Day 7 – The Ubuntu Community Centre

Our stay in Port Elizabeth was only one day, but we have several important stops!

We began our day at the Ubuntu Community Centre. To get there from our rooms, we had to pass through several informal settlements:

We arrived at Ubuntu’s beautiful stone and wood building:

(Photo borrowed from the Ubuntu website)

We were greeted by Ubuntu’s smiling, animated Deputy President, Gcobani Zonke.  Gcobani explained that the Ubuntu Centre gets its name from the African concept of togetherness or humanity.  Gcobani made it clear that II takes on projects according to the needs of the community.  It is critical, he told us, that II involves the community in everything it does.  Without buy-in and a sense of partnership with the surrounding members of the community, the Centre would become merely a ‘giver’ of services, rather than a partner in projects.  The building itself embodies this ideal.  Gcobani explained that members of the Centre went into the neighboring areas and solicited opinions not only on what types of services were needed, but also what the building should look like.  The whole process took between 6-9 months, but the end result is a structure that the community considers their own.  In fact, it was the community, whom Gcobani told us had an 80% unemployment rate, that raised the first 250,000 Rand (about $31,000).  

When we entered, I was struck by the earth tones and the use of word in the supports and ceiling.  Gcobani pointed out that the architect molded the community’s input into a design that embodied a tree on the plains, with sand and earth colored rugs and wooden gum poles on walls and ceilings:

There was also an amazing sign over the main desk, that proclaimed: All Things Bright and Beautiful:

Finally, to tie the tree symbolism with that of togetherness, a large wooden door – split into two puzzle-like pieces that come together when the door is closed (!), stood prominently to the left as you entered:

Gcobani said the Centre is always trying to involve the community in any way it can.  He gave us the example of their computer center, where local residents were trained to strip wires in preparation of the computer installation.  “When we turned on the computers,” he said, “they were their computers!”

This Centre seeks to address three critical areas of need within this community:  health, education and household stability.  Gcobani said that if all three of these facets are not in place and working, the other two will suffer.

We spoke with Cebu, a long-time professional nurse, who is running Ubuntu’s clinic.  In our discussions, Cebu explained that the community is making good use of an array of services, including preventative and reproductive health care, HIV/anti-retroviral treatment, and assistance with Tuberculosis.  Even with the limited staff at Ubuntu, they still manage to handle about 500 families!  As Cebu explained, “We don’t give up on people.  We believe in these people.”

Our next stop within Ubuntu took us across the parking lot to a well-maintained building with a thriving garden right outside:

This was the location of Ubuntu’s new early childhood education program.  We spoke to Bongisa, who coordinates this initiative.  She showed is the inside of this center, where 40-50 two-year olds were being educated by an impressive 4-to-1 staff to student ratio:

She explained that the program only exists because they could find committed parents that would get their children to school every day and support them at home.  Monthly meetings are scheduled where parents come to learn about discipline so that what is done during the day will carry over at home.  Bongisa said that parents are now eager to use what they have learned and are even asking about parenting strategies for their older children!  As a way to give back to the Centre, families tend the outside garden, which supplements the school’s daily food offering.  Bongisa noted that their biggest challenge is not finding parents or families, but hiring enough professionals for the initiative.  To assess their students, Ubuntu has turned to a consultant group that works with staff to develop/plan assessments. 

Gcobani met up with us for the last few minutes of our visit and talked to us about future plans.  He said that Ubuntu is trying to remain thoughtful and adopt a “slow is fast” mentality in everything they plan.  Ubuntu would ultimately like to offer services that range “from cradle to career”, but they want to build carefully on their current successes. 

From what we saw today, they seem to be off to an exciting and productive start!

Day 6 – Traveling to Port Elizabeth

Sunday was a rare day of almost pure travel – no school visits or tours. 

We said goodbye to Johannesburg and our outstanding guide, Musa, and traveled by plane southwest to Port Elizabeth, a city right on the Indian Ocean:

Although we got to the airport in plenty of time, not all of us made it onto the flight!  Two in our group got bumped to a later flight – victims of South Africa Airlines’ policy of overselling flights and then seating passengers in a first-come, first-serve basis.

A brief one-hour flight and we arrived at Port Elizabeth.  We were met at the airport by our second driver, Fakile, who took us to our rooms at First Avenue Lodge.  This was an excellent place, right on the coast, just across the street from the Indian Ocean.  How’s this for a view:

Our evening was an easy one.  First, we were reunited with our delayed tour members, then we had a nice dinner and met some of the staff from the local office of South Africa Partners.  All in all, a pretty quiet day and night!

