Blouberg Rotary Club Children’s Christmas Party
On Saturday, the 7th of December, several members of our school’s Interact club were accompanied by Ms. Berger and Ms. van Niekerk to share shifts at the Italian Club of Cape Town where Blouberg Rotary hosted a Christmas Party for numerous underprivileged children. They spent the morning refereeing soccer games, among other things and the afternoon was spent serving lunch. The kids were entertained by a petting zoo which contained all sorts of farm animals (rabbits and chickens, to name a few), a horse cart ride, face painting, a photo booth, a jumping castle and a game of friendly football.
It was a lovely sunny day filled with loads of laughter and smiles. The children then got to watch a magic show, meet Santa and receive Christmas boxes and a meal of hamburgers and chips.
This is an annual event that is organized to see to it that those less fortunate get to experience the festivities of Christmas time as well.
It was a pleasure to see so many smiles and we cannot wait to participate once again next year!
Hope Munkondia
Year 10 Student
One To One Event – Blouberg International School Interact Club
This past Sunday, the 18th of August, seven of interact members spent the first half of their day assisting the Blouberg Rotary Club stall at the annual One to One event.
One to One is held every year at the Green Point Stadium. It is a day that is focused around differently abled kids and adults from Cape Town and its surrounds. With some people being bussed in from as far as George. One to One is orientated towards providing a fun filled day for them.
There were various games to be played at the many stalls, prizes to be won and lots of free hugs all around.
The day is organized by various clubs, such as Rotary, Lions Club, Roteract and many interact clubs from schools.
The few hours that were spent at the event were filled with laughter, cheering, music and performances. While spreading love we were able to forge new friendships with people from other schools. It was a humbling experience that we all enjoyed being a part of.
We are looking forward to next year’s event with our eyes set on our own Blouberg Interact stall.
Hope Munkondia
Interact Member – Year 10
Opportunities for BIS Interact Club Members
Being part of an Interact Club gives our students wonderful opportunities such as the Rotary Short-Term and Long-Term Youth Exchanges for University students. Thousands of young people from different countries meet each other every year and experience other countries’ culture, thus planting the seeds for a lifetime of international understanding.
The Rotary Youth Exchange programmes are open to youth with leadership skills, as well as interpersonal skills, such as flexibility and a willingness to try new things, that will enable them to be excellent ambassadors.
The Ryla Camp is another excellent example of what an Interact Club member can benefit from. Ryla stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. This yearly camp aims to:
- Demonstrate Rotary’s respect and concern for youth
- Provide an effective training experience for selected youth and potential leaders
- Encourage leadership of youth by youth
- Recognize publicly young people who are rendering service to their communities
Young people from various Interact clubs get together and enjoy activities such as hiking, leadership training and survival adventures.
For more information on the Ryla Camp, Interactors may contact our teachers in charge of BIS Interact Club, Elena Berger and Janine van Niekerk.
RYLA Facebook Page
Elena Berger
High School Teacher