A Fantastic First Week

Way back on August 14^th the seven of us from Valpo embarked on what would be a long adventure. Not only long in the sense that we were going to be in Africa for nearly four months, but also because our flight to Johannesburg was going to be 17 hours long!

Our first few days in Johannesburg were jam packed with fun, but still taught us about the history of South Africa. We toured several places in Soweto, which is the historically black impoverished southwest township that began as part of Apartheid in the 1960s.

One that was particularly moving was the tour we took of Kliptown, one of the many shantytowns in Soweto. I had never seen some place so poor, so destroyed. There was trash and sewage in the streets, shacks packed together like

sardines, unemployment. I wondered to myself just how people could possibly live this way. They don’t choose to; nobody would. The government seems to have turned a blind eye to them and ignores the fact that so much work needs to be done there. There is so much to reform and the people who live there have no power to change their situation. The government uses that to their advantage and walks all over them. It is truly heartbreaking.

Throughout the week we heard from different presenters who spoke about the South African political parties, their experiences with Apartheid, and organizations that are working to help change South Africa’s government. Some of these organizations are referred to in links at the end of this post.

We also visited several museums. One of my favorites was the Hector Pieterson Museum. Hector Pieterson was a young boy who was killed during the student uprisings on June 16, 1976. They were peacefully protesting the use of Afrikaans (the language of the white elite) as the language of instruction in schools. At the museum, we were lucky enough to have a meeting with Hector Pieterson’s sister, Antoinette Sithole. It was very interesting to hear her first-hand account, since she was right there when Hector was shot and killed. There is a very famous picture of Hector’s dead body being carried by a man and Antoinette running behind them. The other museums we visited are referred to in links at the end of this post.

Our first full weekend in South Africa was spent staying with host families in Soweto. We stayed with middle-class families, not in the shantytowns (although I would have really liked getting to experience that). My host family were some of the most welcoming, wonderful people I have ever met.  At first I was a little nervous, but I was quickly feeling comfortable and “at home” in my host family’s house. During the weekend, I got to do so many things I would not have otherwise gotten to experience. I got to eat a TON of homemade delicious African food, try on some beautiful traditional dresses, and do many other things I hadn’t done before. I attended a traditional healer graduation ceremony, went to two different churches, and even got to pet a lion at the local Lion Park!

Groups/Organizations we heard from:

The Democratic Alliance
The African National Congress
Gender Links
Treatment Action Campaign
Khulumani Support Group
Dale McKinley

Some of the Museums we visited:

Freedom Charter Museum
Hector Pieterson Museum
Apartheid Museum