Class Discussion

We had a discussion this week about what we had been learning from our host families. We wanted to know, specifically, if they had any thoughts or connections with HIV/AIDS. Katie stated that her family said that people are now stealing ARVs from hospitals, pharmacies, and infected people who really need them and using them as recreational drugs. Apparently people are taking the flint out of a light bulb, crushing up the pills in it, and smoking them to get high. This was really shocking to me. It really highlights the importance of education on the subject of HIV/AIDS. It was only a year ago that South Africa was able to obtain ARVs for everyone who needs them, and if people are using them for recreational use, that is a huge step back for the fight against HIV.

Edwin, the reverend at J.L. Zwane joined our conversation to give us some of his thoughts and experiences with HIV/AIDS in the community. He confirmed what Katie said about the recreational use, and said this is something that is just starting to happen. Edwin then shared with us that those who are infected with HIV are getting medical aide from the government in order to support their families, and he says that people are now purposely infecting themselves in order to get financial support from the government as well. I think this is really sad, because people are not understanding the extent of this disease - as of today, HIV is a death sentence and it is terrible that people feel that it is the only way their family can survive is to be infected. 

The next story Edwin told us will stick in my brain forever. He told us the impact of HIV of children. He knew of schools where the kids would steal the teacher's keys after class and lock themselves in her classroom to have sex. The teacher was too short to see into the classroom window and was always confused why her keys went missing so often. She ran into another teacher who was slightly taller and saw into the classroom what was going on. Edwin says that kids are having sex by 4th and 5th grade and he has heard of kids performing sexual favors to each other to get people to do their homework for them. When we asked Edwin how the kids even knew about sex he stated that the township homes are close together and small. Some have no doors or windows and people can see into them. Also, some homes only have one bedroom for the parents and the children to share so they see their parents doing it right in front of them. Finally, the kids are exposed to rape and abuse all the time, so they don't know any better.

Finally, Edwin shared with us a story about a 9 year old boy he knew. He was living with his uncle because his parents had passed away and his uncle's girlfriend would use him for sex and sell him on the street as a sex object for money. He contracted HIV through this process and was finally sent to live somewhere safe. At the safe-house he was raped by the other boys and infected two other boys there. This is the youngest child Edwin has seen to be infected by HIV through sexual encounters. 

Hearing these stories was both sad and infuriating for me. I felt sad because people don't know any better because they have not been properly education on HIV and end up in terrible environments. I am infuriated because things like this happens to kids because adults are irresponsible. Maybe it is because they aren't educated on the subject of HIV, but I feel that it just just common sense not to use a child for sex...I don't know; maybe it isn't such common sense there. 

Wednesday 6/4/08

Wednesday we had a speaker from the Department of Health in the Western Cape named Zetu. She worked in the clinic for primary health care - the point where everyone starts who needs medical attention. She and her staff see about 200 people everyday including people with hypertension, diabetes, asthma, epilepsy, and HIV (chronic diseases). As of last year South Africa provides antiretroviral (ARVs) to anyone who is HIV positive for free provided by the government. This is an amazing accomplishment for the South African heath care industry because 1 in 5 people are infected with HIV/AIDS in the country. In South Africa, however, there are only two lines of treatment - when the disease becomes resistant to the first line of ARVs, a second one is given, but once the disease is resistant to that, there are no other options for treatment. In the United States there are more ARV lines available. Zetu states that the stigma for HIV is so high that people will deny that they have it and refuse treatment, and then continue participating in risky behavior (thus increasing other people's chances of infection). She allowed us to visit her HIV support group this week as well, and there were a lot of people there. The group was quite, but she said it was because some of them don't speak English very well and didn't want to speak in Xhosa because we wouldn't understand them. For those who did speak though, they were very open about their HIV status and seem to be pretty well educated on the subject. Zetu feels that education is the key to fighting HIV, but says it is hard to educate people because not everyone pays attention. The current methods are too passive and people are not seeing the big picture of the extent to this disease. In the culture here, it is also difficult for women to engage in safe sex if their partner is in control. 

