Last bit of Soweto and Today's Discussion

After saying goodbye to our host families, we departed for the NGO Tsogang Sechaba, an organization that works with kids and adults in the community alike to provide meals, medical care, dental care, mentoring, social-emotional skills, and a sense of belonging.  While we took a few minutes to get off the bus, I wandered over nearby to where the kids were all outside playing.  There were 5-6 boys playing soccer and they let me join in.  They had by far the fastest footwork I had ever seen with a soccer ball.  They gave me some pointers and we kicked the ball around for a bit before we headed in to the organization itself.

Our arrival was met with a song from the staff and children.  They ranged in age from toddlers to adolescents.  The founder, Tony, told us that they also worked with adults in the community as well.

The name means "wake up!" in the sense, open your eyes and do something!

Welcomed with song

We toured the facilities and heard about the obstacles that stand in their way for providing for all of their youth.  The space they have is a bit cramped, but they make do.  They are regularly writing to different organizations for food and supplies and any other services that can be offered.  They counsel kids in all kinds of topics like growing up, self-esteem, self-respect, bullying, peer pressure, positive relationships, and STI and HIV prevention.  They even have a mentoring program through their program Infinite Family, which pairs orphaned children with an overseas mentor who skypes with them on a weekly basis.  Many, they said, eventually come overseas to visit and meet in person.  Check it out!  http://www.infinitefamily.org You can also get information about T.S. itself here- http://www.tscp.org.za .

We finished up and got a few minutes to play with the kids once more.  They were playing "snakes and ladders" and doing puzzles among other things.  It's always funny to see how welcoming little kids are. It takes them no time to warm up--it's really refreshing!  Before I left, I took this picture below with some of the kids.  They were giddy and squealing the whole time, so excited to see the picture pop up immediately after it was taken and then running away with excitement having seen it.  They hugged me and I jumped back on the bus to head to lunch back in Soweto.

My buddies--future scholars and football stars

Lunch was back on Vilikazi Street, at a place called Sakhumzi.  It was fantastic!

Heading back to Soweto, we stopped to tour the Hector Pieterson Museum.  Soweto was the heart of the struggle against apartheid because of it's history of resistance.  This came to a head on June 16, 1976- a holiday now known as "Youth Day" nationwide commemorating protests led by students that began as a reaction to the Bantu Education Act.  Shortly before, the government passed a law that made it so that the majority of classes in non-white schools were taught in the medium of Afrikaans.  This, blacks viewed, as the language of their oppressor.  They wanted to be taught in English, seeing this as a key to get a great job and advance socially.  On that day, students organized a mass demonstration, mobilizing 16,000 secondary students in total, who would refuse to sit for their mid-year examinations and instead, with a mandate in hand demanding not to be taught in Afrikaans, would march to Orlando stadium to have their voices heard.

Inside the museum, we learned that this was intended to be an entirely peaceful protest, with students urging each other to dress "immaculately" and march in rows of 5, holding each other's hand and keeping each other in check.  But, according to our tour guide, this is where the history gets contentious.  Some say that police descended upon the protestors, warning them to disassemble.  Others say that police dogs were released upon the children.  The police dogs began to attack and were grabbed by the children, who started beating the dog in self-defense.  The dogs were killed.  Viewing some of these dogs as having a higher status in society than black police themselves, the police fired shots.  The only weapons the students could gather were stones, which they began to hurl in self-defense.  Tear gas was released and the kids began to ran.

Trailing behind the protesters was 13 year old Hector Pieterson.  As a primary age student he was not involved but merely curious.  It was then that he was shot and lay wounded in the street.  Another child,Myubisa Makhubo, coming upon Hector laying on the ground carried him to the hospital, Hector's sister trailing behind.  Hector was pronounced dead on arrival.  Myubisa was perceived by the police as an agitator and protestor, but having graduated already he was not.  There was a famous photo taken of Myubisa carrying a near-lifeless Hector, and because of this publicity he was forced to run- first to Botswana and later to Nigeria, unbeknownst to his parents until they received a letter years later.  For years they did not know whether Myubisa was dead or alive.  Hector's sister now works in the museum, which is a place dedicated to all the youth that stood in opposition and died on heroes on that day and the days and years that followed.  

While Hector wasn't the only student killed on that day- 600 students lost their lives--he was one of the youngest.  While the government refused to allow for a mass funeral, they did allow the family of Hector Pieterson to carry one out, which was to be designated as a symbolic event to mark all the lives lost on that day.  The museum did do a great job of memorializing all who fought against apartheid that day and in the days that followed, in addition to Hector himself.

I've never been to a place that was designed with such powerful symbolism.  There was flowing water to symbolize the cleansing that needed to take place following the events of June 16th.  There were stones in the water, symbolizing the only weapons the kids had at their disposal.  There was a path of grass and trees pointing the way to the exact spot where Hector was shot.  There were olive trees throughout the area, symbolizing a need for peace and reconciliation.  It was a truly moving place to be.

The image of Myubisa carrying Hector, his sister on the left.

That was maybe one of the heaviest parts of the trip thus far.  Because it dwelled so far into the lives of individuals that had been cut short, I found it much more emotional of a place than the Apartheid Museum itself.  I was really happy that we got to include this as part of our tour.

Needing a break from the heaviness of that experience, the group headed to a local stand that served Soweto's famous "fatcakes."  Yup, they are as good as they sound.  Picture a zeppole without the sugar and make it much, much bigger.

After our healthy snack we made the trek back to Pretoria, with a bus of quiet, content, full, and sleepy students.

We had a quite night in and gathered to watch a movie in a friend's room.  With wine of course.

Last night was the first night I got a full 8 hours of sleep in the longest time.  It was great to be back in our rooms with heat, a warm bed, and a full bathroom.  Never thought I'd miss this room but am sure now to not take it for granted.

Up early this morning for a chat with our Professor on our possible research topics.  I think I've decided to look at curriculum reform since 1994.  To what extent has instruction and curriculum changed in the wake of the dismantling of apartheid?  Two more classes this afternoon/evening.  Time for  a quick lunch!

Maur