Preschools & MAD about Art

I didn’t really realise before how much of a difference there is between the different preschools in the township. I’ve been mostly working at Wonderland which has 32 kids in the older class and is fairly well equipped. Inside the kids have tables and chairs, several books, loads of posters on the walls, crayons and paper to draw on and a few puzzles to play with. Outside there is a small playground with swings  and an area for them to run around.

But some of the other volunteers went to Ikamva Lethu preschool today and they told us that they had no resources at all. No tables and chairs, all the kids just sat on the floor. No pens, crayons or paper to draw with. No pictures on the walls. The toilets are blocked and parts of the building are in need of repair. This particular school just doesn’t have any funding and is run by a couple of women who want to provide this service to their community because they see the need for it. Last year the school was about to be shut down for environmental health reasons before Edge of Africa stepped in. A school in Germany did some fundraising to help to pay for some of the refurbishment works and Edge of Africa volunteers helped to do the work. The volunteers are now working with the teachers at the school to fix the remaining structural problems and get their accreditation. It’s hard work teaching with absolutely no resources. The teacher spends most of the day just talking to the children, explaining things to them and getting them to repeat things she has said. They don’t even have a very big outdoor area so a simple game of catch is a problem because the 43 kids at this school couldn’t even stand in a big enough circle to throw the ball to each other.

Yesterday afternoon was spent at MAD about Art running an after school group for teenage girls. The purpose of the group is to allow the girls to talk about things that they are going through during those difficult teenage years, promote discussions and allow them to ask questions about anything in a non-judgemental environment. Most of the girls were between 12 and 14 but were asking questions about subjects that you wouldn’t expect them to have to deal with at their age. Big life questions about sex, relationships, contraception, drugs & alcohol abuse, domestic violence. Most of them say they have a boyfriend and the group leader thinks that most of them are already sexually active but from the sort of questions they were asking us, it seems as though most of them don’t really understand what they are doing or what is happening to their body. One girl asked about her periods – what they are, why she gets them – it must be a frightening thing to start bleeding one day and not be prepared for that or understand why. I don’t think these questions are encouraged at home and these sorts of subjects aren’t discussed openly so they have clearly been getting the wrong idea about stuff.

I think most of them found the session useful once they got over their initial embarrassment about asking questions and discussing things together. Myself and the other volunteers tried to give them the facts whilst making sure that they understood that they are in control of their own bodies and that they have a choice when it comes to what they do and don’t do with their boyfriends. It’s such a difficult conversation to have with any teenager but in a culture where men often treat women with disrespect and that is ‘normal’ for them, it’s even harder.

Hand in Hand continued...

Yesterday one of the ladies from the Hand in Hand Group said that she had seen Agnes and found out where she was staying, so I went with the project coordinator to find her and speak to her. We wanted to check that she was OK and find out from her what she wanted to happen next.

It turns out that she has now gone back to live with her auntie who brought her up after her parents died so she at least has a place to stay and food to eat. Agnes said she’s going to sign up for child support on Monday and her aunt has agreed to look after the baby so that Agnes can go back to school, finish her studies and then look for a job. So a happy ending to the story J

The Hand in Hand Group

Yesterday was my second meeting with the Hand in Hand group which is a support group for single mothers, pregnant ladies and those who want to have a baby. The idea of the group is to provide support to vulnerable women who might otherwise struggle to look after themselves or their babies. It was the ladies from this group that came to the house to cook us a typical township meal a couple of weeks ago.

Last time the meeting took place in the home of one of the ladies, Agnes, who is 19, has a 9 month old baby and lives with her boyfriend. Yesterday morning we called at her house in the morning as we were in the area anyway for a different project but she wasn’t there. Later, at the Hand in Hand group, Agnes didn’t turn up and we found out why from one of the other women. Apparently her boyfriend had kicked her out of the house the day after she came to the volunteer house to cook for us because when she returned home that night she said she was too tired to cook him dinner. So now she has gone back to live with her grandfather which isn’t much better because the rest of her family are resentful of her and angry that she doesn’t work and that the money now has to stretch that bit further.

Agnes’ story isn’t uncommon. When she became pregnant, her school excluded her so she didn’t graduate. Because she didn’t graduate, she will struggle to find a job of any kind, even an unskilled one, as most employers want to see a graduation certificate. Because she couldn’t work, she relied on her boyfriend’s income to support herself and her child – the ladies at the Hand in Hand group told me that he has kicked her out 4 or 5 times before and she always ends up going back to him because she needs the money and a place to live. If she leaves him, she can register for child support but that would only give her 280 ZAR per month – about £30. Out of that money she would need to rent a room somewhere which might cost 150 ZAR per month, so that doesn’t leave much for food and clothing. Food is cheaper over here, but not that cheap! And if she wants to go back to school Agnes would need to find someone to look after her son while she’s there and find the money to pay her own school fees. Unless she finds a job, Agnes will not be able to afford to pay the fees to send her son to school when he is older.

