Leanne impressed by the spirit of the children

One of the things that I will miss most about Cape Town is Thursday afternoons in Nyanga.  I am so grateful to Siobhan for taking me to the community center there!  Since then, Logan, Siobhan and I (and lately, a few others) have been venturing to Nyanga after class to play with the kids at their after school program.  The program is run by Estelle, an amazing woman that works for Africa Unite.  The centre is based out of an old church building and provides a safe environment for the kids to come to after school, receive a hot and nutritious meal (which, for many, is the only real meal of the day) and hang out with their friends, work on art projects, play sports, sing, dance, etc.  A social worker is on the premises and holds sessions with different groups of the children and some of the older children work on drama performances. 

Each week brings something different, but some of the favorite games are red light green light, duck duck goose and a version of freeze tag.  The kids have also included us in a few singing and dancing group games.  The songs are primarily in isiXhosa so I’m usually lost, but it’s always fun!  The couple of weeks that I’ve forgotten to tie my hair back, I’ve ended up with my head adorned with a variety of braids.  Another time, we brought nail polish and painted nails. One of the older girls, Noqolo has taught me a couple of fast-paced clapping games (similar but more complicated then Miss Mary Mac, for anyone who remember that one) and two of the younger girls have spent the past couple of weeks patiently teaching Brenna and I the dance moves to two traditional songs.  We can judge our progress by the amount of giggling from our audience – less giggling means better dancing! The majority of the girls are excellent dancers, and several of them have beautiful singing voices.  The two girls that primarily play the drums for the group are quite talented. 

I am immensely impressed with the spirit of the children and the amount of talent that they have.  The arts are an important part of the culture here.  At the same time, the children make do with a lot less than the average American child in terms of toys and possessions and because of this, they find their fun from being with each other instead of playing video games, watching television or playing with the ‘latest and greatest’ new, overpriced toy on the market.  The whole experience has made me find American materialism disturbing on a couple of different levels.  First of all, American children miss out on a lot by always playing with things rather than spending time with people.  Second of all, some of these wonderful South African children live in one room shacks with barely enough to eat while many people in America enjoy lives of abundant material excess.  Of course, one doesn’t even have to go as far as America to see the harsh disparities. I doubt you would have to drive more than fifteen minutes out of Nyanga township to find people living lives of incredible privilege.  It’s disgusting and has been one of the things that I’ve found the hardest to process here.  

Leanne on a community working together

I wrote about my internship placement in a previous blog entry, but it feels like years and years ago, and I have learned so much since then!  I have been interning at the Cape Town Community Housing Company. Specifically, I shadow James, the community organizer / social facilitator, who has been assigned to work with Morgen's Village, a low income, government subsidized development comprised of 671 houses. James started with CTCHC exactly one day after I did, so it has been interesting to watch the process from the beginning - how he got his bearings with the company, set up connections in the community and identified the key role players there.  Three women in particular stick out to me: Zelda, Mischka and Mashaba. They have started a beautiful garden along a formerly dismal, arid strip of land near the boundary of the village.  All three women are well liked and respected and were instrumental in recruiting volunteers for the project.  I admire them for taking the initiative to improve their community and taking responsibility for their surroundings in a way that other people from the area have not.

Last week marked the culmination of James' first big project with the community.  People living in the first phase of the village spoke about the problem of people cutting through a sandy area near the edge of a retention pond as a shortcut to the taxi rank.  The edge of the retention pond was eroding and the area was collecting trash.  The community identified that they would like to have a formal walkway in place there so that people would not need to trudge through the sand.  Having people walk in only one place would stop the erosion, and the area to the side could be beautified and used as a garden.  Additionally, the name "Morgen's Village" could be painted on the wall by the pathway, as it marks the entrance to the neighborhood.

James started gathering resources for the project two months ago.  He spoke with representatives from municipal government posts to try to find funding for the walkway, the painting project and the gardening.  Since the government's financial year ends in June, none of the departments were able to contribute any money.  One of the biggest issues was trying to secure a water connection along the side of the pond for the garden (the pond only has water in it during the winter), and trying to get dirt bins placed in the area.  In both cases, the roads department said that this was the responsibility of the parks department who said this was the responsibility of the solid waste department who said that the councilor should be able to provide the funding and so forth.

 Digging the tires into the ground to form the edges of the walkway

 In the end, James got donations of cool drink (soda) and chips from local sponsors, and a sign writer from the Quality Beverage Company was able to paint the wall.   Nearly fifty people came on Monday: school children (it was during their holiday), young men and other members of the community. Over the course of the week, all of the trash and brush was removed from the area, plants were put in along the wall, the wall was adorned with the name of the village, and two rows of tires were dug into the ground to provide a defined walkway.  The tires were painted to add aesthetic value to the area.  When the municipal government realized the effort that the community was putting forth, the solid waste department supplied them with gravel and a bulldozing crew to level the pathway and harden the surface. The pathway is now functional and the area looks so much nicer!  James did a wonderful job helping the community take charge of their area, and I can tell that they are eager to do similar projects in the future.  I am so happy to have been involved - and it was awesome to get to see the project through from start to finish!

Leanne on The Girl Child Movement

Brenna, Anna and I have been doing our activist project at the Children’s Resource Center in Rondebosch.  Specifically, we have been working with the Girl Child Movement, which aims to empower girls by providing a venue for them to come together and discuss the specific challenges that they face as they grow up and mature into women.  The GCM empowers these young women through their educational programs, and then helps them decide how best to take what they learn back into their schools (primary and secondary) and communities.  The girls then facilitate awareness programs on issues such as male dominance, the development of sexuality, the human body, teen pregnancy and substance abuse. 

 Josie, the coordinator of the GCM is absolutely amazing and incredibly enthusiastic about the movement.  She allowed us the opportunity to plan and facilitate a workshop of our choice for 22 high school girls from township communities such as Khayelitsha, Gugulethu and Mitchell’s Plain.  We decided to focus on developing a workshop about the environment and menstruation.  Because nearly 60% of South African women can’t afford access to traditional feminine hygiene products such as disposable pads and tampons, menstruation is tied to social stigma.  Some girls miss school during that time of the month, something that I was shocked and angry about.  Girls should not have to miss school because they have their periods.  I had never before realized what a privilege it is (but shouldn’t be!) to have access to sanitary supplies.

Josie told us that she had considered campaigning for funds or donations of pads and tampons to start a co-operative to make them available to the girls, but she was hesitant to do so because of their affect on the environment – they are not a sustainable solution.  A little research revealed some frightening information:    The average woman uses between 11,000 and 13,000 pads or tampons in her lifetime.  160 million pads and tampons get thrown away in South Africa each year.  Tampon applicators clog sewage system drains and wash up on beaches.  Plastic pad and tampon wrappers do not biodegrade in landfills – they sit there for years.  Also, disposable pads and panty liners are made from wood products which deplete forest resources.  Tampons are made from either cotton, or a cotton and rayon blend.  There are 170 insecticides registered for use on cotton crops; cotton that will eventually find its way inside a woman’s body.  Rayon is no better, as it is also manufactured from wood products.  The bleaching process for tampons involves the use of formaldehyde.  Not to mention, women pay a lot of money for these potentially dangerous products. 

All of the information is definitely a little bit depressing.  What’s a girl to do?  The good news is there are other options that are healthier for women and more sustainable for the environment: reusable pads and menstrual cups.  Reusable pads come in all colors, shapes and sizes.  It is easy to order them online, but even easier to make your own.  I spent the better part of Friday evening sewing one (the holdup was my sewing skills, not the pattern) and also purchased a menstrual cup to give away to one of the young women that was willing to try it out and report back on it. The cups are slightly more of an investment (it’s possible to get them for around $20 but in SA it’s more like R265 or $45), but last for 5 years.  Definitely worth the money.  Cape Town actually has its very own menstrual cup distributor; a local woman named Glenda Tutt is the creator of the MPower cup.  This goes to show that menstrual cups are not a totally new idea here.  They just need a little push to become more mainstream. 

Overall, I think the workshop was as success.  The girls were wonderful – willing to discuss their experiences about the sometimes touchy subject of menstruation and were totally open and interested in learning about the sustainable, reusable solutions.  In fact, they showed interest in attending a follow-up workshop to sew their own reusable pads.  Brenna, Anna and I are in the process of planning it / finding a way to fund the materials.  I should probably also brush up on my sewing skills! 

Anyone that is interested in learning more about reusable pads or menstrual cups, or is wondering where I got my information from, can check out the following links:

 http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5538.html information about rayon

http://www.wemoon.com.au/enviromentalchoice.html facts about tampons

http://www.mpowercup.co.za/ the MPower cup

http://verticalchallenge.org/goddessmoons/  statistics about pads/tampons; reusable pads

Leanne on bringing what we have learned to life

Kate, Leanne, & Lianna first night in Jo'burg

On March 16^th, we jetted off to Johannesburg and then drove to Kruger National Park for our excursion!  The sites and museums we visited in Jo’Burg, including the Hector Pietersen Museum, The Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill and the site of the Sharpeville Massacre in Soweto really helped bring what we have been learning in class to life; to make everything more clear and meaningful. It has been a rare and valuable experience that I believe is usually lacking in higher education.  I can’t even remember the last time I have been on a field trip!

Sharpeville Massacre gravesite

 In Jo’Burg, we also got the chance to eat some delicious, traditional African cuisine. I think my favorite was Wandie’s Place, also located in Soweto.  The food was great, and the atmosphere was even better.  The walls of the restaurant were covered in writing from business cards, stickers, pieces of paper, etc professing love for Wandie’s and other random things.  We were excited to leave our mark…the only catch was the waiter said that in order to hang something up, someone had to ask him in Zulu, “Can I put this on the wall?” Logan eagerly took on the challenge and we all signed a piece of paper that said “UConn Study Abroad Spring 2011.”  It’s kind of cool to think that it will be there for as long as Wandie’s is! 

 Wandi's Place, Soweto

 Next stop, Kruger Park, which offered me the (probably once in a lifetime) chance me to see a variety of large, dangerous and completely awesome animals!  I was so close to a lion that I legitimately could have reached out of the safari truck and touched him!  And, on the safari walk, I had the thrilling experience of having rhinos charge towards me (it would’ve been terrifying, except our guides, Tempo and Pilot, had very large guns with them). 

 Kruger National Park

 In terms of smaller creatures, I saw a 6 inch long millipede and several black and yellow spiders the size of the average rodent.  Additionally, I got very up close and personal with a South African bee.  In case anyone was wondering, they sting just the same as they do in America!

 All in all, the trip was great.  I am glad that I got to experience another part of South Africa.  Now we have been to three of the nine provinces – the Western Cape, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga.  However, I am also glad to be back safe and sound in Cape Town.  March has flown by very quickly and I am determined to make every last minute count during our final month in Cape Town. 

Leanne experiencing dichotomies of South Africa

Bea Abrahams, board member of Africa Unite, congratulates Leanne on the completion of the Human Rights Training Weekend

I saw the oddest thing while running yesterday.  I was approaching the Liesbeek Parkway, (a busy four way intersection bustling with 2 lanes of traffic speeding in each direction) at the same time that a horse-drawn cart with three tired looking black men sitting on the back and one guy steering the horse pulled the cart up to the red light.  The driver had the cart centered in the lane, and when the light turned green, pointed the horse across the intersection, keeping pace with the car to his right for the first few steps.  The horse’s hooves clicked sharply on the pavement, a noise that was soon drowned out by the whir of accelerating engines.  It seemed, to me, the ultimate juxtaposition of industrial and developing worlds. 

I had been warned of this.  On the plane ride to Johannesburg (which feels like an episode from another life,) Julian and I sat near a man named Graham, a Jo’Burg native returning home from a ski trip in Canada and the States.  He explained to us that for South Africans, a trip to the States is nothing unusual, as they are quite used to the way things work in an industrialized nation.  On the other hand, Americans are often at a loss for what they find in South Africa.  Learning to function in a place with both a “1^st and 3^rd world economy” is something that, he observed, Americans have trouble learning to cope with.  I think he’s right.  Another oddity to my American eyes was running along the river by the park and seeing young couples playing fetch with dogs, or pushing their children on the swing set while not 200 feet away, under a tree, two homeless men were settling in for the night, laying down on blankets they had pulled out of their shopping carts.  Unreal.  I feel as though the world around me has been glued together from pieces of other worlds.  I am not yet used to the strange dichotomy. 

Leanne valuing the lesson of hearing varying perspectives

Leanne (center in green) working on ice-breaker question sheet on human rights

This past weekend, our group attended a human rights training weekend with 25 people from African countries.  The majority were of South African descent, but there were also representatives from Somalia, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Namibia.  The training was organized by Africa Unite (great job Sharielle and Siobhan!) and facilitated by Vincent, who is also our Political Science professor.   It was great to be able to interact with new people close to my age in a more academic setting, and then also in a more relaxed way during the breaks.  I learned some fun group games, a few more words of Xhosa, and even had a bit of a dance lesson!  

The exercise that I found to be the most enlightening was when the large group was divided into smaller ones, each of which was assigned to an existing African country.  We then were told that earth was in peril and our countries were in various stages of populating a new planet; Planet X.  My country, the DRC, had landed on the fertile side of Planet X and established a colony there.  Three of the countries had landed on the infertile side of Planet X.  A fifth country, Zimbabwe, was still on earth and had requested the permission of the DRC to come to Planet X.  In our countries, we had to establish five rights for ourselves and five rules for the other countries, as well as make the decision of whether or not we would grant entrance to the Zimbabweans. 

The DRC agreed unanimously on allowing Zimbabwe to come to Planet X and on the nature of our human rights.  The issue of rules for the other countries proved much harder to decide.  We agreed to establish a forum for representatives from each of the five countries on Planet X, in the hopes of creating a new democracy, rather than remaining as five sovereign nations.   One of my group members was hesitant to ever allow the other countries to be able to vote on Planet X.  Another one of my group members wished for the DRC to remain the dominant government for an interim period of five years and then grant the others the right to vote.  The majority of the group disagreed, and wanted everyone to be able to vote right away.    

Leanne (left of center in green) works with her group

I initially found it really surprising that anyone would want to deny voting rights to people who were supposed to be coming together to cohabitate a single country.  My perspective changed after having a conversation with the man who had voiced that opinion.  He is actually from the DRC, a nation that, I learned, shares a border with nine other countries: Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, Congo Brazzaville, Tanzania, Sudan, Angola, the Republic of Central Africa and Zambia.  Border control is an area in which the DRC is severely lacking.  When any of its nine neighbors have internal conflict, so too does the DRC.  Refugees spill across its borders, competing for access to already scarce resources.  Militant groups surge across its borders, raping, pillaging and terrorizing citizens.  Life in the DRC is unstable and insecure.   I can now understand my group member’s hesitation to allow outsiders to vote.  As a DRC citizen, it must be incredibly frightening to imagine allowing anyone who found their way into the DRC the right to impact policy.  With nine bordering nations, it could be feasible for entering groups to eventually amass enough power to drastically change the political system, and the lives of the Congolese citizens.  I can see now that his hesitation to allow others to vote on Planet X stemmed from his fears about the safety and security of himself and his family members in the real DRC.  These are issues that I, as an American citizen, had never considered.    I am so glad that I got the chance to look at the situation from another perspective.  The experience will help me to remember to always try to see where other people are coming from.  There can be many different and valid ways of looking at the same situation. 

 Leanne preparing for group presentation on the DRC

Leanne on the opening of Parliament

Last Thursday, February 10^th, most of our group decided to go to the opening of the South African Parliament.  The Parliament building is located in the center of the city of Cape Town, so we had to take public transport into the city.  Teddy, Anna, Brenna, Marie and I took the train from Mowbray into town.  This was my first experience riding an actual train, though I have made use of the T system in Boston and the subway in NYC a handful of times.  The station was initially confusing because we needed to cross the tracks and didn’t know how to do that, but a friendly local guy directed us towards the (creepy) underground passageway.   The train was right on time, and we learned that it is important to get on as soon as possible – South African trains don’t mess around, it pulled into the station and then was on its way again in about one minute flat.  We saw a couple people jogging up and hopping on the train when it was already moving, having to hold the doors open as they leaped in – that’s way too much excitement for me!  The train fare was inexpensive, R5 for regular class and R7 for first class.  Since R7 is approximately one US dollar, that’s a bargain for a 20 minute ride! We were directed to buy the tickets upon arriving in the Cape Town station, so I’m not sure how they keep track of who rides what class.  Also, I have since ridden the train to the beach and was not required to purchase a ticket at any point.  I’m not sure how the system makes any money. 

