Anna on the power of one

Anna walking through the library her vision and hard work helped to build.

Last night, most of the pool house was piled on my bed looking through the 3,500 pictures I have taken since being in Cape Town, reminiscing over the past four months. My camera has easily become my most valuable possession. Through it, I have been able to capture times and memories on film that others may capture through their journals. The past four months have been dream like, so much so, that I'm afraid when we step off the plane and say goodbye that they won't actually seem real, because, how can they be? We laughed and joked about even how physically different we all looked, hair longer, making most of us look older. When we leave here, this entire experience will simply be a memory. I'd like to think that we have left our mark on Cape Town, but more accurately, Cape Town has left its mark on us. One of the biggest landmarks of passing time for me, has been the library. When looking through the pictures it was the first time that I really looked at the two states of the room side by side. What it was on our first day at Sithembele Matiso and what it looks like now and all of the steps that we had to take, obstacles that we have overcome and hours we spent working to make the room what is now. We finally finished on Friday, and were able to bring in local book donations that we received.  As this project progressed, at times even I questioned whether or not it would actually come to fruition, would it work out, or were we making Joseph and the school false promises that we wouldn't be able to keep.  Somehow as everything seems to in this magical place, everything did. We just heard from UPS that they have completed the process of the donation of shipment and 1.5 tons of books will be headed in Nyanga's direction in the next few days. It's hard to dispute that someone or something whether it be karma, luck, or fate, is on our side. We covered the walls in inspirational quotes, as you walk in the door, the first thing that you see are the words of Nelson Mandela, “It always seems impossible, until it is done.” Very fitting. The walls are covered with the words of Albert Einstein, JK Rowling, Dr. Seuss and others. Patrick painted a beautiful tribute to the victims of the Newtown shooting and Sharon a mural of Table mountain. Each person who contributed to this project made a world of a difference. I don't mean just Allie, Patrick, Sharon, Liz, and Kelsey, but every person who donated, told a friend, or offered words of support. The completion of the library would not have been possible without every single contribution, proving first hand evidence of, the power of one. 

The group at Sithembele Matiso High Library under mural painted by Sharon.

Avery's final day

On the last full day in Cape Town, I was a wreck. All around me was still unexplored beauty- a cityscape with stores un-shopped, a bay left un-laid out on, a mountain left un-revisited. I woke up and realizing the predicament of time running out began to cry. I needed to do something with the day that would somehow wrap up everything- tie up this trip with a beautiful bow so that I could get on the plane and look over my shoulder with peaceful content rather than heart strangled anguish in leaving. So, without too much thought involved I followed Patrick, Anna, Allie, Kelsey and Sharon to Nyanga to go officially open the Library that they have taken all semester to build.

Maria, Avery, Lindsay, Wylie, & Kelsey share in the joy of the dedication
of the library at Sithembele Matiso High in Nyanga

 When we arrived it was with the expectation that the walls would be painted, and the shelves would be built but empty, as the shipment of donated books from the USA supposedly wouldn’t arrive until after we had left. What the group found as the doors were pushed open was a library stocked with books- a donation from the Cape Town Library. Anna’s tears of joy permeated my very soul. It was like living in an episode of Extreme Make-Over Home Edition. The group of people who helped to build this beautiful place was all teary eyed and running their hands along the mystical spines of books that appeared in their library. I couldn’t help but weep. In life, we have many opportunities to empathize with someone’s pain- but the moments where we may experience another persons pure joy are much rarer- more sacred, and particularly poignant.

Joseph (the inspiration for the library project with other grade 8-12 learners

The school children from grades 8-12 began to filter into the library for the opening ceremony. The principal came to give an opening speech where he declared his initial skepticism of the project. He explained how it is often that touring groups of students may come through the area- point their fingers at an old standing issue, and then leave never getting their hands dirty in actually solving the problem. He commended then Anna, Patrick and Allie’s group for plunging their hands deep into paint and pulling out a library for the underfunded school. Truly their work is more than just a gift to the community, more than an investment in the future of those students- it is an inspiration to us all.

Kelsey, Patrick, Anna, Liz, and Allie receive thanks for all their hard work.

 Patrick said during the end of the ceremony, “having the idea isn’t hard, the work is hard.” If everyone could in their lifetime focus in on just one social issue- focus on it, hold it dear to their hearts and then go one step further just to think of a valid way to attempt to dispel that issue from the earth- I believe we would find that many more people would then be inclined to act on their ideas. Isn’t that the scariest step after all? That very first one- that one where in taking it you assign your name to a cause, you take up the responsibility because you have now paid attention to it- you are now accountable for working to make a change under this new enlightenment. Damn straight that’s scary-which is why many people allow these wonderful ideas to come into mind and then never fully seek out a way to make their musings take shape. I hope that this sort of story serves as an inspiration to those who come across it. I know that within our group we have each taken up the struggle of something, we are leaving this trip knowing that individually we each have a cause, and that as a group we can call upon any one within us to help make a change. 

