Showing up

I have less than one week before my flight back to the US, which I'm still wrapping my mind around. This year has taught me much and pushed me in ways I could have never expected. Yesterday was my last Friday at Itipini, and I got to spend time with some of my greatest teachers. On Fridays after the clinic closes, high school students from the community come for Study Skills sessions. Over the past several months a "regular crew" has formed, and we gather to talk about what's going on in school, at home, and to work on homework together.

I'm grateful for our time together and look back happily over our mutual growth. Starting back in November with the help of Ben, who was a fellow volunteer at Itipini for three months, we began meeting on a regular basis. Megan Berry was also a huge help in tutoring, working with local schools, and reminding us all to have a good sense of humor. Awkwardness around language barriers and my inability to remember trigonometry surrounded many of our first gatherings. Since then, we've come to know more of each others' stories. Many of these kids have less than ideal home situations and attend schools lacking in resources. Siziwe (pictured below) and her sister Khayakhazi are attending 11th and 12th grades respectively. This year they have lost both of their parents to AIDS and tuberculosis. They now care for their younger brother along with their own children with the help of neighbors. The pain and loss they have experienced this year is great, and their responsibilities have jumped tremendously. However, they are working to not let this pain define them, and continue showing up.

Classroom at Itipini Junior Secondary School where most children from Itipini attend grades 1-9

Drop out rates in the Eastern Cape are staggeringly high, and this certainly rings true in Itipini. Home environments not conducive to studying (no electricity, no running water, lack of privacy, sometimes little or no parental support) and school environments that are also challenging (few textbooks, teacher-less classrooms, no school transport, socio-economic discrimination) make the path to passing the matriculation exam in twelfth grade a daunting task for many.

Figuring out how to best support and encourage our students has been a challenge, and I think in many ways it is about showing up. Showing up on Fridays to provide a space for them to work together on homework. Showing up at school to talk to their teachers when a parent has died. Showing up when they come to me with a problem at home or school, and listening. They have taught me this through their own living examples of continuing to show up--at school, on Fridays, and to responsibilities at home that are many. Consistency and presence are sometimes all we can offer, but that is a great gift. They return that gift to me by continuing to come on Fridays, and by sharing their joys and sorrows during the week. These young men and women have been some of my greatest teachers this year, and I am humbly thankful for our time together. They have taught me the importance of showing up and not giving up, and that has been a great, great lesson.

Luleka, Siziwe, Nonzaliseko, Nocwaka, Baliswa, and Zukile

looking and looking and looking

Elsa, Nonzuzo, Vuyelwa, Elsa, and Nomxolisi work together on filling in a job application.

Getting to know some of the young women of Itipini has been one of the highlights of my time here. I've seen our relationships grow overtime, and appreciate our conversations about music, family, politics, Mthatha, and about struggles in our lives. A major one for all the young people I've met during my time here is how to get into university and where to find work. The unemployment rate in South Africa is around 25%, with the latest figures showing rates of 26.9% for the Eastern Cape (as reported by Statistics South Africa at www.statssa.gov.za).

Much of the world is feeling an increase in job loss and financial constrain, and that is certainly felt in our community at Itipini where a majority of the residents are unemployed or semi-employed. Working with community members to find positive outlets to use their time and skills is a daily struggle experienced at the project. Many times factors such as level of education, children, transportation, and work experience make it difficult for Itipini residents to find work. Alcohol and drug usage impacts, either directly or peripherally, a majority of families living at Itipini who have members looking for work. Plus, numerous community members have shared with us the ways in which they face discrimination and judgment from potential employers who do not wish to hire them simply because they are living at Itipini and the reputation that connotes. Looking for work is rarely easy, however looking for work in Mthatha seems like a Sisyphean struggle to many.

This year is helping to teach me that there is so very much that I do not understand, and an area where more questions than answers have been found is the employment and education situation in South Africa, more specifically Mthatha. However, recently good news has been coming through on the employment and education front for some community members and friends. Recently Nonzuzo (second from left in picture above) was accepted as a student at the University of South Africa, and three other young women completed a security training course with flying colors. Maybe more good news is on the way...

