A Refilwe Wedding.

On Saturday we attended our first South African wedding. It's not every day that you get invited to an African wedding, but in actual fact, we were invited almost as soon as we'd arrived at Refilwe back in February! The happy couple, Richard and Dudu, have both worked at Refilwe for a number of years. Dudu (or Mama Dudu, as she is known by everyone) has been a God Parent to six children for almost three years. Until now, she has been parenting them alone, which has presented more than a few challenges! Richard works in Refilwe's health care programs and currently works closely with Amanda during the week. The couple met here at Refilwe and fittingly had their wedding here as well.

The African Wedding is a very Big Deal. This wedding involved many people and a huge amount of planning and preparation (no different to anywhere in the world, really!). All of Dudu's foster children were in the bridal party, along with several other Refilwe employees and volunteers. Ever since we arrived at Refilwe, the bridal party was having weekly dance rehearsals to master the different steps involved throughout the day. Richard's family came from Zambia in order to take part in the day: there were literally people from all over the world at this wedding!

Something we have recently learned is that many South Africans do not get married because of the great cost involved. Not only do you have to pay for dresses, suits, food, a church, photography and all the other wedding paraphernalia, but in the African cultures there is also the issue of paying a lobola. Traditionally, the lobola is a monetary or material gift paid by the groom's family to the bride's family to secure a marriage. A long time ago it would have been negotiated in terms of numbers of cows, but these days it is more likely to be discussed in terms of money. The bride's family can set an amount that is considered to be an honorable price for their daughter's hand and any prospective husband must be able to pay this before making her his wife. With so many people living in poverty, many men are not able to pay the necessary amount, so do not marry their partners, further adding to some of the social problems in some areas.

Being a tradition that stems from ideas of male dominance and of women as possessions, you would think that younger generations would be baulking at paying lobola in this day and age.

Yet, in my conversations with different women and girls about this issue over the past couple of months, I have learned that they do not see it in this light (must be my feminist side coming through!). One of the Mamas here described to me how disrespected she would feel if a prospective husband of hers discarded the tradition of lobola. Another girl explained how the tradition is important for her family to ensure that she is well taken care of. It seems that there is a sense of honor and pride that comes from the expectation of lobola and that this sense is more prevalent than notions of ownership and dominance. To be honest, I am still a little skeptical of the whole thing, however I am realising how necessary it is to look at everything from more than one, or even more than two, angles to understand its meaning.

My mum and dad arrived in South Africa on Thursday, which meant they were just in time for the festivities! We have so far had a great time catching up with them and letting them spoil us! We are heading off later in the week for a holiday at Kruger National Park. You can expect lots of photos upon our return!

Below is some of the video I took of some of the many occurences of dancing at the wedding. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

June 16th: National Youth Day

June 16th, 1976 marked the beginning of significant change in South Africa. The Apartheid Government had recently introduced an edict stating that all students were to be taught in Afrikaans or English only, and many black students had had enough. In the township of Soweto, situated on the outskirts of Johannesburg, several high schools in the area began to protest for their right to education in their own language.

Black children's education standards had been in a steep decline since the early 1950s. The government systematically removed large amounts of funding from the black education system, redirecting funds towards schools for white children. A law passed in 1963 prohibited black children from attending 'white' schools, forcing these children to make the choice between attending underfunded schools or not attending school at all. Although populations in townships such as Soweto grew, no new schools were built to accommodate the rising numbers of students in these areas until 1972. When the government did begin to build schools, it was for the sole purpose of training black students to be labourers in specific industries. Black students had very little control or power when it came to their education; the edict that they must now learn only in the language of their oppressors was, in many ways, the straw that broke the camel's back.

June 16th was the day of what was planned to be a peaceful protest. Thousands of students streamed down one of the main roads in Soweto, picking up students from the high schools along the way. Unfortunately, the Authorities did not allow the protest to progress, raising tension levels and giving way to violent riots in which many students were killed. Outrage at the unnecessary brutality and violence by the authorities gave way to protests and riots throughout South Africa for the remainder of 1976, with over 600 individuals killed as a direct result of the movement. Suddenly, the black population was no longer quietly allowing injustice to dictate their future. South Africa was changed.

Thankfully, the world began to take notice, too. A photo of a 12 year old boy called Hector Pieterson (below), the second child to be killed by the police during the riots, became a symbol of the violence and brutality behind the Apartheid regime. The photo was given global attention and the world began to take serious notice, with many world leaders publicly criticising the government system, introducing economic sanctions and calling for immediate change.

