Kandi Grey, Matlala Sefale and Bantfubetfu Dlamini, Grade 12
UWCSA (Waterford)
A twenty-one-day hiking experience shared amongst the Form Threes of Waterford Kamhlaba every year during eSwatini’s winter season.
‘Nyatsela’ means ‘to make a footprint’ in Siswati, the native tongue of eSwatini, and that is the idea behind the three weeks of walking through the beautiful country of eSwatini - to let the students make their own footprints. These students and their facilitators get to see all the wonders that eSwatini has to offer, the flora, fauna and its people, up close and personal. The idea came to light in 2015 and was officially launched in 2019 by one of the teachers, Elinor Lowry, in order to broaden the outdoor learning experiences for the younger generation of Waterford Kamhlaba and embrace the values of the UWC.
Specifically aimed at Form 3 years (14-16-year olds), the teenagers hike into the wilderness to explore the world and the inner workings of their own identities. The whole year group is split into groups of roughly 13 students each, with three supervisors equipped with the knowledge to help the young ones grow and learn the necessary skills for life, in and out of the classroom, giving them the space to let their independence develop, and mature from teenagers to young adults.
The route that they take through eSwatini is set in a loop with twenty different overnight accommodations, including school buildings, private hosts, Chiefs’ homesteads and the many different available camping sites in eSwatini’s marvellous nature reserves. There are 250km in total, over twenty-one days and twenty nights, that’s an incredible amount of walking. Each night is spent in stunning locations, sometimes with the local people, and sometimes just with the company of each other.
With the thought of so many days of walking, one would guess that the students were just a little nervous at the thought of so much physical strain, especially considering they had to carry everything they would need with them. However, many of the students were more wary of having to spend three weeks with each other than the physical effort that would go into those weeks on the trails.
The actual organizing that went into Nyatsela may have been the most intricate part and how it has benefited the community as a whole, Elinor explains in an interview,
“I think Nyatsela has been an ideal complement to the curriculum offered at WK: we offer so many opportunities for our students to develop, and this filled a gap in the outdoor, experiential learning area. I think it has added crucial depth and roundedness to the education package we offer.”
Why the Form 3 year-group specifically?
“All other schools which I have contacted or researched about which have this kind of activity target their 14 to 16-year-olds, which would be either Form 3 or Form 4. Our school felt it would be too disruptive to hold Nyatsela during the From 4 year, as it is full of the demands of the IGCSE, and we felt that the Form 3s were at a very fitting time in terms of maturity, physical fitness and emotional readiness to embark upon this exciting adventure.”
What were your feelings about initiating such an activity as ‘Nyatsela’?
“When the idea first started taking shape, I felt incredibly excited. It seemed to be a means to achieving what I’ve always wanted to achieve as an educator – enabling the learner to engage purposefully in authentic situations, drawing on their courage and curiosity to learn their own inner strengths.”
How did you feel during the first ‘Nyatsela’?
“I was often active for 16 of the 24 hours every single day (Nyatsela recognizes no weekend or public holiday!) and when I say “active” I mean filling every moment with activity: recording the morning reports from each facilitator, phoning the day’s hosts to check that everything was set up, packing food for the days drop-offs, arranging for our marvellous driver to fetch someone who had sprained an ankle in yet another remote section of the route, sending my tireless assistants to buy more plasters to protect peoples feet from blisters, posting photos onto the web to keep parents in touch, etc, etc! What sustained me during these three weeks was the remarkable competence, good humor, and resourcefulness of the facilitators of each group, particularly the 6 chief facilitators, who were just remarkable!”
With such a dedicated organizer behind the scenes of ‘Nyatsela’, the very first students to have gone on this extraordinary adventure were willing to voice their thoughts on their experiences:
“I had a sense of pride for my group because we all finished it together, and in the long run even the bad/hard times turned to funny memories.”
“I would do it again as a facilitator”
“I got frustrated on a few of the days but I genuinely enjoyed the whole experience.”
“They should put less walking.”
“I was homesick for about the first week, but then I got used to being out there.”
“I loved my group so much it was such a great mix of personalities and no one fought or hit heads. There were also no tight friends which made it easier to get to know everyone.”