The problems she faces, the lack of money, lack of support from her family, lack of any way for her to generate an income for herself, all drive her back to her ‘boyfriend’ even though their relationship is unhappy and unstable because it’s the only way she can provide for her son. It saddens me to know that men here are able to treat women with such disrespect and that women sometimes just accept that as a way of life because it’s all they’ve ever known or because they feel they have no other options. I’m hoping that the Hand in Hand group will be able to somehow give Agnes the support she needs to go back to school and complete her studies so that she at least has a chance of finding a job and making a new life for herself and her son. I want to help her but I really don’t know how.

TB Screening

Apologies for the lack of posts but our internet has been down for over a week now and has just been fixed today. Apparently our phone lines were struck by lightning during a storm last week so our modem and internet lines were fried.

Last week I spent Wednesday to Friday at Addo Elephant Park anyway where there were at least 400 elephants in the area as well as lions, leopards, buffalo, rhinos, kudu, red heart beast, eland, wart hogs, a variety of birds, lizards and snakes and countless other wildlife. It was an exciting few days that included being chased by elephants and a pretty severe thunderstorm, but a good time was had by all and a I got some amazing photos!

After a relaxing weekend, Monday morning was spent doing TB screening in the township. This involved going door to door and asking people if they could complete a short health questionnaire to find out if they had any of the symptoms of tuberculosis, which include:

·         A cough that never goes away

·         Coughing up mucus and blood

·         Chest pains

·         Shortness of breath

·         Loss of appetite

·         Difficulty sleeping

People who displayed 3 of more symptoms were referred to the clinic for a blood test to confirm whether or not they have TB and begin treatment if the test comes back positive. We only made one referral yesterday but TB is a growing problem in the township and it is particularly dangerous for those who are HIV positive – which is 1 in 4 people in South Africa at the moment.

Surprisingly, even though treatment for TB at the clinic is free, many people are reluctant to go because they are embarrassed - a lot of people believe that TB is a disease that only affects people who are HIV positive, which is not the case at all. Our job is to raise awareness of the symptoms and treatment options and encourage people to get tested at the clinic if they think they might be ill. And also try to get people to understand that anyone can get TB at any time in their lives.

Whilst filling in the questionnaire with one young man in the township, I asked him if he suffered from chest pains. He told me yes, he does, and proceeded to open his shirt to reveal a 4 inch long angry, red, scar from a stab wound which he got whilst walking in the township at night! He was only 18 years old.

Cost of education

Today I worked at the wonderland pre-school with kids between the ages of 4 and 6 trying to teach them English words and helping them to learn left from right. Education is not free in South Africa and parents must pay to send their children to school right through from pre-school to university. The fees vary depending on the school with some of the better schools being very expensive. This makes it incredibly difficult for kids living in the township to get a proper education.

Unemployment here is very high at roughly 25%, and those kids whose parents don’t work or don’t earn enough to pay their school fees can’t get a proper education…which makes it even more unlikely that these children will be able to get a proper job to support themselves and their own family when they get older. School fees could be anything from £40 to £150 per month and someone with a reasonably good office job in the town centre might earn £400 a month so school fees could be a big chunk of your income, especially if you have more than one child. A lot of families in the township just can’t afford the fees. I think that providing a free education would make a massive difference to reducing poverty in South Africa.

Some of the teachers at the pre-schools in the township have come to an agreement with parents who are on a low income that they can pay in another way – either through carrying out maintenance work at the school or donations of food, sometimes even donations of animals like chickens, cows or pigs. This small gesture helps the poorest to get a good start to their education.

Work with pre schools

There are over 40 pre-schools in the townships around Knysna. Each one looks after between 40 and 60 kids aged between 2 and 6 years old. The schools are generally run by stay at home mums and women without any formal employment who have decided that they want to provide this service to the local community. This morning I went to a pre-school which was started by a lady called Magdeleena in her father’s garage with just a handful of children. Magdeleena has campaigned hard to raise money for the school, and each time she raises more money, she expands the school. Now there are 2 class rooms full of children who are taught basic reading, writing and arithmetic to prepare them for life in primary school.

Most of the women that run these schools have no formal training as teachers so they are working with the Knysna AIDS Council and the Knysna Education Trust to become accredited and trained in pre-school teaching. They are really working hard to build their own skills, build their schools and build the knowledge of the kids they work with to give them the best chance of doing well when they go to primary school. There are currently 10 accredited pre-schools in the township and Edge of Africa provide volunteers who help to teach the children to read and write, play educational games with the children and help improve their English language skills.

