Vestiges of Apartheid

Here's a snippet of a reflection that I wrote for the IDIP website... in the near future you can read the full thing here and also expect more coming soon: http://www.seattleu.edu/IDIP/Inner.aspx?id=26198.

To some extent, prior to my arrival, I knew that Cape Town was a very sophisticated city, with lots of tourism (especially during the summer- Seattle’s winter). Judging from what I heard, the photographs I saw and books I read, I gathered that it was a relatively wealthy city with a very European vibe. Of course, due to the nature of IDIP, I was also aware that within parts of Cape Town, and immediately outside of the city (peri-urban townships), desperate intervention is needed to alleviate massive amounts of poverty.




But no amount of research on South Africa could have prepared me for experiencing the vestiges of apartheid that still shape society, and the frustration that accompanies it. It has been so heartbreaking to see the repelling standards of living, income disparity and the cultural differences that co-exist yet have no interaction. In this respect, South Africa is nothing like I have ever experienced before, despite the fact that my comfortable life style here closely mirrors the one I live at home.



From what I’ve observed, Cape Town and the neighboring Cape Flats (home to numerous Townships) most clearly exemplify the wide spread gab between rich and poor, although it is also visible directly within the city-center. I have such a hard time understanding how the elite crowd goes about their day driving their BMWs, wearing fancy designer clothes, drop their children off preparatory schools and return home to Hampton’s style houses, yet are completely aware of what lies just 20 miles down the road.





At first I was frustrated and confused, but now I don’t know what to think. I want to believe that these people do have some compassion and decency in their hearts, but the more time I spend here the more I lose hope, as new expensive bars and shops seem to open everyday and nothing changes in the Townships.



Just the other day I was sitting on the beach, trying to absorb the surreal aesthetic beauty of the mountains reflecting in the Atlantic Ocean—but I could not bring myself to appreciate it. I was so distraught over why I, and everyone else on the beach (white, middle-class South Africans) have the privilege to sit on some of the world’s most beautiful beaches yet thousands of people living just twenty minutes from the coast have never even seen the ocean.

Unlike my previous travels abroad, Cape Town does not make it easy to experience the amazing authentic, rich, beautiful culture that I know is here and I’m sure not living with a host family only makes it harder. There are just so many ways to distract oneself (as I’m sure the wealthy do) with materials possessions and recreational activities, and being part of that has given me a better insight on why development work here seems to have little progress.

If it hadn’t taken me three days to travel here, and I wasn’t part of IDIP, I could be easily convinced that I hopped on the wrong plane and landed in Miami. However, that is not the case and I know I owe it to myself to refrain from simply submitting to such mindset.

I swear, I'm not on vacation!

Though I'm partaking in tons of fun touristy activities, as I noted in the second post, I'm actually here in Cape Town for an internship, yes a full time 40 hour job where I don't get paid. Anyways, here's some proof that I'm not just on vacation... ;)

Actually before I go any further, I suppose I should quickly explain why you're viewing pictures of vegetables and gardeners, and not the EE&RE project that I wrote about last.

In a nutshell, I have reduced my 40 hours to two days at the microfinance organization and have started working three days (usually 10 hour days) for an environmental organization, located in townships.

Regarding the microfinance organization I am working for, the people there are great, the organization is very effective and they have lots of consulting expertise, as properly accredited. But, as a technical advisory organization for micro finance institutions (MFIs) the organization is quite removed from the ground, leaving me to feel completely disconnected to the people I am actually working for. This combined with the fact that I room with two Americans (who I love) and live in an area inhabited with wealthy white people, has failed to provide me true access and exposure to the real reasons why I am here.

So, I wanted to find an organization that was more than just sitting in an office, in a white neighborhood, with other foreigners. Something more hands on, in the field, working with the people who's living situations I want to help improve. This led me to Abalmi Bezekahaya: an organization who's dedicating to the alleviation of poverty through sustainable, organic, urban gardening. The organization works with multiple gardens and gardeners in two specific areas, Khayeliysha and Nyanga, and mostly with women who are over the age of 60.







I'm working on conducting Sustainability index's (SI) for each of the 65 community gardens that Abalimi partners with. The SIs usually take around 2.5 hours for each garden, I go with a field worker who speaks Xhosa (pronounced Kosa) and we interview the gardeners and observe the facilities and conduct a report on our discoveries. I'll mostly be assisting another volunteer with many of these garden assessment, but I have also taken it upon myself to create a data base where we can use this information to increase communication between the gardeners, fieldworkers, and the staff. I hope that we will be able to use the SIs as a tool to measure our success as an organization and find out where we can improve and what gardens need additional financial and non-financial support.






While at the microfinance organization, I am still working on the energy-efficiency and renewable energy microfranchising project. Since I'm only there twice a week I am mostly assisting the head of development with writing proposals and grants and researching potential funding opportunities. It's not the most exciting, but I know they are important skills to know and be able to use.