This morning was another cold Johannasburg morning. I woke up and climbed out of my nice warm sleeping bag, and let me tell you it is times like this I am thankful that my lovely parents bought me a nice sleeping bag all those years ago! I wanted to start the morning with a nice warm shower, but alas, it aluded me once again and I had my third cold shower since I have been here. This time I only had the nerve to wet my hair while keeping the rest of my already cold body as far away from the stream of coldness that was suppose to be water. I am sure I brought some sort of showering time recorded this morning, and mostly likely I didn’t get all of the shampoo out, but atleast I felt a little cleaner than when I woke up. Yet my toes didn’t soon forgive me for such aweful treatment of them this morning. I bundled myself back up for breakfast and decided to treat my hands to a hot cup of coco…. my lips didnt’ mind either! But fortunately they fixed what was wrong and we now have the luxury of a hot shower again…. which I make good use of this evening! Though I think my hands might be calling out for another cup of coco, and my toes will soon be needing a second pair of socks…… but don’t worry guys, it does warm up for a few hours in the afternoon! Well, sometimes.
history lesson April 28, 2007
Today for our assignment we got to go on a tour of Jo’burg! We got picked up at 9am by the dad of a girl who volunteers here at Joseph’s Project. His name is Ted, he is very nice. This is what we did:
Soweto
He took us first to Soweto, which is probably the most famous townships in Jo’burg. Its name is a shortened verison of the SOuth WEstern TOwnship (the first two letters of each word spells Soweto). It played a big part in the fight against Apartheid. It is where the Soweto Uprising of 1976 was where kids and youth marched from the schools in a peaceful protest against the forced change in their schools to Arfikaans, the police opened fire on them and many were killed. So we drove through Soweto, it is huge (it has about 3 million inhabitants) and has many different income levels to it- there are the very very rich (there a few millionaires living in those areas) all the way to the very very poor (who live in shanty houses). Like other townships it is inhabited primary by blacks- there is an estimated 8 whites out of the 3 million in Soweto. In Soweto we saw where Desmond Tutu lives and where Nelson Mendela once lived in Soweto. We got to go on a short tour through Mendela’s house. We also saw a church in which school children fled into during the uprising and were shot by the police- there are still bullet holes Ted told us. We didn’t get to see the church because there was a funeral. An interesting thing we found out is that it is only on Saturdays that there are funerals in Soweto because many family members and friends live in rural areas so they are on Saturdays so that they can come. There are about 300 funerals every Saturday! Alot of traffic because of that!
Hector Pieterson Memorial Museum
Anyways, after the drive through Soweto we were taken to a memorial museum for a boy that was shot and killed during the Soweto uprising, 13 year old Hector Pieterson. It was powerful to walk through there and see the pictures of the uprising and shooting, to see some of the actual signs the kids were carrying in the march that expressed their anger about being forced to learn in Afrikaans in their schools, and to read and listen to some of their testimonies of what happened that day.
Apartheid Museum
Later we were taken to the Apartheid Museum. Oh man! That really gets you to see and hear and really discover what happened during Apartheid! There was a hall of pictures that where taken by an African photographer during the Apartheid years that where unbelievable! One area that really got me was an area about the exacutions of leaders that were fighting against the Apartheid. There were 113 exacuted. In the room there where 113 nuses hanging from the ceiling, the names of all 113 on the wall, and pictures of three of them. One of the pictures was of Steve Biko. There was also alot of video footage of the violence. It was horrible what happened. But the amazing thing to discover from being in South Africa is the forgiveness of the blacks for what happened.
Ghandi’s House
One the way back home, Ted took us to the place where Ghandi lived while he was in Jo’burg. It is literally 5 minutes from where we are staying! I can’t believe how many places and things I saw and learned today!
Today really made me wish I had learned more about South Africa before I came here, but it has also made me so excited to learn even more about Africa! I have an even greater now passion for South Africa, and for the whole of Africa, than I did when I got here…. even since this morning!
hide and seek April 27, 2007
So tonight we played hide and seek here at the base. Just us, no kids or nothing! It was a blast! I think it is actually more fun when you are older because you can think of even better places to hide and it is twice as fun when you do! The first round I climbed on to the roof which worked really well until I got spotted my accident when they were looking somewhere else for the others! Another time I tried to hid in the sand box and that one, well didn’t work so well and I was covered in sand when it was over. Some people found some really good places to hide! Man! My favorite was Brad’s hiding spot on one of the cross bars of the roof… I could hear that some one was on the roof but couldn’t see anyone when I looked and when I did find him he looked like a bat or something! It was hilarious! Almost as funny as Jenny hiding behind the curtain and being the last to be found!
Freedom Day April 27, 2007
Today is Freedom Day in South Africa. The 27th of April is celebrated every year to commemorate the first free democratic elections in South Africa. Those elections happened in 1994 with Nelson Mendela being elected President of South Africa. Mendela fight against Apartheid and was kept as a political prisioner on Robben Island. On Freedom Day, the country comes together to celebrate and to continue to look ahead to a better South Africa. This year the current President, Thabo Mbeni addressed a huge crowd at Bisho Stadium in the Eastern Cape. I was able to watch part of it on TV this morning and until that point didn’t know what Freedom Day was or that the 27th of April was a significant day in South Africa. I am glad to say that I know now a little bit more about this country and it’s history.
day off :) April 27, 2007
So today was our first day off, so how do I start it? By waking up at 8:30 in the morning… why I don’t know. You’d think I’d sleep in but I couldn’t. So, oh well! I had breakfast and some tea, than stood in the sun and ate an orange. I even got my laundry done and up on the line! A very productive morning. Then in the afternoon we all headed out to the East Gate Mall for lunch. So we went out across the street to catch a taxi, and one by one each taxi went by completely full already! We watched about 6 or so taxis drive by us. Then a very nice man offered to let us ride on the back of his flatbed truck to the mall. So we jumped on the offer, and well, on to his truck! Seven of us stood, swatted and just plain held on tight on the back of the truck and two got to go in the cab. It was a blast! The funniest part was that when we started out there was a cop right in front of us and they didn’t say anything! Another reminder of how different Africa is from America! It was really fun though! I held on to Kavi so she didn’t fall off, while I did my best not to step on Jackie or push Brad off! We all made it there whole! Not injuries to report thankfully! Only an exciting story! And two of the staff from Joseph’s Project saw us drive by, they found it pretty funny themselves! Once we were there, we all got Kaui for lunch. Kaui is a smoothie place in South Africa that makes drinks and good wraps. I still contend that it is South Africa’s version of Starbucks, but no one else on the team seems to agree with me! I also got two books to read, one is “Tsotsi” which is a novel about a teenage gangster in a township (it is also a great movie if any of you are interested!) and a book called “Love Child” which was written by a women who grew up in the townships during the Apartheid and is a collection of stories and poems. I am excited to read them. Oh, and our trip back home was uneventful aside from the fact that all 9 of us got into the same taxi which was quite amazing considering they only fit about 12-14! It has been a good day! And the day is still young… it is only 3:30pm!
Jubilani Khakibos April 26, 2007
TUESDAY
On Tuesday, we went and worked with an organization called Jubilani Khakibos which works with street boys. We went to their center and did some organizing in the morning. Half of the group went in to the fridge to organize all the food. It apparently was cold and a mess in there! The other half, including me, got to tackle the storage shed. It was quite a task! There was so much stuff in there, most I think had been in there for a very long time! The main task was to get all the clothes and blankets out and organized so that they can be washed next week when another outreach team starts helping there. So we started tearing away at every thing in there…. I must admit that I was more than a bit overwhelmed by how much stuff there was! So we just started pulling it out into the yard were three of the girls were organizing it…… soon it began to look abit more manageable! By lunch we had gotten all three rooms cleaned and organized! I guess it is a good thing that I learned how to pack and organize things well, because it sure did come in handy!
