September 29th – “Welcome to Ngcobo”

Last Thursday, Clemens and I were invited to the village of Ngcobo, about 45 kilometers outside of Mthatha. There we were to address a village meeting of local chiefs, community members and leaders about our upcoming conference on capacity building for co-operatives. The purpose of the meeting is to address issues concerning community well-being.

We received a wonderful reception from the good people of Ngcobo. It was the first time leaders from neighbouring villages were coming to meet together all at once. A sheep and an Ox were slaughtered in honour of this historical meeting.

One individual I connected with was Misuwzi Zilimbola, Prince of Ngcobo. He is third in line to become chief of his community. A very friendly guy, Misuwzi was educated in the city, but could never bring himself to live there. Misuwzi works at the hospital during the week and contributes to developing his community on the weekend. He is married with one child and travels 80 kilometers each day to work. He tells me stories of growing up attending to the cattle. “You would be out all day. Food was to be discovered by digging for potatoes”.

Tent where the meeting was held

In our drive to Ngcobo, Clemens explains the village life to me, “receiving water would be a blessing. Receiving electricity, now that is heaven on earth”.

There are a few homes that do have electricity. An interesting fact is that cell phones are cheap and almost everyone has one. However, people have to travel into town to have them recharged at a nominal fee of 5R ($0.80 CDA) per phone.

But make no mistake the people enjoy the rural life. They wish to be treated like the rest of South Africans. Clean water, schools, hospitals, are the minimum they request from the government.

The conference on rural development has begun. The government meets their toughest critics.

"Welcome to Ngocbo"

"Village meeting"

Burning tires. (We saw this on the drive back to Mthatha)

Sept 23rd - "African Wedding"

My sidekicks - Bonnie & Banga (age 5)

South Africa is home to eleven official languages. The population of the Eastern Cape (the Province I reside) is made up of mostly Xhosa speaking people. This past Saturday I attended my first traditional Xhosa wedding. It took place under a large tent outside the home of the groom. The bride is an employee from the Department of Arts and Culture and had traditional dancers performing throughout the ceremony.

Later on, I joined Mama Ghana’s nephews in their pick up truck to collect the bride’s ceremonial new bedroom furniture. It is Xhosa tradition that the family of the groom gives the bride a new bed.

Thus this past weekend, I was able to cross out two things on my “bucket list”: a) attend a wedding and b) ride in the back of a speeding pick up truck. I have seen many traveling in such a way, and I figured, why not join them?

Chatting with Luiso on the pick up truck, he told me about a saying in Xhosa, "Ubuntu". It means, "who we are is a result of those we serve". In other words, it is human generosity giving freely without recourse. It is this philosophy which serves to improve our ability to connect with each other as a giving community.

Enjoy the videos. The one with the truck isn’t the best. I was holding the mirror in place while maneuvering the camera around. But then again you had to be there to experience the thrill of racing against the sunset through the streets of East London holding on to both, the furniture, and your makeshift seat.

Sept 17th - "I had a moment"

Hello Folks! It’s been a while. Since I have moved into my new place, I no longer have access to the wireless internet provided by the Bed and Breakfast. However, I have purchased an internet stick and roaming time :)

We are currently in the stages of planning a conference for the Centre for Rural Development in Mthatha. The show kick starts Sept 24^th with a student session. Academics, farmers, politicians are a number of the attendees expected to arrive. The purpose of the conference is to promote rural development and engage investment through dialogue. During apartheid South Africa, Mthatha was made a city where big businesses used the Black South Africans as cheap labour. When apartheid ended, these big businesses fled, leaving the city without any investments or job opportunities. While Mthatha today has a township with stores, restaurants and a museum, it is home to a number of villages with a recorded 40% unemployment rate. As a way to promote sustainable livelihoods, the government, and international investors, provide a small loan for entrepreneurs to run their businesses in these villages. If successful, the business creates job opportunities, builds economies of scale and stimulates community involvement. This system is known as Microcredit. For example, an individual who makes handcrafted jewelry receives a loan to set up a shop to sell his or her goods. Once stable, the individual will receive a steady income and pay back their loan. The important aspect is that these individuals previously received either little or no income at all. Now they have an opportunity to escape a life dictated by poverty.

The challenge is maintaining the success of these self-made businesses. A major part of my job in South Africa is to assess skills needed for entrepreneurs to run a successful business and create workshops based on the skills identified, with a focus on youth development. This is referred to as “capacity building”. Currently, there is a project set in place in which I will be under the guiding wings of Clemens KaPler. My 6 months is a starting point to an 18-month plan. The next interns coming will continue with the work started.

Folks, planning for this conference has been a rough one. Everything is behind schedule. While I am usually a calm person, this week got to me.

Africans have a majestic way of speaking in meetings. Their speech is as formal as a Shakespearean play. However, this results in meetings lasting 4-6 hours long. After arriving back in East London from our last meeting in Mthatha, I took my frustration out on my plug. You see, since all of my electronic connections are Canadian, therefore I need to connect them to an adaptor which then connects to a plug, which then connects to the wall. But my plug was too short and the adaptor kept falling off. This had been a reoccurring issue. Playing on my emotions I yanked the damn plug out of the wall knocking over my microwave in the process with my elbow. Inspecting the damage, I found the door to my microwave broken and my brand new shaving set (which I placed on top of the microwave) in pieces.

Then my food from “Mr. Delivery” arrived! When I brought in the food, I noticed the sauce from the container was dripping all over the floor. I spent the next 20 minutes sweeping and mopping up.

Then a thought came to mind, “The food must be cold”. I told myself, “Ahh don’t worry you can always warm it up in the microwave…”

Folks I had to chuckle. Shit happens. My frustration was based on still getting settled, the number of long meetings we had in the past two weeks, not hearing my favourite bMC songs and being incredibly hungry. I let it get to me. Guess I am human after all lol.

I know the conference will be successful. We are working with passionate individuals who have run this conference every single year since 2004. I just have to respect the process and contribute in any way I can.

And things got better. The next day I joined Sarah and Lise for dinner at their place followed by a night of dancing with our new friend from the University. It felt good to shake my tail feather.

And today, I bought an extension cord for my plug and a mini-stove. To my luck it came with a kettle and an iron. You know the essentials in life ;)

Anyways, this blog is long! Time to wrap up. Stay tuned as this weekend I will be attending my first traditional African wedding !!! (Sorry Ige, I thought yours would be the first lol).

Sept 10th - "Meet Akhona"

On this trip we have been introduced to a number of unique individuals. Their work involves improving the life of South Africans, whether it is through education or income-generating projects, the purpose is betterment for all.

Meet Akhona. A young professional who studied Health Promotion at Walter Sisulu University, a former Peer Helper and now an intern at Stats South Africa, Akona took time to describe to me the mental state of the uneducated and disempowered.

"The mind is the most powerful thing. However, the steps to making that realization is not exposed. Most often, it is the bad that is at the front door and not the good. When people are brought up thinking this way, it is difficult to change them. All they have known is that.

Education is lost at an early stage. Children are required to walk two hours to school with their school uniform in their bags. They leave around 5:30am and most do not have anything to eat. The children then change into their school uniform. Due to the sweat from the heat, the clothes they came with are hung to dry after being washed. At the end of the school day, they have to change back into these same clothes, even if they are not dry. The children then continue with their two hour journey back home. Feeling hungry and tired from their journey, they do not have time to do homework, they have to help out with home. The children have no time for extra curricular activities. The boys drop out and find their way to drugs.

For those who make it, high school is another 3 years. Given the process described, how many do you think actually go through with school? And for those who do, I bow to them.

Now the women who do not finish school are left to bear children. The fathers are probably their boyfriends, some their husbands, usually aged in their 50s. These old men give money to these women. But for a person who has survived less than a dollar a day, the ability to afford curls for your hair is an opportunity to a luxury never experienced.

If the mind is not exposed to empowerment, it will forever be subjected to oppression".

Akhona was raised by her mother alone. She put herself through school, often skipping meals because she couldn't afford it. Despite these inhibitions, Akona persevered. She is an educated, intelligent woman dedicated to improving herself and the lives of whom she is involved with. Her passion and understanding of the mental struggle Black Africans endure is a testament to which Africa and its leaders must embrace and invest in.

Whether it is South Africa, Canada or any part of the world - if people are not given support or encouraged, they are left living without a purpose. And life without purpose is meaningless. They are then subjected to others opinions who then dictate how one should live. These individuals are left without developing their own self, their own dreams.

My experience at Humber working with youths in the mentoring program showed me how much can be achieved by encouraging our youths. When we show we care, it gives perspective to a person's life. It is amazing what one can achieve once empowered. Tools are then given and sharpened to escape the cycle of oppression.

