Today is my last day in the township of Gugulethu and I do not want to leave any of it. I want to bottle it up and carry it home with me, show my family and then get back on the plane and bring them here!
Breakfast at Titi’s-same deliciousness as always! This is our last trip to JL Zwane for this week. The first item today is to visit a township school for the disabled. The Thembalethu School for Children is pretty large school special needs children. We were given a tour of the classrooms and all the resources they provide for the children. They have three buses to pick the children up from miles away so they can have access to a good education. The school got grants for special computers that can help the immobile children to type. The computers have little joysticks/ pointers to help the child choose what he/she wants to do.
After the tour, their choir wanted to sing for us and they rushed out of class any way they could to come sing for us. It was beautiful and each one of them was so excited to sing for us. They were so joyous in singing and happy to be in school. They broke out dancing and clapping, and we started clapping and it was a happy morning. The word Thembalethu means “Our hope.” And it definitely showed through….
Reverend Spiwo wanted to chat with us when we got back so we sat in our circle and he asked us questions. He also wanted to hear how our week has been with the home stays, etc. During this conversation, I started thinking about how our last day, today was the day Spiwo wanted to talk to us. It wasn’t in the beginning when we got there, but at the end of the week. It kind of bugged me at the time, but now thinking about it, he probably just wanted to get the summary of our week. The person who welcomed us was Manelisi, the manager of JL Zwane. He did a wonderful job of adjusting us to the new environment and asking us throughout the week how things were going. Throughout the week our group had reflection times about what had happened during the day, Manelisi sat in and listened to them to observe our reactions. He is invested in us and cared about how at home we felt here at JL Zwane. He is funny and open with us. Most all of us are facebook friends with him and a few other JL Zwane staff.
Back to the Spiwo conversation: We asked him if JL Zwane has regular volunteers. He said that people don’t really volunteer on a regular basis because they expect something in return like meals, or clothing. Then we began talking about the mindset that most people have in this community around poverty and HIV/Aids. “How do you get to the point to believe it, or to overcome it?” This is his daily challenge with leadership in the congregation and community overall. With the food parcels and tourists coming in, people start to expect money or food and not everyone can give that. People pity this community and I do not like it one bit. People should not have to rely on donations to live. They have right to prosper in their own country that they fought for. This country made it through the Apartheid period. They deserve a high quality of life without the worries of HIV, TB, cancer and poverty. It is a mindset that people need to overcome. But the question is how? And I do not yet know the answer to this complex question.
Spiwo wants to change the involvement with women within the congregation. He wants to empower them and give them confidence so they can protect themselves and the people. This can contribute to nation building as a whole as a country. If the people are confident and empowered by God, by life, by whatever, the country can get anything they need.
We brought up the OpenArms of Minnesota partnership. The first thing he said is that it is very hard to manage the partnerships and keep a lasting relationship. The global partners or national partners want a specific time commitment and then they leave. Most of them have not lasted a year. That makes me disappointed in the honesty and reliability of the mission of each organization. The purity of intention is not strong enough and they do not make their feelings known. A quote that stuck out to me from Spiwo: how to tackle the issues of Africa-How do you eat an elephant? A little at a time, bit by bit.
The African worldview is not about materials. The African gift is about self and the gift of presence.
Lunch break, last one, sad face! Charlie a transgender member of the congregation came to talk to us next. We were curious about what support GLBT had in the community and congregation. Charlie told us that during her transformation into a male, she was not comfortable. After the surgeries and full transformation, the community accepted who he was. BUT, corrective rape is still a common occurrence in the area. People think that if you rape a lesbian, she will become heterosexual. This is a cruel practice and I cannot believe it happens. Period. This should not be happening anywhere in the world, let alone in a country where HIV/Aids is prevalent. This makes me sick.
As we say goodbye to JL Zwane, I am sad to see so many people I bonded with and built relationships with behind me. I will miss each and every one of them. I am still processing all that has happened, and this reflection process will not be over anytime soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment