Maria passionate about helping people help themselves

I had two different activist projects that essentially addressed the same problem that I was interested in.  I am passionate about helping people believe in themselves.  I truly believe in the saying, "Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right" when it comes to certain things.  Of course there are many instances in which it depends on what place you were given in the world and what opportunities are available to you.  However, I think that something I want to enhance here is a sense of self-worth, confidence, ability, and determination.  I think that starting with children and young people and showing them that I truly believe in them could lead to them believing in themselves, and consequentially lead to them achieving things with their gifts and talents that they may have never thought was possible.  I decided to set out to do this through two unique programs.

Upon deciding that we wanted to instill confidence in young people, and after a few meetings and extensive discussion and development at home, we came up with the idea of a "big sister" program.  We thought that this could be a great way to get to know the kids in the book club on a very personal level and show them that we care about them, instill confidence, be good role models, and also give them as much fun and good times as we could.

The program was so wonderful because the whole point was basically to make friends, not just to be role models.  To say that we were only role models and they only follow us would not be accurate and would not do the connections we made justice.  We always presented ourselves well and gave good guidance when it was needed, but we learned just as much from them as they learned from us, which is why I like to call us friends.  Friends talk to each other, share secrets, laugh together, spend time together, help each other with their homework, give each other advice, and make each other feel like they are never really alone.  All of the activities we did together were just vehicles for the cultivation of these friendships.  We made each other smile, we poked fun at each other, and we encouraged and appreciated each other's skills and talents.  We built deep connections from one "brother" or "sister" to another, but we also developed a community from every single person who was involved in the program, integrating our group from UConn with the book club.  Everyone came together to plan events or just to sit and chat with each other, and team building happened without us even noticing it.  We have a unique and fun group dynamic that is made up of every individual participant.  The specific activities were not as important as what was going on between the lines.

My other project was spontaneously born out of my home-stay in Ocean View, and I was instantly eager to take part in something that would enable me to interact with the young people I met and loved, and also return to Ocean View every week  -  "my home away from home away from home."  This was another great opportunity for me to interact with young people and try to help further develop confidence.  Like my other program as a "big sister," I wanted to get to know the kids of the community and show them that I believe in them, but with this project there was another aspect as well.  Giving students extra help after school could not only give them confidence in classes and in life, but could help them achieve better academically.

Many people believe that the key to a good future is a good education, and I was proud and eager to offer my skills as a teacher and my time to helping these children earn higher marks in school as well as a better understanding of the topics they are studying.  I unfortunately missed one of the sessions when I thought my nose might be broken (lucky me it wasn't!), but we still managed to fit in many hours of tutoring children of all ages, an on all different school subjects.  On the students' holiday from school, we still got to go to Ocean View to "hang out" with them even though they didn't have any homework to do.  We had a great day of playing games, learning everyone's names, dancing, talking, getting to know each other better, and having fun together.  On our last day with these kids on Friday, April 20th, we plan on doing some tutoring, playing some last games together, presenting them with their certificates of completion for the program, and saying our goodbyes.  We are also planning on performing the dance we made up so the kids can have a good laugh at us as we try to show off how much we've been practicing the moves that they have been teaching us.

My projects were relevant to issues covered in our class.  With race, specifically, both projects related to valuing and celebrating the differences between people.  Personally, I had to be honest with myself and face my own inadvertent racism in order to begin to attempt to eliminate it.  I was also lucky enough to get to know a lot of people on a deep level whose lives are very different from my own, and at the same time very much the same.  Getting to know these people on such a personal level didn't make me ignore or "forget" about race, but it did really drive home once and again the concept that race is merely a social construct.

I was also forced again to come face to face with all of my privileges and how I didn't earn them.  There are parts of life and just my average day that are easier because I am white, young, American, a student, physically able, mentally sound, and much more.  While I have been here, partly through my activist project, I have met people of all different ages, races, and social backgrounds.  I saw challenges that my new friends had to face every day - from discrimination, to hunger, to money problems, to struggling with identity, confidence, and self-image.

The issues addressed by my two projects are similar to the issues that are present in the United States with the inequalities and correlation between race and social class.  Most inner city school children that struggle with bad home life, financial problems, and lack of basic security are black and go through the same things as the oppressed racial groups here in South Africa.  The South African kids involved in my two programs are in comparable situations to urban youth who are oppressed both directly and indirectly because of their race.  Deep rooted racism in society is constantly telling certain groups of people that they are inferior, and those messages also reach children and can ebb away at their confidence, in school, with their families, and in society in general.  This just intensifies the inequalities that already exist and continues to perpetuate the cycle of inequality.