After the speaker we went to Pricilla's house to provide lunch for her and her eleven kids and bring them a lot of toys we brought with to donate. I spent most of my time with one young boy (I didn't get his name), and he really liked my camera. I sat him on my lap and showed him how it worked - I don't think he really cared about how it actually worked, but he was really entertained with pushing the button, seeing the flash, and seeing the image on the back. It was nice to give Pricilla a break for the afternoon; we were able to provide a meal that she would otherwise have to scrape together, and we took her kids off her hands for a little while so she could sit back and relax for once. 

The evening dinner tonight was fun and involved dancing once again. Every dinner seems similar in that we eat, chat, and dance, but they are different in that our bond gets stronger and we continue to learn new things about each other. 

Culture things I am noticing:

1. When walking in a group or riding in the car, you're supposed to sit boy, girl, boy girl.

2. Religion is a huge part of the community we are staying in.

3. Everyone honks their horn when driving...I'm never sure if it is an upset honk or a greeting honk, but it is constant and everyone does it. It makes me think of Mitch Hedberg: "I think we should only get 3 honks a month on the car horn. Then someone cuts you off, you press the horn and nothing happens. You're like, "Crap! I wish I hadn't seen Ricky on the sidewalk!"

touring the township

Everyday we were in the townships we met new people and saw new things. We spent some time with the people that live their lives, everyday, in a shack, taking care of multiple children in poor conditions, and/or struggling everyday to figure out a way to eat that day. We met an amazing woman named Priscilla. She is taking care of eleven children in her small home - most of these children aren't even her own; she had taken them in when they had no place to go. Priscilla has a great attitude and takes care of these kids the best she can, but she runs out of clothing, food, and all of the basic things we take for granted everyday. She has a stack of newspaper in her bathroom to be used as toilet paper; she has one bedroom for all of the children to sleep in; and she spends her afternoons while most of the kids are at school walking around the township with the little ones that aren't in school asking to do small jobs to make a few cents to buy food for the family. She has small government grants for the orphans she has taken in, but it is equivalent to about $20 a month per child and sometimes it runs out in two weeks. Her home was one of many homes we visited this week.



We also toured a shack headed by a young girl living with her younger brother because her parents had died. They are living on practically nothing, yet they are so welcoming when we ask to see her home. Her entire shack is smaller than my bedroom at home, and she has everything her and her brother own in it.




Visiting the "flats" was really hard to see. Although they are apartments with relatively more space, the sights were rough. Children were running around, most of them barefoot, through areas with broken glass and rusted nails and screws all over the place. One child I saw was playing with a wheel that was attached to the end of a wire and pushing it along the sidewalk for fun. When they saw all of us with our cameras they would run over to get their picture taken just to see the image appear on the back. Some would even ask for a turn taking a picture, which would then cause ten more kids to run over jumping over each other to get to us. They ran after our van when we left.

Tuesday 6/3/08

Tuesday we packed up our things for a three night stay in the townships. When we arrived at the community center, the first thing we did was go through our donated items and sort them into piles based on what they were. Four of us, including myself, contacted Johnson & Johnson and received 36 lbs of over-the-counter medication to be donated. The pile of Tylenol, Motrin, and other medications - mostly including children's medications.

We also had two speakers come to speak with us. First Yvonne, who works out in the community giving emotional, mental, and physical support, came to speak to us about her work and then took us into the townships to physically give some of the donated items to some of the families in the area that are associated with J.L. Zwane (the community center we were practically based out of this week). We brought clothing and toys to those who needed it. It was nice to see where our donations were going to (the medications went to a local clinic) because in the U.S. it seems that people donate items to an organization, but never get to actually see it being handed off to the people who really need it and seeing the expression of extreme gratitude on their faces. Yvonne works with a lot of people who are HIV positive, and she says that it is such a large part of her life that she has had to force herself to be extremely strong when working with those infected so her emotions don't get the best of her. She said she wants to "find pain and do something about it."