“It was definitely challenging for some people, but it was also the reason why we got through the experience, because of the connections and bonds you form with people”
‘Nyatsela’ means ‘to make a footprint’ in Siswati, the native tongue of eSwatini, and that is the idea behind the three weeks of walking through the beautiful country of eSwatini - to let the students make their own footprints. These students and their facilitators get to see all the wonders that eSwatini has to offer, the flora, fauna and its people, up close and personal. The idea came to light in 2015 and was officially launched in 2019 by one of the teachers, Elinor Lowry, in order to broaden the outdoor learning experiences for the younger generation of Waterford Kamhlaba and embrace the values of the UWC.
Specifically aimed at Form 3 years (14-16-year olds), the teenagers hike into the wilderness to explore the world and the inner workings of their own identities. The whole year group is split into groups of roughly 13 students each, with three supervisors equipped with the knowledge to help the young ones grow and learn the necessary skills for life, in and out of the classroom, giving them the space to let their independence develop, and mature from teenagers to young adults.
The route that they take through eSwatini is set in a loop with twenty different overnight accommodations, including school buildings, private hosts, Chiefs’ homesteads and the many different available camping sites in eSwatini’s marvellous nature reserves. There are 250km in total, over twenty-one days and twenty nights, that’s an incredible amount of walking. Each night is spent in stunning locations, sometimes with the local people, and sometimes just with the company of each other.
With the thought of so many days of walking, one would guess that the students were just a little nervous at the thought of so much physical strain, especially considering they had to carry everything they would need with them. However, many of the students were more wary of having to spend three weeks with each other than the physical effort that would go into those weeks on the trails.
The actual organizing that went into Nyatsela may have been the most intricate part and how it has benefited the community as a whole, Elinor explains in an interview,
“I think Nyatsela has been an ideal complement to the curriculum offered at WK: we offer so many opportunities for our students to develop, and this filled a gap in the outdoor, experiential learning area. I think it has added crucial depth and roundedness to the education package we offer.”
Why the Form 3 year-group specifically?
“All other schools which I have contacted or researched about which have this kind of activity target their 14 to 16-year-olds, which would be either Form 3 or Form 4. Our school felt it would be too disruptive to hold Nyatsela during the From 4 year, as it is full of the demands of the IGCSE, and we felt that the Form 3s were at a very fitting time in terms of maturity, physical fitness and emotional readiness to embark upon this exciting adventure.”
What were your feelings about initiating such an activity as ‘Nyatsela’?
“When the idea first started taking shape, I felt incredibly excited. It seemed to be a means to achieving what I’ve always wanted to achieve as an educator – enabling the learner to engage purposefully in authentic situations, drawing on their courage and curiosity to learn their own inner strengths.”
How did you feel during the first ‘Nyatsela’?
“I was often active for 16 of the 24 hours every single day (Nyatsela recognizes no weekend or public holiday!) and when I say “active” I mean filling every moment with activity: recording the morning reports from each facilitator, phoning the day’s hosts to check that everything was set up, packing food for the days drop-offs, arranging for our marvellous driver to fetch someone who had sprained an ankle in yet another remote section of the route, sending my tireless assistants to buy more plasters to protect peoples feet from blisters, posting photos onto the web to keep parents in touch, etc, etc! What sustained me during these three weeks was the remarkable competence, good humor, and resourcefulness of the facilitators of each group, particularly the 6 chief facilitators, who were just remarkable!”
With such a dedicated organizer behind the scenes of ‘Nyatsela’, the very first students to have gone on this extraordinary adventure were willing to voice their thoughts on their experiences:
“I had a sense of pride for my group because we all finished it together, and in the long run even the bad/hard times turned to funny memories.”
“I would do it again as a facilitator”
“I got frustrated on a few of the days but I genuinely enjoyed the whole experience.”
“They should put less walking.”
“I was homesick for about the first week, but then I got used to being out there.”
“I loved my group so much it was such a great mix of personalities and no one fought or hit heads. There were also no tight friends which made it easier to get to know everyone.”
“It was definitely challenging for some people, but it was also the reason why we got through the experience, because of the connections and bonds you form with people”
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