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| Durban, South Africa-absolutely breathtaking |
I have been trying to figure out how to best express
all of the feelings and thoughts that have come up from my experiences so far, especially
Robben Island. An island that was witness to so much pain, disease, and
struggle yet was where the foundation was laid to end Apartheid; it is also a
symbol of education, personal growth and the birth of Mandela's A long walk to freedom. We
have learned about the Soweto uprisings of 1976 and reading Kaffir boy /watching A Dry
White Season was helpful in creating a mental picture of the time. I was able
to vividly picture the disconnect between education and freedom. It was saddening
to read about a time when education was used as a tool to oppress and stifle human development, personal growth and liberty.
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| Depiction of township life through art |
Country of My Skull was able to shed
more light on this because we read about how dropping out of school was seen as
an act of rebellion against Apartheid. The struggle to redefine South African
education and to engage people in the issues affecting the country is still very present and challenging. Mandela was key in this change. I picture the
influential voices of the fight against Apartheid; the students of the Soweto uprisings
who gave up their right to an education for the fight and then the political prisoners
of Robben Island who used any and every tool at their disposal to educate
themselves as leaders, politicians and human beings. It’s interesting seeing these two distinct
groups of the population and how they were fighting against the same enemy but
in very different ways. Which example is
the one that set the precedent for how education is viewed in South Africa? I see remnants of both but I hope that Mandela's legacy will be the one young generations hold on to for years to come.
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| Flowers, kind thoughts for Madiba found outside the hospital |
On Nelson Mandela day (July 18th) we visited a primary school. The students sang songs and we were greeted with such warmth, love and most
importantly passion to education and learn.
I believe that passion is one of the key elements of what drives us to continue
with our education. This sentiment can
be inspired by many different things however, at a young age, the most
influential thing in a child’s life are the role models he or she has. What this particular school lacked in
resources it made up for it in resiliency, drive and faith from its teachers
and students. I was in a Kindergarten class and it was a very special experience
because primary education is where my professional as well as personal
interests lie. I am a strong believer in that by focusing on strengthening
primary education programs we can make a bigger impact on a country’s socio-economic development. If we can target
the linguistic, physical and mental obstacles that seem to be left unaddressed then we can lower the dropout rates in secondary schools
and actually bridge the gap between secondary and higher education.
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| Two of the most adorable 5 year olds you will ever meet |
The students that I worked with were some of the
sweetest kids I have come across and extremely bright. It was a class of 25 and
the teacher taught a lesson while the students looked on while seated in
the middle of the classroom. We were learning how to spell the letter K and
after the teacher made a few examples the students split up and went to their
tables. There weren’t enough tables so some stayed behind on the mat. She passed
out blank sheets of paper and I helped to distribute crayons. I wasn’t sure if
the lesson was more lax because she needed time filler but it came as a shock
for me that they were expected to write letters with absolutely no direction.
She asked me to check their work so instead I had them give me their papers one
by one and I drew lines on their papers so they would know where to start the
top of the letter and how much space to leave between the letters. The teacher encouraged
me to take over the lesson; it was a bit difficult to communicate to them what
I needed from them because they didn’t understand English. I used hand signals
to show them what I wanted them to do. They caught on quickly but nonetheless, the inequality in the resources given to students across the country was evident.
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| Kindergarteners! |
The teacher helped me explain to the students what they
needed to work on and she was very appreciative. She told me she felt overwhelmed
at times because of the large classroom size as well as the lack of resources.
I’m at a loss in envisioning a solution that could effectively aid all of the schools in need in South Africa. Most schools seems to be arbitrarily run by the administration
and there is such a lack of governmental as well as administrative enforcement, which leads to students falling in
between the cracks. In my opinion, the
schools are a microcosm of the national education system as a whole; each
trying to find solutions to financial and administrative issue that plague them
but not effectively communicating. Crime, drugs, rape, high pregnancy rates,
issues over identity are all widespread and overwhelming for schools who are
still trying to meet the most basic of needs.
Something inspring and powerful that I did see (and it is related to the
passion that I touched upon earlier) is the unwavering pursuit of happiness through education.
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| Visit to an elephant conservatory |
Some of the UNISA ( University of South Africa) students that we spoke to talked
about empowerment and knowing that higher education was the way to freedom from
poverty, ignorance and towards personal development. I have this hope that they
are the generation who will bring along a new wave of further growth and
development for South Africa. As much as we tend to focus on the obstacles that
plague post Apartheid South Africa, I am constantly impressed with the
resiliency and strength of the South African people. I feel it influencing the
way I plan to live my life when I get back to NYC. For me, life in New York has
been exhilarating, fulfilling but also challenging to say the least. I find
myself clutching on to remnants of the person I was before moving there; it
changed me and I was terrified because
the pace of city life didn’t allow me the opportunity to process the changes
that were constantly happening in my life. At times I was overwhelmed
by the vast amount of choices and not always knowing if I was making the right one
and the guilt that seemed to follow afterwards. What I realized in my
time in South Africa, is that the parts of myself that I truly respect and
love have never left me (I think we should all be conscious of what these attributes are within ourselves). I was also able to reconnect with my roots though I am not originally
from here. A lot of that had to do with how
South Africa is still trying to
mold its own identity, the environment allowed me to have a clearer idea
of how I ahve matured and changed in the
past year. Some things remain a constant, others evolve and it’s so important
to make room for this change. I think that’s one of the most important lessons
I
have learned. I hope that when I
return to New York City, I will be able to have a better understanding of how
to handle the curve balls that NYC seems to love to throw at me. I feel that
if I was able to process all of the things that I have learned in South Africa
and most importantly remember the powerful, strong and influential role models
that I have directly and indirectly met, I will be able to take on
anything. Below is a list of things that I had hoped to accomplish/remember while in South Africa.
Some were accomplished, others not so much...whoops! Nonetheless, the memories, friends
and lessons learned are priceless in the end.
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Life long dream come true :) |
1. Live in the moment
2. Give as much as I can
3. Learn as much I can
4. Love as much as I can
5. Be patient
6. Facebook only once a day (This one was the most
difficult and not very successful)
7. Learn the language ( Dumela, le Kae)
8. RELAX (accomplished on most days)
9. Strive to be a better version of myself, a stronger,
more optimistic, more open, more confident, more loving person
10. Have more
perspective; what do I want, who do I want to be and want kind of people do I
want to be surrounded with
11.Not dwell on
things that can’t be answered in the present.
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| Group shot ( Jess, Maura, Crysal, Dan) |
