You should have seen the kids today! Who could imagine the joy on our kids' faces – on the ground playing, reading to the preschool children? Who would guess that a couple of our kids would eat a lamb's eyeball? David and Sarah were the adventurers on that front.
Today we travelled to Langa Township just north of Cape Town. This is a formal settlement of somewhere between 80,000 and 120,000 Xhosa (say kosa) people who, before 1994 were resettled here. It is an incredible community of both hope and poverty and both traditional and modern.
We started at the Sunshine crèche day care with 80 children ages 0 to 5 (cost per student was about $30 per month). They had two classrooms and an outdoor area that was about 12' by 30'. Our students each brought books for the kids and handed them out as we entered.Â
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We went outside and before you knew it there was Mairin with four kids on her lap and Sarah with a 4-year-old who nestled into the crook of her shoulder. Julia O. brought an 18-pack of playdoh and she was a hit as our kids showed them how to make snakes, pancakes, and balls. Caroline became a jungle gym as her boy climbed and squealed as she tossed him up and down. Before you knew it Emily B. was doing the hokey pokey with a circle of kids. It was hard to tear them away for the tour.
But tour we did. We started at a restaurant which had developed after 1994 when blacks finally got the ability to own houses and could have businesses. A marimba band entertained us as we dined on rice, butternut squash, spinach, beef and chicken, and salad. The bandleader had us all dancing the patapata by the end.
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Our tour started at a Catholic mission which was a real community center. Here we learned about the initiation ceremony for boys at the age of 14 and how that traditional ceremony fit with the modern. We visited the various types of housing, from that built for male migrant workers starting in the 1920s to single family houses to a more upscale part of the town. Our guide talked about the tensions over whether housing is seen as a right or is something people have to work for. The new government is making a big effort to replace many of the shacks to good effect, but the building can't keep up with the need.
We ventured to a spot where women were cooking lamb's heads and we watched the process and then ate some lamb's head meat. This was a challenge for many kids ... but all were respectful and interested.
We went in a township house where 15 people lived in one room. It was unfathomable, but true as we looked around and imagined three families living in this small room. A trip to the cultural center showcased the arts in the township and local craftspeople showed their wares.
We ended up in Guguletu where our guide showed us the monument to the Guguletu 7 and the Amy Biehl monuments. Students in Human Rights class knew about the two from the movie Long Night's Journey Into Day. Our guide recited his poem about the Guguletu 7 which won a national poetry award.
It was a lot to take in for one day, and it will take many conversations to process the information and emotion of the day, but, from our point of view, the experiences will be with us for a lifetime.
Tomorrow we'll see ostriches and eagles at a game farm, so til then, go WarHChiefs in girls hockey! We are rooting for you.
Tracey