We had two expert speakers from local NGOs come to speak with us. The first was from The President's Award. This is a program encompassing 4 parts (skill, service, sport, adventure) that was formed by Prince Phillip (William and Harry's grandfather) and Nelson Mandela as a way to empower South Africa's youth. There are 3 levels of achievement- bronze, silver and gold. The gold level is very prestegious and the award ceremony is often attended by both Prince Philip and Mandela themselves. Students often say that they don't wash thier hands for week after receiving a hand shake from Mr. Mandela. I can only imagine how powerful being a room with him must be. He is truly an inspiration to this country and to the world.

The second speaker was from the Angus Gillis Foundation, which focuses on rural development. Many NGOs focus on townships and the rural villages are often overlooked. She taught us about the 'bottom-up approach' which starts with community input on what they actually need, rather than coming in with an already established agenda for development. This results in a much better success rate because the community is fully involved and committed to the work being done. She gave us many tips and takeaways that will be of use for our own projects.

While this program involves a lot of work, I am thoroughly enjoying it. The end result will be of sustance- something that does not often come with projects in courses at home. My group is extremely functional, which is very refreshing. After doing preliminary research we met at the Red Cafe for an early dinner to discuss our plan going forward. We have some great ideas flowing and I can not wait to start meeting with the local resources around us in Grahamstown.

Tonight we had group tickets to a comedy show at the festival. While the majority of the jokes went over our heads, I could still appreciate the talent of the two men performing. The room was hysterical- so even though we missed a lot of the content, it was fun going out as our complete group and seeing a true South African comedic act. Afterwards about 12 of us went to The Madhatters, a coffee shop/restaraunt to grab a bite to eat. Taking it easy tonight...after a late night last night at the EQ club, we all collectively need a night to get some sleep and wake up refreshed in the morning.