As most of you know I am back on US soil and braving the cold and snow. Just a week ago I wrote about visiting a site for a future boys and girls club. It's in a very rough township called Manenburg, as Vernon and I drove through the streets I couldn't stop thinking about what an incredible need there is here for a place for kids to stay safe and busy after school. The sheer number of teenagers, children and very little children hanging around, walking the street with no where to go, living in a very impoverished area. We got to the site and from the outside it doesn't look like much. But the inside was a beehive of activity. It is currently being used to feed people in the neighborhood with lunch being served every day from 11:30 to 1:00.
I couldn't help but be overwhelmed when we walked in and approached one of the Nuns who helps run the lunch program. I could hear the clatter of babies, children and teenagers laughing, it was coming from a large room that looked like a gymnasium. We were greeted with curiosity, at the front door. I'm not sure they are accustomed to seeing a white woman in their neighborhood, not to mention traveling alone with a man. This is a very large Muslim community.
I tried to take it in and picture the possibility of running a program where kids could go and do homework after school, get a healthy snack and stay off the streets. I expected to see a few people waiting for lunch to be served. I wasn't prepared for what I did see. The gymnasium was filled, I mean packed with young mothers, babies, children and some teenagers. Thinking as a nurse I couldn't help but see the amazing possibilities for this facility. If we were to work with the existing program already there and add our talents this could be a very important place for the township.
there is a lot of gang crime in this particular area, hospitals are far away and ambulance transport is not quick or efficient. Because of this Johns Hopkins Medical School sends students to run a trauma treatment program. This is where the people in the township are taught basic trauma services in the case of a shooting, how to respond to keep the victim alive until help can get there. They also provide trauma recovery support groups for people that have been affected by trauma in their lives.
Back to the lunch room. I walked in with Vernon and immediately was drawn to all the adorable children. One little girl caught my attention and I started talking to her mother.
the mother was a very beautiful young lady, probably around 18-20, and smiled as I made a big deal about her little girl. When Vernon and I left the mother followed us out and obviously wanted to talk to us. She introduced herself and wanted to know where I was from. When people find out I'm from the States there is an automatic response "I love your President Obama". Anyway, I told her we were looking for a good place to run some programs, that I am a nurse and would like to help bring a structured program for the township. Personally I envision classes on hand washing, food preparation, parenting skills and women's health with a focus on reproduction and HIV transmission prevention.
Her response will always inspire me. With a beautiful little girl on her hip, who she was clearly very proud of, she said to me "this is something we need so much here, we need to work together, together we can make a difference". Then she raised her right arm with her fist in the air and said Ubuntu, my response was to hold my fist to hers in solidarity. I know this sounds dramatic, but it was so spontaneous to follow her. Nelson Mandela had always told his people that with our hands spread apart we have no power, but if we put all our fingers together in a strong fist, the power is ours. That is what she was eluding to with her gesture. With the active mourning of Mandela's death still in the air, I knew what she was saying to me. When I said good bye she told me she hopes to see me again and gave me a big hug.
I left with my mind racing, it still is one week later.....
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