So, about those 35 days...

Is it really March 1^st? My calendar on the wall tells me it’s true, but I'm finding it hard to believe. February has been a very full month on this end, and every day is an adventure.

Example: Wednesday of last week Jenny told me in her wonderful British accent and with her kind demeanor that there was, “possibly a bit of an emergency,” and asked if I would mind going to pick up a woman who was in labor to drive to the local OB clinic at Ngangalizwe. I grabbed the keys, and Megan, my new neighbor and a very welcome addition to Team Itipini, grabbed a pair of gloves. Megan has worked in an Emergency Room for two years since graduating from college and said to me, “Well, I did deliver a baby in EMT class on a plastic mannequin a few years ago. So yeah…” Compared to my experience and in my mind this made Megan an expert. So, we nervously and excitedly jumped in the truck.

The young woman in labor is the daughter-in-law of one of the ladies who works at Itipini named Makiwa. Makiwa rode up front with us while Victoria, another mama from Itipini, rode in the back. Our ride to the house was pretty hilarious. Megan sat in the middle straddling the gearshift, while Makiwa sat next to her speaking solely in Xhosa and giving hand gesture directions. Many of the roads in Mthatha are a maze of potholes and test drivers’ abilities to dodge pedestrians, livestock, and other vehilcles, but ladies and gentlemen, we may have succeeded in finding the worst road in Mthatha. The dirt road through fields and into the neighborhood left us nearly vertical at a couple of points and bouncing along most of the way. However, we made it without a tire puncture or tipping over, and supplied Makiwa and Victoria with comedic relief for the next few weeks.

We walked into the house, and while I may not know much about being in labor and having babies, I could tell this young woman was not into the serious stages of labor. She was very pregnant and soon would be, so maybe they figured the car ride back would help get her water to break? It was a pretty exciting and funny adventure all the way around. Also, Megan and I have decided that expeditions such as this warrant us our own TV show, “Amazing Race: Mthatha.” Days such as this we consider as good training for our series premiere…

This month I’ve also been working more closely with Itipini Junior Secondary School, where we have over 100 kids from Itipini in grades 1-9. Afterschool tutoring with high schoolers has also started up again, and both of these endeavors are testing my math and science recall…let’s just say I’m very happy to have Megan’s help and the ability to Google things in between sessions. Education is a key component of the support we try to provide at Itipini Community Project. In this region it is a real struggle for many kids to have the resources to attend, and then when they are at school the supplies and personnel there are often lacking. Yesterday I was assisting Principal Madikizla at Itipini J.S.S., who also teaches Geography. The grade 8 classroom was packed with 70+ students and between them there were only six protractors in hand to complete the worksheet on bearing. Well, and in grade 9, there are 83 kids in the classroom! Throughout my education from kindergarten through Sewanee, I think 32 was my maximum class size, so this has put things in a whole new perspective.

Outside of work, I’ve been spending time with the great new crew we having living at Bedford and exploring some of the options Mthatha weekends have to offer. Highlights include getting a tour of Walter Sisulu University courtesy of Adam Carpenter (a third year medical student), tasting the culinary delights of the new McDonald’s in town (yes, it tasks eerily the same), walking Jenny’s dogs/small horses, attempting to learn the rules of cricket by watching the ICC Cricket World Cup, and hanging out with some of the highschoolers from Itipini. I also had a nice weekend away with two volunteers Jai and Olof where we went on a game drive and visited Chintsa, which is on the coast and is absolutely beautiful.

It’s been a very full month, and really does feel like it has flown by. I’ve also bid farewell to three wonderful new friends this month Tom, Meredith, and Ben who I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know and work with since October. A big thank you to all three for some excellent times together, and good luck in new adventures.

Thanks for stopping by, and there will be more to follow soon.

Peace.