It took another 18 years of struggle, but in 1994, instead of engaging in a civil war that would probably still be raging today, South Africa peacefully ended apartheid and began the road to healing and justice. June 16th, now a national holiday, is a significant reminder of the day it all began.

A Week (or so) of Netball Madness

Since coming to Refilwe, I have been very involved with the girls' netball team. Every Wednesday as an afterschool activity another teacher and I take our team of 10 girls up to Refilwe's netball/tennis courts for netball training. Now, in my early years I was a keen netball player (I may be using the term 'keen' loosely here; my memories of netball games involve me as Goal Shooter having friendly chats with the Goal Keeper the whole game while the ball never came down our end...) but since I was about 11, netball was a PE only sport for me. Needless to say, over the past three months I have grown much more affectionate towards the sport as a whole and have even started tearing up the court as the Wing Attack for Refilwe's All Star Ladies Team.

The girls that play for our school team have varied abilities, but are quickly learning to play together as a team. Last week we took them to a nearby high school for their first 'real' game against another team. What an experience it was for our poor girls: we drove in to the carpark, got out of our cars and had to walk the length of a large quadrangle, feeling the stares of the 200 students watching us arrive. The "netball" court (which was actually a tennis court with chalk-drawn lines and circles) was then surrounded by said 200 students, singing and cheering for their home team. To say that our girls were intimidated would be an understatement: they had strange bewildered looks on their faces the entire first quarter. As they grew more comfortable their confidence grew, to the point where they even scored a couple of goals. At the end of the day I was quite the proud coach! 

Now, I realise most of you reading from the US probably have no idea that netball is even a sport. I'm not going to explain it to you here; get your uneducated selves on to Wikipedia and learn all about it.

Netball has also been the topic of the week for many of the ladies here at Refilwe. Friday afternoon we also had a 'real' match against a team sent by one of our corporate donors. (The photos dispersed throughout this blog are from our game- I was too busy [badly] umpiring the girls' game to take photos. Next time!) In preparation, we had a couple of practice matches during the week that consisted of half of the Refilwe mob heading up to the courts for some crazy netball times. You know you're comfortable with a group of people when you're running around screaming their names and jabbing them in the ribs! It was certainly hectic, but such a reminder of the way in which sport can bring people together.

Community development organisations often use sports as a way of connecting with and building communities that may otherwise be difficult to reach. I remember learning in my uni days about soccer programs started in some African countries as a means of HIV/AIDS awareness and education. Sport can be a universal language that teaches about healthy living, teamwork and community building. For young people it can be a means by which they become engaged in something new and productive, drawing them into an organisation without any strings attached. In South Africa, there are so many things going up against young people living in poverty: difficult home lives and a lack of resources and/or motivation to engage in positive activities mean that many young people end up using alcohol or other drugs and entering into unhealthy relationships (either friendship or romantic). Both have the potential to put a young person at a higher risk of contracting avoidable diseases and making unwise life choices. It sounds simple, but just providing free alternatives such as regular sporting activity can be life changing for some.

Some of you netball enthusiasts may have scrutinised the photos well enough to notice that the game we played on Friday was not the most professional of matches. It was good fun, though. Playing against a corporate sponsor's team, we had the chance to put faces to an otherwise faceless body and teach them a little bit about what Refilwe is all about (as well as a few netball rules to some!). And this time our team won, 16-7. Not that winning is the point, but it's still nice!

Gardening Goodness

The weather here over the past few weeks has really been quite glorious. It is generally freezing in the morning and in the evening, but during the day the sun is shining and we can still wear tshirts. This makes for some great outdoor times during the day as we all try to absorb as much warmth as we can before the sun disappears.

Many families at Refilwe have been using the late afternoon hours to work on their winter gardens. There is a large piece of land that is dedicated to vegetable gardens and each family here at Refilwe has a plot where they grow a variety of vegetables throughout the year. Late last week I watched/helped a family of 7 here work on their garden, taking some photos of the process. We, as a volunteer house, have also been allotted our garden space, which a few weeks ago we took to with veracity, clearing and marking out beds. And since then... nothing. Our garden so far proudly boasts a well established Basil plant... and that's it. Luckily, the families here have much more motivation when it comes to reaping the harvest of their hard work later in the year!