Many of the city roads were blocked off in anticipation of the procession, so it was hard for us to get close to the front of the Parliament building.  I’m assuming it was full of people, since the sides of the main roads were moderately crowded.  We watched President Jacob Zuma drive by in a vehicle with huge glass windows, preceded by armed guards on horseback and followed by a motorcycle convoy.  A woman standing near us said that each branch of the military would then follow.  We could just catch sight of airplanes flying over some of the nearby buildings.  Teddy and I decided to go closer to check it out, and to hear Zuma’s speech, but wound up wandering up and down side streets, trapped in by the roadblocks.  We gave up after about twenty minutes and decided to engage in one of Teddy’s favorite pastimes – eating Indian food.  We found a bustling place that looked promising.  The “traditional Indian ice cream” was disappointing but they did have fabulous mango lassis! 

Long Street

We met up with the rest of the Malleson Road group at The Neighbourhood, a restaurant on the corner of Long and Wale Street, and were soon joined by the big group from Loch road, who had apparently gotten a late start and missed the first train.  We had appetizers there, and then walked around Long Street, which is known for its vibrant nightlife.  All in all, it was a good night, though the opening of Parliament was somewhat disappointing.  I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting, but I’m still glad that I went – it’s probably a once in a lifetime experience because who knows if I will ever be in South Africa in mid-February again!  

"Goeie More!" from Leanne

Goeie More!

I’ve been taught that the title of my post means “Good Morning” in Afrikaans (there should be an accent on the final “e” but I’m not sure how to do that on a computer.)  Goeie More was the first of the Afrikaans phrases that I’ve learned to spell and (sort of) pronounce, courtesy of my coworkers Jackie, Manelli and Yvonne at my internship placement.   They patiently repeat each phrase several times so that I can write them down phonetically, since the letters in Afrikaans are pronounced quite differently than they would be in English, or, for that matter, Latin or Spanish, the other two languages that I am mildly familiar with.  Afrikaans is something else altogether!    

I chose “Goeie More” as my blog title, because every morning here has been just that – a good one!  South African mornings are beyond beautiful, with fresh, crisp morning air and the sun flooding in through every window.  I find myself excited to be up and start the day, though I haven’t had to wake up before seven since the days of high school, which, three years later, feels like another life in a different world.    

I’ve only been at my internship placement with the Cape Town Community Housing Company for three days and I’ve already had the opportunity to soak up a near-overwhelming amount of information.    I’ve learned about the types of social housing that the CTCHC works to provide as well as the criteria to live there.  For accepted clients, I’ve learned a bit about the financial processes by making phone calls to clients in arrears on their accounts and setting up meetings for them to meet with the manager of CTCHC – my supervisor, Doreen.   I’ve then been allowed to sit in and take notes during these meetings.  I was originally sad to learn that clients who fall behind on payments, unless their circumstances have drastically changed, are granted very little time to make amends before they are sent an eviction notice.  As the week went on, I realized that with a backlog of an estimated 350,000 homes, it is impractical and frankly impossible to allow people to fall behind on payments.  If the company cannot make their money back from each new development, they will be unable to construct any new homes.  There are literally thousands and thousands of other people that would jump at the chance to have one of these homes.  It is absolutely astonishing how many people in South Africa currently live in inadequate conditions. 

My favorite part about this week was being granted the opportunity to visit the CTCHC development called Morgan’s Village, which was built in three parts and is located across the street from the CTCHC office.  On Wednesday, I went into the more established Morgan’s Village I development to help administer a survey to a handful of the occupants there.   I also helped hand out home maintenance manuals in Morgan’s Village III, the newly constructed part of the development.  The CTCHC’s community organizer, James, will be working closely with MVIII occupants in the coming months to establish a resident’s committee there.  The committee will then serve to address the needs of the community at large.  I am excited to watch this process unfold and hopefully take part in it whatever way that I can! 

