Author: Rosanne van Zalingen

In a world that is increasingly about self-development, we seem to lose sight of the greatest good: each other. The emphasis is on me, my growth, my path, my success. But the further we develop ourselves, the more we seem to get lost in the loneliness of the ego. For what happens when the self becomes the center of everything?

Doubts about the self become greater. We strive for perfection, for personal goals, but lose something essential along the way: connection.

Self-development mentors and coaches are popping up like mushrooms these days. On the one hand, that’s wonderful. It is valuable when people get to know themselves better, heal old wounds and make more conscious choices. But there also seems to be another side to it. Digging to deeper and deeper layers is no longer a path to connection for many, but an endless journey of the ego. A new form of “more. More insight, more healing, more me. And in that process we lose the other. The fellow man disappears into the background, while the focus remains entirely on the self.

In South Africa there is a different mindset. There they say, “I am because you are.” Ubuntu. A philosophy of life in which your own existence is intertwined with that of the other. Where you are only human, in relation to others. This is not a weakness, but rather a profound strength. It is a recognition of mutual dependence, of humanity, of love.

In Indonesia you also see it: families taking care of each other, living together, considering each other. The community is central. It is no coincidence that feelings like loneliness and depression are much less common there. Because where people live with each other, security is created. Warmth. Portability.

The we thinks with each other. It connects, communicates, feels. The we brings reverence and humility. It reminds us that we are not separate islands, but part of a greater whole.

I myself learned: on my own I went faster, but together I got much further. That deep lesson stays with me. We are not meant to do it alone. And we don’t have to do it alone either.

Here in Holland, we seem to lose touch with the soul. We run from yoga class to retreat, from coaching program to business retreat. Always looking for more – more growth, more insight, more success. But who carries you when you fall? Who really knows you, when you’re just working to become a better version of yourself?

At Boost the World Foundation, we believe it can be different. And should. It takes a village to raise a child. Not the individual, but the community bears. Not the ego, but the heart. The world does not need even more self-optimization, but more together. More we.

The self will never become fulfilled. The ego always wants more. But love, true connection, begins where the self steps aside. Where space is created for the other. Where I gives way to we.

Let us return. To humanity. To community. To a world where I exist because you exist.

Love, Rosanne

The Young Leader Expedition was a 2-month trip to South Africa, where a group of four youth under 25 explored and experienced the real South Africa. They stayed at a family-oriented foster care facility, helping with kids, working in food gardens, and collaborating with the Boost the World South Africa team. The expedition focused on making projects efficient, effective, and sustainable. Volunteers set up vegetable gardens and learned to collaborate on plans. They also visited museums, tasted local delicacies at Wandi’s in Soweto, and stayed at Kruger National Park saw the big 5 and Surfed, Hikes and enjoyed wine farms in Hermanus outside Cape Town and enjoyed beautiful beaches. The trip included self-direction plans and coaching sessions, fostering personal growth. Lasting relationships and special friendships were formed during this memorable journey.

Nice to have you back for another weekly blog from us and if you’re new, welcome! This is a series of blogs, every week we write a blog of what we did and what we experienced that week. We are Willemijn (18 years old), Tijn (19 years old), Quinn (20 years old) and Declan (24 years old). We are on a 2-month trip to South Africa, to do volunteer work and do tourist excursions. We write these blogs to inform you about our trip and our experiences here.  

The week started off strong for Tijn, Quinn and Declan because they got handed an auger (a drilling machine that can make holes in the ground). It isn’t an easy machine to control and it wasn’t easy to use of a hole day. But we couldn’t lose any time, because we could only use it for 1 day (we had to rent it and its expensive). With renting the auger, we got 3 sizes to drill the holes with. Quickly we realized we couldn’t use the bigger size at the start, we had to use the smaller one first and then use the bigger one. We were using the auger with 2 people at a time, because it had 2 handles on both sides one. Sometimes we hit a big rock which almost made us fly (that is exaggerated, but it wasn’t fun). Then we had to try and get the rock out before we could go on with using the auger. Making 18 holes in one day is also not a walk in the park, we were exhausted after doing all the 18 holes. The weather also didn’t help much, because it was about 28 degrees almost the hole day. Because of that we had to drink enough and take some well-deserved breaks. Eventually we got it done and we were proud of ourselves and each other. Quinn said his arms were still shaking 2 hours after being done. 

After that we got the poles that are supposed to go into the ground, the next day. We put them in and had a look at if they were in a straight line or not. Because the hole was bigger than the poles, we had some room to move them around and make it straighter. Because we got the poles a little late during the day, we continued the next workday. This day we got all the poles into the ground using the end of a rake and water. You put dirt back into the hole around the pole and start poking that around the pole, so it becomes nice and firm. You also put some water over the dirt to make it more clay-like, so it sticks more to each other. 

Willemijn occasionally came by at the end of her working days to tell what she had done that day or to show one of her creations. This week she has been working hard on making the decor for the show at the preschool. The past few days have been busy for her. Watching the kids and the deadlines for the art took her overtime, but luckily she really enjoyed doing it. You can read more about this in the section below.

Friday 6 PM there was a performance from all the kids at the preschool in our big hall. It was an amazing performance, and all the kids did a great job. They were all dressed up and did a lot of dances on some well-known songs. Also, all the teachers had their own performance on the last song.

Unfortunately, Tijn and Declan got sick from the beef they both ate Friday evening, so that night Tijn couldn’t sleep and had to vomit a lot. Declan started to feel something only the next afternoon, because he went to go and played padel with Quinn and Russel first. We still watched the Netherlands play against the USA, Saturday afternoon.

On Sunday, Tijn and Declan were still not feeling the best, but we still went out to see the Poland against France world cup soccer game. We went to a mall and casino called Monti Casino, where they had a big screen just outside.

Willemijn her experience 

Phew, what a week… A busy week, but also my best week. The preschool show and the end of the school year were coming. Everything is arranged here at the last minute and so is the setting for the show. This made it more fun, because for the first time we were really working too hard with all the teachers to get everything done. I was given the task of making the surfboards. While painting, Principal Janine asked if I could help with the costumes for the kids. I let the painted surfboards dry and then started on the costumes right after work.

Earlier this week I should have made an Oscar for Teacher Norah. She needed it for her graduation day. She asked for my help; the Oscar had to be as tall as myself, painted gold, and oh, not to forget, ‘finished tomorrow’. This was quite a task. Especially since you can use the phrase “Can you please help me?” can translate into the sentence “You must do it for me.” I said I will do my best for her but make it at home. Principal Janine was okay with this. So 5 minutes later I walked home with a pair of scissors, a pencil, a ruler, an eraser and a cardboard sheet of exactly 1.68 meters. I put in my earphones and pressed the Christmas music Playlist. Meanwhile 6 hours later and listening to ‘Driving home for Christmas’ the Oscar was finished. I was extremely satisfied with the end result and immediately showed it to Declan and Tijn who were still working in the garden. Their reaction: “oh, yes, nice..” Yes, erm … that was a little less enthusiastic than I had hoped, but the man who helped them in the garden said “hey, that’s an Oscar right? Are you an artist?” so my ego was stroked enough to confidently continue my walk to preschool. On the way I met Teacher Norah. I rolled out the Oscar. She gave me a big hug and said “Do you know that I love you Willa”. Her reaction made me laugh and I always like her hugs. She’s one of those real huggers, not one with those limp arms. If you’re reading this and you’re one of those floppy arm huggers; Just give high-fives from now on.

The last thing I’m going to write about are the murals I got to make. Recently the ‘Caterpillar’ class has been swapped with the ‘Ladybugs’ class. At first the walls were themed around the class names, but after the switch the classes were painted all white. I asked Principal Janine if I could brighten up the Ladybugs class where I teach. She said she trusted in my creativity. So off I went, without a plan and permanent markers.. Her confidence and the word ‘permanent’ created pressure, but made it extra challenging and fun. I had drawn a large flower with some ladybugs on the wall. The kids and I were happy with the end result. Teacher Sibongile asked if I would also like to make this drawing 19 times for the kids’ reports. So by now I knew the entire Christmas Playlist by heart.

Not everyone will lie this week, but in my opinion it was great!

Hello everyone, we’re back with another blog of our 2 months trip to South Africa. This time we just got back from Cape Town and we needed to go back to work. We got back on a Monday evening and got back to work the next morning.

The first thing that needed to be done was leveling the ground, where we want to build our fruit tree grove. A lot was already done be other volunteers while we in Cape town, so we were very grateful. Because this isn’t an easy task, most of the soil there is as hard as a rock and there are a lot of big rocks and trash in the ground as well. Ones we got that all done we started mapping the ground. So that every pole that goes into the ground is placed well. We took some rope and attached it to a wall, but not at the end, we attached it 5 meters further. Now we were sure that the rope was a straight line, because it run along the wall. After that we put anchor points at the rope, each being 3 meters apart from each other (because we want the poles 3 meters apart from each other). Then we took a measuring tape and made sure it was in a 90-degree angle with the rope, so the poles will be in a straight line. To make sure all poles were in the correct place we also used math. So we measured the crossings as well, because they are supposed to be 4.24 meters (if you know how we calculated this, props to you!). 

Willemijn helped with leveling the ground at the start, but had to back to the preschool. She had to do her normal work she did before for several weeks. She is still in the same class she was in for the first couple of weeks, with the kids from the age of 2 until 3. 

Friday evening we went out to the German Country Club where Russel plays padel. Russel was also there with his 3 kids and Russel his girlfriend with her kid. We had dinner and watched the Netherlands play against Ecuador (it was a group stage world cup soccer game). Unfortunately, the Netherlands played 1-1 against Ecuador. But none the less, we had an amazing time together. We also planned to padel together the following weekend, so stay tuned for that (hopefully it’ll happen).

