Melissa on getting involved

We call ourselves activists and in an entire month we haven't had the chance to speak out about what we care about most. We've been busy doing and seeing but sometimes life gets the best of us and time is lost. Now that we've been settled, many of us have decided to branch out and get involved! On Friday Erica and I took a trip to Parliament to attend a rally against gender based violence. We had no idea what to expect and we also didn't know where exactly we were going but the opportunity presented itself and so went.  We were walking along noticing that the time was getting close and so we rushed around asking people  where to go and eventually we started following two girls assuming they were headed the direction we were going. Our intuition was correct and as we arrived to the rally we had met a new friend and we were ready to go! The scene was exciting but still growing! We got shirts and stickers and found a spot right in the front behind the speakers. Who knows how many press and media pictures we ended up in because of where we were standing but it was so fun! There were cameras and signs everywhere. I loved the message that this rally was sending. We continued to attract attention throughout the entire time gaining people and support and making our voices heard by chanting "enough is enough!" and raising our voices together!

Melissa & Erica

The rally was nothing like I could have expected. I wanted to laugh, cry, smile, and shout all at once. The program was amazing and so motivating. There was a certain energy that radiated from the group was so encouraging. It didn't matter who you were or what your experience was but the fact that you were there was a beautiful thing and I felt accepted. People shared their personal experiences and joined together in songs and cheers. They said that they would no longer be silent and while Zuma (the president of South Africa) played golf they'd be sure not to let their efforts stop at the end of the protest. Something that was interesting to me is that the women were singing songs from the apartheid years during the rally. They were passionately singing these words that their parents and some of them even sang in the years of oppression. It was really difficult for me to see the struggle against gender based violence compared to the apartheid and I left the rally thinking a lot about oppression and human rights. I wanted to agree with what everyone was saying because they were so right! I was shocked by the experiences that were shared and the statistics that were exploited. Even so, I knew that by being there and supporting the cause I was contributing in one way or another to making a difference. Two of my favorite quotes from the rally were, "I dislike the term ladies because ladies are expected to keep their legs closed", and also " it's a dress, not a yes". It seems to me that passionate people have a way of saying things so much better than I ever could! It was like, I was thinking the same thing all along but couldn't have said it better if I tried! I was glad to have attended this event and have a chance to get involved in the community. Time here moves so quickly that I hope to be able to do everything I want in Cape Town before the time runs out!