Although I can't continue to be directly affiliated with this cause back in the United States, I will always be affiliated with it because of the way that I will live my life and think about people and the world.  If I end up striving to become a teacher, I will be sure to encourage students and help them cultivate the confidence needed to believe in themselves, set high goals, and achieve those goals.  I haven't ruled out participating in Teach for America, my National Honors Fraternity's official philanthropy which hires teachers to work at underprivileged schools and gradually decrease the divide between rich and poor schools by working toward improving education.  Even if I do not become a school teacher, I will still be a coach and swim lesson teacher for a while longer where I can work closely with young people.  I hope to use my new perspective and goals regarding self-examination and honesty to be a positive role model and teacher for anyone I encounter in my life.

Kelsey realization that one person truly can make a difference

A forty eight minute train ride from Rondebosch followed by an eleven minute mini bus taxi ride from Fish Hoek lays the township of Ocean View. It is a community in every sense of the word. Walk down streets with a local and you’ll find dozens of people waving their “hellos” and “howzits” because everyone is interlinked – whether through being neighbors, family, or just fellow street walkers. The niceness of the people of Ocean View is remarkable. In a more logistical sense, however, the predominant races are that of colored and Islamic people. Constant threats to the community are overwhelming poverty and substance abuse which directly cause an educational and learning gap in Ocean View. The test scores are low reflecting a lack of understanding of basic concepts, especially in math. Upon first meeting the children during our homestays, I came to learn that the majority of the children were not passing math. I instantly knew I could help change that.

From that point on, Chantel, Brittany, and I worked very closely to create a tutoring program for all those amazing kids that we met. Because everyone needed help with math, we set that as our main subject focus. We decided on the location of the church on Chantel’s street because she is already closely linked with it and was able to have access to the building. Next was to get the kids on board. This was the easiest part as they all agreed before we even finished our proposal. As the learners get out of school between noon and thirteen hundred, Fridays became our weekly scheduled tutoring date. We, being the tutors, would arrive at Ocean View around twelve thirty and stay until about three or four. Chantel informed us that she wanted all of us to be out of Ocean View before any hint of the sky getting dark in order to ensure our safety just in case anything should happen. Emails upon emails later, our venue was set and agreed upon. All we needed now were the tutors. Almost everyone that did the homestay wanted to be a part of our activist project because they loved the kids just as much as I did. However, Chantel and I had agreed upon consistency amongst the tutors (attendance wise) in order to establish stability and accountability between the tutors and the tutees. As a result, everyone that wanted to participate had to agree to be there every single time unless a valid excuse was given. Our program was official created and put into action that very Friday.

Every Friday is different. Since the program centers around the kids and their needs, our objectives change to reflect the kids. To start off every session, we all hold hands and form a big circle. We select someone to do breathing exercises in the middle for all of us to mock followed by a game or two to heighten energy levels. Afterwards, we begin the agenda for the session. The first Friday, we all split up into groups and tutored kids based on their grade level – ranging from six to eleven. It was really interesting because I was paired with a tenth grader named Jenna Lee who learned what she hadn’t previously understood very quickly, leaving plenty of time to spare. She asked me to also help her study for her English test that she was about to have the following week. I came to find out that she didn’t know the difference between “its” and “it’s,” the concept of ownership as in apostrophes, and other basic things that I learned in elementary school. This baffled me. She loved finding out all the “ins and outs of English,” as she said it. Sometime later, everyone reconvened and we had a small dance party with some games thrown in. Aside from all of us laughing and having a great time, I never realized how much rapport this built amongst everyone until we all got hugs when we said our goodbyes. It was an incredible first experience that increased my love of those kids and my passion to help as much as I could. The sessions that followed included a lot of tutoring on the time tables because they were never taught them and needed to drastically increase their multiplication skills. To ensure that what we were teaching sank in, we asked the kids to review their tables before our next meeting, I bought a bunch of candy to serve as awards for when we quizzed them. Of course, we played a bunch of games and continued to build our friendships with everyone. The look on the kids’ faces when they understand a concept they hadn’t before or got an answer right is so rewarding for me. Just as much so, though, are all the laughs and happiness that beam from all the kids and the massive amounts of hugs that I get before leaving - especially when they are accompanied by “I’ll miss you.” It makes me tear up every time.

