Molo! (Hello in Xhosa)



I first read about Khayelitsha during my research for volunteer opportunities outside of my day job. All I was coming up with were dead ends and would see things like “come volunteer with us and we’ll let you interact with children in the orphanage for seven days followed by an exclusive luxury safari and wine land tour!”…blah blah blah. First, I don’t want to pay $3,000. Second, we are in one of the most impoverished countries and I’m sure someone can use an extra volunteer in some capacity. Third, I did not want to partake in something that seemed like an organized human safari both invasive and humiliating to the people living there. Let’s just hope a portion of that money goes to support the orphanage, but I think that’s a little optimistic. I also tried local churches and contacting the local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, but no response.

Just as I was about to quit the online search, I came across an interesting article. It referred to a woman offering people to stay in her home, turned “B&B”, where she would speak to guests about her experience growing up in the township, living through Apartheid, provide insight into township culture and match guests with volunteer opportunities. Most of her guests are volunteers or journalists doing research. Her name is Thope Lekau, a registered community economic development worker, local NGO advocate, volunteer matchmaker and local legend. She and her daughter Mhpo, share one bedroom, while they host guests in the second.
Before I describe my experience, it’s important that you understand the significance of this township. Let’s be honest….I didn’t know much before being educated by the wise one herself.

Khayelitsha means “New Home” in Xhosa, the most common language spoken after English, Afrikaans (form of Dutch) and Zulu. This township sits just outside of Capetown and is the largest township in South Africa, even bigger than Soweto. The township population is reaching 2 million which is about 70% of the total population. Khayelitsha was created in 1985 during the apartheid era. At that time, Cape Town government began implementing segregated housing districts for Black Africans, coloreds, and whites and is still considered the most segregated city in South Africa. The term colored does not refer to Latino, it refers to lighter skin Black Africans of mixed decent with Dutch, Indian, Portuguese. Housing ranges from informal shacks made of sheet metal, wood, cardboard, tires and other unidentifiable objects to small permanent brick homes with water, sanitation and electricity supply. It is only after the shacks are given street numbers that the settlement is deemed legal and with a street number comes electricity, an outdoor water tap, and toilet. Right now, the brick housing backlog is estimated at 400,000. There are no street names. The area is divided into 26 districts that are simply numbered by letters (chaotic to say the least).

Ethic make up of the residents are 99% black African and less than 1% white, which are likely temporary NGO volunteer residents. Approximately 50-70% of its residents are unemployed.

As far as healthcare goes, there is only one emergency/trauma clinic in the entire township and several smaller clinics however these are often too far to reach and only provide minor treatment and testing for TB, HIV and STD. Regarding education, all children are granted primary education at village schools however secondary or university level education is far too expensive.

Everyone told me not to go to Khayelitsha alone…what are you thinking, it’s not safe! Well, after doing my own research and reading the articles about Thope’s house I had to check it out myself.

I was dropped off by the taxi around 5pm and was greeted by Mhpo with a huge hug. She walked me into her home and provided me with some tea and oat biscuits (aka cookies). There were three other girls staying that night, Silje, Hilda and Susana who were from Norway but studying and working in children’s orphanages in Cape Town.

Mhpo and Thope cooked us a delicious meal that night with grilled chicken, sweet potatoes and yucca, sautéed spinach and a vegetable curry with tomato, onion, garlic and peppers. Later that evening, Mhpo took us to a local Shabeen (aka bar). The bar was like most shacks, built out of wood and sheet metal with small stools and benches to sit on. It served homemade beer, wine, whiskey, wings and potato chips! These Shabeens were considered illegal until the end of Apartheid in 1994. Mhpo said that even folks that have left the townships come back to hangout at the shabeens just for the gritty, unpretentious, laid back vibe and to reconnect with friends and family. Although I didn’t join in on the drinking, beverages were being consumed at an impressive rate by the locals…reminded me of times at Brooklyn’s finest establishment, the Old Fashioned Pizza Parlour! Everyone was dancing. They played some funky local South African tribal music, some blues like Otis Redding and some American jazz classics by Ella and Louis Armstrong.

