The Tee Pee will be up today

Hello everyone
I have just returned from an incredible experience at Riviersonderend. The MylifE5 are now locals and Phil has become the MylifE6 - he is now one of the Irish!!!!!
The weather has been very challenging and on Friday the guys were working in freezing conditions with hail sleeting down on their faces - mountains full of snow -lotsa mud and they just carried on.
When I got there on Saturday morning, James Wilson was doing lunch and making sure the guys were all taken care of - the children from the community joined us to fill sandbags and eventually the Tee Pee was ready for the canvas covering and then of course, it started pouring again - so this will be fullfilled today.
The guys have taken on another project aswell, they are now building the childrens playpark. They have done all the designs and will be buying the materials aswell!!!!
If you register on www.facebook.com and go to my Profile - Linzi Thomas - you will see a minute by minute account of the progress and the guys!!!!
Lotsa love
Linzi

Day 2 at Riviersonderend and a lot achieved

Hello from a stormy and wet Cape Town..., I have a report back from a very tired Phillip Carlisle, makes me giggle...he is so tired and say's the guys worked so hard to day that they are going to be stiff tomorrow. I also have a report back from Ed, they were in the car on the way back to base camp. He asked me to report back to you all and send love from all the guys - who have no internet.

They had a meet and greet with the community last night and were treated to a Riviersonderend braai, it is quite and experience and you will never taste anything as good as the meat and hospitality they serve. They then did a walk through the "shanty town" and Phil says they have some amazing footage. Then home to their Tee Pees in Caledon.

Up at 07h00 this morning and it is icy cold and raining, can you imagine Phil trying to get himself and all of the guys into the car, I can hear in his voice that he was challenged. They drove from Caledon to RSE and started digging the trenches, sawed down alien vegetation (for the Tee Pee poles) and then dug 16 holes for the poles to go into. Phil tells me his landrover was also challenged with all the poles then been lugged back to the site. They then took the bark off the alien poles and dug the hole for the fireplace.

They were back and forward to the hardware and Ed wanted you to know that the money raised has gone to many items, they bought cement today and the community has donated the cement mixer, which arrives on site tomorrow. They also bought 1000 sandbags and the sand also arrives tomorrow - 1000 bags filled with sand!!!Two of the men from the community were hired today and paid R600 for their "hard labour". They also lay the floor tomorrow.

They are all in Greyton right now eating dinner and off to bed. Phil says it is freezing - can't wait, I am going down on Saturday morning, going to walk around in my wetsuit and flippers!!!!The Guys we are working with on the Joint Venture with RSE arrive on site tomorrow - I am very excited for the guys because they will meet Harold who works with the kids in our communites and is very high up in the Army.....he's a legend!!!
Signing off for now, your guys are safe and sound and very busy!!!!xx

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

The Guys are in Riviersonderend
Linzi here, just updating you because I know that by now the guys will be so tired after their hectic schedule. We all went to the Tottenham Hotspurs vs Orlando Pirates game at Newlands last night, it was fantastic!!!!Cape Town has been hit by a cold front and rain was 100% predicted!!!Before we left for the game, their was a huge rainbow in the sky and for 90 minutes, not a drop of rain - and then it poured.We forgot to eat, so I got a call from Ed, very late last night, to say is there any food they could eat. It was hysterical, they found frozen chicken in the fridge, made a pasta with Chaka Laka sauce and according to Ed, they were very proud of their creation.I am so humbled by all the guys, to see them in our offices teaching the MylifE Pioneers the computer, the guitar, life.......the was it is supposed to be.They all met with James Wilson for breakfast this morning and then at 11h00 departed for Riviersonderend, in Phil's landy - WITH THE IRISH FLAG FLYING OUT THE WINDOW, was hysterical, they will update you with the pictures!!!!They have brought us so much fun and energy and tomorrow they make history!!!!They will be putting the first structure up at RSE - The Tee Pee!!!I go down to RSE on Friday!!!!Lotsa love to everyone following this Blog! You can be very proud of the MylifE 5!!!!!Linzi

Chapter 1

Having travelled up to dublin by train early on tuesday i stayed the night with Dave.And so it began, our epic adventure To Cape Town, with a 10:30 taxi to dublin airport to catch our 13.25 plane to london heathrow. We breezed through check in and security and without even the notion of any hassle we found ourselves rolling down the runway and out of dublin. Twenty six hours, a seven hour wait in heathrow, three flights, two delays and one missed flight later we're stuck in Johannesburg airport with no flights to Cape Town until 8:00 the next morning. The original enthusiasm and "boys on tour" excitement is starting to wane. Bone weary after 26 hours on the move and perhaps one or two hours of cramped uncomfortable shallow sleep, we're told that we'll be put up in a hotel, fully paid for by Emirates Airline, our sponsors, and at this moment in time saviours. The rest of the night plays out to the roar of planes taking off and landing in the airport, the runway and hangers clearly visible from our room. Nearly everyone, it seems, is just passing through.
Up at six the next morning to catch our flight to Cape Town and an opportunity to buy the new Harry Potter book which was released at midnight, just a little bit of light reading for the two hour flight.