Our next speaker was such a remarkable person. Her name is Nombeko, and she was raped when she was in he twenty's by five men at knifepoint and was infected by HIV. What was so incredible about her was her attitude about the entire situation. When she was told her test results, she just said, "okay, what do I do next" instead of crying or feeling any emotional pain. She has dealt with the disease in an amazing way by surrounding herself with the people she cares for, doing what she wants in life, and not letting the disease take her down. She believes that education is the key to stopping HIV/AIDS so currently she works as a Health Information Officer and also performs for audiences in order to tell her story and educate anyone who is listening about the disease. Her motto in life is that if something happens, she accepts it and deals with it. She says that things happen that cannot be helped, and all we can do is move on and figure out what to do next.

Tuesday night was also our first night with our host parents. We all got together (students and host families) at one person's home for a large evening meal. It was nice to have everyone together to meet the other host families, laugh, and learn some sweet dance moves. I also think it was a nice way to ease into the home-stay process by starting out as a large group. When the evening ended, we all went home with our respective host parents. Trisha and I stayed with Zukile and his girlfriend Loretta. They were an amazing couple that went out of their way to care for us for those three days. That night we talked for two hours in his living room just learning about each other and asking questions. I asked them if they had any opinions on HIV?AIDS since it is the theme of our trip here, and they both say that they know people infected and they both seem very well educated on the subject. Zukile works in a corporate office building where he actually puts on a presentation about HIV to new incoming employes. Loretta works as a social worker and sees prisoners infected with HIV/AIDS everyday and says it is difficult, as a social worker, to listen to their stories of being infected in prison.

That night they plugged in a heater in our room, gave us extra blankets, and even turned down the covers for us so we were all ready for bed. The bed was way more comfortable than the one I have in our usual house in Cape Town, and the room was much warmer as well. I think I slept better that night than I had any other night in South Africa so far.

Back from the Townships (initial recap)

We are back from Guguletu, the township were we had our home-stays Tuesday-Thursday nights. In sets of two, we all went with different families that live in homes in the townships. Trisha and I stayed with Zukile, an his girlfriend Loretta. During the day we spent time as a class listening to various lectures, going on "field trips" to different places to do different things, and then in the evening we all had dinner together - students, host-parents, and other family and community members. It as an amazing experience and there was a lot of emotions thrown around, and overall I am really glad we went there. We experienced something new every day (which I will elaborate on in a later blog), and we got to meet some amazing people. The one thing I noticed about everyone I have met in the township is a sense of welcoming and kindness. Our host families always greeted us with hugs and it is custom for people in the culture to greet every single person in the room as well as say goodbye to them individually. It was a nice thing to experience because it was welcoming and made us all feel right at home - in fact, we would call it home while we were there. Each evening meal was also accompanied by 25+ people dancing in one living room and laughing constantly. Our nights at home were always warm and comfortable. Actually, the bed Trisha and I had at our host-parents' house was warmer and softer than the beds we have in Cape Town!

During the day we heard speakers, visited a church that is currently housing the refugees from Zimbabwe, visited some homes in the townships, made lunch and donated toys to Pracilla, a women caring for eleven children (not all of them hers; she took in some orphans as well), and performed service project at the school for disabled children. This whole week was filled with activity and new experiences. I also caught a cold, but it's not holding me back. I'm going to get some sleep and absorb all of this week and update you on the details soon!

Random Pictures of the Safari!

Safari pictures! I meant to add these sooner, but here they are now. These pictures are some of the animals we saw on the safari as well as the vehicle we rode in. We were really close to all the animals and it was awesome!! Look for the giraffe behind me in the picture! The picture with some of us with a glass of wine was taken after the safari when we sat down and had a nice lunch together. The two giraffe picture is of them fighting - I had a really cool video clip of it but it wouldn't load... maybe it is because the internet connection isn't the greatest here. I'll try again when I get back in MN.

