Today we finally made it to IMBEWU, the Non-Governmental Organization we will be working with during our time in Port Elizabeth! We started off in the office early this morning where we met the staff of the camps. We sat down with Ashley and the president of the NGO, Mike (who visited us in Switzerland). They welcomed us with some sweet bread and coke. Apparently, the South Africans would choose coke over water and it is almost the national drink.
Ashley and Mike told us more about the goals of IMBEWU. The organization started by realizing that many local kids did not have the opportunity to go to school or would not have food for lunch while they were there. IMBEWU started sponsoring kids by paying their tuition and providing meals. Eventually they expanded to run sports camps for kids when they were out of school, teach children about proper health practices and improve the leadership and business qualities of their students. They are also working on expanding their goals to keep up with the housing initiatives of the government to eliminate shacks in the country before the 2010 World Cup.
Unfortunately, some of the people who are running the organization are not educated with proper business practices of proper book keeping and budgeting. They have many grandiose ideas but are unsure of the steps it will take to follow through, and don't really have a concept of what marketing can do to gain the attention of potential donors—that's where we come in! One of our goals for the summer, in addition to helping with the sports camps, is to develop a marketing plan to attract local and international donors.
After discussing the status and needs of the organization, we split into two groups. I went with Katie, Anna, Sally and Brittany to one of the local schools to put a fresh coat of paint on the walls, while the boys and Clara went to the soccer fields to help at the holiday camps.
The room we painted hasn't had a fresh coat in almost 20 years, so we had to start by preparing the walls, scraping off the rubber cement from years and years of hanging artwork and filling in cracks with putty. Preparing the walls was an entire days work. Luckily, Anna brought her iPod so we jammed out and had some fun.
We made it back in time to watch Garrett play a game of basketball (shirtless!) with some of the kids and for me to be invited to play a game of netball with some of the girls. I had no idea what I was doing because they took all of 2 seconds to explain the rules to me. It is something like basketball, but with an ultimate frisbee/handball twist. They all clapped when I knocked the ball out of bounds one time and what I lack in Athletic ability I made up for in height. It was so much fun to join them and they were so excited to have me play along.
I had a chance to read my book and rest up before dinner when we got home and made a very yummy spinach, onion, garlic, mushroom and pepper omelet with sweet chili sauce for dinner. We joined the Swiss kids for drinks at Primi. I think we are finally starting to become better friends with them and integrate as an overall group instead of separately like we once were.
More play time with the IMBEWU kids tomorrow—SO excited!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Xhosa Clicks and Township Times
We started out the morning in a very difficult manner—attempting to learn the local xhosa language. It is completely different from any western language. There are three different types of clicks throughout the vocabulary, and each is pronounced differently depending on the word. It was overwhelming, but a lot of fun to try our best at the native tongue.
Our teacher taught us about some of the cultural traditions of the locals and the proper way to greet people without being offensive. I know it will be very beneficial in getting to know the kids of IMBEWU to find ways to attempt to make a connection through a proper greeting.
We had a chance to eat lunch and use the computer lab before boarding a bus to tour the local townships. Our tour guide grew up in the township ans still lives in one of the upper middle class areas today. As we drove along, it was still amazing to see all of the creative ways people have put scraps together to create shelter for themselves and their families.
We stopped at the new Red Museum to walk through the exhibit on the history of the township and to learn about the people who were most influential in the eventual overthrow of the Apartheid rule. Our guide then walked us through one of the neighborhoods and told us about the way of life of the people who live in the shacks. No toilets. Scarce running water. Fear of theft and rape. Even with all of the reasons to want to give up on life, all of the people seemed happy and carefree.
We drove through miles upon miles of township. We saw women selling “Smileys” on the side of the road (roasted goat head) and took in the sights of all the local businesses with handmade signs. There were areas of obvious devastation and some streets looked like they were better off than others. Our guide showed us the houses that were built under the Nelson Mandela presidency—cookie cutter concrete houses painted in a rainbow of colors. He said that although some of the homes were in better condition than others, it was difficult to request people to move from the shacks of squatterville because the new houses were out of the way for jobs and food.
A woman selling ceramics welcomed us into her home/studio and I bought a little clay mask for 50 Rand (~6 bucks). A group of kids and beggars kept close eye on the gate as we went in and out and were excited when we asked to take their picture. Everyone loves to see themselves on camera. We walked past a pack of newborn puppies yelping for food. Their eyes were closed and they looked as though they were born the day before. It is sad to think about what kind of condition they are in and how low their chance of survival is in the townships.
After stopping on a lookout point on top of a mountain to view the entire stretch of township houses, we went to a local “shebeen” to get a beer and pass some time before our dinner reservations. Alcohol is a concern in the townships, but we stopped to grab a refreshment at a bar that was attached to someone's home. It cost less than a dollar for a bottle of Windhoek (a Namibian lager). These sort of businesses are common in the townships.
Finally, we sat down for dinner in a second Shebeen down the road, where I ordered a Savanna Dry (a South African cider) and indulged in one of the best meals I have had in a few months. The cook prepared us a meat-heavy menu with several types of sausage, bar-b-qued pork, stewed beef, vegetables, bean “chackalaka” and rice. It was so flavorful—I went back for seconds. We were joined by Miss Port Elizabeth, who obviously had a good time talking to Kinan. She welcomed us to the city and wished us good luck in the rest of our initiatives.
