Impact

With guest blogger Jessica Middleby-Clements, Program Director for Schools 4 Schools in Australia. Jess has been with the Oaktree Foundation since 2008, taking on the role of ACT State Director. Jess studies Arts/Law at Australian National University. Jess has previously volunteered with World Vision’s schools program and the 40 Hour Famine, and was a founding member of Soul Survivor South Coast, creating a network of organisations to support social justice projects.

Yesterday a group of us went into Durban City to go for a walk around the city with an organisation who work with street kids called Umthombo. After walking down a main street in Durban we happened across a rubbish strewn median strip home to 50 or so street children. Much like the Bliss n Eso film clip the kids stared at us with glazed eyes pumping glue fumes into their lungs. One young girl caught my attention; she stumbled towards us and was intercepted by a young guy who grabbed her, twisted her arm and stole her glue bottle. Enraged she grabbed a jagged glass bottle, threw it at him and ran over the shards of glass after him. Shortly after we heard a commotion and looked up from our conversations and the same young girl was lying pulsing with pain on the main road after being hit by a car. The white car yard guards from across the street were screaming that she had robbed them and aggressively lurched towards the growing groups of street kids with their shambocks (sticks). The police arrived  and without a second glance at the girl (still lying in the middle of the road without any form of protection or barricade) they immediately listened to the white story before even looking at the young girl. It wasn’t until the Umthombo emergency medical van arrived that anyone got down on their hands and knees and stroked her hair or touched her arm to comfort her.

She is one of 500 homeless children - nameless, alone, one of hundreds who prostitute themselves daily, most likely HIV+, begging to buy glue, no one to advocate against the white witness, black and living in poverty without an ID card. Apartheid is over but economic segregation and the legacy of the past means the Zulu people continue to have inferior education standards and extremely low matriculation rates with little hope of employment. Comparing this to the hope, positivity and energy of the Peer Educators that we have spent time with is phenomenal. The Peer Educators have similar stories of abuse, drugs and crime; the difference - the hope they have for the future, the belief and confidence they have had instilled in their ability to do something about their situation and the opportunity to practically do something about it. While GOLD is sometimes hard to quantify, it is easy when faced with 33 vibrant young people at a Schools 4 Schools weekend workshop who, despite their backgrounds, are bursting with energy and enthusiasm – it is simply 33 young people in one year level who have had their lives changed as a result of an amazing program.

Tree Clinic

With guest blogger Alex Zdravkovic, Schools 4 Schools Director for the Oaktree Foundation UK. Alex holds a Geography degree from Oxford University and recently completed his Masters in International Development Management at the London School of Economics. Alex has a broad interest in development, having studied climate change, education, political regimes, conflict and business-led development. He also likes rowing, golf, triathlon, dancing, singing and rock climbing!

21st November 2009

This is my first time visiting South Africa and it has been a pleasure being shown around KwaZulu-Natal by the Schools 4 Schools South Africa team. I have been asked to write a blog about some of the things I have seen and my thoughts/reflections.

Well today I visited two community based projects in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa – Operation Bobbi Bear and The Vineyard Community Church in Durban. These two projects were very different in focus but both provided enlightening insight into the kinds of community based work that exists in South Africa. Operation Bobbi Bear is a community support clinic which helps those who have been the victims of sexual violence or rape. The first thing that strikes you about this project is that one of its programs is held at the ‘tree clinic’; this means that the clinic/support group is held under a giant tree. As you sit and listen to this group primarily made of young girls and woman you are struck by the sense of community, joy and hope from this group. They sing, they play games, they talk, they chant and perhaps the greatest of all they smile.

We then got a chance to talk to two of the organisers of Operation Bobbi Bear: Mabel and Sweetness. They told us that they called the tree that they sat under the ‘graveyard of abuse’ and that it symbolises that the girls should put their feelings of abuse to rest and feel happier when they go back home. Bobbi Bear also try to provide counselling, health checks, education about their human rights and help girls apply for grants and to bring criminal charges against those that have abused them. The most amazing thing about this programme to me was how it was inspired by a sense of community and togetherness which is rarely seen in the UK.

They were telling us that they had been going for 15 years and when they first started pregnancy and abuse were serious problems for their community. That babies that were produced from abuse were thrown in ditches and abandoned as the mothers believed them to be cursed or ‘poisoned’. Despite these shocking revelations it was wonderful to see how far they had come in producing this ‘tree clinic’ and created a sense of joy out of so much sadness.