First day really checking out the townships up close

Today was our first real day at Gugulethu, the town ship we are going to be staying at for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. We went there today to listen to a few guest speakers, hear a great local band, enjoy an amazing lunch, go on a tour of the area, and spend some time with the kids during their after school youth program so they can get their homework done.
This morning started out with two speakers: the reverend of the church and Kenneth from the Truth and Reconciliation Campaign. They spoke about the life after Apartheid and what that means in terms of leadership as well as some personal back ground about themselves. What I enjoyed most of all was the discussion our class had after-word. I didn’t say anything during this discussion because I was so absorbed in what everyone else was saying and then my mind started going into high gear thinking about what I have experienced so far. A major part of the discussion revolved around the reverend’s words, “there is no place in this world for black people.” He, being a black person himself, thought this statement was very true which surprised us all initially until we really thought about what that meant. My classmates had really great comments about how Apartheid was driven by white people in a predominantly black country. Kate even commented about her time she just recently spent in Kenya and how she was so highly respected because she was white and even people in positions of leadership would listen to what she had to say and grant her more privileges than the actual citizens of that country. I thought that was really interesting. I started thinking about our current trip here. I feel like American/European culture is so dominant in the area we are staying in and that the African gift shops make the country appear as merely a tourist attraction in itself rather than a place where people actually live and have a completely different culture. The reverend even commented that it is more likely that black people will have jobs in the kitchens and in other places out of sight. You hear a lot about racism in the United States and such, but I found it surprising to hear about racism against people in their own native country. There was so much more to the conversation and so many people had such insightful things to say and I wish I could remember it all to share with you (I couldn’t write down everything at the time because I was so engaged in what people were saying and it was heated and fast).
After the lecture we got the pleasure of listening to a local band play some amazing music at the community center named Siyaya. They played a variety of African music such as jazz and had great vocals and dancing. They were supposed to perform for us on Thursday but they are leaving on a music tour in the United States – we found out that they will be in Minnesota in July so we all might go check it out!
Lunch was the best meal I have had so far on this trip. The cooks in the community center cooked us the food that they normally cool for the people in the community and it was so good. They made homemade chicken, vegetables, potatoes, and these rolls that were out of this world.
Later, we went on a bus tour of the townships. The pictures I have posted here are of some of the shacks that people live in. The town is huge with over 200,000 people. No one is really sure of the census because it is too hard to count people who move around so often. We were able to stop at one shack and look inside to see what their homes truly consist of. The shacks are extremely small and usually headed by a teenager or young child because their parents have passed away (many from HIV/AIDS). There were a lot of schools each with separate uniforms and even more churches. There are also homes in this area, which are also very small but are actual houses rather than shacks – the houses are what we will be staying in with our host families this week.
Finally today we were introduced to the kids that come to the after school program to get help with their homework until 5:00. The woman giving us the tour was explaining the poor education systems in the town ships in that one 3rd grader’s homework can be equivalent to a 5th graders homework at a completely different school and vice versa. She was also saying that it is difficult to find properly trained teachers to teach the children and that many come to the program with no idea how to do their homework and that some of the program faculty find it difficult as well (she said they have to look a lot of homework questions up on the internet so the adults can understand the students’ homework assignments). We spent some time with the students and discovered that the younger kids really enjoy getting their picture taken and looking at themselves on the screen of our cameras. We will be working at this after school program all this week. I will most likely spend my time with the older students – high school – because they are a little more attentive. A lot of my classmates are great with the kids, but I have a hard time getting them to focus and not get distracted (Em, this would be a great program for you instead of me), so I’ll stick with the high school math most of my classmates are trying to avoid!
Well, this is my last entry until Friday when I have internet access again. Mom and Dad can sleep easy – I will be safe where I am and I am leaving all of my valuables locked up in our regular house that has a security system, haha. Talk to you then!