One More on Pretoria

I forgot to mention this one seemingly small event during our drive through Pretoria. 

As we were travelling en route to the park for lunch, we noticed these odd street signs:

Almost as large as a car, these sign were on many street corners.  As you see, the sign has a street name on the bottom (Jacob Mare Street), but this street name has a red line running diagonally through it.  At the top, is another street name (Jeff Masemola St), but this one doesn’t have a line through it. 

 We weren’t sure what to make of this, so we asked the all-knowing Musa.  He did not disappoint!  Musa explained that the ANC leaders in Pretoria began a movement two years ago to rename many of the Afrikaaner-named streets in Pretoria and honor those who fought against Apartheid.  Musa also went on to tell us that the name of the city of Pretoria is also being renamed, to Tshwane, a Bantu word that refers to the river running through the region.

I was able to find the website for the city of Tshwane/Pretoria and it had a nice document that explained all the street name changes.  In all, 21 name changes are being planned.  Here are just a few from the list:

Current Street Name	New Street Name
Jacob Mare	Jeff Masemola
Beatrix	Steve Biko
Hans Strydom	Solomon Mahlangu
Mitchell	Charlotte Maxeke
Van der Walt	Lilian Ngoyi
Prinsloo	Sisulu
Table Cell	Table Cell
Vermeulen	Madiba

Outside of the emotional/historical significance of these name changes, the question has to be “How much?”  From what I have been able to find, it looks like these changes will cost on the order of 350 million Rand, or almost $44 million.  That’s a LOT of money.  Considering the impoverished state of Kliptown or SSP’s attempts to get more township students into higher-end schools, I have to wonder if this is money that couldn’t be better spent elsewhere…

Day 5 (cont’d) – Freedom Park

After our morning visit to the Apartheid Museum, we drove through Pretoria, which is South Africa’s administrative capital.  We stopped for lunch at the hilltop park across the road from the office of the President of South Africa (currently Jacob Zuma).  The weather was warm, the sky was clear and the view from the park, called the Gardens, was unbelievable:

It was too bad that there was a high stone wall and fence blocking the front of the President’s office.  This is the best shot I could get:

.

Once lunch was over, we continued on into Pretoria to Freedom Park.  The idea for Freedom Park came from Nelson Mandela’s sentiment that the nation should not forget the men and women who fought for South Africa’s freedom.  Situated high on a large expanse of land, high on a hill, Freedom park was designed to address Mandela’s lofty aim.

When we arrived, we were told that we could tour the site on our own, but that a guide was strongly suggested, as the site contained so much symbolism that we would miss much of the intended meaning.  We opted for the guide, but decided to walk rather than travel by golf cart.

Our tour started with a long walk up a paved path.  Thin, flat stones were used to create a small wall that followed the path on both sides.  Our guide Badresh explained that this material and the style of construction was a tribute to early tribal building styles.  This is one sample (taken from the Freedom Park website):

The main destination of our walk was a structure called S'khumbuto, or place of remembrance.  Our guide explained that this building serves as a place of quiet and reflection, where visitors could contemplate loved ones or simply remember those who gave their lives in the struggle for freedom.  Within this building, one entire wall was transparent, and it looked out onto a reflective pool.  Set in the center of the pool was an eternal flame to symbolize the spirit of those who fought for freedom:

Badresh explained that elements of this scene (stone, water, fire) were core symbol in African ceremonies.  Along the base of the viewing area were inspirational quotes from religious texts.  This was my favorite:

This says:

Therefore, seeing we are surrounded with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily ensnare us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.  (Hebrews 12:1)

The design of the exterior of the building was something that I would have dismissed, if it were not for our very informative guide:

At first glance, the outside walls seem to be patterned in the same style as the thin rock walls that lined our path to the top.  However, Freedom Park designers decided to use the outside of this building to memorialize any person who fought for South Africa’s freedom.  As we got closer to one outside wall, we noticed that the bands on the wall were not long strips of stone, but rather small, foot-long blocks that were arranged in rows and columns.  Inscribed on these blocks were the names of South Africa’s fallen heroes of freedom:

We asked how the names were chosen and arranged on these walls.   Badresh went through the process, which was both incredible and detailed.  He told us that anyone could submit names for the memorial.  All names were presented to a memorial committee, whose members consisted of representatives from various government organizations.   This committee would research each name and verify that the person was involved in some freedom struggle.  Once the name was verified, it was assigned to a specific category of freedom conflict.  The committee identified eight broad categories of struggle that occurred in South Africa. These are: pre-Colonial Wars, Genocide, Slavery, Wars of Resistance, Anglo-Boer/South African wars, World War I, World War II and the struggle for liberation.   Once a name was verified and categorized, it was scheduled for inscription onto the wall.