It’s hard for the kids because they all have to learn three languages: Afrikaans, Xhosa and English. In most cases their parents and relatives speak either Afrikaans or Xhosa so they don’t get exposed to much English at home. Last week I helped out at the Wonderland pre-school twice and was trying to teach the kids the names of fruits in English and help improve their numeracy. I can’t believe how difficult this turned out to be and definitely have a new found respect for teachers! The process was made particularly hard because most of the kids don’t really understand a lot of English so it was difficult to communicate to them what I wanted them to do. Flash cards showing pictures of fruits worked very well but I had much more trouble with numbers. The teacher asked me to try to get them to count backwards from 10 but trying to explain the concept of ‘backwards’ when I can only speak English and they could only speak Xhosa was virtually impossible. Next time we’re going to try using a hopscotch type game outside.

Despite the difficulties the kids were all so happy and energetic and seemed to really enjoy being at school. They sang songs to welcome me and the other volunteers to the class and another song to say good bye. They loved to run around in the playground and make sure that all the volunteers join in the games at all times! Tomorrow I need to help to teach them left from right – any bright ideas from any of you primary school teachers out there would be very welcome!

A typical township meal

Today the ladies from the Hand in Hand group prepared lunch for the volunteers at the Edge of Africa house. It was a typical township meal – tripe with potatoes and something that was a bit like rice but the grains were bigger. And all washed down with pineapple flavoured home brew. I can’t say I enjoyed the tripe that much – the texture was a bit weird for me, but the sauce that went with it was delicious and it was interesting to experience real township cooking.

The ladies are all single mothers, the youngest was 19, the oldest was 28. As we ate together and talked about our families and background some of the cultural differences between us became apparent. The ladies were all very surprised that none of the volunteers had children even though we were all in the same age range. They were also surprised that some of the younger volunteers didn’t have boyfriends or husbands. They talked very matter-of-factly about how their boyfriends are lazy and expect the women to do all the work in the house while the men sit around drinking and smoking and cheating on them. Some of the talked about previous partners who had been violent towards them or verbally abusive or just plain lazy and inconsiderate. It seems as though this is a common thing in the township (although I’m only basing this on the few people I’ve spoken to) but what bothered me was that these women spoke about it as though it was normal to be treated that way – as if that is just how things are here and they just had to accept it. It is certainly a very much male dominated society here but it’s hard to understand how or why they are allowed to get away with such a lack of respect for women.

I came to the conclusion that the difference between us is that I grew up in a society that taught me to respect myself as well as other people and this gives me the confidence to stand up for myself and not let anyone, male or female, treat me unfairly. But if you grow up in an environment where all your female role models just accept that men treat women badly, how would you know that it doesn’t have to be that way?

Township Houses

Today I went along to a meeting for single mothers in the community called the Hand in Hand group. The meeting took place in one of the ladies’ homes in the township so I was able to see how people really live for the first time.

The house was very basic – essentially a single storey wooden shack with two rooms. The wooden frame was clad with wooden slats and on the inside, plastic sheeting covered the walls to help keep the rain out. The roof also had a wooden frame, which had cardboard laid over the top of it and more plastic sheeting laid over the top of that. The plastic sheeting was held down with stones and nailed to the frame in places. Each room was about 4 metres long by 3 metres wide. The house had electricity but no running water. The first room was a bedroom and just had in it a bed, a cupboard, a TV and DVD player. The second room was a kitchen which had a just a hot plate for cooking on, a table, and another bed. There are no taps in the house and the toilet is an outdoor pit latrine. The people who live there walk to the dam to get their water every day and although this isn’t far, it’s still hard work.

It was a very humbling experience. Such a hard way of life when compared to my cosy little existence back home, and such a contrast to the air conditioned malls and plush bars and restaurants which can be found just a 10 minute drive away in Knysna town centre.

Recycling Swap Shop



The Swop Shop



Edge of Africa runs a Recycling swap shop for children under the age of 18 in the township. The idea is that kids collect plastic, glass, metal and paper food containers that they find in the local area during the week and bring it to the swap shop on Wednesday afternoons. The recycling is weighed by Edge of Africa volunteers and exchanged for tokens depending on the weight of materials collected. Once armed with their tokens, the kids can then exchange tokens for goods from the Edge of Africa Swop Shop. Popular items include toiletries like shower gels and shampoos, crayons and colouring books, toys and clothes – a few little luxuries for children who have nothing.





Kids happy with their purchases!



Everything in the shop is priced as realistically as possible so that the children learn about the value of goods, the concept of working to earn rewards whilst also cleaning up the local environment. All the materials collected by the swap shop are taken to the local recycling centre but the plan in the future is to make things out of the materials that are collected that can then be sold in the Swap Shop. Ingenious ideas so far include brooms made of plastic bottles and candle holders made from tin cans.

