Jozi

Johannesburg, Joburg, Jobourg, Jozi, the city of gold. 

The skyline makes me think of Chicago: many skyscrapers, older and newer ones. 

Inside there are the very old buildings and neighbourhoods and the new ones, Wimpie bars included. 

The black population mainly in the centre and in the townships. The white people in burglarproof houses with swiming pool in a district like Melville, green and clean. 

Museums full of images and texts on this mythical person Nelson Mandela, museums full with this Apartheid story, having lasted for about 50 years. 

The Newton MuseumAfrica is without any doubt most worth while to visit. A lot of history, a lot about Apartheid and Mandela, presented in a modern way. I enjoyed the department of cartoons. There I found out that South Africans are capable to mock themselves. Isn't this the beginning of all wisdom? 

In the books it is said that black people have the political power and white people have the economic one. High time for the black people to discover and use their own power. 

Over and out. 

Part of the game

Young people, having parents with enough money, might think it normal to go into projects like American Field Service (AFS). You pay and then you can go wherever you want to participate and to learn. 

Older people having had a wonderful career, with a life behind them full of learning, working, helping other people, sometimes get in such a project too. You won’t find a lot of them. They think they will be needed somewhere, like in a school in South Africa, Hluhluwe.

They think people managing projects in foreign countries will have a clear insight in how things work in a country, what politics mean, how the economy flourishes or doesn’t, what social life means and how blacks and whites in this country behave, among each other, in group, at home and when they are somewhere else. As the work will be in education, they think that this staff will know a lot about the school, the primary school of Phumlani.

For these older people it may be weird and difficult to discover they have to find out themselves. It is incredible to believe that the project has no project.

But they get going. 

They find out that English is the first public language and that it may be important to do some language activities with the learners. They find out there are pretty many children who can't read of write, even at the age of 13 years old. So they start some remedial teaching. EMPOWERMENT is the motto.

They feel good when some materials and tools are available. And Live4Now has some.

They can’t believe that the school is being visited by a lot of white people, week after week, to be there to help. You can't deny medical help and information are indispensable. But giving presents to the school that will never be used, like some computers, sounds odd.

Why do white people choose schools like this? Do they think charity will empower the black people? Do they think presents will empower them?

Do they think when the children tell their misery in front of a European audience, and with cameras clicking and hands clapping, it’s the right thing to do?

Giving words to their sadness and misery, yes. Of course. When people can tell something about this, they are relieved. Clapping hands, and clicking cameras, no. ‘But it is part of the game,’ one of the teachers said. The game of begging and keeping people dependent.

As a conclusion we can say that the people themselves should use their power. In case some help is given, only structural help related to bigger organisations, preferably official and public, not private, seems to be the better choice. 

The Phumlani primary school and volunteering after 4 weeks

What has been reached after 4 weeks of volunteering?

Having arrived with an open mind and ready for surprises of any kind, and thinking the school needed an English teacher, it seemed that there was no real need for such a person in this primary school.

So I decided to observe some lessons before I knew what to do. I also took over some lessons of the teacher, in which I was not very good. There was no real co-operation, and I didn’t come to do someone else’s job. I should do something else.

Because it was the habit, I took up the after school activities with the support of the staff members of Live4Now, as well as for the lower as for the higher grades. As I chose for empowerment of the learners, all activities had some elements of language learning. I tried to put in elements of the four language skills, being listening,  speaking, reading, writing. It’s amazing how strong these children are in the auditive and imitation skills: they really can realize a perfect pronunciation and intonation of the sentence, even  without understanding it. But that is how we all learn a language: you imitate and by repetition of the actions and contexts, the meaning reveals itself by the time.

In one of the lessons I had given, I let the children read one by one, and so I discovered those who couldn’t read. So I proposed to do something for them. We have been doing some remedial teaching in two groups and I suppose there was an opening to continue this indispensible intervention.

I also did some lessons with the strongest learners, hoping that they could get something more. This formula didn’t last for a very long time. I don’t know if this was a success.

As I offered a lot of spoken language, especially by visual and auditive impulses, I may have contributed to the knowledge of English. We also did a lot of rhymes and nonsense limericks and ended up with fun in the seventh grade, in a loud voice and with a lot of funny gestures:

'What noise is this, on the roof?

It's an elephant, cycling around.

It's an elephant, chic and elegant, 

with a tail here and one behind.'

                                   'What do I see? At the tree.  

It's an giraffe, eating leaves.  

What do I see at the tree? 

It's a giraffe, an another giraffe, and another giraffe, 

with buckets of water. 

They carry them to the sea’.