It was still early when we returned to the Langerry Flats, so we walked to the liquor store across the street and purchased a bottle of Amarula—a South African liquor similar to Bailey's. We played pig, discussed what we had seen that day and hung out for the rest of the evening until we called it an early night for our early morning.
Our teacher taught us about some of the cultural traditions of the locals and the proper way to greet people without being offensive. I know it will be very beneficial in getting to know the kids of IMBEWU to find ways to attempt to make a connection through a proper greeting.
We had a chance to eat lunch and use the computer lab before boarding a bus to tour the local townships. Our tour guide grew up in the township ans still lives in one of the upper middle class areas today. As we drove along, it was still amazing to see all of the creative ways people have put scraps together to create shelter for themselves and their families.
We stopped at the new Red Museum to walk through the exhibit on the history of the township and to learn about the people who were most influential in the eventual overthrow of the Apartheid rule. Our guide then walked us through one of the neighborhoods and told us about the way of life of the people who live in the shacks. No toilets. Scarce running water. Fear of theft and rape. Even with all of the reasons to want to give up on life, all of the people seemed happy and carefree.
We drove through miles upon miles of township. We saw women selling “Smileys” on the side of the road (roasted goat head) and took in the sights of all the local businesses with handmade signs. There were areas of obvious devastation and some streets looked like they were better off than others. Our guide showed us the houses that were built under the Nelson Mandela presidency—cookie cutter concrete houses painted in a rainbow of colors. He said that although some of the homes were in better condition than others, it was difficult to request people to move from the shacks of squatterville because the new houses were out of the way for jobs and food.
A woman selling ceramics welcomed us into her home/studio and I bought a little clay mask for 50 Rand (~6 bucks). A group of kids and beggars kept close eye on the gate as we went in and out and were excited when we asked to take their picture. Everyone loves to see themselves on camera. We walked past a pack of newborn puppies yelping for food. Their eyes were closed and they looked as though they were born the day before. It is sad to think about what kind of condition they are in and how low their chance of survival is in the townships.
After stopping on a lookout point on top of a mountain to view the entire stretch of township houses, we went to a local “shebeen” to get a beer and pass some time before our dinner reservations. Alcohol is a concern in the townships, but we stopped to grab a refreshment at a bar that was attached to someone's home. It cost less than a dollar for a bottle of Windhoek (a Namibian lager). These sort of businesses are common in the townships.
Finally, we sat down for dinner in a second Shebeen down the road, where I ordered a Savanna Dry (a South African cider) and indulged in one of the best meals I have had in a few months. The cook prepared us a meat-heavy menu with several types of sausage, bar-b-qued pork, stewed beef, vegetables, bean “chackalaka” and rice. It was so flavorful—I went back for seconds. We were joined by Miss Port Elizabeth, who obviously had a good time talking to Kinan. She welcomed us to the city and wished us good luck in the rest of our initiatives.
It was still early when we returned to the Langerry Flats, so we walked to the liquor store across the street and purchased a bottle of Amarula—a South African liquor similar to Bailey's. We played pig, discussed what we had seen that day and hung out for the rest of the evening until we called it an early night for our early morning.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
A History Lesson
Not too much to say about today. A taxi picked us up at 8:30 and we went to campus for our first day of lectures. Mrs. Natalie Mansvelt, a South Africa native and social worker, taught our first lesson in the importance of Community Development vs. Community Service. She spoke about the effectiveness of programs that are created using the input of the community, and not entirely focus by outside observers. She also talked about sustainability and the long term benefits of developing programs using certain principles. She was very interesting to listen to and invited a lot of participation and feedback into the session.
We broke for lunch and had a quick session in the computer lab before going to our afternoon history lecture. Dr. Herbst spoke about the history of South Africa by comparing a variety of views of when history began. He discussed the importance of re-writing history, in a way, to include perspectives of all cultures. To many people of South Africa, the country's history began with the arrival of the Dutch in 1652—but of course there were many indigenous cultures that have been in the area for thousands of years before that time period. He gave us background to some Apartheid beliefs and invited us to look for certain qualities during our time in Port Elizabeth. His perspectives on re-evaluating and re-interpreting history were fascinating.
We bussed back to the apartments and decided to take a walk to the beach to enjoy the sunset. I heated up leftovers from last night's dinner and sat down to catch up on all of my blogging! A lesson in the Xhosa language, township tour and traditional Shabeen dinner are set for tomorrow!
We broke for lunch and had a quick session in the computer lab before going to our afternoon history lecture. Dr. Herbst spoke about the history of South Africa by comparing a variety of views of when history began. He discussed the importance of re-writing history, in a way, to include perspectives of all cultures. To many people of South Africa, the country's history began with the arrival of the Dutch in 1652—but of course there were many indigenous cultures that have been in the area for thousands of years before that time period. He gave us background to some Apartheid beliefs and invited us to look for certain qualities during our time in Port Elizabeth. His perspectives on re-evaluating and re-interpreting history were fascinating.
We bussed back to the apartments and decided to take a walk to the beach to enjoy the sunset. I heated up leftovers from last night's dinner and sat down to catch up on all of my blogging! A lesson in the Xhosa language, township tour and traditional Shabeen dinner are set for tomorrow!
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