Back in Mowbray

It was weird being back in Mowbray and back to the usual routine: lecture, going out to eat, relaxing. It was very nice to take a real shower, but I did miss my cozy, warm bed at Kate’s home. Christen’s birthday was the day after we returned and we celebrated at our wine tour. The vineyards were gorgeous. The first one overlooked mountains, had a swimming pool, and was very traditional. I actually really enjoyed having a “luxury” day after being in Guguletu. It was nice to have a break and get my spirits back up. When we passed townships on our way home, I could barely even look at them anymore because it was so depressing. Instead I looked at the beautiful mountains on the other side of the road. There were so many emotions going on last week that I just kind of shut down. Having a day to rejuvenate was much needed.

During lecture on Monday we brainstormed a diagram about all of the factors that affect education in Guguletu. It discouraged me a little bit to see all of the factors because there’s SO much needed to create change. There are so many things that impact education and that are destroying the school system. I lose hope when I see all of the issues because it seems impossible to fix. I just have to keep thinking back to the people that I’ve met in Guguletu and think about how much faith and hope they have. Why is it so hard for me to have as much hope as they do? Thinking about Johanna and her faith helps give me strength and hope in creating change. She always just kept working on helping others and knew that someday things would be better. I need to keep telling myself that things take time to change and that you can’t just all of the sudden change the education system. I need to just keep having faith, telling the stories of those being affected by the issue in hopes to gain the support of others, and have patience. The education system needs money, resources and community help. It’s going to take a lot of time and effort to change these things, but I hope that it happens. These people deserve it. They shouldn’t have to live like this and they shouldn’t have to have this many problems that hinder them from learning. Education is one of the only things that will help them get ahead of the system, and help them find jobs that will support themselves and their families.

Then we had to write a letter to ourselves about who we were inspired by in Guguletu and what changes we will work on when we get back home. The changes that I can only think of right now are personal things like be more giving, caring, hopeful and faithful. I plan on sharing their stories and hope to help creating change in their lives for the better. I would like to talk to the philanthropy director of PRSSA when I get back and see if there’s any time that we could have a fundraiser for AIDS organizations, like Open Arms (who has a direct relationship with JL Zwane). I hope that we are able to take a part in helping out those we met, whether it’s through raising money, donating things, or spending more time here to help create a program.