Gardens are seen as an important part of community development and several of Refilwe's programs encourage vegetable gardens. The God Parents program capitalises on the idea of cheap vegetables and healthy eating for the children; the Health and Social Welfare side of things takes information about gardens out to the informal settlements around us, educating people on the need for healthy eating regardless of your social status. HIV/AIDS is prevalent amongst those living in poverty in South Africa and healthy eating is one easy way to help manage HIV in its early stages. ACAT also encourages gardens in terms of small business- selling your excess spinach and potatoes can be an easy way to earn some extra income at certain times of the year.

Refilwe regularly distributes vegetable seeds as a form of social development, providing individuals and families with a resource that should enable them to supplement their diet (which generally consists of carbs and meat) with vital nutrients. The key idea behind gardening is that it is a sustainable endeavour: to change the old adage slightly- give a family a bag of carrots and they'll eat for a day, teach a family to grow carrots and they'll eat for a lifetime. One doesn't even need a huge plot of land to build a garden. There are many creative ways in which a family can establish a garden; growing potatoes and onions in stacks of old tyres, using plastic bags stuffed full of dirt, using planter boxes for smaller plants. 

The only real hindrance to success is the lack of motivation to see a garden through, season after season. Some of the informal settlements around Refilwe do not have easy access to clean water, however this has proven to be just a small obstacle for those who are dedicated to keeping their garden alive. For others, the work required is just too much for them and their gardens die (or never get started.) The Home Based Care team here at Refilwe is doing good work in motivating people to move from the second category into the first.

A garden is such a simple idea. Many of us I'm sure have fanciful ideas about growing our own vegetables and saving a bit of money. It is amazing to me that what is a fun hobby for some of us can be life-changing for others. Gardens provide an easy means of healthy eating, a source of extra income and a way to gain some valuable life skills for many individuals and families struggling in our area. Just thinking about all of this makes me want to get re-started on our garden beds first thing tomorrow...

A General Update

Now that all our holidaying is pretty much over (for a couple of weeks, at least!) we have gotten back into our routine here at Refilwe. We are finding that we are becoming more and more familiar with our surroundings: while in the beginning everything was new and different, now we are very used to how things are done around here. This post is really just an update on a few things that have been going on for us.

I’m sure it made the news over there (wherever ‘there’ is) that the ANC predictably won the national election 3 weeks ago. Jacob Zuma was inaugurated as president last Saturday, and he immediately went to work rearranging some of the ministries and their functions. In my opinionated opinion, he has made some positive changes and introduced ministries (such as a minstry of youth, a ministry of disability) which communicate more focused attention social development . Since South Africa became a democracy in 1994, Human Rights and development have theoretically been at the centre of all governance here. In practice the government has met several challenges in implementing its programs successfully- the economy is certainly the biggest challenge, as the less funding the government has from taxes, the less infrastructure it is able to build. The new government has the difficult job of leading South Africa through the financial crisis while at the same time battling the conundrum that economic growth improves social development, but social development is necessary to grow the economy. Let's hope they're headed in the right direction...

I recently started a counseling program with the students at Hands of Hope. I am currently meeting with 6 students individually, as well as working with a group of 6 together. The way I envision the program running I will meet with each student for one term, which means I have a designated number of sessions with each student. I studied counseling as part of my Social Work education, but this is the first time I have done it with real people! Naturally I have felt a little nervous about it, but has I have gotten into it I have realised that mostly the students are just enjoying the fact that get someone's full attention for an hour and want to talk the whole time! 

Cliff has gone away this week. He and 8 others from Refilwe are attending a training run by ACAT for the week. On Sunday they traveled the 6 hours to the training facility and they will return on Friday evening. The week is going fairly quickly for us left behind- and of course we are making the most of 'girls nights' every evening!

The American Summer has begun, which means that college students are now on their 3 month break. Refilwe will see many teams from the US coming through for a few days to a couple of weeks at a time. These teams will do mostly short-term work: helping to build things, paint things, running programs for the kids during the holidays. It seems that this week is the beginning- we had 2 teams of 10 on site today! Things are going to be busy for the next couple of months!

Well, that's a general idea of our last couple of weeks! Catch you soon.

ACAT

Kathryn has been promising to give you all more details of what I have been doing here at Refilwe.  What she has really meant this whole time is that she is waiting for me to finish writing something that she can post.  Well, without further delay, here it is. 

The Life and Specific Skills program is a result of a partnership between Refilwe and the Africa Cooperative Action Trust (ACAT).

ACAT was established in 1979 as a Christian Development Trust committed to enabling disadvantaged rural people to improve and sustain their quality of life spiritually, physically, materially, intellectually, socially and environmentally.

