South Africa is a place full of intensely evocative juxtaposition. When my parents asked me to describe what it was like I found formulating a response to be a little tricky. “There’s more than one South Africa,” I responded.
During my five days in the country, I was lucky enough to participate in a Peace and Reconciliation Workshop through the Plowshares Institute. This experience brought me to see the many facets of stark contrast that embody the after-effects of the Apartheid within both the culture and the landscape. Keep in mind that the Apartheid ended only 18 years ago in 1994; so while much has been done, there is still much left to do.
We disembarked the ship and got on a bus that drove use through Capetown, an impressive modern city with shopping malls, numerous car dealerships, and impressive infrastructure. However, once about 15 minutes outside the city the scope got a little bigger as we entered into a township, the poorer areas where black and colored people were forcefully relocated to by the Apartheid government. While not required to live there any longer, few have the financial resources to move. This in itself shows just one of many contrasts in the country, but it is by far the most shocking.
In the different places the workshop brought us, we were able to meet with Parliament members, youth leaders, and human rights activists who all had advice and insight for us 15 students to make change in the world. Seeing that back at school its about time for all those DukeEngage applications to be sent in, I though I would share a couple of the things I learned.
- Meaningful and measurable change is slow when viewing things from a distance. Looking at tin home after home in the townships, it is so easy to get overwhelmed with the work left to be done as these settlements stretch on for miles farther than the eye can see. It was hard to internalize that the poverty in these areas will not be solved over night simply because I want it to be or these people need it to be. One youth leader said, “It is hard to grasp that these problems will not be solved within my lifetime, but I know that my work is an integral part of bringing the change that is needed and that is enough for me.”
- Change must come from within the community. A pastor from the JL Zwane church explained to us that, quite often, service missions and non-profits come to townships with the notion of “fixing” the country or community. “Citizens of developing nations are not vessels to be filled with Western notions of progress and effective organizational infrastructure,” he said. If “aid” comes in the form of outside forces telling locals they must do something they don’t understand or believe in then the community won’t take it as their own and there is no true change. Development should work with the people in a way that allows them to voice their needs and then works with them to develop modes of achieving those means.
- Empowerment should be the pillar of development work. We’ve all hear the cliché line of “Give a man a fish and he has a meal for the night, teach a man to fish and he can provide meals for the rest of his life,” but it stands true. People don’t want handouts. They want the resources to help bring themselves out of their own hardship in a respectful way that can build their sense of pride and achievement.
- Find a place where your passions and community need overlap. You will do your best work and bring the most change if you are doing something that you really love and care about.
- The most powerful change occurs on an individual-to-individual basis. As a Public Policy major, I study change brought about from a top-down approach. While important, the true change only occurs through the implementation of these policies on a grassroots level. This is what makes teachers, ministers, youth leaders, and so on so valuable in forming the backbone of change.
- Remember that there is need within your own community. You don’t need to travel to South Africa, or India, or Kenya to help the poor. There is great need even within your immediate surroundings. Dedicate yourself to something you can do once or twice a week for a consistent period of time. While DukeEngage is an incredible opportunity to serve and experience a foreign country, the focus should be less on your own experience and more about the change you are bringing to those that need it.