Informal Settlement in a Township 

– this is the way that millions of South Africans are forced to live because of a lack of adequate and affordable housing

Morgan’s Village – phase three of the subsidized housing constructed by the CTCHC

Leanne on shifting her perceptions

Leanne, Ashley, Marie

Before leaving the states, in the midst of procrastinating packing, I took a look at the personal blogs started by a few of the other students going on the trip  -- partly to see if they had any packing suggestions and partly to help me decide if I wanted to keep a blog of my own.  In his blog, Tom jokingly expressed a deep curiosity regarding the direction of the water flow in South African toilets.  Would the water spin counter-clockwise, as in the states, or clockwise because of South Africa’s relatively southern position on the globe?  For some reason, I remembered that post the first time I flushed the toilet here and was amused to observe that, instead, the water floods in from the top of the bowl and is sucked straight down into the pipes.  It doesn’t particularly swirl at all.  This was something completely unexpected – a third option that I had never considered.  I decided then and there that perhaps South Africa is full of these unexpected options - ways of doing things and ways of life that extend beyond my previous conceptions of what life would be like in this country.  I’m planning to keep this realization in mind and live life here without expectations -- to take everything as it comes and get the most out of this opportunity to live amongst some of the most beautiful people and places in the world!

We have been to so many places and met so many people during this first week that it’s nearly been a sensory overload!  The orientation schedule was fast paced and filled with activities, all of them valuable learning experiences.   For me, one of the most strikingly different experiences was learning to ride the mini-bus taxis.  The taxis are unlike anything that I have seen in the USA – granted I’m not particularly well traveled.  They are big vans with lots of windows, mainly white with a yellow stripe, but some are elaborately painted.  The “official” capacity is 16 people but that’s more like a suggestion…people essentially cram in until there is no more space.  The mini-bus taxi team consists of a driver who honks the horn and a caller / lookout who hangs out the side window, yelling the name of the last destination on that particular taxi’s route.  The caller whistles and yells to people on the sidewalks and sometimes gets out of the taxi and runs down the side streets yelling to people potentially looking for a ride and beckoning them towards the minibus.  On my first ride, the driver was blasting techno music and the caller was singing and dancing in between looking for customers.  A couple of times, the driver started to drive away without the caller, who then had to run up and leap into the moving vehicle so that he didn’t get left on the side of the road!  The extent to which he leaned out the side window made me nervous for his safety, especially when passing parked cars with open doors!  I had to keep reminding myself that he knew what he was doing – the rules of the road are quite different here! 

From my American perspective, the minibus taxi is an incredibly unconventional form of transportation.  This is for two reasons – the chaotic nature of the ride, and the fact that getting in a van full of strange men yelling, whistling and beeping a horn at me is quite contrary to everything that I have been taught about staying safe!  Since the minibus taxis are indeed considered a safe form of transportation, and one that I will probably come to rely on, I found that I had to shift my American perceptions of safety and danger to fit with South African standards.  I was admittedly apprehensive about my first ride, but now that I have been on a minibus taxi a couple of times, I am comfortable with the experience.  There is order to the madness!  I can’t wait to try other new things that encourage me to contextualize my American values and to think about my place in this exciting new city! 

Leanne: It's starting to feel real

I think I’m in a state of shock.  The idea of studying abroad, for me, has always been something in the far off distance – almost as far away as graduating from college, or getting a job in the real world.  It’s been a light – a beacon of hope – a reason to stay up that extra hour studying or revise yet another paper when I really, really just wanted to go to bed.  It’s been something to work towards, dream about.  Being the first person in my immediate family to get my passport the summer after my senior year of college was the first step, my first little triumph.  The excitement wore off when I realized how long I would have to wait to actually use it!  But now the day is nearly here – I have been accepted into the program and met the other participants.  It’s just now starting to feel (a little bit more) real.  I’m excited to get to know everyone better and learn more about what to expect as we prepare to embark upon a most wonderful adventure!!