PASS IT 2008 - My trip back to South Africa - Rachel

Tuesday, July 3, 2008

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Today may have been our most important day on this trip. Khonaye again picked us up and took us into Khayelitsha where we went to Vicky’s house. As Vicky was at a meeting with the township council on house building, her 24-year-old daughter Tandi took us to the school where we were to meet the Deputy Head. The Deputy Head’s secretary opened the school for us and at first we were overwhelmed by a foul smell. We later learned that the smell came from a flood, which had happened because someone had forgotten to turn off the water at the beginning of the school break.

Our first stop was the administration wing. It is here that the administrators have their offices and where the staff room is. It is also here that we saw the supply closet with not nearly enough books and equipment to satisfy the needs of 1,255 students. These children are all in classes of between 35 and 45 students per teacher. The teacher’s section was in fairly good condition but as we moved through the school, it was a completely different story. Many of the windows of the classrooms had been broken, whether by a stray ball or by angry teenagers. The rooms lacked in the equipment needed to properly educate the children.

One of the most appalling aspects of the school was the lack of assembly, eating, and play areas. These were all combined into a sand pit that stretched its way between buildings and around the back. All 1,255 children from 7 to 14 were let loose into this area with no sorts of playthings. They lacked the swings, the slides, everything. But the most apparent need for these children was a finished walkway around the building so that the children do not have trench through the wet sand to get to classes and so that the children have a place to eat. They also need a School Hall for announcements as their former hall has now been turned into a classroom because of the influx of students. Now is a low point with 1,255 students, in the past that number has reached 2,000. With only 38 teachers and 32 classrooms it seems almost impossible for any of the children to get the attention and help that they need.

In short it appears that although the supplies we have collected will definitely help the children, we are completely missing the bigger picture. These schools are extremely under funded, these children, if not properly educated, will be stuck in a vicious circle and will never be able to get out of Khayelitsha and start a life as a businessman or as a political leader. It is here that we have to help. It is now that they need us most. It is our responsibility as being one of the world powers to help those that have so little, to help create a world free of illiteracy and it all starts with pens, pencils, and paving stones.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Today we visited the District 6 museum. Here was one of the places most affected by the apartheid started by the government after the election of 1948. The people of District 6 were the epitome of a successful melting pot and all lived together in harmony. This peace was, however, against what the government strove for, apartheid. Apartheid is the separation of people based on their race. Because District 6 was so successful in the merging of cultures, the government declared it a “white only zone and the blacks in the region had to move to the townships that were set up for them. The Africans went to the black townships such as Langa and Khayelitsha and the others, the Indians, and the people of mixed descent were sent to “coloured townships. The homes were then bulldozed to the ground. Many whites showed their objection to the forced removal of District 6 that when the land became available, they refused to move onto the land out of respect for its previous owners. Much of District 6 remains untouched, but slowly people who once lived there are returning to their homes. It is amazing the lack of resentment and hate that the people who were forcibly moved express, they appear to believe in forgiveness and are now happy that they are able to move home or at least walk the street without the passes that they once needed. District 6 has now become a reminder of what once was and what must never happen again.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500

9:30AM – We are picked up by our guide who will drive us around for the day. Our first stop is District 6 in Cape Town, we do not actually get out of the van but pull over on the side of the road and hear the story of the plight of the “coloureds and blacks in the 1970s. District 6 was once a place where multitudes of races and religions lived together in perfect harmony.

After hearing a brief history of District 6, we move onto the townships of Langa. Langa was originally made to house about 8,000 people and now there are approximately 50,000 living with in the township. Once we were in Langa, we went straight to the crèche and started to talk to the headmistress and the children. It was quite difficult in some cases, as the children did not speak the same language. One young girl came up to me and said, “How are you? to this I responded, “Good thanks, How are you? and she states “Fines Thanks. A few moments later I hear “How are you? coming from the same girl. Obviously she had learned that phrase and was just waiting to test it out. After standing with the children for a while, I squatted down to say hello to one of the children on the ground, however, as soon as I squatted down, I was knocked over by 3 children rushing at me wanting hugs. It touched me deeply that despite everything these children have gone through they still wanted to interact and be held. They were some of the friendliest children I have ever met and they soon latched onto me as a new friend.