Sept 9th - "Mthatha"

It was a beautiful journey from East London to the birthplace of Nelson Mandela, Mthatha. The four hour drive went completely unnoticed. We stopped by a primary school in Butterworth where Mama Ghana used to teach. We also visited the museum of Madiba, passing his house on the way. Standing in the museum I felt an intense emotion. Mandela is a leader dedicated to his people, his nation and the principles of challenging the oppressor against all odds. The mentality Mandela possesses, humanity should adopt permanently.

His autobiography, "Long walk to Freedom" is a must read.

An excerpt:

"Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another"

By the way, my African friends have bestowed a new name for me:

"Zizwe-Zonke" (zee-sway zonkay) meaning "All-Nations".

But like them, you can just call me "Zed" ;)

ps. Having trouble with the internet on uploading pictures. Stay tuned!

Sept 7th - "Jos Nolle"

So far it has been a great introduction to South Africa. The past two days we have been meeting with different organizations who are looking to get us involved with their projects. Tomorrow we travel to Mthatha, home of Nelson Mandela.

It's been great getting to know the Chair of International Development at Niagara College, Jos Nolle. After completing his graduate studies, Jos found an opportunity to leave Holland for a 3 month job in South Africa. Finding the need to explore the world, Jos took out a bank loan and travelled around the globe for a year. After finding his job unsatisfactory, Jos eventually help kick start Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors without Borders in Mozambique as well as across Canada. Now, Jos coordinates with his team to send young professionals abroad to gain international experience while helping out noble causes.

A bit of a romantic, after receiving an email from a former girlfriend that a guy she was dating asked her to marry him, Jos took a vacation from work and went to see her in Canada. Two weeks later he proposed.

"And the rest is history ..."

It is quite enchanting to hear the passion and the places Jos has seen and experienced. It definitely makes the world seem a lot smaller ... and even more personal.

September 5th - "East London"

Sunday September 5th 2010.

I am currently cruising on a plane to East London. We have met up with Jos and Natalee and soon enough, we will meet our Coordinator, Mama G.

Making connections from my childhood, it seems as if South Africa was meant to be.

I remember in Grade 5 watching a movie in school about the Boer conflict. I found it really interesting to understand the conflict between the British and the “White South Africans” (a concept I couldn’t fathom at that age).

Moreover, a lady came to do a presentation on Africa bringing with her traditional artwork from the region she was in. I remember questioning her about almost everything – the culture, what languages spoken, the type of clothes that are worn. Due to my curiosity, I was chosen to give the “thank you speech” for her visit to our school.

In grade 7, I befriended a new kid in school. His name was Keenen and was from South Africa. Meeting Keenen, I discovered that South Africans were not just Black and White. In fact Keenen’s Father was of Indian ancestry. The diversity blew my mind.

As I furthered my studies in History, I would discover such diversity was not celebrated. In fact it was institutionally prohibited.

In my last year of University, Professor Jon Soske introduced me to the writings of Steve Biko. I took his work and compared it with Dr. Walter Rodney's socio-political movement in Guyana.

Growing up with my African buddies has furthered my inquisition. I cannot wait to experience Africa.

Ok we’re about to land…

I’d better go, the flight attendant is giving me looks…although she's cute. I should give her a look back ;)

Sept 3 - "And so it begins"

Friday Sept 3rd 2010.

And so it begins…

I am currently waiting to board the flight/journey to Sewth Efrika (as my witty Uncle has labeled). My flight itinerary states that we will arrive in Amsterdam in 7 hours. Afterwards we meet up with Jos “Cool Cat” Nolle and lay over for 3.5 hours. We will then soar to Joberg for an 11 hour flight, spend the night and then arrive in East London the next morning.

Equipped with my music, ear phones and the Autobiography of Nelson “Madiba” Mandela, I am good to go!

I will be travelling with my two partners in crime – Sarah Vickery and Lise Hamilton. Already the laughter between us three cannot be tamed

Previously, it was a good two week training in Welland. Such highlights include: group dinner at Boston Pizza, the mission to the South African Consulate and ofcourse, the Karaoke BBQ party at the residence! Classic.

Being an amateur with travelling, I have learned a lot from my fellow interns. Their love for adventure has brought them to Argentina, Cuba, India, Ghana, Portugal, to name a few. Along with speaking different languages, the knowledge they have gained cannot be taught in a classroom.

I am feeling incredibly excited about this opportunity. It has always been a wish of mine to do community work in Africa. Now the dream has finally come true.

Ok gotta go. We’re about to take off.

Sarah and Lise, Mama Africa awaits!