Sharon, Anna, KelseyMs Maloka (teacher) Patrick, Allie, and Liz in the beautiful library.
They imagined it and then worked hard to make their dream a reality!

Kelsey's journey to self discovery

I can’t even begin to explain how this trip has influenced my life. I feel like I came on this trip just to get away from things for a while, and get a new perspective on life. I can’t really say this trip was disappointing in any way. I believe I have changed in the fact that I have a more clear idea of my values. I think before this trip I was so confused on what makes me happy, what makes me proud of myself, and what I’d like to spend my time doing. 

Initially, I was so stressed out with school and work and my social life that it just was not fun anymore. I didn’t really have any idea what my values were because I never put any thought to it. I was just so caught up in everyday life. Because I was so caught up I was also so blind to other things that were happening in the world. When you don’t see these issues, they don’t mean anything to you. Many issues of human rights I would have never even known about until this trip, now volunteering and giving back is a priority of mine. 

My activist project, Books for Nyanga, really secured my views on giving back and trying to make a difference in the world, as well as our classes and my experience at Tafelsig Clinic. One of the things I am struggling with is how I am going to fit this value in with my already busy schedule. I wrote myself a postcard telling myself to relax more, and that nothing is as bad as it seems. I’ve learned every heart has a story to tell and everyone deserves the same respect and attention because that’s how we learn from one another. I hope I never forget the kindness and compassion I witnessed here and can only hope I can bring that kindness with me the rest of my life. I know for sure I will remember this trip forever and am so so blessed to have had such this opportunity. 

Books for Nyanga Library Project
Allie, Kelsey, Patrick, teacher Ms Maloka, Sharon, Anna, Liz

I’m really struggling to face the fact I won’t be seeing Table Mountain every morning, or the fact that I may never see my coworkers again. They’ve left such an imprint on my life that I know I’m going to have trouble explaining all they did for me to my friends and family. I know I’ll be back some day. I don’t know when but how can I not come back to a place that has influenced me so much? For anyone considering this program, there is absolutely no way you will regret it. You will never find a program like this one or experience such a beautiful city with beautiful people any other way. I keep telling myself that I'll be happy to go home and see everybody, but I know I will be "second homesick". The trip is over, but the journey is not. I know when a couple months pass I'll be able to fully process all we learned here. I'll keep trying to find myself and what is important to me, but I know I would never had realized many things about myself had I not come to Cape Town.

Allie approaching final week in Cape Town

Over the past few weeks, the rule has been not to talk about leaving South Africa. Anyone who mentioned the dwindling number of days here was immediately shushed, as if avoiding the subject could prolong our time here. However, we’ve finally reached the point where it’s impossible to deny our departure; in one week from tomorrow, we are leaving Cape Town. It honestly hasn’t hit me yet, and I don’t think it’s going to until the first morning I wake up in Fairfield, CT. I’m obviously excited that I’m going to get to see my family and friends again; I was lucky enough to have my dad visit for the week before excursion, and that sort of reminded me how much I miss them. But I’m still not ready to go. I feel like there are so many things I didn’t get the chance to do and that Cape Town still has so much to offer. I’m going to miss so much about this city: the colors, the people, the energy- everything.

It’s also going to be strange to no longer call the house we have lived in home. After spending four months here with all my housemates, it’s going to be weird to not see them every day. Considering we didn’t know each other a few months ago, we have become incredibly close- sort of like a big, dysfunctional family. For me, this has definitely been one of the rewarding parts of the trip, and I think that when I look back on my time in South Africa, I’m going to most clearly remember the people I spent it with.

Okay, I’m regretting writing about this now- too sad! I’m just going to try and enjoy my last week here in Cape Town. Luckily, we’ve got a lot to look forward to. I’m hoping to revisit some of my favorite spots around the city- Lions Head, Old Biscuit Mill, St. George’s Mall, etc. 

Quotes on wall in Nyanga school library

But what I’m most excited about is finishing the library in Nyanga; we were there today, and it looks amazing! We finished painting the quotes on the walls, Sharon put up her beautiful mural, and we were even able to put some books on the shelves. I’m so thrilled that we were able to actually accomplish what we set out to do, and I just hope that it can make a difference in the lives on some of these deserving students. 

Sharon's mural hung on wall in library

Sharon's Adventures

Wylie, Sharon, Avery, & JR at the Congo Caves

 Our group trip to the Garden Route was everything I hoped it would be. It is hard to believe we only spent 2 nights and 3 days on the road because we had packed schedule, filled with caves, elephants and a very high bridge! Melissa did a wonderful job of planning one of our last weekends in South Africa; we were all really lucky to have her spearhead the trip early on in the semester.

Sharon overcoming fear of this LARGE creature

  

I loved feeding the elephants!! At first, I have to admit, I was very scared of their long trunks. But I soon realized, that they really are playful and gentle giants. Needless to say, I was mystified by these beautiful creatures.  