In my heart I also hope that I encouraged the teachers in this school who do this work every day. 

What about the rainbow nation?

Bram Vermeulen, not the singer, but a South Africa commentator wrote a book in Dutch in 2009: Help, ik ben blank geworden.

Being published in 2009 the book gives recent information on the South African situation. Most of the information is embedded in personal experiences of the author. He says about himself that he ‘became one of the black people, studied a lot about the country, learnt the Zulu language’.

Most striking for me – I thought I had already noticed it here – is the clear separation between black and white. You can see it in the where, the how, the what. White people live and work in other places. White people have different functions. Most of the time white people are in dominant positions. White people drive a car, black people walk.

Twenty years after 1994, liberation of Mandela, that is what Vermeulen also writes, there is no much change. Too little change. Articles in the international press on the occasion of Mandela’s death  confirm this. At some universities a movement like September National Imbizo wants the blacks to learn how to empower themselves.

In big cities there is a lot of rage, fear and hate. Twenty years after 1994 Vermeulen writes about rage. Rage of the blacks because the Dutch invaded their country in the 17th century, rage of the Dutch and the blacks because the English invaded their country in the 19th century, rage of the poor against the rich.

Fear goes together with rage and hate and violence and crime. Violence and crime in all social groups. The higher the social group, the worse the crime is. The more precious things are, the harder the fights are. There is gold and platina. Money, gold, women, everything you can have a trade in and people can be killed for. It happens throughout the world and in some towns more than in other ones.

I could summarize and say that it could be a matter of haves and have nots. I have the impression that have often equals white, and have not often equals black.

In this surrounding I already see publicity for the coming elections. Among pictures of male candidates I also saw one woman. I have the impression that African women can be strong and clever enough to be a member of the government, even to become a president. 

Food in South Africa, Kwazulu-Natal, Hluhluwe

Lovelier fruit than in South Africa doesn’t exist. Here you can eat the nicest, juiciest and sweetest pineapples, mangoes, apples, grapes, papayas and plums.

As there is a lot of sun and as long as the climate changes enough rain, everything can grow without much effort. Also trees and flowers are there. And a multitude of butterflies in yellow, red, black, white, purple, blue, orange, green. It makes you think of the rainbow. In this rainbow nation.

The rosé wine with picturesque names like Cape Good Hope, the red and white wine, grown in the country are excellent. When it goes together with food like meat on the braai, you are lucky. 

When they do the braai, pap is an aside. It looks like mashed potatoes, but is actually maizena and water. The mixture becomes rather solid and is eaten with a spicy sauce on it. Some people wait until it’s cold and stiff and they eat it later on, in cubes rolled in sugar.

I didn’t taste the biltong - dried meat being a delicacy.

When living with white people in a lodge, the food is very British indeed. Cereals, milk, toast and jam. Hot food varies but with a strong European accent. 

Beauties of South Africa

In South Africa I like the Zulu people.

These people are tough. They often have to cope with difficulties and they succeed in it. They know when things will be difficult or heavy, but they do it.

Most African people are eternal optimists. And so are they. Optimistic about the day of tomorrow.

I like the children in the Phumlani school, I like the teachers there, I like the personnel at the Wildebees ecolodge. In a way they are more sensible than the white people I’ve met. White people – included myself – have that varnish of politeness, sometimes even inhibition. They haven’t. It’s nice when there is a little fly on my nose and a kid takes it off. It’s nice when they help me to put everything ready for the lesson and clear things up afterwards. It’s nice when I give a compliment to the most difficult teacher who gives me a little bracelet the day after. I hope all this doesn’t happen because I am a white foreigner.

Do I like nature? Yes, I do. I like the nyala and the impala. Also monkeys. But I prefer being on a distance from snakes, crocodiles, rhino’s, giraffes, hippos, leopards and buffaloes. I am not keen on gekkos or lizards in my room. Neither spiders. Nor big beetles. But there I would like a frog that after being kissed changes into the most handsome and clever man in the world. It happens once in a hundred year.

I am fond of the silence, in the morning, in the evening, at night and even sometimes during the day. I am terribly fond of the sounds of the birds and other animals awakening at dawn. It starts with one sound of one animal and by the time it grows till you can hear a real concert.

I like the clear sky at night, with a sharp moon and the multitude of stars on a dark background.

I like the heat and the sweat, especially when there is a good swim or shower afterwards.

Next stops will be the Cape province or Congo.  