Day 2 - Eye opener

Heya, today we were up early and we went to the main MylifE office in Greenpoint, where we met up with Linzi for the first time since London. We basically just talked about the whole project and aims and then the jacobs brothers arrived, whos garden will be host to our teepee building work!

Then came the interesting part, where two of the young men that have been through the mylife process came up to the office and the seven of us sat down and just chatted about their experiences and interests. They'd both been shot at, done shootings, served a lot of time in prison, broken into cars and much more during their time on the streets, but they were brilliant examples of just how much the organisation can do for these kids. Several others arrived and we talked to them as well, organising a football match which is happening tomorrow afternoon.

The most shocking thing about today was this evening. Linzi and Phil took us out in the land rover and we drove for about 45 minutes around the streets. Linzi, who knows all 1000 of the street children around cape town, pointed out maybe about 10 or 15 kids and explained their situations, which included us seeing a little 12 year old girl who was standing on the roadside, trying to sell herself for money to fund the drug habit that all of these street kids are part of. We then stopped and got out and talked to the girl pictured above. She had just taken cocaine and linzi bought her and her friend some corn flakes and milk. Linzi opened them straight away so that the kids couldnt just go and sell them on for money, something that the kids objected to. They were obviously just gonna use the money for drugs.

We've got lots quite moving video footage that will be up on youtube soon, so keep an eye out for links. Until tomorrow. Max

children do not belong on the streets

MylifE5 - welcome to Cape Town! I am so excited that you are all here and sorry that I have not seen you yet. Wes left for London last night and everything has been upside down.



Your trip to Cape Town will undoubtably bring you a holistic understanding of what Mylife is all about and the work that has been done and what needs to happen to fulfull our vision http://www.mylife.org.za/, You are going to get to spend valuable time with young people who have survived a childhood and youth on the streets living in a "cycle of destruction". Youngsters who have broken the bonds with the cycle and are now the most awesome leaders.



You are also going to meet some very special people who have dedicated their lived to finding ways to PREVENT the predicted millions of children who will be orphaned in SA - from becoming "street" children. Children do not belong on the streets and I know you will carry this message forward in your future journeys through life.



I can imagine a future in which all children have the benefits of living life with love!I also know that in my life time this will be challenging to achieve, however, this can be achieved in your lifetimes!!!!!



C u tomorrow

linzi

Day 1 - Cape Town

Hola amigos. Basically its sunday evening and we've just been chilling for the day. Two days to go till we head off to Riviersonderend. Tomorrow we're maybe going to see the shanty towns which, as we saw driving past them yesterday, are massive. We're also gonna be buying the materials that we need for our building work.
Here's a link to our first VIDEO DIARY entry, on youtube, taken in Joburg airport!
there will be more links posted soon, so keep looking at the blog!!! ciao... max
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0udJC_9k9xg

First Post From Cape Town

All is great here and i'm seriously happy with what they have planned for us, we're laying the foundations for the village and for the community ties with the locals. They also have loads of things organised to do during our free time, such as we will be having daily football matches with the locals and we are also going on a hike with a local nature conservist one weekend where we will camp out in the mountains.
So far we have only been doing orientation, planning, sourcing materials and talking with planners and architects but the hard labour will come soon, along with our humility maybe.

Lewis

Off today!!!

about to head to the airport so excited, this is going to be mental!!!!

NEW PAGE

Hey guys i've set us up a profile on blastspace it's like this but you have your own profile sorta like bebo. it's >>>> http://www.blastspace.com/MylifE5 our login name is MylifE5 and the pass word is our little club from 3rd year all lowercase keep it real!!! goin 2morra gonna be mental!!!!!!!!!!
Lewis

News from Cape Town

Howzit??!!! Well done brownie/lewis for setting this up. Looking pretty good! Anyways, here i am in cape town (dave dont be too suprised that i do get internet here!) and the weather is great, the swells up, and..... im burnt. Maybe one day i will listen to brownie and wear sun lotion.... Anyways guys remember to bring shorts and stuff but it does get cold out here too, especially at night so make sure to bring jumpers as well. What else..... For the first night we are staying at my house and for the next few days until we head out we are in a hostel/lodge thingy and dont worry dave u will have a bed! All right gotta go, cheers lads and safe journey. Oh yeah the flight times are seriously tight so NO dawdling in dubai duty free or anything, just get to the gate! Bon Voyage!