Once I understood what I was looking at, the building took on a whole different meaning.  The Freedom Park website notes that there is almost half a mile (!) of space to hold names and they estimate about 120,000 names can be enshrined. 

We also noticed that the names within a category were not in alphabetical order, so we asked how visitors could possibly find the names of a loved one.   Badresh showed us numbers engraved at the bottom of each section of wall.  A database exists that contains every inscribed name and the number of the section where the name is located.  Visitors will be directed to the proper section and then can search for a specific name within that section.  As we walked to the back of the building, we came upon additional stone walls that formed walkways:

These stone walls will hold the names of South Africans who lost their lives in the World Wars.  Because these names can be more easily verified (through military service records, etc.), many names have already been memorialized:

Close up of names from World War I

It’s clear that the process of researching, organizing and inscribing so many names is a task that will likely take decades.  Given the way new names will probably be continually discovered, it might very well be a process that may never be completed.

Following our time at the memorial building, we continued down a path until we came to an area called Isivivane.  Here, designers placed eleven large boulder-like stones in a circle.  Within that circle of boulders is a symbolic burial site of smaller stones:

This space is intended to bring some closure and sense of finality to loved ones inscribed on the memorial.   To create a sense of unity, nine of the eleven stones were mined from each of the nine South African provinces.  The tenth and eleventh boulders represent the South African government and the rest of the world.

From Isivivane, our tour took us to the last major structure in the park, a meeting place known as Moshate.  Designed with native African foliage (like the unique Aloe plant below) and traditional African art, Moshate can be rented out for meetings and functions. 

Currently, Moshate contains a temporary exhibit called the Gallery of Leaders.   This exhibit contains the names of 24 people in South Africa as well as other countries whose contributions improved human rights and freedom.  Some of these leaders are displayed on huge banners:

In all, Freedom Park is a monumental undertaking that tries to do the impossible: giving the proper credit to those who fought for South African freedom.  With 75,000 names already ready to be inscribed and room for another 45,000, this is an exhibit that will be visited for years to come. 

Day 5 – The Apartheid Museum

On Saturday, we traveled to Ormonde, a northern section of Johannesburg, and started our day with a visit to the Apartheid Museum. 

It’s hard to wrap your head around the idea that one physical space could actually ‘contain’ enough artifacts and provide enough stories to adequately portray the story of Apartheid.  How do you do justice to a system that enslaved and discriminated against almost 80% of a nation’s population AND also show what that nation did to win back their freedom?  It would seem to be an impossible task.  On the other hand, when we think of a museum, we think of OLD things, ‘relics’ from our past – so it *does* make you feel a bit proud to think that Apartheid now resides locked up in museum cases.  No matter how you may view the idea of a museum for Apartheid, this place has done the job right!

As soon as you try to enter the museum, you know you are in for something out of the ordinary.  There are actually TWO entrances, one labeled ‘Whites’ and the other ‘Non-Whites’:

When you purchase your ticket, the museum generates a ticket that randomly classifies you as White or Non-White:

My museum ticket – which randomly classified me as White

You must go through the entrance that matches your ticket and scan the bar-code on your ticket in order for the turnstile to let you in.  What better way to invoke the insanity of Apartheid!  Now, that may seem ‘cute’, but the experience does not stop there.  Each entrance leads the visitor down a different path through the first exhibit.  Not surprisingly, those entering as Non-White get an abbreviated path through the first exhibit, while those entering as White get to observe multiple rows of artifacts.  Within your first 60 seconds in the museum, you are already feeling some inequality and probably feeling a bit uncomfortable, as well.  Good – this isn’t supposed to be ‘fun’!   (Note:  There is a way for those Non-Whites to go back and see the full exhibit, so don’t think one group gets shortchanged in their museum experience).

Even after all that, the first exhibit has been constructed to get you thinking right from the start.  The curators found examples of different ID cards, which were mandatory for non-whites under Apartheid, and enlarged them to mega-poster size.  Rather than hang them on a wall, these cards are displayed in wire cages, which gives the viewer the feeling that they are watching animals in a kennel:

Example of an Apartheid-era identification card 

These are quite the sight and made even more powerful because they are the very first thing you come upon after entering the museum.

At this point, you are directed into a courtyard, where you find artwork from the San and Bantu people.  When I came upon these, I have to admit I was confused.  Where were the Boers?  Where were the white Europeans?  The display explained that this is a museum devoted to exploring injustices against ALL South African people.  Taking a chronological approach, the journey begins with the discrimination and containment of these two tribal groups early in the 1600s.  Artwork from these groups depicts figures with European dress and weapons standing apart from figures in more traditional dress.  Clearly, these were two aspects about the initial colonists that really stood out in the minds of the San and Bantu. 

Once you get back into the museum proper, you are led on a long, winding path, through the help of exhibit signs with numbers and arrows.  This is NOT an easy path, as it twists and turns, sometimes doubling you back to a different section of the same room, and sometimes in the opposite direction, only to turn around again!  Like Apartheid itself, it’s complex and confusing.  In all, there are 21 distinct sections that lead you from the earliest days of discrimination, through the founding of the Republic of South Africa and the formal establishment of Apartheid, through the resistance movement and finally into modern day South Africa, and its new Constitution.  The museum asked that no pictures be taken inside, so I unfortunately have little to show you in the way of outstanding artifacts (of which there were MANY).

(I have to admit, I couldn’t resist sneaking one illegal inside picture!  One exhibit illustrated the wide variety of governmental acts that had to be continually passed in order to restrict the freedom of non-whites.  The display showed a long list of these Apartheid laws, and I just had to capture it:

Examples of Laws Meant to Discriminate against Non-Whites (148 of them!)

As noted, this display alone has 148 laws – some of them as unbelievable as the Native Building Workers Act of 1951, in which black citizens were prohibited from working at construction sites in white cities…!  (Explanations for many of the laws listed in this exhibit can be found here if you want to learn more).

This museum doesn’t take a ‘quick and dirty’ approach to this very emotional subject.  With 21 permanent exhibits, each containing displays, timelines, audio tracks, video clips, etc., the museum wants you to take your time and see everything.  Their pamphlet, “Guide to the Apartheid Museum”, gives you advice on how to proceed through all the exhibits.  It tells you that if you ‘proceed at a reasonable pace’ and ‘engage briefly’ with all the exhibits, it should take you two hours to complete the tour.  (Note:  I went at a quick pace, skipped a 20-min video, and just managed to get through everything in a bit more than two hours!)  There is also a suggestion for an abbreviated tour, if you are pressed for time, where certain exhibits can be skipped.  This tour is estimated to take only one hour.  I say, if you’ve come this far, you might as well see it all!

In addition to the permanent exhibits, the museum also has temporary exhibits, which focus on particular aspects of the Apartheid struggle.  During our time in South Africa, the temporary exhibit was on Nelson Mandela.   While this may seem like an ‘overkill’ topic, I think the museum did a solid job portraying the life and impact of Mandela in a clear and detailed manner.  The exhibit was centered around themes (leader, statesman, etc), and collected evidence and artifacts to demonstrate these themes.  In all, it is well worth seeing.

It is very hard to sum up the experience of touring the Apartheid Museum.  It was clearly a thoughtful, detailed plan intended to be powerful, yet hopeful.  I think it succeeded in both those areas!

Note to teachers:  The museum website has a LOT of great resources.  Find the Download or Resources tabs !

Day 4 - Kingsmead College and the Student Sponsorship Programme

Our next day in South Africa provided us with perhaps the biggest contrast we could have imagined.  After our visit to Soweto and the grassroot work of the Kliptown Youth Program, we made our way to downtown Johannesburg to visit Kingsmead College.  This institution isn't actually a college, but an elite prep school for girls.  Kingsmead has two programs in essentially the same location.  They have a Junior School, which covers grades 0 (Pre-K) through 7 and a Senior School, for grades 8 to 12.

Our group was stunned with just the image of their campus (borrowed from their website):

(Quite a contrast to what we saw in Soweto...)

We were introduced to the Headmistress, Mrs. Lisa Kaplan and her director Jillian.  They explained the philosophy of Kingsmead and their dedication to providing a world-class education to all their students.  We had a chance to talk about their curriculum and teaching methodology, including their drive to instill proper study/research habits into their students from the early grades.  We also toured their campus and visited their computer center, where students were putting the finishing touches on their web-based research projects, as well as their gym:

(A bit different than the outdoor yard and bricks at KYP)

With tuition and fees on the order of R76K-85K ($9500 - $10,600) per year for the Senior School, this school is clearly out of the range of most middle class South African families, never mind township families.  However, Jillian explained that the school also enrolled several students from local townships.  How?  The answer is an organization called Student Sponsorship Programme (SSP).  This organization seeks to give educational scholarships to worthy children in the townships and get them into some of SA's better schools.

Mrs. Kaplan let us speak with eight students who attended Kingsmead thanks to SSP scholarships.  The dedication and drive of these students was more than commendable, it was truly amazing.  One girl said she routinely got up at 4:30am so that she could get on a bus at 5:30 to get to school at 6:45.  When school was over, she then took a bus at 5:00pm and got home around 6:45pm.  Another girl spoke to us about the dual nature of her new life.  When she was at Kingmead, she was expected to speak English, but when she returned home, the language was Zulu.  "Speak English and everyone where I live thinks you're a snob," she said. Later, when we spoke to some senior SSP students, one very outspoken girl had a different take on this dilemma.  She said "Don't try to fit in, then you conform to what they want.  Just be yourself and adjust to whatever comes your way."  Another student simply said "Accept what you have and don't compare yourself with others."

However they dealt with juggling school with their home life, all the students we talked to were happy to be at Kingsmead and understood that the hard work they were putting in now was laying the foundation for their future. 

To insure the SSP scholars are doing well in their schools, SSP assigns staff members to each school as a contact for their students.   Kgaogelo Seemola is responsible for SSP students at Kingsmead. Kgaogelo joined us for our morning meeting and reinforced how much these girls have overcome to get to where they are today and how hard they work every day.  In listening to Kgaogelo, it seemed clear that the idea of a contact for every school lets these students know they are not alone out there and that they have someone to turn to when they have questions or concerns.

After our experience at Kingsmead, we drove to SSP's offices in downtown Johannesburg.  Here, we met with Sibongile Khumalo, SSPs Academic Director.  She is the one responsible for creating partnerships with organizations so that SSP can expand its scholarship offerings.  Currently, SSP is managing about 271 scholarships, with only 40 in the Eastern Cape region and 231 in the Western Cape (Pretoria and Johannesburg).  It is a daunting task to keep the donor partners active and engaged.  Sibongile wants partners to commit to the long haul, as a scholarship needs to carry each student to their high school years.  Sibongile estimates it takes about $31,000 to educate a student through grade 12.  She also explained all the 'prep' work SSP does for any potential students.  They provide an academic camp that spans 16 Saturdays.

It was clear after only a few minutes with Sibongile that she is truly a woman on a mission and is working so hard to get these kids the support they need for their education.  SSP is trying to identify students through intervention programs and provide them with adult mentors/guides as they progress in their education.  Why does SSP do so much more than just write a check to these students and say "Good luck"?  As Sibongile put so well, "More and more, our students are coming from families who have sacrificed everything to have a better education for their kids.  They deserve to have a structure in place that helps them succeed."

From what I saw today, the girls at Kingsmead are proof that this model is working and that these students are succeeding.

Hard to forget the past...

Just another small snippet from this amazing trip.

After our visit to Soweto and Kliptown, we had dinner in Johannesburg, at an Indian restaurant called Bombay Blues.  We had been running our guide Musa ragged, so we invited him to join us for dinner.  He hesitated a bit, but then agreed.

We all sat down, but Musa seemed pretty nervous.  He was looking around and seemed generally uncomfortable.  I wound up sitting next to him and starting asking him the standard bunch of questions:  where did he live, how long did he live there, family facts, etc.

As I mentioned earlier, Musa was born and raised in Soweto.  His wife was also from Soweto and they still live very close to Soweto today.  Once I realized Musa, who was 36, lived his whole life in Soweto, I did some quick math.  Since Apartheid was dismantled about 1994, Musa was in the unique position of having lived exactly half his life under Apartheid and the other half after Apartheid was abolished.

I felt this was a great opportunity to get some deep eyewitness insights, so I said "Wow, you must have seen so many changes over the last 18 years."  To which Musa answered "Oh yes...." and, after a long pause, he said, "...under Apartheid, I couldn't be here in this restaurant with you."

One more on Soweto

I forgot to mention this, but I think it adds another dimension to what's going on in Soweto.

Our guide, Musa, was born and raised in Soweto.  As we were driving to Kliptown, we noticed there were some homes in Soweto that seemed more modern and/or in better shape than others.  The dwelling was constructed with better material and the area around the living space seemed  better maintained.  When I asked Musa about this, he explained that the government has been trying to 'upgrade' the state of Soweto, but very slowly.  In some areas, better homes have been built by the government in the hopes of getting people out of their self-constructed dwellings.

Musa pointed out that there is a LONG waiting list for these homes, as most people who live in Soweto stay in Soweto and do not move away.  He also said that some residents announce where they are in the waiting list by painting their waiting list numbers on the out-houses constructed on their property.

Sure enough, within a minute or two of this factoid, we came across two Soweto homes with the  numbers "201" and "202" displayed on their outside lavs:

(You might have to click on this to get a larger image)

Day 3 (cont'd) - Soweto and Kliptown Youth Program

After our tour of Constitution Hill, we made our way through downtown Johannesburg and southwest to the townships in Soweto.  Along the way, we stopped in Walter Sisulu Square.  It was here in 1955 that members from groups who fought against Apartheid (the African National Congress, South African Indian Congress, etc.) created their own ‘Bill of Rights’ to counter the injustices and discrimination of the times.  Known as the Freedom Charter, this document attempted to articulate an honest, non-discriminatory list of rights for all the people of South Africa.  Its opening lines make it clear that this is intended to be a document for all citizens of the country:

We, the People of South Africa, declare for all our country and the world to know:that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of all the people;

There were 10 tenets in the Freedom Charter, ranging from governance, to sharing in the country’s wealth to equality before the law.  The major ideas for each of these 10 tenets have been inscribed in a huge stone and metal disc (probably 12 feet in diameter) that sits in a tall conical, brick structure.  It was hard to get a great shot of the actual memorial (due to the size and lighting), but here is the first section:

It says:

The People Shall Govern!  Every man and woman shall have the right to vote for and to stand as a candidate for all bodies which make laws;

(for the complete wording of the Freedom Charter, visit the ANC’s website)

From Sisulu Square, we made it to Kliptown, one of the oldest parts of Soweto.  Our purpose was to visit the Kliptown Youth Program (KYP).  This is a program that offers after-school activities, food and educational support to those in the immediate area.  We spoke briefly to Thulani Madondo, the KYP director and were fortunate to get a tour of the area and a long meeting with KYP’s deputy director, Thando Bezana.  Thando explained just *some* of the major issues facing residents of Kliptown.  The government has not created local schools, so children have to walk long distances for education.  The area lacks running water, requiring the 44,000 residents to get water for cooking and washing from taps located throughout the area.  As Thando was explaining this to our group, we saw one woman with a basket of clothes making use of a tap in this area:

With no plumbing, the runoff from this washing is tossed away on the road, where it makes its way down the side of the road, collecting at a lower place in the area.  In addition, there is no reliable source of electricity, so clothes are often dried by hanging them on a fence:

Thando also explained that there is a lack of even basic sanitation here, so the government has installed portable toilets in certain areas.  About 8 to 10 families share one of these facilities, with each taking turns cleaning it and making it usable.  We were able to visit one of the homes in this area and noticed a paraffin stove.  Thando pointed out that gas is not available from local utilities, so cooking is done by means of this stove, which burns kerosene.  Of course, this produces a lot of smoke, so cooking must be done outside or very close to an open doorway and the risk of a fire is a real danger.

In the midst of this environment, Thulani, Thando and the KYP staff have created a youth program that provides a safe place to play, tutors to help with school work and activities to keep kids focused and busy rather than roaming the streets.  In just five years, this program has taken on partnerships that have allowed expansion and growth in what KYP offers.  For example, , a grant from a local company has produced a modular unit that now houses KYP’s computer center: six desktops, a printer and scanner.  To insure there is a reliable power source, KYP has purchased a generator that produces eight hours of power each day for their complex.  Another grant has allowed the director and his staff proper office space and renovations to take place for new kitchen facilities:

After a tour of their library and a discussion on KYP’s goals for the future, we had a chance to watch the children relax and play in the yard area.  They didn’t have much in the way of toys or sport equipment (e.g. an orange served as an impromptu soccer ball), but they had fun and seemed to all get along with one another.  They played an interesting game with three bricks.  The bricks were placed on the ground, but spaced apart.  The children had to jump over each brick, but they were only allowed one jump per brick and could not stop in between jumps.  When the game started, the bricks were placed close enough so that even the smallest child could make it between each brick with only one jump. As the game progressed, the bricks were moved further and further apart until only the biggest jumpers remained in the game.  At the end of the game, the bricks were almost 5 feet apart (look below and you can make out the bricks!):

While we sat and watched the kids at play, Thando discussed the state of life in Soweto under the current conditions in South Africa.  At first, he was reluctant to make any detailed statements, often ending a conversation with “Don’t get me started.”  However, as the topic turned to resource allocation, he came alive and talked about recent spending decisions from the government that made no sense to him.  He explained the decision to spend 23.4 million Rand (about $3 million!) on a 4-star luxury hotel in Soweto.  “Why do we need that”, he asked, “when we have no schools, no running water, no electricity?  It makes no sense!”…  Thando told us he was interviewed by the French newspaper Libération and this very topic came up.  If you’re interesting in hearing his perspectives on life in Soweto and get a better look around the township, please check out this video:

After the recess period, the children were dismissed and the after-school program began.  KYP provides services to about 400 children, but their limited space cannot accommodate every child at once.  They structure their after-school program sit gat different age groups come on different days.  Today, we were invited to sit in with grade 9-11 students.  Since there were six of us in the tour, we split up and sat with different groups of students.  I was fortunate to get a group of ninth grader studying English.  They had just started a new class novel, Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning by Danette Haworth.  We all introduced ourselves and I was pleased to get to know these eager young ladies:

Ntombizanele, Nomthandalo, Lehlohonolo, Amanda, Matshaha & Mr. Padula (I’m the old one!)

These girls helped me understand that the goal of today’s lesson was to read the first two chapters of their novel and use their notebooks to record any vocabulary words they did not understand.  They said they were going to read the book aloud, and asked me to correct any mispronunciations.

They were VERY eager to get started, so they jumped right into the reading.  I was impressed with how well all these girls read and how much energy and interest they put into their work.  English was not their first language (three spoke Zulu and two spoke Xosha), but they really gave their full attention to the text.  Amanda seemed to be in charge of this lesson, urging the other girls on, pointing out unknown works, and quickly writing them down in her notebook.

When we took a break, I asked the girls question about KYP and school in general.  Amanda was the first to answer, telling me with a serious face that school was important to her.  She said it taught her skills she needed to get a good job.  She didn’t hesitate to tell me that her goal in life was to be a mining engineer.  She was clear about the need to ‘learn a lot of math’ as well as English. 

By the time the lesson was completed, the girls had several words they had to look up from a Zulu-English dictionary.  Some of them (e.g. recoil, slits, Detroit), we talked about as a group, others (like Silverdome) I just explained because I knew they would not find that word in their dictionary.  For such a simple story, I have to say that the writing contained a number of fairly tricky inferences.  For example, after Violet, the main character, has a conversation with Melissa, the pretty new girl from the city, the author writes:

My eyes return to slits and I fix them on Melissa.  Poison darts shoot from them.

I was worried the meaning would be lost on them.  However, all I had to do was explain what it meant to have your eyes become ‘slits’ and they all were able to tell me that Violet definitely did NOT like Melissa! I have to say that I was truly sorry when time ran out and the lesson ended.  I was so amazed and impressed by these girls and the people of Kliptown.  Their spirit is strong and, given the right opportunities (like what is going on with KYP), they can and will do great things.  

Day 3 - Constitution Hill [Old Fort Prison & Constitutional Court]

After a much needed (but much TOO brief) overnight rest, we were off again in the early morning. Today we made our way a few minutes east to Constitution Hill. This area contains the remains of an old colonial fort that dates back to the 1800s. The fort was turned into a prison and came to hold politicial prisoners, men and women, during the era of Apartheid. The structure has since been restored and turned into a museum.

The organization that restored this site did an excellent job bringing out so many of the subtle aspects within the prison. Very large displays with quotes, images and first hand accounts from prisoners on conditions and treatment are everywhere, but not in an overbearing way. One memorable quote, from Nelson Mandela, summed up the essence of this site:

"It is said that no one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones – and South Africa [during apartheid] treated its imprisoned African citizens like animals."