Be wise: condomise

Dear reader, 

Impressed by what I heard about the children in Phumlani primary school - a lot of classes are full of orphans, as their parents died of aids. You can read some data underneath.  
After this report, I wil concentrate on more pleasant aspects of my stay in Hluhluwe. 
Yours affectionately.

HIV/AIDS in South Africa is a prominent health concern; South Africa is believed to have more people with HIV/AIDS than any other country in the world.

Although new infections among mature age groups in South Africa remain high, new infections among teenagers seem to be on the decline. HIV/AIDS prevalence figures in the 15–19 year age group for 2005, 2006 and 2007 were 16%, 14% and 13% respectively.

The Human Sciences Research Council, a South African institution, estimates 10.9% of all South Africans have HIV/AIDS. Additionally, the Central Intelligence Agency estimates that 310,000 individuals died in South Africa from HIV/AIDS in the year 2009.

More than 30% of young adults and more than 80% of older adults know the truth about HIV/AIDS.

In 2008, more than half (55%) of all South Africans infected with HIV reside in the KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces.

The four main HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns in South Africa are Khomanani (funded by the government), LoveLife (primarily privately funded), Soul City (a television drama for adults) and Soul Buddyz (a television series for teenagers). 

There are several challenges in educating today’s youth in South Africa. The drop-out rate is exceptionally high, particularly for girls who are forced to care for parents with AIDS and manage the household.  How a child performs in school can be an indicator of their overall well-being and children not enrolled in school are more vulnerable to neglect and abuse.  Senior schools charge fees and all schools require uniforms, which orphans cannot afford.

ASAP (African Solutions to African Problems) provides access to pre-school, primary, secondary and tertiary education in order to yield healthy, self-reliant young adults who contribute back to the community.  Our trained child care workers monitor the children’s attendance and progress and advocate for child rights in school, conducting strategic planning meetings with the Department of Education.

An encouraging finding is that more South Africans are aware of their HIV status. This is largely due to the success of the National HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) campaign.  Females are substantially more aware of their HIV status than males due to the additional effect of the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programme.

 Some people believe the country is on the right track with regard to the provision of ARV treatment resulting in a substantial increase in survival among people living with HIV. The successful national HIV counselling and testing (HCT) campaign and also increased coverage of PMTCT programmes among women should be sustained.

Empowering the school

Starting the second half of my stay in Hluhluwe, I feel home now. I know enough to feel confident.

Being a child of the sixties – some know what that means – I have the intention of empowering the school. This means I will try to initiate a process of collaboration and discussion, so that the school could grow to self-support, to independency, to self-confidence and pride.

The first step in this process is self-reflection to create awareness. Throughout this process the school will develop its skills. Until they clearly know what their needs are and how they can fulfil them themselves. Future need for charity should be eliminated.

The process of empowering should take place on different levels:

-       The school as an organization // characteristics on a good organization

-       The management of the school // characteristics  of good management

-       The teachers // vision on teaching, pedagogical and didactic principles (contents, methods)

-       The learners // characteristics of a good learner // final goals

-       The parents // mainly support for the learner = motivation to attend the school and fulfil the duties

-       ....

Today we have the opportunity to attend a performance by the children of the school and produced by 'Star for life'. This South African organization works on prevention of aids, still a huge problem in this country. It also provides schools with computers f.e. 
Mainly Swedish firms are sponsoring the project and a Swedish delegation will be present tomorrow. 

I saw the children rehearse and being fond of dancing, I am really eager to see the performance. Moving, dancing, visual and auditive things, they are strong in it, these Zulu-children. We can only look at it with a kind of nostalgia, as many of us have lost this refined use of the senses. 

And we go on working, Melissa, Elton and me. 

Punishment and what to do

Dear reader, 
I hope you're ready for the second and last part concerning punishment. Here we go. 

1.     Report (Unicef – South Africa)

The Statistics SA General Household Survey 2011, which involved 30,000 households between July and September 2011, found that 17% of students in South Africa had experienced corporal punishment at school.

A survey by Statistics SA revealed that the use of corporal punishment in schools declined overall between 2009 and 2010, from 17% of students experiencing corporal punishment in 2009 to 14% in 2010.

The National Schools Violence Study, undertaken by the Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention and published in 2008 found that 70.1% of primary school learners reported that they were physically beaten, caned or spanked by an educator or principal when they had done something wrong. Almost half of primary school children (47.3%) reported being spanked, caned or hit at home.

The most severe forms were experienced by children from low income environments, in both the home and school. Schools from high income areas were generally not using corporal punishment.

2.     Opinions

I think it should be used as a form of discipline, just don't overdo it.