Refilwe was started in 1991 and has grown to provide a wide range of medical and educational services to a severely disadvantaged community.  As you can see, Refilwe and ACAT have a lot in common.

My experiences so far in the informal settlements in the area surrounding Refilwe have revolved around visiting with business owners that are being supported by the ACAT Refilwe Skills Development program.  Businesses range from daycares to technology services to bakeries.  Some are small, some are large, some are just getting on their feet while others are making a solid profit.  Refilwe’s role is to provide ongoing training and support with a sole focus on sustainability. 

I have found myself doing everything from training childcare workers how to plan class activities to teaching the basics of Microsoft Excel.  There is a real desire to learn new skills and be formally trained. 

The other side of this program for me has involved suggesting administrative structure for the program.  While Refilwe is not a new organization in terms of years, they are new in the establishment of policies and procedures that help them run smoothly.  While all that may sound restrictive the reality is that when those things are in place time and other resources are freed up and allow people to be active in building relationships, the real work of development.         

Working with a developing organization in an underdeveloped community trying to create sustainable development is not without it’s challenges.  Just about everything possess the potential for growth and the limitation of not being able to do everything at once is frustrating on many levels.  To say that it is always fun would not be truthful, but it is always meaningful.

 

An Extraordinary Birthday

This past week we took a trip to the small landlocked country of Lesotho (pronounced ‘Lehsootoo’) with some of our colleagues here at Refilwe. We spent Monday driving through the Maloti (Malooti) Mountains, a mountain range that seems to make up most of the country, to a lodge on the side of a mountain. The next three days were spent on horseback, riding through the mountains and up to Thabana-Ntlenyana, the highest peak in Southern Africa. Late last year Cliff and I had the opportunity to hike the Inca Trail in Peru, which was a similarly incredible experience: while riding up to a peak did not bring the same personal sense of triumph walking up one did, there is certainly something to be said for the wildness one feels riding a horse up a mountain; not to mention enduring the saddle of a horse for three days!

Our first day of riding was my birthday and what an amazing birthday it was! It was certainly not spent in the usual way- I didn’t even get my 65 Facebook notifications until Saturday- but it was incredibly memorable. We spent the whole day riding through the mountains, surrounded by nothing but spectacular views and the occasional herd of sheep, goats or bulls. After 6 hours of riding, we even had a party of sorts, huddled together around a small fire to stay warm, singing, dancing and laughing. The group that we traveled with was made up of 6 of us from Refilwe and three others; it was a great combination of people, all well traveled and good-humoured.

The trip was organized by one of the women we work with here at Refilwe. Now seems like a great time to introduce you to her and two others we work with regularly here. In the above picture you can see, from left to right, Claire, Jaco (‘Yacoo’) and Annetjie (‘Anakie’). Jaco is the project manager at Refilwe. He left a secure job in the finance industry about 6 years ago to take the position here and works very hard and long hours to ensure things run smoothly. Jaco is incredibly passionate about sustainable development and has so far been a great boss to work for. Annetjie joined Refilwe in 2007 after living and working for Samaritan's Purse in Liberia. Annetjie is a nurse, however recently took on an administrative role at Refilwe, focusing on fundraising and various other projects. She, like Jaco, lives in a house on the property and is a God Parent to two teenaged girls. Claire is the most recent addition to the Refilwe staff, starting her position just a few weeks before we arrived. Claire oversees the health and social welfare projects that Refilwe runs; she is Amanda's boss. Being such a close-knit community, we are enjoying not only working with each of these people, but are also forming great friendships with them too.

After three days of horses, camping food, good conversations, great laughs and cramped sleeping conditions (we all crowded into a Basutu hut like the one above. It was a very authentic experience, to say the least!) we set off on a long journey back through the mountains. We drove back to South Africa via a different route, wanting to see some different scenery as well as visit the Khatse Dam along the way. We had to stop frequently for photo opportunities! The trip took a bit longer than expected and we almost ran out of petrol (not so much our fault as the fault of the petrol stations that were out of petrol along the way)- but luckily we made it with about 10k's to spare to a place that boasted a tank with actual petrol in it.

Now we're back into the swing of a full week of work back at Refilwe. There have been a huge amount of public holidays over the past month (at least one if not 2 holidays every week!- and we thought Australia had a lot!) so this is the first full week for a lot of us, not just those of us who are constantly going away on adventures. While we loved the experience we had in Lesotho, we are very glad to be back and re-immersed in life here at Refilwe.