Umthombo

Normally I try to make sure my blogs have a neat conclusion, an attempt to reconcile something I’ve seen or heard against the greater backdrop of post-Apartheid South Africa and all its nuances. I fear this one will be different. I can only describe what I saw and heard, and will struggle to make any sense of it. Yesterday I took a group of Oaktree volunteers and supporters to Umthombo, an organisation dedicated to Durban’s street children. They do community outreach, provide basic health care and nutrition, do activities such as soccer and surfing, and advocate on behalf of Durban’s 500-odd street kids. They need someone to stand up for them, particularly in the lead up to the World Cup, as the usual tactic used by the municipal police to combat street children is to round them up, beat them up, and dump them in the sugar cane fields. Umthombo aim to reconcile street children with their families and provide trauma counselling to these kids who have often escaped horrendous situations. We toured Durban with outreach workers, some of whom are former street children. I had heard about the problem of glue-sniffing, and although it wasn’t noticeable at first, after a few minutes with some of the kids I noticed just about all were inhaling glue from juice cartons, and the area around us was littered with jars of glue. It was like one of those 3D ‘magic eye’ illusions where you look at a scene, and slowly the parts that blend into the background emerge and form a new picture in front of your eyes. We were hearing about one of our guides’ own stories about ending up on the streets after his parents’ marriage broke up. He ended up getting involved in crime, going to jail, and even getting shot. While he was telling us this, one of the other guides ran over to say a girl had just been hit by a car. She is known to Umthombo, about 21, and lives on the streets. All hell broke loose as business owners clashed with the street kids and waved around big, scary-looking batons. We stood by unable to do anything but watch the Umthombo guys deal with the situation. Fortunately the police and emergency services came and the girl was taken to hospital with an injured leg. We continued on our way and saw a group of tow trucks parked on the sidewalk. As we went past one, I noticed a girl sitting in the cab with one of the drivers. The look the guy was giving this girl, who would have been no older than 14, a look that could only be described as sleazy. Umthombo estimate 99% of the girls on the streets end up becoming prostitutes, and sexual abuse of boys is also common. I felt sick that people would take advantage of these kids, and angry at the myriad social conditions that lead them all to the streets. There are too many to spell them out.

ISSAC weekend workshop with KwaPata & Siqongweni

Everyone at the workshop

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to coordinate a full-day workshop for Peer Educators in the KwaPata & Siqongweni schools. These schools are connected with GOLD through ISAAC Implementing Organisation so we formed a team with ISAAC facilitators to run the workshop. The purpose of the workshop was to run a whole bunch of skills sessions (careers workshop, study methods and practicing gratitude), to teach Peer Educators about their Australian partner schools, and just generally, to have some fun. The workshop was AMAZING! When I think of the day, I just see a sea of smiles across the faces of all the Peer Educators, S4S volunteers and ISAAC facilitators. The Peer Educators really grasped onto everything they could learn about careers and study methods, and were excited to connect with their partner schools in Australia. In the second half of the day the Peer Educators shared their talents with each other through art, poetry, music and drama. I am always blown away by the talent of young South Africans. Worth a special mention are the three participants, who in just over 30 minutes prepared a rap about being Peer Educators – “I will take care for this life, because it is mine, no time to waste, just like GOLD I will shine.”

Leadership

Someone has to stand up. Take action. Leadership is needed. Show the way. Be the change. You’ve probably heard these phrases and many more thrown around in relation to many situations, from the global financial crisis to the fortunes of your favourite football team. I know we tend to use phrases like these all the time in the pursuit of advocacy and action to eliminate poverty and injustice. To me they often sound idealistic at best, often vague, and at worst meaningless. But I think today I started to get a glimpse of the reality that underlines these fluffy phrases. I met once again with Dr Hussain from Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital, Umlazi. I have mentioned him in previous posts (‘Hospital’ and ‘Signs’ for those of you playing along at home) and have always come away from meetings a little more amazed and inspired by his tireless passion for helping people. Today we spoke about some initiatives that are trying to de-stigmatise HIV/AIDS and encourage people to be tested. Dr Hussain was saying that starting with President Jacob Zuma, influential people from various sectors in South Africa will get tested for HIV, to encourage everyone to get tested, know their status, and make decisions accordingly in their lives. I guess it remains to be seen whether and how the results of their tests become public also, and the response to this! He also spoke about companies with schemes to employ HIV positive workers and support them through their treatment, allowing people to continue working and supporting themselves. These examples bring leadership to life, and demonstrate how reasonably simple actions can make such a big difference to lives of people with HIV. It made GOLD seem that much more important, as it essentially asks young people to do the same sort of thing as the country’s President. Peer Educators are encouraged to get tested, know their status and encourage their peers to do the same. By saying ‘I did it and so can you’ young people can really ‘be the change’ that South Africa needs.

KwaPata & Siqongweni Campaign on MDGs

Siqongweni and KwaPata Peer Educators - Proud of their Garden

Recently I was invited to attend the community upliftment project for KwaPata and Siqongweni schools. For their project, the Peer Educators had chosen to take part in the Stand-Up Campaign for the UN Millennium Development Goals. To address MDG 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty & Hunger, the students decided to plant a vegetable garden for the Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) in their local community. When I asked one of the girls if the garden was for an orphanage nearby she explained “yes, and also for the orphans in our school”.

