A Different Kind of Community
After the assembly for
Christel De Haan, all of the representatives were invited to go on a tour of
the townships. As second day interns, Ava, Jen and I were invited along as
well. We were excited but we thought that we had seen it all before. The week
previous we had gone on a tour of the communities with Vernon Rose, our
program director. Walking up the steps of the Christel House bus, we reminisced
of our days during orientation, only a week before. Looking out the windows at
the informal settlements of Langa and Gugulthu, made us long for Vernon’s jolly
voice over the intercom, as if his words made it any easier to see.
Suddenly we stopped at the
Langa community center and we thought we would be getting another drumming lesson
in the only tourist destination in this township. However, our tour guide, a
former Christel House student and Langa resident walked us right past the
community center and straight into the community. All of us proudly
sporting our new Springbok baseball caps, courtesy of Christel House, with Ray
Ban’s on to hide our reactions and Nikon’s around our necks, we trekked into
unknown territory. Broken glass and sand are what made up the ground. There
were no concrete streets. I felt uncomfortable taking pictures, but I did so
anyway. Clothes hung to dry next to rotting piles of garbage and broken
appliances. When we stopped in front of a staircase, I was surprised to find
out that this was the tour guides’ house and we were indeed going in. He
explained that 16 people lived in this four room apartment. Each room housed a
different family, where they all slept on one bed and did their cooking and
cleaning.
How do I feel about this? I
feel like a therapist asking myself that question. Honestly, right now, I do
not know. I think it is sad that anyone has to live in those conditions and I
think it is even sadder that the only way our tour guide can survive is by
giving tours of his house. I could not bring myself to take pictures inside the
house. The residents were home and I felt uncomfortable. I imagined a group of
people stomping into my house with cameras and I knew I would not have enjoyed
it. However, it is important to document the conditions that some people have to
live in. So I have included some pictures I took on the outside of these homes.
What made it the most real was
when we visited a township called FREEDOM SOMETHING. First of all, the name is
extremely ironic because the residents have little freedom and limited upward
mobility. The stray dogs stared at us with the same sad eyes as the people on
the streets. One girl stared at me as I took her picture. Ava gave her a bottle
of water and she looked into her eyes, confused. When we reached a house, the
Principal of Christel House explained that this is where a grade twelve student
lives. In that moment I realized how important Christel House is for every
single one of those students. I could not have gotten through senior year
without my cable tv shows and unlimited late night snacks. The girl living in this
house lives in one room with five siblings and almost guaranteed complains less
than I did.
Just makes you realize
everyone values different things and what we value depends on what we have or
don’t have. There is nothing wrong with that because we all come from different
situations and circumstances and we have no control over where we were born.
At the assembly for Christel DeHaan,
one of the student emcees read this quote, “Education is the most important weapon
that can change the world”. This is a very famous quote by Nelson Mandela. I
have always used this quote in a “corny” way. Whenever I thought I needed that
extra boost on an application essay or in answering an interview question. This
experience has made that quote change the meaning for me. Education does not only
mean getting straight A’s in high school or a 4.0 in college. Education is
synonymous with understanding and experiencing. I would never have imagined
that the happy-go-lucky students that I see each morning don’t just magically
appear at Christel House. They come from poverty and fear
that they won’t eat over the weekend. I will not change the entire world in the
next three months. I had no intention to. But I hope to question and keep
questioning what I see and believe. I will not change the entire world in three
months. But I will change my assumptions. I will try not to judge based on
stereotypes but understand based on experiences.
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