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: