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!

Day 2 - Hector Pieterson Museum

After we changed out of the clothes we were in since Tuesday(!), we had travelled to Soweto for lunch and a tour of the Hector Pieterson Museum.  Soweto is a region of Johannesburg that may sound 'African', but is really an abbreviation for "South western townships".  During the late 1940, as the white government began evicting black residents from areas designated as 'whites-only', townships in the southwestern section of Johannesburg were formed.  Many evicted blacks migrated to this new area, which, by the early 1960s, ultimately came to be known as Soweto.

Soweto is remembered for a mass student demonstration in 1976, where police fired upon a crowd and killed about 200 unarmed citizens.  Hector Pieterson, only 13 years old, was one of the first  to be killed.  Why were the students demonstrating?  The government had decreed that most school instruction had to be done in only English and Afrikaans, the language of the white South Africans.  Black South Africans would no longer receive most of their schooling in their native langauages.  Police arrived on the scene, over-reacted at the size of the crowd (estimated at about 2000) and fired to disperse the protestors.

This museum, not far from the spot where Pieterson was killed, commemorates that day and the demonstrations that followed. 

Since the restaurant was close to our destination, we decided to walk through the neighborhood to the musuem.  The walk turned out to be somewhat of a surreal experience, as we encountered street vendors hawking souveniers, people playing drums and dancing; basically a very 'festive' atmosphere.  Granted, it was 'Mandela Day' in South Africa, but I just wasn't expecting this type of commercialism and off-hand attitude as we approached the site of a memorial to a slain child.  
Things did quiet down as we turned the last block and walked a long street to the Museum.  Along the way, simple stone plaques were erected that told each piece in the story of that fateful day (June 16, 1976).  This is one of them:

As we made our way to the museum building, two things caught my eye.  First, a large granite memorial to Hector Pieterson:

It says:

"In memory of Hector Pieterson and all other young heroes and heroines of our struggle who laid down their lives for freedom, peace and democracy"

Second, there was a very large version of the famous image of Hector being carried away from the scene:

Hector Pieterson being carried away (sister Antoinette on the left)

As we entered the museum, a large glass window lets you look out onto an inner courtyard. 
This is what I saw:

You'll notice the glass contains an inscription.  It is a poem by Mazisi Kuene called 'Congregation of the Story-tellers at a Funeral of Soweto Children'   The first verse is:

We have entered the night to tell our tale
To listen to those who have not spoken
We who have seen our children die in the morning
Deserve to be listened to
We have looked on blankly as they opened their wounds.

In the background, all around the grounds of this courtyard, are bricks.  These represent the victims of the Soweto demonstration as well as victims from subsequent demonstrations that took place in the aftermath of the Soweto tragedy.  The woman at the front desk told me that, in all, there are about 500 memorial bricks in the courtyard.  Each is inscribed with a name and the date that the person lost their life.  Here are just two:

It is a simple, but powerful memorial that is made even more dramatic by the way the bricks are positioned.  They follow no pattern or order, they are everywhere, in a variety of positions - in essence, just as the victims probably were at the time of their death.

The rest of the musuem provides evidence in visual, written and audio format that illustrates the tension and oppression in South Africa from the white government.  There are TV screens showing clips from resistance leaders, eyewitness accounts from those on the scene, as well as perspectives of the protest from white leaders.  (Sorry, the museum only allowed photography in the courtyard, so I can't share any other images)  

In reading the comments from white leaders, you get a sense of what the blacks were up against.  This 1963 quote, from H.F. Verwoerd, who was the Minister of Bantu Education, is a perfect example of the elitist attitude adopted and, when posible, enforced by white leaders: 

“When I have control over native education, I’ll reform it so that [non-whites] will be taught from childhood that equality with [white] Europeans is not for them.” 

Through many laws and decrees, Blacks in South Africa were left with extremely limited educational opportunities.  It is no wonder they protested - it is unthinkable that the response they received was violence and death at the hands of police.

The museum is a moving tribute to Hector Pieterson and the protests that followed.  It is not, however, for the squeamish.  There are several graphic accounts of the violence, including one in particular that recounts the details from the autopsy report of an eight year-old girl killed in Soweto.  Her name was Lily Mithi, but she was known in the coroner's report simply as "Body #2498". The large 10-foot display has excerpts from the report, describing the entry and exit of the bullet that took Lily's life.  

While I was struck by the gruesome details, it was clear that those in charge of this memorial did not want to simplify what was a horrific and tragic event.  The story, in all its gory details, needs to be told and in such a clear way that there are no doubts as to what happened and how.     

Day 1 : The Adventure Begins!

My 'big' first day started at 2:30 AM (!) on Tuesday when I got dressed and ready for my 3:30 AM (!) ride to the airport.  Amazingly, there was NOT a lot of traffic at that time of the morning, so I made it to Logan Airport before 4AM.  That was the time we agreed to meet, and there we all were.  Checked in and ready to .... sit and wait for our 6AM JetBlue flight to JFK Airport in New York.

Thankfully, the weather was perfect and we made it to NYC in a mere 44 minutes.  Yup, there we were, all ready to .... sit and wait 3 1/2 hours for our South African Airlines flight!

(I have to admit:  looking out the gate window at our plane made it all seem like the dreaming was over and this was really happening):

Loading the meals (in that giant container!) onto our airplane!

Who was the person that coined the phrase "Traveling is fun!"..?  It seems more fitting to say "Traveling is waiting".  You wait to begin boarding, you wait in the boarding line, you wait to get to your seat, you wait to take off and then .. you have to wait to get there.  In our case, the last wait was the worst.  We had a direct flight to South Africa, so there were no stops along the way.  It takes South Africa Airlines (SAA) about 15 HOURS to go from NYC to Johannesburg, South Africa.  That's a LOT of waiting.

Thankfully, SAA has pretty decent entertainment offerings.  Attached to every seat is a screen offering movies, TV shows, music, games, and a flight map.  I took advantage of every one of these.  I saw two movies (The Truman Show and the newer Willy Wonka).  I sampled the music (but Young Jeezy wasn't exactly what I was looking for!).  I played Chess with the computer 4 times (one win, two losses and a tie!).  I even checked the flight map!  In fact, I think I looked at the flight map 10 times more often than I used any of the other services.  I know, it seems silly - why the flight map?  OK, I am a Geography teacher and I DO enjoy maps, but NO that's not the reason.  This particular flight map not only shows you where the airplane is on a globe, it also spits out statistics on how much longer it will be until you get to your destination.  So, with 14 hours to go, I watched a movie, played a few games of chess, fast-forwarded through a Young Jeezy song and quickly flipped to the flight map.  I knew all those exciting activities had to have taken at least 5 hours and we would 'only' need to be in the air 9 more hours.  So, you can imagine my disappointment (actually, horror!) when the flight map reported we still had 11 hours to go!!!!  I almost passed out (which actually would have made more time go by..!)

One other thing that helped pass the time was conversations I had with the woman in the seat next to me.  She (and I'm sorry I didn't get her name!) is a native South African, having lived her whole life in a suburb outside Pretoria, close by Johannesburg.  She gave me some great tips for local food that she said I should try.  A lot of these I had never heard of, so she was kind enough to write it all down.  Here's the list she gave me:

 - Boerewors
 - Bobotie
 - Game meats (like ostrich, kudu and even wildebeast!)
 - Desserts (peppermint crisp tart, milk tart and malva)
 - Native vegetables/fruits (gem squash, papino, granidella)

[Note: I have not had the time to research what many of these dishes are, but I will soon!  Maybe you, oh kind reader, could do that and post a comment below letting me know what some of these are and whether or not you would try it yourself!!]

So, I did manage to slowly reduce the time through reading, sleeping, conversing and pacing up and down the cabin (it's not good for your circulation to sit still that long).  After another 50-60 checks of the flight map, the time was able to decrease to something bearable and we did get there!

By 8am on Wednesday morning (that was the local time in South Africa - they are 6 hours ahead of the US), we arrived in South Africa!  As reported in an earlier post, Wednesday the 18th was Nelson Mandela's birthday, so we heard at least two pre-recorded versions of 'Happy Birthday' for him...