By the time you leave this site, you understand exactly what Mandela was talking about.


Both women and men were brought to this prison for a wide variety of reasons.  As the resistance to Apartheid grew in the 1960s through the 1980s, merely advocating for equality was grounds for imprisonment.  In fact, one display quoted a law enacted in 1965, called the 180-Day Detention Law.  This stated that the State could detain people they wished to use as witnesses in criminal or political trials for "repeated periods of up to 180 day without trial".  The word 'repeated' is key here, since that implied that your 'detention' could go on indefinitely!

As you pass through the front gates, you are taken to women's section.  Here you quickly come upon a gloomy, cavernous hall that contains one of the many cellblocks:

According to our guide, Pius, the cells in this block were used for solitary confinement.  Prisoners were held within their cell for 23 hours a day, with 30 minutes reserved for exercise and 30 minutes for eating.   Here's a look at the inside of one of the solitary cells:

You can see the solid door that's used for these types of cells.  However, I was surprised that the doors to the 'regular' cells wasn't much better:

Here, you're looking at very heavy wire mesh welded onto the bars that make up a cell door.  This must have made for a very isolating environment, even for those who were here for 'regular' crimes.

On the men's side, things weren't much better.  Again, solitary confinement cells are built into a long wall that must be passed every day when the prisoners made their way to the eating area:

You'll notice above the cells, even the view of the sky - which might have brought some little ray of hope - is covered with barbed wire.

An interesting and unusual item in this prison is a bust of Mohandas Gandhi, added to this site just two months ago, in May, 2012:

A display in a small room to the left of the statue tells the story (which I forgot!) of how Gandhi spent time in this prison in the early 1900s.  As the first Indian laywer in Johannesburg, Gandhi fought for Indians in South Africa whose rights were being denied.  For this, Gandhi was imprisoned here on three separate occasions.  Also part of this display is a quote from Gandhi:

"Truly speaking, it was after I went to South Africa that I became what I am now. My love for South Africa and my concern for her problems are no less than for India."

Another exhibit gives tribute to the time spent by Nelson Mandela in this prison.  Mandela was one of the few prisoners given a separate living area, apart from other prisoners.  As the display explains, this was not out of respect for Mandela, but because prison officials wanted to watch him more closely.  Here, the exhibit presents materials that are actually from Mandela's stay on Robben Island.  I am not exactly sure why (maybe they didn't have any artifacts from his stay in this prison?), so I will hold off on the images until my Robben Island visit next week...

The Constitutional Court and a big "A Ha!" moment

South Africa's Constitutional Court - their version of the US Supreme Court - is located on the same grounds of the Old Fort Prison.  As we walked in, our guide explained that the court was built with several imprtant themes.  The first was based on the South African idea of "Justice under a tree", which referred to traditional times when people would meet under a tree and resolve issues.  With that in mind, the unique design of the front lobby, resembling a tree, became clear: 

As we entered the main chamber, where the eleven justices would hear matters involving constitutional rights, the symbolism and design of the room was strong.  In the image below, I used a neat tool called ThingLink to point out six key aspects of this room.  Please move your mouse over the dots to learn more:

I was truly blown away by the thought that went into this design.  Perhaps the most striking thing was using some of the old brickwork from the prison within the walls of this chamber.  Initially, I thought to myself that black South Africans would want to move away from the past and create a 'new' South Africa, one that was far away from the violence and oppression of the past.  Then I had an "A ha" moment.  How much more powerful a statement can be made when you take the shame and hurt of the past and turn it into something positive and good?  That's exactly what is going on here.  Rather than turn a blind eye to what has happened in the past, South Africa wants to take those memories and transform the site of so much sadness into a symbol of hope.  It could not have been done better.

Outside the court, this theme of "turn the bad into the good" can be seen in two places.  First, the original processing centers for prisoners, rectangular brick structures with plain white doors, were kept as markers as you make your way to the Court:  

However, above each of these structures, large columns of bluish glass were erected:

This glass lights up in the evening, and turns these former entryways for prisoners into beacons, bringing light to the evening sky.

Second, on the back of the last of these structures, officials installed the 'Flame of Democracy', an eternal flame that symbolizes the democratic ideals in South Africa: 

It is an amazing contrast:  the door through which prisoners were sent to their cells in the same place as an ever-burning flame of democracy!

... And that was only the morning part of our tour!!..  Stay tuned for the afternoon!