Week 1 at the Dream Centre . . . November 1, 2007

I arrived at the Dream Centre both anxious and excited.   I had been traveling in South Africa for almost a week and was looking forward to getting settled into the program.  I was one of the first of the new group to arrive, and was given a warm welcome from current volunteers that were staying on.  Hermein and Lies helped me to get settled and gave me just enough information to dispell anxieties and questions. 
I'll use this first message as an opportunity to give some very general information about about the first week as well as where the volunteers stay, as those were some of the things I scoured the website for when considering The Dream Centre and Be More as a volunteer organization.  The accommodations for the volunteers are very well set up, and I feel fortunate to have a comfortable, convenient, and private room.  There are eight private rooms that occupy one half of the first floor, which was formerly used as a ward.  Keys are provided for your room as well as the "Ward Gate" which gives us an extra security from the rest of the building.   There is a well appointed kitchen, with all the modern ammenities, including a dishwasher!!  The communal lounge is furnished with a large sofa, TV and DVD player, and a computer connected to the Internet.  Volunteers are provided with a South African cell phone SIM card, which when inserted in your own unlocked phone, gives you a South African phone number.  Then you just purchase pay-as-you-go time, and the bonus is that incoming calls are free!
One thing that non-European volunteers may want to bring is a power converter, if you have any electrical appliances or chargers.  The plug adapters are available here, very cheap at the mall across the street, however finding the actual power converter might prove more difficult.  I brought mine from Canada.
The rest of the group arrived later that evening and we were advised that the next day we would be free to get settled in.   Orientation was held later in the week, via very informative sessions with various Dream Centre staff including the Doctor, Social worker,  Physiotherapist, and Matron Nurse.  Sessions were welcoming and extremely informative, covering topics such as the various areas we may be interested in working in, HIV AIDS  information, as well as an overview on the background and organizational structure of The Dream Centre.

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