Painting at an Orphanage

The internship agency I came here with (VAC) sets up "Friday Activities" for all the interns, and this past Friday's activity was to go paint an Orphanage in the township of Nyanga. This is the township I was at for the Braai earlier on. The orphanage we went to is called "Emasithandane Children's Organization" and it’s not an "official" orphanage yet. This is because it was started by a self-less and loving woman who simply opened her home to orphans within the community. She has now made an extension on her house and has added other things so that other children can live there. VAC went to help brighten up the new place with some paint.

When we arrived, you could tell that the area was poor- Nyanga is one of the poorest townships in Cape Town. But within the poverty you couldn't help but see the gleaming smiles of about 10 young children poking their heads out the front door. They were are all so cute and just wanted to play. The other VAC interns and I had to paint first but afterwards we got to play with the kids. We painted inside the house as well as a mural on an outside wall which is a bright "under the sea" theme. The kids loved it. And again, the kids were THRILLED when we would allow them to take pictures on our cameras. Unfortunately the pictures on my camera, taken by a little munchkin named Tashaka, have his finger covering each and every frame. It was cute nonetheless. The kids only spoke a tiny bit of English but it showed me that you can still have fun, and play, without being able to communicate perfectly.

The saddest part of this whole experience was leaving. The kids didn't want us to leave- and wouldn't let go of us. I was holding Tashaka, and when it came time to leave he wrapped his legs around me like a brace and would not let go. It was so sad, but I know for sure I will go back. The director of the orphanage said that they will host a Braai for us (as a thank you for painting) sometime soon so that we can go play with the kids again. I loved going to the orphanage and playing with kids- I think I had a "perma-smile" the whole time. Everything I've experienced in Cape Town so far has been amazing, but the happiness and joy I get from seeing those kids smile and play is something I can barely put into words. You'll have to experience it for yourself! :)

     

Tashaka and I

                       

                         The mural that VAC painted

Working at the Cape Town Refugee Centre

I started work at the Cape Town Refugee Centre (CTRC) on Jan. 23rd
and have loved it since the moment I got there. But a lot of you don't really know WHAT I'm doing in South Africa so I thought it'd be a good idea to post about it! 

The CTRC is a Non-Governmental Organization which exists to help refugees (from other African countries) that are in Cape Town, South Africa. It is fully funded by, and operates as an extension of, the United Nations High Comissioner for Refugees. It is an office building which operates similar to a walk-in clinic where refugees come for help with lots of things. The CTRC is divided into 3 departments; Education, Self-reliance and Psycho-Social. These departments help ensure that the refugees in Cape Town get the help they need to fully integrate into South African society.

I am working in the Psycho-Social department. My job is to interview refugees as soon as they come into our office. I basically have to find out what their background story is and record it for further purposes. I also determine if  they need immediate assistance (food vouchers, assistance with rent money, transportation money, etc) or a referral to one of our other departments like Education or Self-reliance.

This job is not easy- everyday I am faced with people who are hungry, homeless, crying, and begging for money. I hear stories of horror, but also of hope. These stories are usually from young single mothers who are barely surviving. I also receive refugees who are victims of xenophobic attacks. Xenophobia is a hatred of foreigners, and a lot of local South Africans are xenophobic, but only towards black African refugees (South Africa gets refugees mainly from Zimbabwe, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, and Somalia). Xenophobia occurs mainly because of the belief that the refugees are "taking their jobs" and whatnot, but the attacks have been a huge problem since 2008. There are so many different stories that I hear from people everyday, and they all break my heart. I truly wish that I could help each and every one of them. But the reality of it is, is that our funding has been cut in half since last year (by lack of donations to the UNHCR), and we have more people entering South Africa. The issue of funding is an obstacle that all non-governmental organizations face, and it is just extremely sad to turn people away when I can see that they need help. I suppose I am experiencing the "eye opening" that I had hoped for. It has certainly made me appreciate all that I have. Another part of my job is to conduct home-visits with my supervisor, Fwamba. We go to refugees houses and assess the living conditions, etc. This again is hard to deal with, but I am getting better at it.

Fwamba is a wonderful supervisor and a very smart man. He is actually a refugee himself, but also a social worker so he provides me with interesting perspectives and insights all the time. He is from the Congo, and also speaks about a MILLION languages (there are over 11 just in South Africa, not to mention french, portuguese, and a bit of spanish). I am brushing up on my french skills because the majority of refugees in South Africa are from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and they speak French there. However, it should be noted that my 14 years of "learning" french in elementary school, high school and university are FAR from sufficient. Thankfully I have my own personal translator, her name is Cleo. She is another intern from... OTTAWA! I'm glad to have her at work because it's like a little piece of home right in Cape  Town.

All in all, I am learning lots about the realities of this harsh world, and specifically about African refugee issues. I am learning all of this first hand, and as sad as it is, I love it and wouldn't have it any other way. It is making me a smarter, and more appreciative person. What more could I ask for?


Link for the Cape Town Refugee Centre: http://www.ctrc.co.za/mc/home.html
Here are some of the posters up at my office:

"Surfing" at Muizenberg Beach

On Saturday I went to a place called the "Old Biscuit Mill" market which was really fun. It's a market but not a traditional "African" market like I'm sure you're picturing (as I did). It's a very western sort of place, I would expect to see something like it downtown toronto- it was even nicer than the Byward Market in Ottawa! It was closed off but it had a bunch of food at different stalls which they would prepare for you on the spot. There was a Chicken station, a Greek Souvlaki station, a Chinese station, an ice cream station, a smoothie station, a cheese station, a wine station, etc etc. I had a smoothies and greek souvlaki.. soo yummy. And all the people there were so well dressed, I felt as though it was fashion week and I wasn't given the memo! Regardless, I am definitely going back next Saturday. But they also had lots of clothes stands and little boutiques for home accessories stores. IT wasn't very "African" but it was all really cool. Loved it.

Then on Sunday my housemate Chelsey and I and about 4 other VAC interns went to Muizenberg beach to surf. Muizenberg beach is about a 30 minute train ride away- not bad at all. We arrived, and the view was BEAUTIFUL. There is a white sand beach with deep turquoise waters and a beautiful Mountain view in the background. The pictures I have don't even do it justice. Muizenberg beach is the "surfing" beach. We showed up and the water was PACKED with people surfing, from beginners like me, to pros who were surfing in and out of all the beginners. I rented a wet-suit and a beginner board with all the other interns and we received a lesson from our friend Sam who has been surfing plenty of times of before. Then we hit the water, and I instantly knew... surfing is notttt for me! I lasted MAYBE 20 minutes where I tried to jump over waves with my board but could only manage to swallow some sea water (disgusting) and not much else. After this, where I only got onto the board ONE time... not even standing up... I got wacked in the head by another girls board as a humungous wave came crasshhinnggg down on us. I called it quits and decided that sunbathing was a much better "sport" for me! Little did I know that I suck at that sport too... turns out the South African Sun burns through my epidermis like CRAZY (even with sunscreen!). So I have had a NASTY burn on my back ALL week. I guess you live some and you learn some! My back is now peeling and is a VERY nice deeep brown tanned colour. hopefully I get the rest of me tanned... without burning to a crisp!