Dave and (n)Ed need to join!

Basically i thought we were in need of a bit more imagery! arent we handsome dave?! hey either lewis or brownie can you >>> get ed and dave to join this thing<<<, we need them on it, FAST!!

SCC

Hey lads do you know what's kind of funny? We haven't mentioned school once!! Not once, so as you can see sixth year couldn't be further away in our minds, so we are 5 St.Columba's College students, i just thought i'd mention the St.Columba's community for the benefit of those who didn't know where we're from and to do a little advertising of the community and please a certain someone. ;)

The Video

Check it guys i found the video we wanted to get for chapel. go to this link and scroll down a bit. its quite small but it gets the message across as you guys know from london. read the blog entries as well, some of them are interesting and, i think, relevant>>>> http://blog.mylife.org.za/
bigger version of the video>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXBGMW2zfxg
this is also interesting>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e91rdVkwaA8 just a video about the project

Well done browne-luv!!!

Bravo brownie for setting all this up, i would never have been arsed myself! Just wanted to say that im so AMAZINGLY psyched at the moment, this trip's gonna be absolutely insano. Anyone on the site, im gonna do what Bob Geldof did at 'Live Aid'....
>>>>>>>> GIVE US ALL YOUR MONEY NOW, RIGHT NOW, GIVE IT TO US, PLEASE
any further donations would be greatly appreciated! my email's >>> mshirley_2001@hotmail.com lewis' is written below, just contact any of us no matter how big or how small (im talking about the donation of course, not you; we dont care about you)....well obviously if youre gonna give like a cent then dont bother but yeah....
we'll keep you posted....PSYCHE!!!!

Just a quick word on the project

So this is the planned map for the eco village (click to enlarge) that we will be working on in Riviersonderend.The main objective of the eco village is to create a new and vibrant, sustainable economy in Riviersonderend. An economy focused on tourism and related services- one which has growth potential, not only for Riviersonderend, but also for the region and Province. The land will be used for income generating activities, in order to create income and employment for the Riviersonderend community, as well as to house the youth and staff of the MylifE Organisation. The fact that this village is sustainable on it's own and indeed will genereate funds is impressive, but the MylifE charity do need funds to get the project started and this is where you guys come into play, we need you guys to help by donating whatever you can, be it money or doing what we are doing and volunteering to go out and help construct this village.

I'm not sure if you guys know that South Africa has the highest number of Aids Orphans in the world. It is estimated that there will be between 9 and 12 million orphans in South Africa by 2010. It's pretty much this alone that kicked us into action, that and a hugely touching speach by the founder of the charity Linzi Thomas at the charity launch in london. By the way any queries and just post us a comment, or if you wish to make a personal donation contact myself @ lewismathews@hotmail.com. Or one of the other guys if you have their email.

Prep Work

So far we have done so much. Between the five of us we have managed to raise about 10,000 euro, which will go towards the purchasing of materials and essential building supplies. Our fundraising consisted of an appeal in the school church (where we raised 750 euro) and corporate sponsorship. On behalf of all of us I just want to thank all the companies (and the Taoiseach Mr Ahern) who have sponsored our trip all of your donations were much appreciated. I would also like to thank on behalf of the five of us 'Emirates' for their more than generous donation of our international flights to and from Cape Town.
In May the five of us went over to London to the official launch of the charity. This was held in the Grosvenor Hotel where there was a meal and an auction. The idea of this was to raise an awareness of the charity, you know just to get the name out there and of coarse to make a truck load of cash for the cause because unlike us, most people don’t work for free these days.
On Thursday the 19th of August we shall be flying out to Cape Town, via Dubai (what a mission). When the four of us get there we meet up with Ned and what happens from there nobody knows because we are not that organized. Think about it we are five lads, unsupervised, miles away from home, how organized are we expected to be. Everything will sort itself out when it needs to … hopefully.

Brownie

The Genius of Brownie

Hello everyone, so thanks to my main man brownie we now have an online blog to keep everyone posted on our shenanigans out in south africa.i'm sure there'll be plenty to tell so watch this space. Lewis

P.S. just a photo of us at the MylifE Charity launch in London