International

My time in South Africa is coming to an end. As such I have learned a great deal from these people under the sunny (well now more rainy) African skies. One of the most important lessons I am come to know is that of ubuntu. Ubuntu is a concept that is at the heart of the southern African people and the creation of the modern Republic of South Africa. Ubuntu originates from the Bantu languages. It essentially means I am because you are. Human beings can not exist in isolation of another and must come together. Humans are interconnected.

While some people I have spoken with believe ubuntu just merely exists on the surface level, many more have come to tell me and show me how this concept is still practiced today.  One of the most noticeable examples I have come to experience occurred last Sunday when I was to attend an engagement party of a coworker, Jojo, in the nearby former black township of Soshanguve. Soshanguve is approximately twenty three kilometres from downtown Pretoria. On the Sunday morning I took a taxi from where I am living in Garsfontein to the city centre to meet my friend and fellow AFS intern Patty who hails from Holland. Together Patty and I found a taxi that would take us to Soshanguve. As I had never been to Soshanguve I did not truly understand how massive and complicated the township was despite warnings from colleagues. Luckily the taxi driver took pity on Patty and I and actually drove into Ext 3 in Soshanguve when he was merely just supposed to drive by the township. Soshanguve is unlike where I work in Mamelodi and is much more diffucult to navigate for an outsider. While I had the address of where Patty and I needed to go this was not enough to truly know where we were actually going. As such, the taxi driver asked me to call Jojo to find out where we were supposed to go and to meet us at a certain location. Once on the phone the taxi driver made arrangements with Jojo for all of us to meet at a nearby primary school where Patty and I would go from the minibus taxi immediately into Jojo’s car. The taxi driver explained Soshanguve was not an area you wanted to walk around aimlessly especially as two young female Caucasian foreigners due to some of the young men living in the area. Once the taxi pulled up beside Jojo’s car I gave the driver an extra R10 for going out of the way for us something he did not have to do but did because of ubuntu. I am so thankful we had this man looking out for us as Soshanguve is too big and strange to me as I am used to places like Soweto and Mamelodi.

Once Patty and I met up with Jojo we were taken to a large shack that had become a church building for a 3 hr service that included a normal church service, a service dedicated to Jojo and his fiance Naomi (much like a wedding where engagement rings are exchanged and parents give their blessings) and a healing service. Patty and I just about died from the lack of air circulation and heat as over 100 people were crammed in the shack for the service. After this we were taken to a nearby tent that was lavishly decorated in pink and white where lunch would be served. There was a wonderful buffet lunch with an engagement cake in the shape of a bible (both Naomi and Jojo are very active in their church). Eventually some people from work also came by the party and we were all able to enjoy the live music provided by a group of violinists and cellists which came as a surprise to me as this engagement party was the most fancy engagement party I had ever been to. Nonetheless I had a great time and found a much easier way back home as Modiegi drove Thabo, Patty and I back to town.

Another example of ubuntu that easily comes across in my mind happened about two weeks ago when I working in Mamelodi. As I was the only one in the office for the day with no water due to the water being shut off for construction, I had to go to the nearby garage for bottled water like I have done many times over the course of my internship. On my way back to the office located inside SOS Children’s Village Mamelodi, I greeted an elderly woman in Sotho as she was passing by me. The woman was greeted me back in Sotho and told me in Eglish that she was so surprised to see me walking about so freely and comfortably in the township which made her very happy. She said this was a sign of ubuntu as this was an example of how unity was occurring in South Africa after the Apartheid. As I have come to find out for myself it is very seldom for a Caucasian person to be in Mamelodi much less walking around at ease like myself.

No matter where you look a person can find instances of ubuntu. My current and third host family I have had in South Africa (I had to move from my second host family as my former host mother had many personal issues she needed to sort out) took me in due to this concept. My current host mom Lebo is a devout Christian and due to ubuntu and her Christian beliefs she took me in on short notice and welcomed me into her family despite having a horrible hosting experience last year with an Alaskan high school student that was sent home by AFS after 1 month into her 1 year stay in South Africa. Luckily it was worked out for the three of us living at the Mojaki residence as we are planning a trip to Cape Town for the Easter Weekend.

As witnessing ubuntu in its various forms, I hope I will be able to bring this notion with me upon my return to Canada in just a week’s time. In Canada, I have found it very common for the individual to take precedence over all else whereby others are ignored or cast aside in the process. We must come to realize we are not alone. We are all part of something much bigger and must work together to coexist.

Cheers,

Meagan

Molweni!