.... You should give a few chances and use other forms of correction and if that doesn't work then spanking is fine.  And NO it should not be illegal. Now granted there are always going to be a few idiots who take it to the extreme and actually abuse a child and in that case they should be punished, but your common everyday swat should be allowed.

It should be illegal NOT to discipline your children

I...The ones that spank have good kids - not because they spank specifically, but because they actually tell their kids NO and have a punishnment when the child doesn't listen.
I think there should be clear legislation on when spanking becomes physical abuse, but sometimes a good whack on the butt is a necessary evil.

There are so many alternatives to spanking for misbehavior; there really shouldn’t be a need for it. 

It usually is an expression of the adult’s rage and desire to express that rage, rather than a way to discipline a child.  ... You need to fit the punishment to the "crime" for it to be effective, and to spank a child for everything is useless. It only teaches them more violence.

3.     Why physical punishment is not acceptable (Prevention & Education Manual-Childline SA)

-  It teaches children that hurting others is okay.

-  It breaks down the relationship between parent and child or teacher and child.

- It may damage children physically.

- It opens the door to physical abuse.

- It is not effective in the long term

4.     Alternatives to Corporal Punishment

- Praise also encourages them to learn self-discipline.

- Lead by example.

- Don’t threaten or shout at children.

- Be respectful

- Negotiate a compromise. Children learn by doing

- Help them to set their own ideals and vision.

- Help them gain their self-esteem by acknowledging increased responsibility in behavior and attitude.

-  Identify unacceptable behaviours with teens and ask them to assist in identifying appropriate consequences.

5.     The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child

Children have the right to:

- SURVIVAL: the right to life and health.

- PROTECTION: the right to be safe and cared for.

- DEVELOPMENT: the right to an education, recreation, cultural activities, and play.

- PARTICIPATION: the right to participate responsibility in decisions affecting them, according to their age and maturity.

Thanks to Wikipedia.

Punishment

A traditional Zulu saying runs as follows: 'You don’t build a family through a stick.' 

This might open a discussion on punishment, especially corporal punishment, in African culture. 

Many people - everywhere in the world - still approve of it and use it, mostly because everybody did and does it. The belief is strong that it is the only way of teaching discipline to children and other people. 

Staying in the lodge I had the the luxury of watching a recent movie directed by Quinten Tarantino 'Django Unchained'. It deals with slavery in the South of the United States. It shows the oppression and especially the physical pain of slaves. White people were/are different !!! 
By co-incidence Django the slave is freed. He starts looking for his wife, a slave in another place. 
The movie is full of revenge and the story ends with the explosion of the property of the big landowner. Tarantino is specialized in magnifying killing, shooting, exploding, .... and makes his images with a lot of blood, pleasure and humour. At the same time he teaches us a lesson: 
Oppression and pain lead to violence. Violence generates violence. 

Looking up more information on punishemnt in the African culture, I disovered it is a real topic of research and discussion. I will elaborate some ideas in the course of this week. 

To conclude this message, I present part of the Code for Quality Education in Basic Education recently published by the Republic of South Africa: 

As a TEACHER, in line with the Code of Professional Ethics (SACE)

• teach, to advance the education and the development of learners as individuals;

I promise to:

• respect the dignity and rights of all persons without prejudice;

• develop loyalty to, and respect for the profession;

• be punctual, enthusiastic, well prepared for lessons and of sober mind and body;

• improve my own knowledge and skills base to be more effective;

• maintain good communication between teachers and learners; among teachers themselves; and between teachers and parents;

• provide information to parents on their children's progress on a regular basis;

• eliminate unprofessional behaviour, such as teacher-pupil relationships, drunkenness, the use of drugs, assault, sexual harassment and other infringements; and

• to make myself available for extra-mural activities.

Volunteering

The week before my departure and also now I have been wondering about what volunteering could imply. 

Volunteering = taking care of other people's business. 
Volunteering means full commitment, according to the agreement. 

Volunteering seems to make the difference. In Belgium there are a lot of organisations - think of the local soccer club, the cyclists, taking care of disiabled people, nature organisations, .. - existing on volunteers. If there were not there, the activities wouldn't be possible. 
It is also good to think of the numerous mothers and fathers driving their own and other children to music or drawing classes, to the gym, ....

In many cases it is seen as activities for people who have time. It makes us think of pensioners and perhaps also of older people. But there a lot of volunteering is done by people doing their regular job. As you may have understood alfeady. Everybody can find some time to contribute to social life. 