Love and miss you all REAMS (the South African term for "lots"!)
-xoxo, Keira

Township "Braai"

On January 19th I went to my very first "Braai" which is basically a neighborhood barbecue party. The agency that helped me find my internship is called VAC, and they set up activities for us the whole time we're here. Andrew (a VAC staff member) was nice enough to invite all the VAC interns (about 25 of us) and staff to his house in the township of Nyanga. All the interns took a taxi-bus out to the township. When we got there, there was meat cooking on the barbecue, live music, and dancing in the street. It was a wonderful time. There were so many little kids hanging out- all local kids from the township- who were FASCINATED with taking pictures on our cameras. I think I have about 100 pictures that they took; and 50 of them are blurry! But the kids were adorable and loved to dance as well. The live music playing was traditional South African music, but they also played some songs we knew too. The instruments they used were very cool- kind of like large table-sized wooden xylophones. After the live music was done and we all ate a DELICIOUS dinner, Andrew (the host of the Braai) put out loud speakers and played music that we could all dance to in the street. After a few songs Adele came on the speaker with the "someone like you" song. I love this song, and surprisingly everyone knew the words. I mean, EVERYONE (young, old, South African and foreign) sang along at the top of their lungs. It is certainly a moment I will remember forever. The Braai was a great way to get introduced to some South African culture... I can't wait to tell you about more!

Mucho amor,
Keira xoxo

Getting Settled

Today was my first day in Cape Town! My flight here was not as great as the one to London... it was longer AND my seat wouldn't recline AND I sat beside a Swedish guy and girl who were preparing for a big debate about democratization. Meaning they were DEBATING the entire time, to the extent where the flight attendant had to ask them to be quiet. However after many many movies on FULL volume and multiple attempts at falling asleep I arrived in Cape Town. When the plane was descending I could see mountains covered by a mistical fog and I instantly had a smile because I knew it was a matter of minutes before my feet would touch the ground. I was greeted at the airport by a guy named Andrew (he works for VAC- the agency that set up my internship) who held my name up on a sign. He told me "siya namkela nonke" which means welcome in Xhosa (one of the 11 official languages in South Africa). Andrew drove to me my house, but on the way I couldn't help but notice the slums and shanty houses along the highway. I knew to expect this, but the surprising thing was that a good majority of them had mini sattelite dishes attached to their roofs. weird.

(South Africa doesn't look much different from Toronto in this pic!)

Anyways, I arrived at my home which is in a nice neighborhood in a suburb of capetown called "obs" (the student living area). My house is nice, and my housemates are even nicer. Trish (from Pensylvania), Chelsea (from Conneticut), Robin (from Seattle), Renata (from Brazil), and Joshua (from Nigeria) all seem like great people and I know our house is going to be a great place to hangout. We're all interning at different places but it's perfect because we all learn new things from one another. I certainly lucked out!

Today I also went walking around "obs" with other interns to see all the little restaurants, cafes and bars they have. It's a very cute town with vibrant colours and vibrant people. Today was a scorching 39 degrees celsius out- good thing I had sunscreen (thanks mom!) but I can't complain coming from Toronto/Ottawa weather! I also got a simcard for my phone and went grocery shopping after I had unpacked. I'd say it was quite a productive day. And to top it off, I have overcome my first "African" challenge.... I killed a HUGE cockroach that decided to run under my bed about 10 minutes ago. I am definitely going to have to get used to that. ew.

 (Part of the main strip in Obs)

That's all for now! xoxo, Keira

London Calling

Hello from London! Well not really London... I'm just at the London Heathrow airport. I have been here for about 6 hours and still have 4 more hours to wait until my flight to Cape Town. There is lots of shopping to do here but unfortunately a student budget will not allow me to buy Gucci or Chanel... so I've just been browsing. Not much else has happened. I had a wonderful flight from Toronto to London with hardly any turbulance, and even an empty seat next to me which was nice to fall asleep beside (lots of leg room). And British airways fed me twice- one meal including cheesecake.. yum. so i can't complain. Hopefully the flight from London to Cape Town goes just as smoothly! As for right now, I am just trying to stay awake. We'll see how long that lasts. I am fighting to keep my eyes open as I type this. But I am super excited to get to Cape Town!! I'll be greeted at the airport by someone from my internship agency and he'll drive me to my house where I will meet my housemates and get familiar with the city, etc. I CAN'T WAIT! talk to you when I'm all settled.
xoxo, Keira