For some reason I was shocked at the realisation that students in the high-school that I work in are orphans, and many of them would also be the head of their households at that young age. It doesn’t matter how often you hear it, the fact that so many children are orphaned and become the support person for their siblings by the time they are teenagers, it still shocks you.

Later on that day I was also invited to a donation giving, where the GOLD implementing organisation, ISAAC, had gone beyond their regular duties of facilitating the GOLD program in the school, and had also sought donations of brand new clothes for the OVCs. This is also something that we frequently come across, but also often shocks you. Charities and NGOs, very often go beyond their call of duty. They are truly giving of themselves in their service to the poor.

Human Touch

Photo by Wes

Last week we visited the Place of Safety, a transitional home for vulnerable children. The Place of Safety houses babies, children and adolescents, for a maximum of 6 months, while social workers arrange their next place of living, whether it be re-integration into their previous homes, or a new home in an orphanage, foster care, or adoption.

When we visited the babies crèche there was on baby who simply would not stop crying. I bent down and gently touched her on the arm and she immediately stopped crying. I remembered being told that humans can’t survive without physical touch. And wondered how often, or perhaps how rarely, that baby received comforting human touch.

All children deserve to be cared for and need to be cared for. The babies at the Place of Safety are usually found after being abandoned, most likely by mothers who, due to poverty, cannot afford to, or maybe are too distraught, to be able to care for their children properly.

The two women who work in the crèche do their best to care for the 11 babies there. I felt privileged to be able to help for 30 seconds or so. And I hope and pray that the little one will have someone to care for her as she grows up.

Signs

I see signs now all the time…

During the week we visited the Umlazi Place of Safety. This is a facility that takes in children and teenagers when they don’t have families that can care for them. They might be abandoned, have parents who cannot care for them, or stay temporarily because of behavioural problems. We toured the centre and saw the different areas where babies and toddlers are cared for while the older children were at the on-site school. The baby facility has capacity for 11 babies, cared for by two staff members. While we were there a tiny newborn was being tended to at the changing table while the others lay on rugs on the floor. One was crying, but settled when Grace stroked her softly on the arm. I wondered how they cope when all the babies decide to cry at once. The centre is under-staffed, and struggles because they both cannot afford more staff and cannot find suitably qualified staff. It seems South Africa is at this strange junction where unemployment is huge but there are also no people qualified to do the jobs that centres like Place of Safety are crying out for. On the way home I noticed that all the signs that line the M13 are in the process of being replaced. The signs are identical, save for a new (ugly) font and being made of reflective material. Reflection is what’s needed, certainly, but the signs point to a greater need elsewhere.

Akwande

Those of you playing along at home may remember the Akwande Garden Project that was started by Peer Educators and their facilitator, Phummy, at Qhilika. Recently I was at Qhilika and got to see the gardens (there are heaps!) first hand. I was so pleased to see the massive crops of spinach that have grown from the tiny seedlings I first saw in the office a few months ago. The gardens are also used in agriculture lessons by other students, and when I visited they were being busily attended to by students with donated tools also arranged by Phummy. The gardens were a happy, vibrant place, swarming with activity, and seemed to really bring the students together. It’s great to see a project pioneered by Peer Educators and their facilitator that will have such a broad impact on the school community.

Before

After

A hive of activity

Phummy and some students hard at work

Light

Photo by Wes

Today I ran a study skills session at one of my schools, and as I was driving there my brain felt heavy with stress and lack of motivation. In the session I talked to the Peer Educators about good places to study; the importance of finding a nice quiet space and not studying in front of the TV so they can focus. We then discussed light, and how it is important to have as much light as possible when they study. We talked about ways of ensuring they would have enough light, like studying during daylight hours whenever possible and studying near an open window. I asked how much light the Peer Educators usually have when they study, and one response stood out. ‘One candle’. We moved on to talking about when they study. I asked when they would study something they had just learned at school, meaning: would they study it before or after older material? One boy answered that he would not study it straight away, but would study it at about 8pm, because before that he has to care for his brother, clean the house and cook dinner. The others all nodded, indicating they too had significant household responsibilities that had to be taken care of before study. I asked when they prefer to study. I knew it was a somewhat pointless question; they don’t have a lot of choice. ‘1.30am’, ‘10pm’, ‘5.30am’ came the responses. Studying late into the night, by candlelight – I am continually humbled by the Peer Educators’ dedication to study, despite all the barriers in their way. I like to see the way they brighten when talking about their futures, and am encouraged by their dedication to giving themselves their best chance after graduation. I was encouraged, too, when I gave a Peer Educator a lift to an appointment after school. Here he was, the boy who studies by candlelight, laughingly singing along in my car to ‘Barbie Girl’, as if he didn’t have a care in the world. I drove home feeling a little lighter.