Long Awaited Update

Cape Town

Greetings from Cape Town. Time is flying by and I am halfway through my internship!! The last few weeks have been particularly busy, which has left me with little personal time for my computer, but I'm buckling down to give you a brief(ish) update of the exciting adventures of life in Cape Town.

I was blessed with opportunities to travel this past month as part of my internship position. First, we travelled to East London, in the Eastern Cape, for an Awards Ceremony to honour the successful grantees in the region. The event was rich with spontaneous expressions of dance and song and it was an opportunity for people to meet and get to know others in the area who are working with similar projects. We spent a few extra days 'down on the farm' with relatives of our colleague, Lulu. Amid the gentle beauty of the rolling hills I witnessed the lingering effects of Apartheid, which evoked apprehension in our black host at the thought of a white women staying in her house. My whiteness was almost as alarming as my vegetarianness! Despite her concern for my (definitely lacking, if not fateful) diet, we had amazing food – butternut, spinach, peas, rice and eggs. It was wonderful to be in the rural area, where the pace is slower and the sounds of cows lowing and chickens scratching is the wake up call and night time lullaby. The huge dog, Bush, is just a pup but already shares some qualities with his namesake (G.W.) – poor manners and a 'wee bit doff'. The lack of toilet and indoor plumbing did nothing to dampen the mood; using the 'facilities' just means a walk in the pasture by the river. We spent Saturday exploring the surrounding area with a tour of the sawmill, where Lulu's uncle works. “Pine trees are like the diamonds of this area”, he told us as we surveyed the vast amount of land 'owned' by this company (3rd generation Afrikaans family). We also made tracks up a mountain, with the hope of reaching Hogsback. I'm not sure what we would have seen if we had made it all the way, but after almost 2 hours drive our 2-wheel drive said “No more!” and we were forced back down the mountain. The journey truly was the destination, and the view alone was worth every minute. At the end of our weekend our hosts thanked us for coming and welcomed us warmly back any time.

One day home and I was back on a flight to Johannesburg for a Networking breakfast. The event was held at Emperor's Palace, a massive casino complex, in the conference centre. Despite the low attendance, there were great speakers, and an inspiring performance and speech by Capetonian musician, Verity (www.iamverity.com). Check out her website to read more about her upcoming album - “Yet to Be”. We finished the work day with interviews for a marketing position for WHEAT Trust in Johannesburg.

After the breakfast I was picked up by some friends of a friend who are involved in community development work in Jo'burg. They gave me a mini-tour of Johannesburg's surrounding areas, as we breezed past the city limits, through the townships and rural farm land and into Evaton and Vaal. We discussed the challenges of high unemployment rates, crime and housing disputes and the strength and determination of a community that values volunteerism and working together. The men gave me the name Nomvuso, which means rain, because of the buckets that poured down just as we arrived in Evaton West, accompanied by lightening and thunder (what a thrill!). After an hour's drive out of Jozie we arrived to my dear friend Meisie's new daycare centre ('Just Kidding Around'), where I spent the following day with her and the children. Meisie, who I met on Salt Spring for the Community 2 Community conference last year, and her 'newly-wed' husband, Sipho graciously welcomed me into their home, and were kindly accommodating with food and entertainment choices. Saturday came too soon, and although I tried to change my return ticket, it was time to head back to Cape Town. A fly-by visit with Gary and Andrea, 3 hours before my flight was short and sweet, and after the mad drive to the airport, I arrived in perfect time.

This past weekend was Obz Festival, here in my neighbourhood of Observatory (Obz), Cape Town's “hippy” village. Like any good festival the weekend was full of great music, dancing, laughter and friends. The market presented an overwhelming variety of goods, that tempted my eyes (and my wallet); clothing, art, and jewellery from vendors all across Africa. I'm scheming and dreaming of a virtual market - fair trade, global connection-building kind-of-a-thing. Any one interested? The food vendors had everything from sushi to nachos, braai and (my favourite) falafel. And the music was positively inspiring, blessing my ears and my soul - from reggae to hip hop, house, jazz and afro-beats – it enlightened my heart and reminded me of the necessity of music in my daily life. I was fortunate to meet a new (musical) friend, an African healing man, Spu (Cecil) Malanga, from Mpumalanga (that's a song waiting to happen). We have since jammed together several times (with my new drum!!) and joined some other South African guys last night for a group jam! It was a lot of fun and felt like the start of something beautiful (Afro-rock!?). I anticipate much more music to flow while I'm here.

So now I'm back at work, researching, writing and planning for the organisation's strategic planning meeting in January. There are many challenges of working in the non-profit sector, however my learning is rich and I am making some meaningful connections. I'm also busy planning my upcoming holidays to the Namibian desert, coast and game park and then to Lesotho for some pony trekking and a visit to Ha Mahata with Gary and Andrea. I'm learning lots these days about the politics of NGO work, fund raising and marketing. I'm learning daily about the community challenges of corrupt governments, racism, missing children, life in poverty, ongoing oppression, minor strikes, unsafe airlines and greedy corporations. I'm dreaming thoughts of community linking, community healing, community building; of documentaries, information sharing, art and music exchanges. I'm dreaming of sustainable links with individuals and groups here in South Africa and around the world.

And that my friends is where this letter ends. Peace and blessings to you and your loved ones over the holiday season. May you be reminded of the joy of giving and sharing with the world.

Love and blessings,
Christina Phipps