Showing off new clothes

Today, only about 15 children came to the Swap Shop but last week, because it was the Easter holidays there were about 50. That’s a fantastic achievement but now the shop needs to be restocked as kids will only keep on coming if there is good stuff for them to buy. Edge of Africa relies on donations to keep the shelves stocked, and these usually come from volunteers that have seen the shop in action. Needless to say I’ll be making some donations of my own but if any of you who are reading this have stuff you can send over or would like to pledge some items that I can buy on your behalf while I’m here then let me know – you would be making some very poor children incredibly happy!

Items we desperately need include:

• Good quality children’s clothes
• Colouring books, pencils, crayons, stationery etc
• Toiletries – shampoo, shower gel, deodorant, hand wash, face wash
• Simple kids toys

MAD about Art

Today I worked with some of the kids at the MAD about Art project. This is an afterschool club aimed at helping children aged 10 and over to talk through any issues or problems they may have through art, music and drama. When they first enrol in the project at the age of 10 all the kids are asked to write a ‘Hero book’. In the Hero book the kids write stories and draw pictures about their lives – it’s a private record where they can record their most secret thoughts and feelings. They record things like who is their hero and why, what is their ‘monster’, what is their ‘shining moment’, who’s in their family and what they like and dislike about their community. Once it’s finished the kids can choose whether they want to lock the book away so that no one else can read their story or whether they are happy for the books to be displayed for others to see. The facilitators can then help the kids to work though their issues and intervene with further help if necessary.

One of the facilitators at MAD about Art told me a very sad story about one of the girls who attended the group. This girl, (I don’t know her name but let’s call her Ella), was raped by her father whilst her mother was at the hospital giving birth to her sister. Ella told her mother, but her mother didn’t believe her, so Ella ran away from home. She wrote down her story in her Hero book at MAD about Art and one of the facilitators was able to intervene. The facilitator spoke to Ella’s mother and it turns out that her mother was afraid to allow Ella to speak about the abuse at home because her husband was abusing the whole family. By making Ella stay away from home she was actually trying to protect her. Ella’s mother was afraid to go to the police but with the help of one of the MAD about Art facilitators, she was able to report her husband to child welfare services. When they tried to speak to him, he ran away and hasn’t come back so Ella is now back at home with her mother and living happily.

I’ve been told that this sort of story is not uncommon in the townships…

Orientation

Today our hosts took us new volunteers on a tour of the projects that we would be working on. It was quite an emotional rollercoaster of a day – I heard some harrowing stories but I also had a lot of fun.

Our first stop was the Sinethymba project which is a centre for street kids. These children don’t go to school for various reasons: some of them have been expelled for bad behaviour, some can’t go to school because their parents can’t afford the school fees, some have run away from home because of abuse, and some have been excluded simply because their parents can’t afford to buy them a school uniform. The Sinethymba project gives them a place to go during the day where they can get help to improve their numeracy and literacy skills, they get access to computers, they learn life skills like sewing, cooking and general taking care of themselves. They also get two proper meals per day, without which they would go hungry. This is a fantastic project and has done a lot of excellent work in the community, but the sad thing is that when the centre closes for the day the kids go back to the streets and have to sleep rough.

Next we went to the MAD about Art project which helps children that are around 10 years old to talk about their problems in an open and caring environment. The children are encouraged to express themselves through art and write a ‘Hero book’ to express the things about their lives that they like as well as the things that frighten them or make them angry or sad. One of the children had written the following in their book:

 “And the bad things about my community are when people stab each other and they kill each other”

I can’t imagine having to deal with that at the age of 10 years old.

We visited several other pre-schools for children up to the age of 5. Here the children all seemed to be very happy and they sang songs for us and got so excited when they saw us. At the Judas Square preschool, the children ran over to us and literally jumped on us as soon as they saw us wanting to be picked up. My camera and my sunglasses were a big hit. They all wanted to try on my glasses and have their picture taken. These kids were so happy – laughing and smiling and playing the whole time even though they really have very little.

Tomorrow I’ll be going back to one of the preschools in the morning to help with an English lesson and then in the afternoon I’m going back to MAD about Art, so more about them soon.

Day One

So, today after months of planning and waiting, I joined the Edge of Africa volunteer team. Edge of Africa is an NGO based in Knysna, South Africa, which runs conservation and community outreach projects in the local area. I’ll be working in the township on various projects including helping out in the pre-school, working with vulnerable women in the community, raising awareness of HIV, running the recycling swap shop and helping to maintain the vegetable garden. More on those projects later in the week…