It's been over a month since we last posted and since then we've all moved from 2017 into 2018 and we've literally moved from our cold little caravan in Bristol to a warm and sunny Cape Town where once again we've been sharing the Emerging Leaders programmes with farms and communities here in South Africa.
Life has been good to us since arriving back, we have been hosted by some very good friends, Ann and Jannie up in Grabouw, Ant and Phillipa, along with their two dear children in Somerset West and then Sandy and Ali back up in Grabouw where we must say that the current water crisis which is hitting the rest of the Western Cape seems a long way from the mountain top region of Elgin.
As you will see from the title of this post we are also blazing a new trail, not only in securing some further work for the Emerging Leaders South Africa team, but also as we both have been enjoying some real trail running events which are taking place around us.
Tim entered the Cape Trail Summer Series and ran his first event in the stunning mountains of the Lebanon Forrest near Grabouw, in which he did amazingly well finishing a respectable fourth, yes fourth and just off the podium, in the 'Masters' (over 50's age group).
The second event was held at the amazing Kirstenbosch botanical gardens and the route ventured up the slopes of the majestic Table Mountain. This time Tim was joined by Maz, who had entered the shorter of the two runs. It was wonderful to be able to share in the atmosphere of an evening/night run. I (Tim) must say that I was extremely worried that Maz wouldn't make it back down the mountain in the dark but she did so well and in fact came 13th in her age group (also classed as 'Masters'). Tim finished slightly lower than his top five finish from the first run but was pleased with 8th in his class and within the top 25% of all those who entered.
Our work life balance has been a bit hit and miss, however we are making the most of being in South Africa during their summer months with trips to the beach or to a nice vineyard for a spot of wine tasting after a days work.
It has been great to return to some of the farms where we shared the Emerging Leaders training with last year, to hear the stories of how the people have put the leadership principles into action in their own lives which has then had the added bonus of impacting the lives of the finances, their families lives and the lives of those around them.
Unfortunately the internet connection here isn't quick enough to allow us to add photos but we will post a short update with those on once we get to some better access.
One of our highlights has to have been the running of a weekend 'camp' for young people and those working with youth, mainly from the huge township called Khayelitsha which sits next to the N2 freeway and serves Cape Town and the surrounding area.
The township is home to around two million people and the 30 people whom we worked with, training them to deliver the core principles of the Leadership for Life programme, work in some of the most vulnerable communities in South Africa. All of those who attended the weekend camp were so open and responsive to the Leadership for Life programme and we are certain that they will do an amazing job in encouraging the youth of this very needy township to see and reach the full potential of their own lives.
Another work highlight was when we revisited a blueberry farm we had shared the training with when we were over this time last year. Not only did the staff tell us of the life changes that they had made to their own lives, such as giving up drinking and saving for their families but also the life of the farm where they worked. All of them said it was a better place to work, where everyone knew the part they played in the overall day to day jobs that need to be done and the management attributed the 30% increase in last years harvest to the training that we had carried out.
It is a true blessing to be able to share this life transforming programme with some of the most vulnerable people here in South Africa and we can't wait to share more stories with you as we undertake further work until we return to the UK at Easter.
We have also had the chance to catch up with both Tim and Thandi, the project managers of the ThembaCare and Village of Hope projects that we were so involved with during our six years here in South Africa between 2008 and 2014. It was great to see these amazing people but also a challenge to hear about the lack of funds which are really hampering their community programmes.
Later this week we will move down to spend some time with Rob and Emily, the guys who helped us run the Thembalitsha projects in Grabouw, which we are really looking forward to and it has also been great to catch up with Mel and Barbara whom we have seen socially, even joining them for an evening at the cinema to watch the powerful 'Darkest Hour'.
We hope to update with some photo soon and will also update our reading list which might also need to now include a 'what podcasts are we listening to' section as we make the most of the long journey's to visit the farms we are working on by engaging with some great thinkers who are challenging us on some of our values and behaviours!
