South Africa Visit 2007 - by Stephen Golding
The first two days of the trip were spent in Johannesburg as guests of St. Stithians College. The Rector (Headmaster), Mr. Stephen Lowry, met us from the airport with a mini-bus and driver and accompanied us for most of the two days. This included visits to:
- Meropeng - The Cradle of Humankind.
- Montecasino.
- Alexandra Township.
- Constitution Hill.
- The Apartheid Museum.
Exposure to Johannesburg gave the pupils a sense of urban South Africa as well as a greater awareness of some of the more recent history of the country.
An internal flight took us to East London where we were met by Mr. Peyana. From East London we traveled in two hired vehicles, but before leaving for Umtata, respect was paid at the memorial to Steve Biko. On the way to Umtata we stopped at Qunu, the village where Nelson Mandela grew up and now lives. In Umtata we stayed overnight at a very comfortable guest house recommended by LCD.
The next day there was a visit to the Umtata Link Office which provided an opportunity to check on the progress of our Special Donation for Grade 12 textbooks for Sandi. We also visited the Nelson Mandela Museum before stocking up with supplies at the supermarket.
After a drive through fascinating and beautiful scenery we arrived at the Silaka Nature Reserve near Port St. Johns, on the appropriately named Wild Coast. This was to be our base for the remainder of the trip and Mr. Peyana joined us there for three nights of our stay. From Silaka we made our daily visits to Sandi, apart from taking a rest day on the Saturday.
We were very warmly received at Sandi and our time there included:
- A tour of the school classrooms with an introduction to each class.
- An IsiXhosa language lesson - we all had trouble with the clicks!
- Singing and dancing with the Sandi Choir - definitely a highlight of the trip!
- A gloriously chaotic 'Cultural Activity' including speeches, presentations, dances and traditional dress and food. The chicken heads and feet were a step too far for most of the group!
- Introducing Sandi learners to lacrosse.
- A short Geography lesson explaining where we live.
- A visit to the homestead of pupils who were renting accommodation near to the school.
- Visits to Vinish and Mjongile Senior Primary Schools where we distributed balloons, bubbles, stationery, exercise books, footballs and rugby balls.
- A visit to the Mayor's Office and an interview on Umtata local radio.
We also attended a wonderfully vibrant church service in the local Anglican Church, St. George's, Ntsundwana, on the Sunday.
Impact of the Visit
The visit surpassed our expectations and fulfilled the aims of the link in several ways:
Our being there seemed to mean a lot to people simply because we had traveled a long way to visit them. This seemed to give a morale boost and a sense of hope to people who feel that they are struggling and marginalized.
The visit cemented the friendship between our two schools by making it 'in person' rather than just 'on paper'.
- We experienced generous hospitality.
- We were enriched by the music, the friendliness and the sense of community that we experienced
- We were challenged to think about cultural norms and the difference between 'development' and 'westernization'.
- We were very moved by the relative poverty and the needs of the situation and are determined to make an appropriate response.
The South Africa 2007 team:
Revd. Stephen Golding, Mrs. Marion Golding, Miss Helen-Claire Burt, Sam Calderwood, Katie Clarke, Vanessa Eustace, Claire Hobson, Charly Marchant, James Nation, Fiona Ruggles, Tom Sayer, Charles Thomas-Davies, Fiona Watherston