We were given a tour of the classrooms and I was not surprised at how severely under-funded the classes were. They lacked in all the necessities: books, pencils, crayons, markers, and even paper. We asked the head of school if she would write down what they really needed in the school and for the most part it educational toys and coloring utensils. Just before we left I gave some of the supplies we had collected to the headmistress. I really hope that it does a little to help.

12:00PM – We had a meeting with Vicky at her B&B. Vicky was ready for us as we had called after our meeting with Andrew on Saturday. When we arrived she brought us upstairs to her new second story. The second floor was only completed a few weeks ago and now gives her B&B 6 rooms instead of 2. She prepared Fat Cakes which are a local snack and are very similar to Fried Dough. It was really from Vicky that we learned all about the school system. And it was after the meeting with her that we decided it would be best to start with one of the primary schools in Section C, this primary school has about 2,500 students. In Section C there are 4 primary schools and 1 high school, and then there are at least another 6 districts in Khayelitsha, that is a lot of kids. Khayelitsha has about 1.5 million people living there, the majority in shacks that they have built themselves.

With Vicky we have managed to set up a meeting with the headmaster of one of the local primary schools. We hope to have that meeting on Thursday and then distribute some of the supplies on Friday. Vicky appears quite enthused about our endeavor and she seems very willing to help in everyway possible. For children to attend the primary school it costs 120 Rand per semester, which is a little less than 19 dollars. Many families cannot afford this so they do not have to pay as school is mandatory. Because of this, the schools do not have the necessary money to buy basic supplies such as the pencils and pens, which is hopefully where we come in. As the children advance to the upper school to price increases to 180 Rand per semester, about 25 dollars. The families that cannot afford to pay for college then only have one option ensure that the children get good grades and hope for a scholarship. The majority of the people don’t have the means to send their children to college and because of this the people are stuck in a never-ending cycle within the township.

After the visit with Vicky, we went to a little building where women make money for themselves. They create tablecloths and aprons by dying the fabric; others make beautiful woven articles from the scraps from clothing factories. These women keep 75% of what the woven piece sells for and also gives them somewhere to talk and make friends. It is allowing these women to provide for themselves and save up money. It is amazing what these women can create when they are given the opportunity to succeed.

6:00PM – After returning to the hotel, we went out into District 6 to watch a show. A dance team in the area put on the show like they do every Monday night. 4 of the members formed a team and came in second place in the National Hip Hop tournament and are going to Las Vegas to compete in the World competitions. The show showed the three world of Cape Town, the one of the blacks, the coloureds, and the whites, and each showing the hardships of each. Ultimately the message was that there is no reason that the people can’t live together in harmony, there is no logic behind racism. The show was excellently performed and gave more insight into the lives of the people in Cape Town.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500

After an overnight flight, an early check in and a little nap, we met with Andrew. Andrew is one of our contacts here in South Africa and he is the one that will help us get into the townships and deliver the supplies to the schools. Andrew has set up a charity called Kids2Kids, which collects and donates sports equipment to a primary school in Cape Town. He answered all our questions about the school systems in the townships just outside of Cape Town. The younger children go to “crèches which are a mixture of nurseries and kindergartens, then on to primary school (elementary) and secondary school (high school). In the townships, children were given food at primary school but not at secondary school, therefore they often purposefully failed so they did not have to continue into the secondary school.

Andrew didn’t have the answers to all of our questions but he has set us up with a native guide for Monday to take us into the townships of Langa and Khayelitsha. The guide company are involved with a crèche in Langa and the guide will also know his way around Khayelitsha where we are going to meet Vicky, our other contact. Also, Andrew knows someone named Fiona who is involved in the schools in Langa so we hope that we can get in touch with her and she can tell us the school’s specific needs. Now all we can do is wait for the visit on Monday morning.

Efforts from 2007

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500

I was so happy with the efforts of the 2007 Play Soccer Coaches - they helped in collecting over 20,000 items to send to schools with need.