Then that afternoon, we were taken to a park near the East Gate mall to do some ministry and hand out food to the guys that live there in the park. So we packed into the back of the Bakkie (pro. “bucky”)- nine of us, plus one extra person from Jubilani Khakibos, two big buckets of yogurt and two huge bags of pastries! It was quite a ride! But the ministry was fun, although we had to do some improvizing! We had decided to do a drama, simple enough, but when we got there we realized that the CD player wouldn’t work and we needed it for the drama! So after some quick deliberation, we decided to do the drama anyways with out the music which was a stretch for everyone because we had never practiced it without the music! Apparently it look well enough and we made it through, with yet another story to tell! After the drama, I shared abit about what the drama meant. The guys were so funny! I would ask them questions and they would give the funniest answers! After that we gave out food to all the guys… the were so eager to have food. We got to spend some time talking with the guys and getting to know them and what it is like to live on the street. But soon enough our time there was over and we had to pack back into the Bakkie again, this time with only one bucket or yogurt which spilled on two of the people on the way back!
THURSDAY
Today, me and Brad went with Jubilani Khakibos again. We got picked up at 8:15am and headed off with Louisa and Eric (one of the street boys) to fetch his dad so we could go to Home Affairs and try to get Eric an ID so that he can work. I didn’t realize it, but in South Africa it is a huge problem with many people not having any form of ID, especially the street boys. Partically this is because many of them were born at home or in some rural area and were never taken to the hospital to get a birth certificate so they therefore technically don’t exist. Another reason is that many times certificates and IDs are lost when shacks in the townships burn down. And getting an ID is extremely difficult if you don’t have a birth certificate. And even harder if you don’t know who your parents are or even any relatives for that matter. That is the case with most of the street boys.
So we were going with Louisa and Eric for the day. Our job was primarily to pray, because basically it is near impossible for the street boys to get an ID because of the hoops that Home Affairs seems to make people jump through. We first went and picked up Eric’s dad in the township called Swaville, or something like that… I unfortunately can’t remember right now. It was so nice to be in a township again! As strange as that sounds, but it is true. We got to meet Eric’s family whom he had just been reunited with after being gone for 10 years! After seeing his family and picking up his dad, we had to go to the police so that some forms could be signed by his dad before we could head to the Home Affairs. As soon as that was sorted, we walked down the street to the Home Affairs where the real prayer and waiting began. Actually, everything went quicker than I had expected. Though we were sent from one person to another for a while as they tried to figure out if he had all the correct forms. Eventually by around 1pm, things had gone well and he was only missing one form for his application for his ID, and that was a letter from his primary school! So things were looking really good! So we hopped into the Bakkie and headed to Soweto which is were his school is. Soweto, by the way, was one of the main townships during the Apartheid. There was a shooting of school children and youth who were protesting the Apartheid… many of them were killed. It became known as the Soweto Massacre. We will be going their on Friday, but that time for a tour. Anyways, we got to his school, which was fun because there was a lot of little kids roaming around that seemed abit surprised and intrigued to see such pale people! We waited there for awhile…. the school didn’t have any records of him ever being enrolled! All of his siblings were, just not him. So we went back to his father’s house via a very rough and bumpy African back road where we almost got stuck in the sand and I almost wet myself! I had a blast though! Anyways, we made it back and they found his old report cards which they will take back to the school next week to get the paper they need. So Eric is right now only one paper away from having his ID! Which is a miracle! Louisa is going to email and let me know how everything goes with the rest of the process to getting his ID. I am excited to hear!