That night, we had to stay at one of Thope’s friends houses a block away since the extra room in her home was occupied. Unfortunately, the friend was working the graveyard shift and it was her son’s birthday that night. Needless to say, her two sons and daughter (in their late teens) broke into her liquor cabinet and got completely trashed. The daughter was hugging me non-stop…oh Nee-cole, you are beautiful American, I have been waiting for you for hours…oh Nee-cole, please celebrate with us, this drink for you…oh Nee-cole where have you been? Luckily, they were harmless (but hilarious), it was close to midnight, I was exhausted and I just crashed. I woke up in the morning to the daughter (probably still drunk) walking around my room in her bra and underwear looking for a towel. Unbelievable.

I headed back to Thope’s house around 8am the next morning. Thope was waiting for us. She is a dynamic, larger-than-life woman dressed in a traditional colorful African gown. She cooked a lovely breakfast including scrambled eggs, local sausage (tried it but not a fan), cereal and fruit.

Later that morning, I accompany Mhpo into town. We walk down the street greeting her neighbors. I can’t help feel a little out of place, but I don’t feel unsafe or uncomfortable at all. Although there is large resentment of the government and some of the wealthy Dutch South Africans whom have turned their back on townships, they welcome visitors. Their priority is for people to gain a perspective about local culture and spread the positive word so it reduces the fear/negative perceptions about life in townships.

The township is alive and busy – children are running up and down the streets playing soccer, girls braiding each other’s hair, women hanging fresh laundry, carrying babies on their backs and groceries on their head, children gathering water from the well and many people in route to church. Music blares from all over…some local South African, blues, jazz, gospel, house and hip hop.

We stop by a local barber to say hi to Mhpo’s friends. They asked me what I thought about their community and if I was afraid. I obviously responded that I was not afraid and that I felt very welcomed. They told me that they hoped more people would visit the township and understand that it is not a place to be feared. They kept hugging me and saying “please tell your people not to be afraid, we are all people of God”. They also wanted to cut my hair, ha! I will never forget that moment.

While we were there, we heard children laughing from a distance. We turned and saw a teenage boy walking down the middle of the street stark naked with nothing on but an unzipped hooded shirt. Mhpo believed that he was mentally ill and she said there are many people with mental illnesses living in the township that go untreated because there is no access to proper care.

We then proceeded to walk to the local Baptist church, which was about an hour away. Church service was two hours! The service was filled with vibrant singing and clapping. I have no idea where all their energy comes from. Every time I thought I couldn’t sing one more song, or clap one more time, or stand for any longer…I thought if the four year old standing next to me and his eighty year old great grandmother next to him could do it then so could I. We sang traditional Xhosa songs, Christian songs and gospel. The pastor was full of even more energy. He started the service by welcoming me…apparently I stood out. He asked where I was from and why I was there. After he embarrassed me...I mean introduced me…about twenty people got out of their seats and hugged me. Then someone came up to me and gave me their bible to use during service. Another moment of awe. It was very interesting to hear about their message and interpretation of the bible. We read a chapter that had to do with greed and choosing the right path. The pastor’s message to the people was “do not let the devil make promises of prosperity through your account, you will only sell your soul and put your family in danger”…and kept saying “account is bad….cash is good” over and over again. I think what he was trying to get at is that decisions we make today have a long term affect in the future, and don’t let instant gratification get the best of you. I guess there has been increasing corruption in the townships where people enter into these “agreements” to take food/supplies/furniture for future payment (not credit cards, but a vow to owe) without having the ability to pay back the cash then face consequences even if agreements were not legally binding. The service did follow a similar format as the ones in the states…singing, prayer, sermon, offering, announcements and more singing albeit much more vocal and animated and much less formal.

After church, we walked around town a bit and went back to Mhpo’s home. We exchanged contact information and she wrote down music recommendations. I also gave her about 30 pens, some with the Pfizer logo, some with cartoon pictures that she plans to give to the local elementary school which happened to be closed given I was there on a Sunday. We had a late lunch/early dinner, then I headed back home.

After my two day visit, I’ve realized that there is little to fear about Khayelitsha. In spite of poor living conditions, it is a place of strength, community and faith & I hope to return again!

http://picasaweb.google.com/nicolenys/Khayelitsha#

Yes its true...I’m not engaged just yet since we’ve only known each other for five weeks, but I think I’m falling in love...with Cape Town! After travelling the globe the past five years, it doesn’t compare to some of my favorite cities...those where I shared spiritual moving experiences such as Chiang Mai, Bali or Tanzania, but it is one of the few destinations that I would seriously consider living in outside of California and New York. That’s not even a consideration at this point, but just wanted to give you a little perspective.