Hello in Xhosa – the latest official South African language I have learned to greet in! Half of my time in South Africa has now come and gone. Time is going by too fast. On Wednesday February 10, 2010, I moved to a new host family in Pretoria, Gauteng - 120 km from my former host family in Soweto. I am now staying with a black Zulu family in the gated community of Silver Lakes. My new host family consisting of my host dad, Mdu, my host mom, Lettie, and my host brothers, Zama and Sphamandla welcomed me with open arms. My living situation is quite unlike my previous one as I am now living in an affluent area complete with security guards, electric fences, a tennis court and a live in Xhosa house keeper that we affectionately call Auntie. It took me a few days to adjust to the new situation as I was in a bit of culture shock due to the polarity of wealth in my living situations and as I have never had domestic help back in Canada. Instinctively I asked Auntie for the first few days if she needed help but the reply was always no. I learned not to interfere with her processes after she became cross with me for taking my empty plate after dinner to the sink. Almost three weeks later I still have to remind myself that there are just some things at home in Silver Lakes I cannot do.

I have had a complete reversal in terms of where I am working as well. While I once worked in the national office for loveLife in the wealthy area of Sandton, Johannesburg, I am now based out of the Gauteng North regional office in the former black township of Mamelodi. In Mamelodi, I am able to have more field experience as I am now able to go out with my co-workers on site visits to events and schools. Last week, the twelve or so staff members of the Gauteng North team and I took our sixty-five peer educators, called groundbreakers, to a training camp nestled in the heart of the Magaliesberg Mountains in the Northwest province. The purpose of the training was to recapitulate training that had occurred a few weeks previous regarding loveLife programs and activities. We began each day at 7 am only to finish training at 9pm each evening. Due to budget constraints we had to cram seven days worth of training in four and a half days. Despite the hectic schedule, I particularly enjoyed the training sessions on Body Ys, loveLife’s healthy sexuality program for youth, and Ultimate Dance where all of us followed my colleague, Modiehi, in learning some of the “latest” dance moves our groundbreakers are supposed to teach today’s youth. During group discussions for Body Ys, I was surprised at how hesitant most people were in talking about sexuality and even more so in the lack of awareness some people possessed about topics what I would consider to be general knowledge such as dating. This is something loveLife hopes to change in society as sexuality and sex need to be discussed as part of having an effective HIV prevention campaign. We ended the week off by having a talent show on the Thursday evening where there was a variety of poetry, comedy, songs, and drama performed. It was wonderful to watch especially as someone translated the comedy performances to me so that I could understand the jokes.

This past weekend, my host family took me to the Union Buildings, the Voortrekker Monument and the President’s official residence, all of which are situated in Pretoria. The Union Buildings house the executive offices of the South African government in addition to the Department of Foreign Affairs. During the Apartheid, access to the site was off limits to visitors but now people can come and go freely. This came in handy for me as I was able to walk through the gorgeous grounds of the site (the grounds at Parliament Hill in Canada cannot even compare). My host dad, Mdu, pointed out the location where each of South Africa’s presidents becomes inaugurated, including Nelson Mandela. Apparently the lawn was packed full when Mandela was inaugurated in 1994. That would have been a sight to see.

Cheers

Meagan K .

Thus far, field research has been a great experience.  My objective during this internship is to measure the feasibility of small-scale agriculture in promoting rural development given the gravity of the climate change stressors in South Africa.  In academic literature, many authors argue that the Global South is undergoing a de-agrarianization process whereby urban migration, environmental impacts, changing social and cultural norms etc. are decreasing the amount of households dependent on farming incomes.  

I expected to see many of these trends unraveling in the small area of Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal (where I’m conducting my research); however, to my surprise, I’ve found that agriculture is still very much embedded in the Zulu culture, despite the hardships that are attached to the trade.  Nevertheless, I can only say that farming is still a passion for the older generations in the village.  The younger generation does not seem to want to get involved with agriculture.  Just like what is described in academic literature, the changing social and cultural norms are influencing younger generations to seek urban employment, a “modern” way of living rather than a “peasant” form a life.  Academics predict that the Global South will experience a “de-peasantization”. 

It was interesting to talk to mothers and fathers in the village.  It seems ironic that in many corners of the world, parents or older generations share the same views about youth today.  The parents claimed that their children are lazy, don’t want to get involved with agriculture and get their hands dirty, but are too willing to eat the produce once the hard work is done.  The parents recounted stories of their youth, and said that if they arrived late to school, they were made to clean the school during the afternoons.  Today, they say the children cannot even be bothered to pick up a piece of litter off the ground.  One parent told me that the children are too busy watching American soap operas that they’ve lost touch with reality.  They are no longer interested in learning about Zulu culture, instead they are interested in moving overseas and seeking a cushy lifestyle.  It should be interesting to interview some of the young rural residents in the village to get their opinions about agriculture and living in rural areas.