Another week has flown by in Cape Town. The
highlights of this past week for me were going to my Activist Project and going
on the Human Right’s weekend.
Last Thursday I began my Activist Project with Ethan,
Maddy, Claire, and Rav. We will be working with a local boy’s soccer team and
helping them raise money to buy what they need to be more successful. This
project takes place in a township called Khayelitsha about 35 minutes from our
house in Rondebosch. We went to Khayelitsha to meet with Bongi and talk about
our Activist Project with high hopes and excitement. When we arrived, Bongi was
nowhere to be found, but the soccer team was still there. The boys looked at us
with confusion at first and then became a little more comfortable when we introduced
ourselves, broke out our speaker, and began to play with them. A few minutes
after we arrived, Power, another one of the coaches, came to introduce himself
to us. The time flew by and I am looking forward to going back this Thursday!
This past weekend I received my Human Rights Training
certificate. On Friday afternoon, we departed for our training and along the
way picked up the South Africans that would be joining us on the retreat. About
two hours later, we arrived on a beautiful olive farm with great accommodations
for us. Through the weekend, we learned about human rights through many forms.
Some of which, included, games, social experiments, group projects, worksheets,
and conversation. My favorite way of learning was through the social
experiments. It is interesting to see how even when you are with a group of
people interested in human rights, it can still take some time for someone to
stand up for what is right. It is also fascinating to see how this is even more
prevalent when an authority figure is involved and telling a group of people
what to do.
One of my favorite parts of the weekend was engaging
in conversation with people who have such a different background from me. I
love meeting new people because there is always so much to learn and so many
new perspectives to see. One activity we took part in was filling out a
worksheet that says to identify a time when you were a perpetrator, a
bystander, a victim, or a defender. At first glance, I rolled my eyes at this
worksheet thinking about the countless times I had to fill something like this
out in high school. Soon after I started filling it out, I began to realize how
important a small worksheet like this really is. It made me think about what I
have done wrong in the past and what I want to be able to change or keep about
myself. After we finished, Vincent asked some of us to share and I learned a
lot about a few people on the trip, some of which was shocking to me.
The most critical question I have after leaving this
weekend is how do you start to implement change in the system? When I say
system I mean our unequal, bias society. I see myself as an ally and I do
notice myself sticking up for what is right when others do not. Not only that,
but I have realized I am not afraid to stick out of the crowd and I do not like
to conform. From this weekend, I want to take this a step further now. I want
to use this part of my personality to further the movement in fighting for
equality and teaching others that every human is equal no matter what
personality, likes and dislikes, and physical characteristics they may have.
Overall, the weekend provided me with a great basis
to start learning further about human rights and how these rights are being
violated and also prevented in South Africa today. It was also great getting to
meet more local people and not to mention, the provided meals were amazing!
Besides beginning my activist project and going on
the Human Rights training weekend, one of the most gratifying moments I have
experienced happened today (Monday) after my internship. Each morning, I travel
to and from my internship with Maddy, Karen, and Taylor. We get the same mini
bus taxi and it became clear today that the drivers remembered us from previous
rides. There are always high spirits in the air with the music playing loud and
catchy tunes. After being dropped off we went to our internship for the regular
hours and when we left, we began to walk to the bus stop to find our minibus
from the morning driving to us to pick us up. The bus was empty and the driver
welcomed us with a smiling face. We told him we were grateful he remembered us
and was able to pick us up. We explained to Vernon (the driver) that getting a
ride back usually is difficult and can take quite some time. He responded by
saying that he knew this and that is why he came to pick us up. It is moments
like this that make me fall more in love with this place each and every day.
The amount of love in the community is indescribable and I hope to bring as
much of this love as possible back home with me.
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