"Newsy" Group Email

This was the first group email I sent home, some of your may have already read it. It is somewhat lengthy, but it gives a good sense of what I've experienced so far. A few people commented on it's "newsy" quality... not sure if that's a good thing or not... but I'll take it as a compliment.

September 27, 2007

Hello friends and family,

I am writing to you from the beautiful city of Cape Town, South Africa. I have been here for just over 2 weeks and I feel like I have seen so much already! The city is rich with history and culture, full of contrasts and complexities and I am only beginning understand its many twists and turns. I'd like to share with you some of what I've had the pleasure of experiencing so far. (Don't worry, they won't all be this long – I feel like I have done more in the first few week than I will for awhile! Let me know what you think – I'm eager for dialogue! You can live vicariously through me - and maybe learn something too!)

After a long flight (22 hours in the air, with 10 hours lay over time) from Regina to Calgary to London to Cape Town, we arrived in the cool morning air and were greeted at the airport by Jen Savidge, the internship coordinator from VIDEA (Victoria International Development and Education Association). Edil Absiye, another intern from Toronto was on the flight with me from London and we were both excited to finally be in Cape Town. We hit the ground running, dropped our bags and went to find some food and bank machines. The famous Table Mountain and Devil's Peak are definitely a beautiful backdrop to life in the city. By day two, we were in a van that took us on a jam-packed tour around the Cape Peninsula - a rocky boat ride to see an island of seals at Hout Bay; to Boulders to see penguins walking, squawking and lounging in the beautiful white sand; along the Twelve Apostles Mountain range; and to the Cape of Good Hope where we saw 3 of the 8 zebra that inhabit the park, climbed up to see the view from the lighthouse at Cape Point and went for an exhilarating bike ride through the park lands. We also saw springbok, baboons (with signs warning that they will steal your food) and a whole bunch of tourists! What a start to what I hope continues to be an amazing adventure.

A couple days later we packed up for another full touring day, this time to learn more about the history of South Africa (and Cape Town in particular) and see what life is like in the cities townships (the huge densely populated areas that are home to the millions of primarily black and coloured people). We started down town where we had a crash course in History 101 as we viewed the Castle of Good Hope, the Slave Lodge (which is now an apartheid museum), the House of Parliament and High Court. We then travelled to near-by Bo Kaap, the primarily Muslim area of town, to see the brightly painted mosques, houses and shops. Next stop – District 6, the famous area where thousands of people were forced to leave their homes during apartheid to relocate to the distant townships. All the homes were bulldozed with the intention of building new residences, however because of resistance and threats from the black and coloured communities, nothing was ever built and the area remains empty. Then we went to the District 6 museum, where former residents of the area give tours showing what life was like before, during and after apartheid. It's unbelievable to think of the horrors that happened during this time and understandable that South Africa is still dealing with the after-effects of an era when segregation and oppression were the order of the day. On our visit to the local townships of Langa, Guguletu and Khayalitsha, the population density exploded from that in the Cape Town suburbs and we saw people surviving in cramped and sub-standard housing, visibly impoverished, living on minimal incomes (50-80% of people are unemployed), and just trying to get by. Despite the obvious lack of material wealth, I saw evidence of community everywhere. People working together: community centres, day cares, arts co-ops, bed & breakfasts, training centres and recycling programs. In the faces of the children playing, the women laughing and the men driving their horses from the scrap yards, I saw an amazing resilience and commitment to life. This tour was full of insight into the contradictions of this country (and world), where extreme richness and poverty can live side by side. In the news this week, we are witnessing the peaceful uprising of thousands of people living in informal settlements who are resisting the government's plan to relocate them (some things never change), to expand the N2 Free-way.

Edil and I have settled into a 5 bedroom house in Observatory, an area rich with students and interns, and people from all over the world. It's a great location, relatively safe and we are within a 10-minute walk from work, the grocery store and a whole range of restaurants and bars, with quick access to down town, which we travel to in the small mini-bus vans that fly up and down the main road. We have a shared kitchen, bathroom, and a small lounge, a washing machine, and wireless, high-speed Internet – luxuries!! We share the house with a Danish couple, a student from Alabama, and Zimbabwean teacher (who is moving out tomorrow), so it's been interesting getting to know people. After dark it's not recommended to be out walking in the streets, so I'm generally in bed early and enjoying my new guitar, writing and reflecting, reading some good books and perusing the Internet.

We have been able to make a few trips into town: to the water front to see the musicians and other performers entertaining; to Long Street – which really wakes up at night and there are awesome restaurants, bars and clubs; and to see some of the markets – where people sell all sorts of stuff from clothes, to bags, to African jewellery and wall hangings. In this modern city, you can find anything your heart desires – it hardly feels like the Africa you might imagine. It's extremely multicultural, and you hear and see people from all over the globe speaking a huge range of languages. I am really enjoying hearing the Xhosa language, with it's 3 different types of clicks. I've also enjoyed some amazing meals, from Thai to Indian to Caribbean and African. We've also seen some great music – we went to a concert at the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens called Womentide – an inspirational performance by 3 beautiful Cape Town ladies singing original music honouring their connection to their African roots. The weather's been somewhat cool and rather windy, and can change from moment to moment, but summer's on it's way so it should heat up!

As for the internship position (which is really why I'm here) – I am at WHEAT Trust, an organization providing grants for women's groups to receive training and education. The staff are amazing, there's always laughter and stories, and they have made us feel right at home. So far we have spent most of our time in the office, learning about the organization and helping out where we can. The staff is very receptive to our input and as I lean more about the organization I hope to be able to make an even more meaningful contribution. We did spend one afternoon visiting some of the projects that WHEAT has supported, which was a real treat, including sewing projects, a community centre, and a few gardening projects. It's amazing to see what is being done in these communities to respond to the challenges they are faced with – poverty, HIV/AIDS, drug addiction (crystal meth is devastating the youth population), housing issues and unemployment.

So that's the South Africa I have seen so far – and I haven't left the Cape Point, so there's lots more to see. I'd love to keep you all up to date about my experiences and reflections. For all you Face-Bookers, check out my picture album (if you don't have FB, but want to see, let me know - and I'll try and post some here soon too!).

If you would like to make a donation to help me cover additional transportation or conference costs, make donations to local projects, etc. you can do so through VIDEA and receive a charitable tax receipt. Just let me know, and I'll send you that address.

Thanks again for all the support – what an amazing community I am part of! I wanted to mention that the fund-raiser was a huge success and we were able to donate $2,000 to the Phelisanong Community Group in Lesotho. Thanks for all of you who donated time and money to make this event happen!!

Take care and all the best. Bye for now, Christina Phipps