WATCH: A cultural adventure through Germany
VIDEO: Martin Bouwers and Natasha Hein share what they will be doing in Germany.
Jugendwerk der AWO Württemberg a non-profit organisation had invited two young people from our community to take part in their intercultural summer camp programmes in Germany.
Natasha Hein and Martin Bouwers, the facilitators at the Westbury Youth Centre will be part of the group of five South African youngsters who journey through Germany for the next three weeks.
“We will be hosting summer camps with a Mexican team and a German team. We will be teaching them South African games, cultures, foods, languages & basically, everything South African and the other groups will do the same.
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“We will be combining games that we grew up playing as well as some of the games that we facilitate at the youth centre. This will be us bridging the different countries where we can exchange knowledge and stories with each other,” explained Hein.
This trip will be Hein’s second time venturing with the programme.
“Last years’ experience was amazing I had the opportunity to meet different people so I like writing and I had the opportunity to collect childhood stories of young people from different parts of the world.
“We made Amarula malva pudding, dumplings, stew, we made chakalaka and then the Mexican made their dishes and drinks and so did the Germans. It was a great experience of cultural exchange. The Mexican people and us coloured people’s culture is intertwined we have similar things, we just have different names for them,” Hein added.
Bouwers who will have the experience for the first time and said: “I think the summer camp will be nice for me because we host them here also cooking for them and telling them stories and more about our cultures, that’s what I’m looking forward to as well as seeing the architecture. I’ll be taking a lot of pictures and hopefully have an exhibition.”
Hein explained that the opportunities that they have been given were only made possible through God.
“I see this as an opportunity to use my passion for ministry because when you go to Germany we work with children from the ages of five to thirteen years old and some of them don’t do religious studies, what was nice last year was that the children said they believe in God and that was amazing for me because not many people in Germany believe in God,” she said.
“What’s nice about this for me is that in August 7 of 2014 when I got to the centre I said I have to travel the world and how ironic that when we leave on Friday (July 27) it will be four years that I’m sober because I left alcohol in 2014, July 27.
“I have traveled across Africa already but this will be my first time going abroad. In terms of religion, I believe that you speak your life into existence and I would have never imagined that I would’ve gotten such opportunities. For me this is huge,” Bouwers shared.
Hein recalls that Martin spoke a while back about his vision was given by God to feed the flock.
“Feeding the flock can be interpreted in so many ways,” she said.
According to Bouwers, the trip is in line with what he loves doing and that is working with children. The groups will host camps in different summer campsites in Germany so every two days or so they will be in different areas of Germany.
After the tour, they will have an exhibition in Germany to showcase what they captured and learned from the experience. The group will be back on August 20.
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