again to try and consider situations from all angles before jumping to conclusions. This environment of mutual respect has created many relationships and situations that formed fond memories that I will carry with me as I move into the next phase of my life. I hope that I will be able to share this and the many other things that I have learnt at LETCEE with the people I come in contact with and help them to grow as much as I have over the past three and a half years!

What an inspiring young lady!

I was really blown away by this young lady. What a love she must have for people and it was so good to hear of someone who still believes she can make a difference to the lives of others and is not so overwhelmed by need that she sits back and does nothing. Thanks Tyrah on behalf of the children that you have so generously helped! Here is the letter we received from Tyrah after she held her garage sale to raise money for children in Africa who have less than she does....

"Hello, my name is Tyrah and I am 10 years old. I live in Australia with my family. My Mama used to live in South Africa, and she tells me stories about how kids over there don't have as much as I do. I thought that there must be something I can do to help, so Mama and I came up with the idea of having a garage sale and sending our profits to help children in South Africa. Mama found LETCEE online and we decided that, that is where we should send the money we raised.

I asked all my friends and family to donate any unwanted thing they had... and boy did they have a lot of stuff!!!! It took a whole day to organize the clothes, kitchen things, DVD's, shoes, my Great Grandpa's records...the list goes on and on. Some of my family did not have anything to donate so they donated money, my Godfather and his family donated $100. WOW!

Finally we had th garage sale on Saturday December 3rd 2011. My Great Grandparents, my Mama and Papa, my Aunty Sheila and my Mum and little brother all helped out. And some of my family even come to buy some things on the day. A lot of people gave extra money or just said 'keep the change'. All together the garage sale raised about $420 then my Uncle and Aunty donated $50 so Mama made it up to a total of $500 then with my Godfathers $100 we raised $600 in total.

I hope this small donation helps the kids have a happy Christmas this year.

From Tyrah Rose."