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve written and wanted to quickly bring you up to speed. I’ve been living in my apartment for about three weeks now. The apartment is lovely, don’t get me wrong, but I have to share with you some of the obstacles I faced upon moving in. First, I know someone was living here before I moved in but I think the last time they dusted or cleaned was the year Mandela was released from prison. Seriously, there were layers and layers of dust and mold...I did a physical and spiritual cleansing. I had to buy new towels and sheets for my bed because the ones in the closet were probably also twenty years old. Second, they only informed me that the pipe on the washing machine was detached after I put in my first load of laundry, which resulted in a minor flood. To remedy the situation I moved the entire washing machine into the middle of my kitchen, put the pipe in the sink and held it down with a pasta pot (you can see a photo of my contraption on Picasa). I got a hold of a plumber that fixed it...his name happened to be Johnny Walker. Situation gets better. I went to the city municipality to change the electric bill in my name, only to find out the bill hadn’t been paid in six months. They didn’t realize this until I arrived that day inquiring about my bill and they threatened to turn off my electricity (I’m like really, you didn’t notice for six months and now you threaten to turn it off?!). Although I’m not surprised given the guy “helping me” was falling asleep on me mid-sentence. I’m not sure if he was drunk, tired or had a condition. Side note, luckily I get billed monthly but most residents here have to buy kilowatts from their local store for electricity and if they use all of their kilowatts then woops no electricity until they stock up on more. I also buy internet by megabyte…I’m averaging 500 megabytes per two weeks. My sliding shower door is broken so it repeatedly falls of the tracks and a few times has fallen on my head…so I’ve accepted showering with the door open…who needs it. In order to turn my television, I had to wire cash into the bank account of the owner living in Johannesburg. Other than these few “minor” obstacles, I adore my apartment and again, it’s much nicer than anything I ever imagined especially in comparison with some of the conditions the other fellows are living in other parts of Africa.

The past few weeks have flown by. I am very busy at work trying to implement a budget and forecasting model. Currently they are crafting their budgets in excel for seven countries and numerous donors which are highly complex. Not only is this inefficient and unreliable, but it has also led to missed funding opportunities. I helped facilitate training on a small component of this project to over sixty people this week. Sorry for those of you who fell asleep like five minutes ago. Onto better things.

Some of the highlights of the past few weeks are:

M2M recently secured a donation from Elton John worth almost $2M, his largest donation ever made. He was in town for a two day concert and made a visit to M2M. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to meet him but did get to go to his concert that night which was held at the Kirstenbausch Botanical Gardens. It was a beautiful night and he ended with “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”…ala Lion King. Anyone??

Annie Lennox is also in town and actually came to the office today. She has been very engaged and interested in m2m recently and made a donation...amount yet unknown. I got to meet her and speak with her. She was very humble. I also loved her look...sans makeup with a tangerine colored Indian tunic, shorts and flip flops.

Cape Argus, one of the world’s largest cycling events was held here and went right by my apartment. It’s an 80 mile race with extreme hills to conquer. Lance Armstrong raced along the likes of my boss. I participated by attending a Bicycles, Bagels and Bloody Marys party.

Two weeks ago, a group of us went to Wine Country which sounds far but luckily is only 35 minutes away. We went to three different vineyards; one of which was a wine & chocolate pairing (Pinotage with Masala Chai Dark Chocolate and Cabernet Sauvignon with Sea Salt Chocolate, yums!). I bought a couple bottles, but these were consumed during a barbeque the next day in which we commemorated Human Rights Day…not just the people’s right to freedom but also the right to enjoy fine wine.

This past weekend I spent Saturday at the Taste of Cape, an outdoor wine and food tasting which brings over twenty of the best restaurants together showcasing their menus. I tried some of the most incredible dishes…a few highlights include “pan seared scallops on saffron risotto, micro greens and burnt butter vinaigrette; miso seared black cod; cumin crusted springbok loin with smoked sweet potato and goat cheese samosas; vanilla bean crème brulee with berry chutney and salted peanut butter”…the list can go on but you get the point. Scrumpdidlyumptous.

