Dear friends

I trust that you all had a refreshing long weekend. For those of you who are not in South Africa, my apologies...Women's Day meant a Monday off for us South Africans!

At Higher Ground we are still reliving the successes of our July camps. What an amazing time we had with our campers. The first camp was for teens who are blind or partially sighted. Campers joined us from Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Pretoria and Port Elizabeth for five days of adventure and friendship.

Almost immediately, this group formed a close bond of camaraderie, with the teens who are blind being assisted by their friends who are partially sighted, all of them drawing as much from each day as possible, dreading the hour when they had to say goodnight! The camp was filled with song and laughter, larger than life characters, old friends and a sense of awe at the inspiring natural beauty of the Karkloof region.

Rock Climbing, Paintball, Archery, Hikes, Zipline, Campfire at the bush camp, Goal Ball, Basketball, a Parliament Evening, Drama, Lemonade Making, Cookie Baking, a moon-lit tractor drive and many more unforgettable activities were on the programme.

Stepping up to the challenge once again, our creative and resourceful volunteers raised the bar ever higher with their group songs, multimedia clips, games and attention to campers.

Our second camp, for tertiary students who are blind or partially sighted was also excellent. Students from UKZN's 3 campuses, tertiary institutions in Pretoria and the Universtity of the Free State joined us for a fantastic week of activities, networking, relaxation and adventure.

It was great to see some of the kids from past camps now joining us as students. Watch out South Africa - the youth are rising up to face the future with uncompromising values and passionate determination.

Huge thanks to Marion and John and the Rotary Clubs of Durban Bay and Shelton Skookum (in the USA) for the Matching Grant that funded these camps. It is difficult to express the experience of seeing kids and students that could never afford to attend camp engage fully in activities that challenge them, make them grow spiritually, and help them to discover that they are unique and infinitely valuable.

Upcoming Camps

Two camps on the horizon are:

29 October – 1 November – Camp in the Cape for adults who are blind or partially sighted

5 – 12 December – Camp for adults with acquired brain injuries (in KZN)

Book soon if you would like to join us for either of these camps. Space is limited!

Check out the website for dates of other camps: http://higherground.org.za/

Volunteers

A big thank you to our amazing volunteers who continue to put so much energy, time, love and enthusiasm into making every camp a success. You are amazing!

International Volunteer

We are looking for host families for an international volunteer. If you would be interested in helping please contact me.

Thank You

We are again indebted to the amazing people who support us.

Thank you to:

Neville Clarence and Lance de Willers
Westville Rotary Anns
Durban Umhlatuzana Rotary Club
Paw Paw Foundation
Linda White
The Aaron Beare Foundation
The Theodore Berwitz Charitable Trust

Get involved

It is incredibly exciting to be a part of Higher Ground. If you would like to be a part of what is going on either by sponsoring, volunteering or bringing your family to visit for an afternoon drop us a line, we'd love to chat about it.

Survey

A “study aiming to empower visually impaired consumers’ to make independent and informed choices when selecting and caring for purchased garments” has been compiled by a a student from the Fashion Design Department at Tshwane University of Technology. If you are blind or visually impaired and would like to assist by completing this survey you can find it at http://www.higherground.org.za/surveys/impact-of-visually-impaired-consumers2019-knowledge-on-clothing-size-and-care-labels/

Until next time then, enjoy life and live it to the full!
Emma

“He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy And to walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8