From my Ocean View experiences, I’ve learned just how much of an impact I, being that of one person, can have on a child. I have the power to make someone feel good about themselves, raise their confidence and self-esteem, and to bring happiness into their lives. To me, that is the absolute most important lesson I could have ever hoped to not only learn but experience countless times with the amazing kids of Ocean View. It also shows me just how underprivileged these children really are because of their lack of education and knowledge of, what I considered as, basic concepts. The economic disparity between Ocean View and other areas (like Rondebosch) is unbelievable, not to mention ridiculously unfair. It just showed me firsthand the effects that Apartheid still has on South Africa today. The sad thing is that these disparities happen everywhere, not just South Africa. America has huge economic inequalities that I hadn’t even thought to realize before this activist project. There are thousands of communities in the U.S. that are educationally and economically deprived because of the entrapments of poverty and location. Yes, South Africa is an extreme case due to Apartheid, but America is hardly doing anything about helping to lessen the gab that centuries of prejudices have created – including me, until now that is. Seeing the positive differences I have (and will continue) to make in all those kids lives has shown and taught me that I can, even if it’s not on a large scale, help those suffering around me in Connecticut. Take Hartford, for example. I know I could volunteer at a school, afterschool program, or any other organization and make such as much of a difference for kids that are just as in need of help as those I am helping now. It is just really sad and embarrassing that it has taken me twenty one years to realize this. This just goes to show that so many social issues, whether consciously or unconsciously, are overlooked when they should be seen and changed. Learning that I can help change economic and educational disparities that exist goes hand in hand with learning about racism, sexism, heterosexism, etc. that are prevalent and need changing as well.

Our Ocean View program is not set to end until the Friday, 20 April. Chantel and I worry that the program won’t be able to continue after we leave to go back to America because with us go all the tutors. As a result, Chantel is trying to find replacement tutors. In the meantime, I’ve told her of my hopes to encourage next year’s study abroad students to join the program. As far as hours go, I’ve definitely spent over twenty four hours on the project. Factoring in a couple hours every Friday, with some weekday visits thrown in, the numerous emails, phone calls, and sms’s between Chantel and myself, the preparation work (such as preparing tutoring lessons, buying candy, making flash cards, etc.), relaying the agenda and plans to all of the other tutors (and dealing with some complications that arose), and even things that I still plan to do, every hour I’ve spent on my activist project is more than worth it. I still have certificates to make for each of the kids as a reward for coming to all the tutoring sessions and as encouragement to continue making progress. The other tutors and I wanted to plan out a dance for the kids too because they’ve taught us a lot of moves and put on a show for us. I think it’d be a great, fun way to celebrate our time spent together.  I also have to prepare some snacks and food for the celebration. I am literally so excited to see the kids again and can’t even imagine how much sadness I’m going to feel having to leave them to go back home.

It may be unrealistic to think that I’ll be able to afford to come back but I refuse to give up hope. I want so badly to return to Ocean View and I’m going to try really hard to make that happen. In the meantime, I’m definitely keeping in touch with Chantel and hopefully some of the kids through facebook and emailing. 

Ryan becoming more aware of social issues

For my activist project in which were to get involved in the community to address a current social issue, I had the privilege of working at a few tuberculosis clinics in Mitchells Plain and at Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Rondebosch. Luckily, I ran into a doctor at Tafelsig Clinic early on in the semester that rotates to other clinics to treat tuberculosis and took me with to shadow her at Lentegeur and Eastridge Clinics. I wanted to learn more about the disease that isn’t as common in the U.S. and after learning how it is associated with poverty, I decided to address it as my project. As an important part of the project, I got to conduct home visits with a Sister (nurse) at Lentegeur to address certain patients in the community nearby. The homes we went to were mostly of patients who default on their treatment and do not come in for their scheduled appointments. This allowed me to approach and speak to these patients individually to educate them in the comfort of their own homes about the importance of curing their illness while showing them that others truly care about their health. A significant and common consequence of failing to complete treatment that I learned is that the bacteria may become resistant to the antibiotics fueling the prevalence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB strains that drain expensive resources and time. Another common issue is that children are often exposed to this disease through an infected family member allowing them to fall ill as well. About half of the patients I’ve witnessed at both clinics have been children and many of them were being diagnosed a second time. This led me to my interest in Red Cross Children’s Hospital as repeat TB children are referred there as treatment protocol. Friends of the Children’s Hospital Association is a volunteer organization at Red Cross that allowed me to come in and play with children to give them extra emotional support to help the healing process. I learned a lot from this activist project by becoming a more aware of some of the social issues that make progress so difficult but also how valuable time and effort can be when it is dedicated to helping out others. 

Dan: an assignment transformed into a way of life

My activist project was putting off my final semester in college to come to South Africa. My activist project was staying after school to tutor one of my students in reading and spending time with him on my days off. My activist project was going to soccer practices in Khayelitsha on Thursdays, where I didn’t do much aside from being a supportive figure for the kids and Bongi. My activist project was tutoring and doing life orientation with those same soccer players on Wednesdays. My activist project was going to soccer tournaments and supporting the team in whatever way I could. My activist project was helping to construct the Firefighters FC into a self-sustaining non-profit organization. Really, I didn’t have an activist project at all.