I wrapped up the weekend with a stay in the Khayelitsha Township, but it was so powerful it deserved its own write up (see next posting).

Stay tuned for my adventures in Mozambique!! Still missing you all very much & Happy Easter!!

See pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/nicolenys/March2010#

Just wanted to update you on my first weekend in Cape Town, apartment, first day at work, etc. I got in very late Thursday night (2am) to find out that my apartment will not be ready until March 8th, so I'm living at the Best Western for the next week (not bad, except no AC and its about 85 degrees and I share my room with larger than average ants, flies and bugs...welcome to africa).

Friday morning I decided to head to the beach. Randomly a guy next to me was also going to the beach and invited me to share a taxi. Long story short, it was someone from the Argentina Rugby Team here for a tournament. So needless to say, I joined the team as an honorary member for beach time, lunches, dinners (which they were generous enough to pick up), etc. They were a hilarious, very fun crew. Also, you might see pictures of a lot of these guys kissing me on the cheek...let me put this into context for you, they are Argentinean and they kiss everyone..innocent...enough said :)

Friday afternoon, I went on a long run (best way to explore). Ran downtown, along the beach, marina and did some residential hills. Hit up a few bike shops with an idea of buying a bike, but everyone i talked to recommended against it for a few reasons...too many hills, wind is fierce (already heard first hand stories of fly away car doors and a girl being blown over breaking her arm on the way to work) and rainy season is approaching (April/May) so my idea was shot down.

Saturday, woke up at 330am (jet lag got the best of me, so ironed, researched area/gyms/churches/restaurants, organized my room and my equipment for my assignment). Went back to the beach for a couple hours but didn't last long...sun is crucial and I was getting too dark even burned...but i stayed long enough to get a massage on the beach of course. Went to look at my apartment, went to the local grocery store called Pic & Pay..sh$t show fo sho!!, imagine Trader Joes in Union Sq. on a Sat afternoon times 20, can't handle), then napped for a few hours.

Went to church service on Sunday at St. Georges Cathedral where Archbishop Desmond Tutu used to preach...beautiful service!! My goal is to try at least a few around town to see what's out there before I pick one to attend regularly.

People here are incredibly warm & hospitable. I have been very welcomed by everyone I meet. However, everyone always has some sort of warning.."be careful", "watch your purse", etc. Although I feel safe, robbery/theft is a major issue here especially with westerners. I feel very safe & given my experience (getting my purse stolen in this city three years ago) I am taking every precaution possible.

Today was my first day at work. Everyone was incredibly friendly and down to earth and the culture very relaxed. I walked in wearing a button down, pin black skirt and black high heels and there wasn't any gossip...people were not shy, walked right up to me and said "girl, you are overdressed, this aint no fashion boutique...come in your flip flops tomorrow...ahhh i feel at home :) I am surprised at how diverse the organization is...locals that started from inception but mostly people consulting, volunteering or on fellowship from other African countries and Europe. In fact there are a few others from US...a guy from New York (imagine Jack from Will and Grace), Chicago (laid back hippy guy who quit his job to move to africa) and LA (mysterious surfer guy) here. I will be working on all sorts of projects (some which appear to be very boring which I will do my best to make fun - developing policies and procedures...to developing strategies which are actually fun for me).

After work, a few people invited me to hike Lion's Head Mountain (about 2 hours) to watch the sunset / full moon sunrise which happens each month simultaneosly. It was breathtaking. Of course I left my camera in the car so could not capture the essense..I will go back at least a few times so i can try do this view justice. It was two hours rountrip excluding view time at the top. There were some treacherous rocks & slipped once but only have minor scratches. Afterwards we went to a co-workers place overlooking Camps Bay and ordered Ostrich Burgers with blue cheese and avocado (amazing!!!!) and local pinotage wine which is as cheap as water/soda.

So....I don't have many pics yet but have some of my hotel room / apt where I'm staying. I am blessed. Not really sure what I did to deserve this, but I am very grateful, will enjoy every minute of it and will hopefully give back to M2M and community during my assignment. I am arranging a visit to local clinics/hospitals where they administer medicines and to other countries where they are growing business. I almost feel uncomfortable living in such nice accomodations knowing that there is massive poverty / illness in every corner of this town/country :(

See my photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/nicolenys/CapeTownWeekend1