It was such an honour to be invited to attend a youth camp as a youth delegation to Sweden during their 150th anniversary celebrations.
Two of our groundBREAKERS Andile Cimela and Phumlile Zondi in the Hibiscus Coast Municipality HIV/AIDS programme plus two additional Youth Leaders, Mzi Ndwalane and Londi Ngubane together with Lynne Footit the Co-ordinator of the Hibiscus Coast Municipality/Ziphakamise/Oskarshamn groundBREAKER programme traveled to Sweden where they were treated like royalty. Given opportunities such as;
· a first aeroplane trip for the 4 youth delegates;
· sailing on a yacht on the Baltic Sea courtesy of Kaj and Ingeborg Nilsson;
· a memorable trip on two exceptionally fast inflatable ski boats traveling at high speed across the Baltic Sea;
· a wonderful picnic lunch laid out on one of the thousands of magnificent rock islands in the Baltic Sea;
· a Pleasure boat ride around the islands off the coast of Paskalavik courtesy of the Kommun and Stefan Windt;
· a three day youth camp in the beautiful tranquil ancient village of Bråbo in Bråbygden where we met and made friends with youth from Finland, Denmark and Sweden;
· team building in Kristadala;
· a Music concert in Hultsfred;
· a media and political debate with politicians from each of the 6 twin town countries. The debate took place at the famous Nuclear Power Plant near Oskarshamn ;
· a visit and lunch at a Pig Farm at Döderhult courtesy of the Kommun;
· a tour of Kalmar and Öland by our tour guide Bo Helstrom, Maria and Ritva, where we visited ancient old ruins dating back millions of years, where fossils were ingrained in the rock formation under our feet and
· lunch at a local country club
· a visit to a remarkable art display all in glass
· a welcome and farewell party at the home of Ingeborg and Kaj Nilsson where we met OSAK twinning members and municipal officials
· a wonderful home on the Baltic Sea where we could walk late at night along the sea edge in perfect safety.
· On our return the 4 youth delegates traveled via Cape Town where they were assisted by Bill Sewel – a consultant for ABF and OSAK, to board a pleasure boat at the delegates own expense for a memorable trip to Robbin Island to see the prison – home to Nelson Mandela for 27 year. And then a very long 25 hour drive home via the garden route on a Greyhound bus to see some of our own beautiful countryside before alighting from the bus – weary but very excited travelers with so much to tell their families; friends and colleagues.
As the co-ordinator of the trip I was invited to attend many of the 150th Anniversary celebrations with the mayoral parties to Friedericksburg Manor House special dinner and the welcome party at the Kommun Centre in Oskarshamn.
To the organizers of the trip, the youth camp organizers and the twinning committee we as delegates wish to extend our sincere appreciation for the wonderful opportunity afforded each one of us… a memorable occasion we will hold dear.
To Ingeborg - who has long been wanting the groundBREAKERS to experience a trip to Sweden – who took time off her holiday to ensure that our trip ran smoothly and that we were well looked after during our stay. For the wonderful accommodation she found us – our home on the Baltic Sea was a dream - thank you for your commitment to the twinning process.
By : LYNNE
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