           

When I first came to Cape Town I knew I had this additional “activist project” that I had to do. All I knew was it was a self constructed/chosen volunteer project somewhere in the local community. I also knew of this requirement of a minimum of 24 hours that was to be devoted to my activist project. One of the few other requirements was that I find something I am passionate about.

I certainly am passionate about my work with the Firefighters. Bongi is an incredible individual who has the capability of inspiring everyone around him. From my initial conversation with him I knew that he was someone that I wanted to be around. Throughout the course of the semester I grew closer to him as we both worked towards making the Firefighters as great as their potential. The soccer players were just as amazing, always appreciative of the time and effort we put in. By the end of the semester they addressed me by name and went out of their way to converse with me, making me feel truly at home. More than once Bongi genuinely thanked me for the work that I was doing, but it never felt like work. I wasn’t fulfilling the requirements of some assignment given to me in class, I was doing something that I loved with a group of people who provided for me as much as I provided for them.

           

Did I need to tutor on Wednesday nights? Of course not, easily everything else I was doing with the Firefighters would have been suffice. But what else was I going to do with my time, sit on my computer at home? I love Khayelitsha so spending another evening on a long and crowded bus ride didn’t sound all that bad to me. The tutoring allowed me an opportunity to interact with some of the older players, as the practices I attend are the U11 and U13 teams. Getting to know these athletes was awesome and once again I think I learned more from them than I ever taught them.

           

The thought of my work with my student as being an activist project makes me uncomfortable. More so than my work with the Firefighters, this truly was something I stumbled upon that captured my heart and my passion. While I easily could count this as my activist project, at no point (until writing this paper) did I ever think of it in that light. The relationship I built over these few months has been one of the most rewarding and yet emotionally taxing experiences of my life. Everything I have done with him has been out of the love that I have for him and my desire to bring a little more cheer into his life. He was never my activist project, and he was way more than just my student, he is unlike anyone I have ever met before and will influence me for the rest of my life.

           

In the end, this trip itself was an activist project for me. It was stepping outside my comfort zone in a way I had never done before. It was living in a house with 16 other people (which could be an activist project in itself) and dealing with being homesick for the first time since I was a little kid. It was about building relationships, both locally and from afar, in a way I never could have done had I stayed in the States.

Bongi and Dan

I have had three and a half months of an activist project and it has inspired me to do more back home, where I am already thinking about different volunteer work I can do. In the end, it will be Bongi and my student who keep me going, who give me strength, encouragement, and inspiration, even though I will not be anywhere near them. I hope my “activist project” has made as big of an impact on those I worked with as it did on me. 

Theresa: The Joy of My Activist Project

Theresa & Siphokazi at Waterfront
Peace Signs from all!

For my activist project, I have had the pleasure and joy of getting to know my little sister Siphokazi through an informal “Big Sister/Little Sister” program.  In the United States, one of my main roles is being a family member, and very importantly a big sister.  I have two younger sisters who I love dearly and being away for them has been especially difficult, so I jumped at the idea of being able to have a little sister on this side of the world.  Having little sisters is a special experience, you have someone to challenge you, to tease you, to share with, to learn from, to teach you, to be silly with and I am so fortunate to be having that experience here in South Africa.

My little sister here is wonderful, she is kind, she is intuitive, she is witty and she is smart.  We have been very lucky to see each other about once a week since the program started, this is always a treat (and we always get fast food so it’s an extra treat).  So far, my favorite things that I have done with her are participate in our large group activities mainly, the Two Oceans Aquarium, the movies and the sleepover that we had at our house in Rondebosch.

Nicole & Theresa with little sisters at the Two Oceans Aquarium

At home, my extended family has many females, and that has lead to wonderful bonds with me and my female relatives, whenever we can we jump at the chance to have a “Girl’s Night,” so the idea of having a sleepover with all our little sister’s (and one brother) from the program overjoyed me.  Meika and I helped to coordinate the sleepover, from planning dates to making permission slips to buying groceries to cooking the food. We had so much fun.  The girls arrived around 4pm, and even though it was a little bit chilly, they all went swimming in our pool.

We then ordered lots of pizza and ate dinner and then headed up stairs to hang out with each other.  In true sleepover manner, we painted nails, did hair, did Henna tattoos, watched movies, talked, and barely got any sleep.  It looked like everyone who was at the sleepover was having lots of fun and I know that the other big sisters and I really enjoyed ourselves.  Leaving Cape Town will be hard, but really leaving the people will be the hardest.  I am excited to stay in contact with Siphokazi and hopefully one day (she’s really ambitious and wants to be an optometrist and go to school in the US) she will actually get to meet my other little sisters in the US. 

School holiday sleepover.