From The Berkhamstedian - South Africa 2007
Sam Calderwood, Katie Clarke, Charles Thomas-Davies, Vanessa Eustace, Claire Hobson, Charly Marchant, James Nation, Fiona Ruggles, Tom Sayer, Fiona Watherston
During the summer break, ten Year 12 pupils accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Golding and Miss Burt, had the opportunity to visit South Africa and particularly our friends at our Link School.
For the first two days of the trip, we experienced very generous hospitality at St Stithians College in Johannesburg. The city itself was a place of great contrasts. On one trip we travelled through Sandton, a rich and flourishing area complete with sky scrapers and shopping centres. Immediately afterwards we drove through Alexandra, a township which really highlighted the vast gulf between rich and poor. We also visited the Apartheid Museum, where we were divided into two groups called 'whites' and 'non-whites'; this conveyed the harshness of the former regime before we had even stepped foot inside the museum itself.
A visit to one of the former prisons, where Nelson Mandela had been detained, was a very moving experience as it epitomized all the problems of South Africa's past, but also represented hope for the future, because on the old prison site there now stands the Constitutional Court of South Africa. On a lighter note, the discovery of the Montecasino shopping centre, and a brief but thrilling balloon ride meant that we all really enjoyed our time in Johannesburg.
From Johannesburg we flew to East London and then drove to Umtata. On the way we stopped briefly at Qunu, the village where Nelson Mandela grew up and has now returned to live. It was amazing to think that someone from such simple and remote origins has become one of the most important people alive today. After an overnight stay we visited the Mandela Museum and called in at the Link Office where we were able to check the progress of the donation we had sent for Sandi.
Our next destination was the Silaka Nature Reserve on the beautiful Wild Coast near to the small town of Port St. Johns. This was to be our base from which we would visit Sandi Senior Secondary School. Silaka was truly breathtaking and home to all kinds of wildlife including some very aggressive monkeys! We visited the beach a few times, which was just a short walk from our bungalows. The sea was very rough so we retired to a small lagoon to swim despite it being winter! Each evening we ate dinner outside, under the astounding stars, and discussed the events of the day. We also set up a fire to keep us warm, but more importantly to cook bananas with chocolate for pudding. It was good that Mr Peyana was able to stay with us at Silaka as this gave us a chance to discuss ideas of how to develop the link further. Our last meal was especially memorable as we talked about our highlights of the trip, one of which was how close the group had become and how great it was that we had shared this amazing experience together.
The journey from our bungalows at Silaka to the school was to say the least, interesting! However, most of the group showed an amazing ability to sleep for much of the time, even through the stretch on the pot-hole ridden gravel road! The mood in the vehicles was changeable, one minute we were laughing, the next we were talking about how we felt about seeing children with no shoes and torn clothes.
Visiting Sandi proved to be an amazing experience. We had all been looking forward to meeting the school community; however we could not have anticipated the warmth of the welcome we received. A particular highlight for all of us was to experience the excellent singing of the Sandi School Choir. We will never forget the amazing power and emotion with which the pupils sang. They used no written music, and yet they sang and danced perfectly together. Although we found it hard to learn the words, and for some of us the moves, that went with the songs, joining in and mixing with the students and the choir 'educator' on our first afternoon at the school was great fun and we were so pleased to hear more singing when we visited Sandi on other days.
As well as visiting classes with the Sandi learners, we were lucky enough to be taught some of their language, IsiXhosa. We were each given a Sandi learner to help us and we copied vocabulary from the chalkboard, and were then horrified as the teacher started rubbing words off before asking us to come forward to write in the missing words and pronounce them out loud. IsiXhosa is a language which includes six different types of clicks, depending on where you position your tongue in your mouth! Our hosts were very entertained as we attempted to master these new sounds. Later we had the chance to give a Geography lesson about Berkhamsted and where we had come from.
The 'Cultural Day' at the school was quite an experience. There was a large gathering of learners, educators and local people crammed into a double classroom all wearing traditional dress. We learnt about their culture through music and dance and heard a passionate address on why traditional black culture should not to be disrupted. The P.A. system was not exactly in peak condition, but we really appreciated the obvious efforts that had been made. We were served traditional food including chicken heads and claws!
On one day we could hear a hubbub of noise outside and went out to see what was happening. All the pupils had gathered in a big circle on the basketball court. Mr Peyana then came over and said, "Right, they are waiting for you to show them lacrosse." Despite all of the girls in the group having played for many years, it was surprising just how nervous we were. The boys joined in for moral support and we cautiously entered 'the circle'! We decided that the best way to show lacrosse was by playing a game, even if none of the rules applied and we were scoring by hitting the basketball posts. When competitive spirit set in, nerves disappeared and we had an eventful game with great audience participation from the Sandi pupils! Then one by one we handed our sticks to the pupils and teachers and from watching us, they had really picked up on how to play.
Visiting the local church near Sandi on the Sunday was another powerful experience, with the unpredictable, exciting and bizarre mixture of traditional Anglican worship and upbeat songs and dances. The outburst of gospel singing and corresponding dance routines brought the church to life, with young and old crowding in front of the altar clapping and raising their hands and staffs to heaven. An overwhelming sense of community was evident in this spontaneous outbreak of praise, with everyone following the lead of our hosts in losing ourselves in the music, worship and excitement. This truly was a moving experience that we will never forget.
We also visited some of the pupils' homes that were just a short walk from the school. These pupils were renting accommodation near to the school as their own homes were too far away to make the journey every day. The limited amount of furniture and absence of running water, electricity and modern appliances was immediately apparent but after talking to the pupils we realised that they were thankful for what they did have and took great care of their homes.
As well as spending time at Sandi we were able to visit two local Junior Schools. The first was called Vinish. Approaching the school, we passed several rondavals that had lost their roofs to one of the frequent grass fires, highlighting the fragility of the way the people lived, and the constant problems that they encounter. As we turned into the school, we realised that it consisted of three rondavels that functioned as classrooms, and a tin shack, that was the Principal's Office. Each of these rondavels was crammed with children, with desks being shared many times over, yet there were more children being taught outside. When it came to give out the presents we had brought, the children were really appreciative even though all we could give them was a couple of crayons or pencils. We were all very moved at the scene, and left wondering how much these pencils can mean to a child in South Africa, when they can mean so little to us in the UK.
The second Junior School was at Mjongile. Our previous visit to Vinish meant that we were slightly more prepared for the culture shock that we were exposed to. There was actually no road to the school and for the last part of our journey we were driving through fields. Upon arrival we were given a quick tour of the two rondavels and one newer brick building. What surprised us most was that although this building had electricity there were no proper desks or chairs for the pupils to work on! After our short tour the children came outside so that we could give them the balloons, pencils, stickers and balls that we had brought for them. We were completely overwhelmed by their expressions of glee at being presented with these small gifts. They then danced and sang for us which created an incredible atmosphere. We had by now picked up some of the local songs and we were overjoyed when we recognised some of the songs they were singing. We quickly joined in and although we came from completely different worlds and cultures, it was amazing how we could come together so quickly and appreciate a friendship between us that we hope will last for a long time to come.
The aims of the link are to develop a friendship, to broaden our horizons and to learn from one another. This summer's visit fulfilled all of these aims and surpassed our expectations. We have also returned with a determination to do more to help our friends at Sandi in practical ways.