After going through customs and finding our bags (which wasn't so bad!), we met our driver, Mosa, who took us to our lodgings.  We were ALL very tired, but we had places to go and sites to see, so we had a brief rest and then officially began the tour.

Stay tuned for what amazing sites awaited us on Day 2  (coming soon!)...

A Geographic Perspective

Well, almost time to go.  One last thought:  just how big IS South Africa??  The widest part of the continent is about 3000 miles (about the width of the continental USA), but what about the narrow southern end, where South Africa lies?

Well, thanks to an excellent site called IfItWereMyHome, we don't have to wonder.  This awesome site was recommended by one of my social studies contacts via Twitter.  Once you go to the site, click on Country Comparison, and select from a list of (I think) every country on Earth.  This site then superimposes the country you are interested in onto a map of the USA (or another country).  It's amazing!

Here's the results when I selected South Africa:

So, just how big IS South Africa?  Well, based on this map, it looks to be about twice as wide as the New England states and stretches from New York to the tip of Maine (if we adjusted it southwest just slightly).

This site also gives you amazing comparative statistics between the two countries (which I won't go into here), but it gives you a great, quick look into a country in just a few seconds!

As a Geography teacher, I strive to give students the right initial perspective when we begin to explore a new country or region.  This tool is exactly what I have been looking for..!

A reply from the Mandela Organization

Well, it didn't take long - I heard from the Mandela Organization. Here's what they said:

Hi John. Thank you for your query. Mr Mandela retired from public life in 2004 and no longer attends any public appearances. 
The good news is that you can still contribute to Madiba's legacy by registering your Mandela Day activities on our calendar and engaging with the communities you will be visiting. As Madiba said "It's in your hands".

With all they have going on, especially with Mandela Day less than a week away, it was nice of them to take the time to reply.  

Our tour will be stopping at schools and hospice centers and we will be bringing school supplies and toiletries, so we plan to register this as a Mandela Day activity.

If you know someone or some group planning an activity that will fit the spirit of service and positive change, please go to the official Mandela Day site and follow the link that lets you Register An Activity Now.  The more who register, the more evidence to show that Nelson Mandela's gift of change is still going strong.

Arriving on Nelson Mandela Day

This post was inspired by one of my wife's favorite phrases "You Can't Win if You Don't Play".  Whenever I'm contemplating whether or not to try something or make a request of someone, Maura always responds with "You Can't Win if You Don't Play". 

Well, a few days ago, I was doing my usual web prowling, scouring for information on South Africa and the many places we will be traveling.  My wanderings took me to Nelson Mandela's organization, called the Centre of Memory.  As I looked over the many resources and projects featured on that site, I noticed there was a link for something called Mandela Day.  It turns out South Africa - and it looks like many other places in the world - celebrate Nelson Mandela's birthday on July 18 as Mandela Day. 

The webpage explains:

The overarching objective of Mandela Day is to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better, and in doing so build a global movement for good. Ultimately it seeks to empower communities everywhere. “Take Action; Inspire Change; Make Every Day a Mandela Day.” 

They even created an awesome graphic to capture this sentiment:

  

Something about that date, July 18th, nagged at me.  It turns out we will be landing in Johannesburg on the 18th.  To make the occurrence even more unusual, our landing time (8am) is exactly the time scheduled for school children in South Africa to sing Happy Birthday to Mr. Mandela!

According to our itinerary, after arriving at the airport, we're scheduled to check in at our B&B, which is in Melville - only a 12-minute car ride from the headquarters of the Mandela Organization...!

Putting all those things together (same day, same time, same general area), it seemed almost too good to be true.   I started thinking Where might Nelson Mandela be on Mandela Day?  Could he actually be making a public appearance somewhere near his offices??  

So, in the spirit of  "You Can't Win if You Don't Play", I wrote to the Mandela Organization.  I told them about this amazing trip, and asked if they could tell me where Mr. Mandela might be during this event.  Imagine being able to get a glimpse of Nelson Mandela?  It would be the ultimate!


Stay tuned for more...