Joseph’s Project April 26, 2007
We are staying in Jo’burg with an organization called Joseph’s Project with works with inner city kids. They currently run a preschool in the mornings and an after school program in the afternoons for kids between the grades of 4 and 7. It has been a lot of fun! First of all because there are 8 girls in one room…. girls have alot of stuff! But I love them all! Mostly it is fun because we are working with kids in the afternoons. I am working with the 7th graders along with another of the girls on my team named Darby. It has been a blast… but challenging none the less! These kids can pack so much attitude! Aye! But they are so much fun! Yesterday we had a great day with them, drawing and talking. I have really enjoyed getting to know them. Monday we’ll be running a Holiday Club for the kids since they are on a five day weekend!
In the mornings we do maintance here. Yesterday I painted a cabinet. Some people were chipping paint, others were working on the roof, and some were helping putting in shelves. Today the team started on a mural outside the preschool building. We’ll be spending most of our time here in the mornings working on that now! It is good to be doing something… even if I am exhausted everynight!
Interesting trails……. April 26, 2007
Saturday we headed out from Beautiful Gate in the lovely Lower Crossroads that I have come to call home to start our journey to Johannasburg. We had already woken up at 4:30am to say goodbye to the first team to leave for Botswana and Zimbabwe, so the day started very early for us. That afternoon the remaining two teams (Jo’burg, SA/Kenya and Lesotho/Durin, SA) headed out together. We left Beautiful Gate at 4pm to catch our bus in Cape Town, about 30 minutes away. We got on our bus and headed out across the beautiful South Africa. We had a night trip that was planned to take about 19hours, long yes. I didn’t sleep much over the course of the night because the bus was freezing cold! But fortunately we got to take stops every few hours to get out. At about 5:30 am we stopped at a gas station for our normal stretch and coffee break. The bus stopped with a jerk…. for those who drive a clutch, it was the feeling of taking the clutch out before the car is turned off. We did our thing and got ready to go again, only to find out that the clutch on the bus had gone out! We had to wait there until another bus could come from Port Elizabeth…. in 6 hours!!!!!!! So we waited, we slept, we ate, we read, we slept some more, we watched the sun rise, we had a picinic of burgers and fries that the bus line bought us all for lunch….. than while sitting on the grass hill eating our fries we saw it! The replacement bus from Port Elizabeth! And about an hour or so early much to our delight! So we were on the road again. The remainder of the trip went well…. we saw some amazing scenery and atleast 9 rainbows plus a lightening storm! I think it was God’s way of amusing us for the rest of the time on the trip! And then finally we were in Jo’burg! It reminds me of Seattle a bit, so that was weird. But we were glad to finally be there. The staff from Joseph’s Project was there to pick us up, and wouldn’t it figure that one of their cars didn’t want to start! HAHAHA! Oh, the stories! But after about 5 minutes we were off again and with out any more troubles!
packing…… April 19, 2007
So i am almost finished packing up my room to head on outreach…. it is a strange feeling, kinda like i am leaving home again. It makes me sad, in two days i’ll be leaving most of these people i have grown so close too and don’t know that I’ll see again after this is all over. Don’t get me wrong i am super excited to go on outreach, and have been getting more and more excited for as it is has gotten down to the single digits for days. I can’t wait for the adventures but i will miss the simple fun of being at Lower Crossroads.
Robben Island April 14, 2007
I went today to visit Robben Island which is where Nelson Mandela was imprisioned. It was interesting to see the island and the prision. I learned that at one time they used to keep people with leprosy there and there is even a cemetary just for them. I also saw the cell that Mandela was in during his time there… all the cells are very small. We couldn’t go in it because I guess some stole his spoon once and since then on one can go in it any more, but we got to see it and take pictures. We got to go into the other cells though and that was kinda weird….. many of the cells had pictures of a prisioner that had once stayed in that cell and some information about them, that make it alot more real. And our tour guide was an ex-inmate… it was amazing to hear him and how much he has forgiven the people that have imprisioned him. All the people there actually! They have forgiven but not forgotten what has happened, they want to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
