We’ve been back from excursion for over a week and its been really interesting to see how everyone has already settled back into our normal routine. For example, on the Saturday after we got back we went to the Neighbourgoods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock. This is essentially a really large farmers market with all sorts of fresh (and usually organic) food from all over the Cape area. Vendors will come in with so many free samples and distribute their goods to the thousands of customers who come in on Saturday mornings. That afternoon we hiked in Silvermine Nature Reserve up to a cave called Elephant’s Eye Cave. This was another great way for everyone to spend time together and unwind after a busy week of excursion. The cave provided us with a gorgeous view of the city and tranquil place for us to sit and relax. On Monday everyone went back to their internships and we began our general routine. Nothing seemed to change much while I was away from Cape Town Refugee Centre. It was hard for me to transition back into such a serious role after being off for two weeks.
My main role at the refugee centre is to gather bio-data from the new clients who come into the office. I often deal with very real situations where refugees will explain to me the hardships that they endure when entering South Africa. For example, many of the clients that I speak to are single-mothers who have recently come to the country. Our policy is to only provided either one month of rent or one month of food but when I ask them what is most important, they always say that both are important. It can be mentally exhausting to speak with refugees who have so little, but it makes it more difficult when you see their reaction when you tell them that you can barely help them. They often leave the centre empty handed because most of our services take more than one day to complete. Many of the clients come in optimistic that they will receive some sort of financial support but leave disappointed.
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