Wylie at TAC

Over the past few months, we have been given the opportunity to gain an understanding of the relationship between the TAC branches and our office (the Khayelitsha District office).  The Treatment Action Campaign is special due to their bottom-up, grassroots approach to community action.  While there are national, provincial, and district offices, the branches are the “heart” of TAC as the organization relies primarily on the branches within established districts to educate and mobilize the community.  Therefore, every TAC member belongs to a branch, and TAC employees who specifically work with the branches are called Community Mobilizers.

I have adopted the BM Branch in Site B, Khayelitsha for my membership because it is close to the office and because it’s where several friends from my internship live.  Last Wednesday, I was able to go to my first branch meeting, which took place at 5pm in the BM informal settlement.  After work, I walked with my friends Thulani and Thombisa from the TAC office to the meeting, which took about 10 minutes.  On the way, we passed a very sandy, charred area where over 300 shacks had burnt down in the New Year’s fire; many people I work with or who I’ve met have been personally affected by the fire (For more information, an article is at http://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/western-cape/3-dead-4-000-homeless-after-new-year-blazes-1.1446663#.UXUjjCuPiw4

I am still struck by how colorful and beautiful I find the shacks, in all of it’s complex winding and rambling, despite the indignities and safety hazards that come along with living in them.  I think the BM section is especially beautiful, with rows of new shacks made from a shiny silver metal with colorful linings. 

The meeting took place inside a little building, where a person lived during the week and which served as a church on Sundays.  It had a dirt floor with patches of old cloth, peeling dark pink paint, and a corrugated tin roof.  In the corner of the room was a giant skin-covered drum and candles, to be used for church services.  The meeting was attended by about 15 people, many of whom I knew or recognized, and was conducted entirely in Xhosa.  Despite the language barrier, I still think it was a learning experience; the meeting was well organized, every member had a chance to speak, and the environment was amicable.  Music and prayer was used intermittently as a way to ease tension and unify the group.

I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to interact with my branch community in this way, and I’m excited to go to next Wednesday’s meeting!