On Sunday we went to Jacque and Russel their church again and had a braai all together afterwards. For the ones that still don’t know what a braai is, it’s a BBQ in South Africa (they don’t even consider a BBQ, because they say a braai is way superior). We all went to Jacque and Russel their house, because they share a piece of land. Jacque his wife, kids, parents, his mother-in-law, sister-in-law with her husband and kids, Russel & his kids, Russel his girlfriend & her kid, Barrie with his wife & kids and of course us 4. It was a lively happening, we all had fun and had nice conversations.

Quinn’s experience this week
I had just recovered from being ill, so I wasn’t starting the week off completely fit, but was recovering. The leveling with a rake was rough work, but it was necessary to be able to continue with our project. The rest of the week was relatively chill, we didn’t really do too much, I helped out with some donations that we received. It was in the form of beds and other furniture, so I helped out moving them to the baby home, where they will be used next year when the baby home opens up again. I also brought it to some of the hardworking people living on the village, that also worked on site. Friday was very relaxing, and it’s always been a pleasure to hang out with Russel and his family. Going to Jacque and Russel’s house was genuinely amazing, it was a beautiful, rustic place with an amazing back garden and outside catering. We had a walk around the river, and found all sorts of forms of wildlife. The food was really good, and the gathering was very pleasant, and is something I will try and do more in my personal life too!

Day 1: Monday

On Monday Declan and I went to help the site team clean up the village. On Tuesday the former founders of Liv Lanseria came by so everything had to look neat and tidy. After 2 hours of cleaning up rubbish, we moved pebbles from the workshop to pre-school to finish a project we started the week before. After shoveling a lot of pebbles in a wheelbarrow and spreading them in the garden, our project was finished. At the end of the day I went to help the guys from the site team with other chores.

Tuesday:

On Tuesday, Willemijn, Declan and I, together with Barrie and Jacques, drove to Hermanus at 5 o’clock in the morning. Hermanus is a village beautifully situated on the coast, less than 2 hours drive from Cape Town. After a long drive of about 15 hours we arrived at our residence in the evening. We stayed with friends of Jaqcues and Barrie who moved from Johannesburg to Hermanus before Corona. It was a very hospitable and cozy family with 2 daughters. After dinner with the family we all went to sleep.

Wednesday:

Our first real day in Hermanus started on Wednesday. Around 8 o’clock we went into the mountains for a beautiful hike through the beautiful nature of Hermanus. In the middle of the hike we arrived at a Dam where we had a lovely swim. After the hike we went to the beach to have lunch at a restaurant called Dutchies. This restaurant has Dutch owners, so of course we couldn’t pass up a home-made bitterballen. Because of the hike everyone was tired and we fell asleep one by one on the beach. This had some nasty consequences for most of us, we went back to our place of residence ;). In the evening we did a real traditional braai with the family.

Thursday:

On Thursday, Willemijn, Declan and I got into the car early in the morning on our way to Cape Town. Because Table Mountain is an iconic place in Cape Town, we planned to take the elevator to the top of the mountain. Unfortunately the wind was too strong so the lift was closed and we went to eat a good portion of fish in the company of a seal. After a delicious breakfast we drove to the southernmost tip of Africa called “Cape of Good Hope”. Before starting the hike to reach the southernmost point, we met Barrie’s cousin from the UK. The walking tour was very nice and well worth it. At the end of the afternoon we drove back to Hermanus via the coast. During this ride we stopped to look at penguins and we had a nice drink with Barrie’s family. Once we arrived in Hermanus, Annemarie had cooked a delicious meal for us.

Friday:

On Friday we had a surf lesson planned from a local. Unfortunately, after 4 rounds of golf my shoulder dislocated and it was the end of the story. The rest was fed up after 2 hours of surfing and it was time for a delicious wine tasting. Annemarie took us to Creation. This beautiful vineyard was rated the best vineyard in the world 2 times in a row. After drinking a few glasses of wine, we drank a cocktail at the beautiful place Ficks on the coast. While we were enjoying our cocktail a whale swam by. In the evening we had another delicious braai with Fricky, Annemarie and Anelet.

Saturday:

On Saturday morning, together with Barrie, we took the car to Cape Town with a beautiful detour. On the way we passed through a French village with a nice market where we had delicious samosas. On the way to Cape Town, Barrie had a meeting and Declan, Willemijn and I had a delicious breakfast on a farm. After Barrie finished his meeting we continued our journey towards Cape Town. Once we arrived in Cape Town, we drove a bit along the coast and quickly got out to see a nice African shop. At 3 o’clock Willemijn and I had an appointment with some friends who do volunteer work in Cape Town, although they were 1.5 hours late, it was very nice. Once back in Hermanus, we went out with Anelet and her friends at the “Witte Haasie”.

Sunday:

Sunday I was broke and Willemijn and Declan tired. Despite the fact that it had become a late evening, Declan thought it was a good plan to go hiking for about 7 hours. I valued my sleep a little more and stayed in my nest for a few more hours. In the morning we went to church and then had a delicious lunch. At Willemijn’s request, we took a quick look at the art galleries and then went shopping for another delicious braai. After the braai everyone went to sleep early to get in the car early the next morning to Johannesburg.