An important element in volunteering is money. Who will pay the transport? Who pays the materials you need? Will I earn something by working for the organization? All this depends on the situation and especially on the agreements that have been made. Most organizations can pay transport and materials. Few of them will pay a kind of wage, but they exist. If you want to volunteer and you like a kind of compensation, you can only be glad if you find an activity you like and an organization who can afford it. 
Some organizations, like Live4Now ask the volunteer to pay for the accommodation, even for transport, for adminstration and for some services like washing the laundry etcetera. You also have to pay for the trip yourself. For some people this is a real obstacle to participate. In this case it is interesting to make a balance of the advantages and the disadvantages. Advantages in this case: you learn to know a part of South Africa, you have close contact with some people, especially school teachers and children, you can enjoy the nice weather and the accommodation. 

What else could volunteering imply? 
I believe it is a unique chance to practise your strengths. Normally you do that all the time in your life, but here you can really choose what you really want. It is interesting to find out what the organization really needs and how your capacities fit in. 

This brings me to a new element: self-determination. In a professional environment you have to do a cluster of tasks that often go together with your position, your function, your title, ....
As a volunteer you can really choose what your activity can be, as long as the organization is good with it. 

Adventure in its most general meaning may also be a motivation. And there is nothing wrong with that. In its general meaning: adventure has to do with the discovery of new territories in the world, but also with the acquaintance of so many nice and less nice people. Difficulties are not excluded. 

As a volunteer you can enter work environments you can never get access to when you had a job and of course also when you had none. This is thrilling: you get free admission to places and people by offering your strengths. Sometimes you learn how things are produced, sometimes what methodologies are used, sometimes how people co-operate. 

All this goes together with joy. If you don't enjoy the activities as a volunteer, you suffer. Volunteering is not equal to sacrifice. This message may also be one for our life in general. We enjoy, everyday. Whenever you get angry, or sad, or scared, the next moment you will be happy and loving again. 

Last but not least: does volunteering change the world? Can you remove the stone in the river? And will it stay there? 
This question keeps me busy all the time. What can I contribute to the South African reality? What can I do in Phumlani school?
It is for sure that the Zulu people here need English to get a job, even if they are keeping the bar in a lodge in the surrounding. So English - as a second language - is useful for them. 

So I keep on finding out why I am here and what I can offer the school, the teachers and the pupils really need. 

Introduction in the Phumlani primary school

This morning - I rose at 6 am - we went to the primary school. My introduction.
It had been raining since early in the morning and it was still pouring. The playground had changed into a mudd pool. But the children were there: uniformed and ready for the new day and week.
My desire was to attend some lessons, no matter what subject, and in several degrees, in order to get an impression of the children, the teachers, the methodology, ... So we did.

In general the lessons are rather traditional, meaning that the teacher gives pieces of information, often presenting the matter as something mysterious you can't easily reach. Though in most of the cases teachers are very clear and have an adequate tempo, things are often explained starting with theoretical concepts. 
Striking is the mix of th use of Zulu and English. Upto the third grade this seems to be allowed, but they also do it in the higher grades. I am wondering what pupils really need. Do they need English? Or is this only for the happy few who once leave this place and try to make their life in the bigger cities?

Very often the pupils have to read texts, words, questions, or even multiplications together and in a loud voice. When this concerns pronounciation of English words, control is impossible. At the other hand it gives a good feeling of togetherness.
They also have some rituals in spoken texts like greeting the teacher, telling her or him that they are all seated. Once pupils had to stand up and do some physical exercises to make them move a bit. Good idea.

So. We got a time table and I will co-operate with the English teacher Imelda. This week we'll try to be together in one lesson, dealing with the same subject, but with our own method. I am eager to know whether this will work.

It may be interesting to know that the project here is called Live4Now, meaning that you must live now and make your dreams come true, and in this case - the dreams of these children. You can find more information on www.live4now.co.uk or www.live4now.co.sa

Also interesting to see could be the place where I live. The project and the people who lead the project, Elton and Melissa, got housing for themselves, for the volunteers and for the project in www.wildebeesecolodge.com  Everybody can come here and find a good accommodation, with swimming pool, restaurant, well-filled bar. An ecolodge is interested in nature and in charity.
Cheers.

Nog 17 dagen

Vandaag is het Driekoningen en het kort af. De kerstboom is afgebroken en alles wat erbij hoort, zit in de kast. Tot december 2014.
Als je naar http://www.amavavzw.be/phumlani-school/ gaat, kan je wat lezen over het project waar ik zal worden ingeschakeld. 
Mocht je willen reageren op de blog, dan denk ik dat je moet klikken op 'Geen opmerkingen'. Misschien verandert dat wel als er voor jou ook al iemand heeft gereageerd.