Sharon jumping off the Boulkans Bridge

I know everyone shared their experience bungee jumping on the Boulkans Bridge, but I’ll share mine anyway. I DID IT! I overcame my fear of heights and jumped off, with maybe a little push from the employees harnessing me up. When we arrived at the site, I was in awe of the bridge. My stomach was doing flips just viewing the site. I almost chickened out of jumping but my peers were SO supportive of me. I really could not have done it if it was not for the UConn group.

I am happy to say that the mural for the library is underway! My goal is to finish it by this Friday so that I can personally bring it to Sithembele Matiso High School in Nyanga. I am so grateful and appreciative for my friends and family members who donated to my project via my Books for Nyanga GoFundMe page.  I am excited to see the final result!

More on the Books for Nyanga Project

Patrick's amazing and completely full week

You can’t have a non-insane week in South Africa. Monday through Wednesday at Tafelsig was crazy as always. On Wednesday, I even helped save a life! This man came into the clinic and immediately collapsed on the floor. It turned out he was an epileptic who was mixing alcohol with his medication. He was having terrible fits for almost an hour and a half, seizing so bad that he was smashing his head into the floor. The nurses and I had to wrestle with this man so that he would not hurt himself or anyone else. It made me think about how the clinic really does not have any bigger stronger employees to hold anyone down. On the chance that two people came into the clinic having seizures, what would happen? Would the other be left to die? It’s a sick reality that epileptic people in Tafelsig have to deal with, hoping they are the only ones to be having trouble that day. Anyway, he was seizing terribly and the nurses had given him a pill which he almost threw up, an injection which took a while to work so they were going to start with an IV. They had pricked him probably seven times, but the vein would blow every time and he wasn’t getting the effect of the IV. I had found a vein in a place the nurses hadn’t looked, so I informed them and they told me I could try. I was so nervous because I had never been in this position before. My heart racing, I administered the needle, and it immediately filled with blood meaning I had hit a vein! I attached the drip, taped it down, and he started to calm down. I was probably freaking out more than him at this point. I was so excited and proud of myself. Apparently now he is still in the hospital but in stable condition. I don’t think he’ll ever realize the impact he had on me.

We also didn’t have class this week because it was human rights day so that was cool. But the day itself started off rough. We got to the school and discovered that all of our paint and most of our supplies were stolen. I was pretty upset all day because now we had to start going into our own pockets to buy new supplies. The taxi ride over is only 12 rand but it all adds up really quickly. I hadn’t started feeling better until we got to the Eastern Food Bazaar that afternoon, and that was just because the food was so good. We even got to go to the Casinos that night for my ‘fake bachelor party’. Yes, Morgan and I got fake married here. We had the ceremony at the house, where Anna was the minister, Aimee was the ring bearer, and JR was the flower girl. Lindsay, Brianna, Ethan and I also sang. It was just because we wanted to do something together, and that we did. Almost everyone came, and even some of our South African friends joined as well to celebrate our fake marriage. Usually I would be really uncomfortable with this type of thing, but it was just a stupid event which everyone turned out to love. We also went to a karaoke night after the wedding which was crazy, stupid and fun.

The next day Allie, Anna, Liz, Kelsey and I went to Nyanga with Allie’s dad who came to visit. Allie’s dad drove, and we ended up getting lost in Guguletu, the township connected to Nyanga. He was actually getting really antsy when we were in the car, while we were all just hanging out enjoying the view. Cape Town has such a relaxed environment that we have gotten used to and so it was weird having a little part of the fast pace of the US back in our lives. That day was awesome though because we got to finish almost all of the painting. We completed the walls with our new paint and started to lay the first couple coats of our quotes on the walls. I even dedicated part of the big wall to the Sandy Hook school shootings. The quote read ‘We Should Meet in Another Life We Should Meet in the Air Me and You 14 December 2013’ and was in green and white, the Sandy Hook school colors. It was an awesome way to tribute the victims and their families and I was so happy to be a part of it.

Patrick painting a message in memory of those killed in Sandy Hook School 12/14/12

That night was the soccer game. There aren’t words in any language that could describe how much fun and how exciting that was. It was a FIFA qualifying match in the 2010 World Cup stadium. The South African national team Bafana Bafana played Central Africa Republic’s national team and won! We had our flag, faces painted, fresh jerseys, and vuvuzelas. We went absolutely nuts every time Bafana Bafana scored.

Jerard, Janiel, Allie, Ethan, Carl Patrick, Sharon and Anna ready for the Bafana, Bafana Game

My ears were still ringing the next morning when I woke up but I powered on and went to Mzolis’. It had amazing piles of meat. We only had to wait 2 hours for our food which wasn’t too bad because in the mean time we all were dancing and having fun. After Mzolis’, some of my friends and I went to the prep school down the road to play soccer. We met some highschool African kids who absolutely destroyed us.

Overall the week was amazing and completely full. I also remember Morgan said on our way home from the karaoke night, “Everyone we will never have this moment back and never be together like this again!” That really resonated with me and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. It gave me such a different perspective and I really appreciate Morgan for it. It has been almost two and a half months and has felt like one day. Mom and Dad, I really miss you, but I really, really love it here.

Kelsey wanting to accomplish more in the dwindling time here

As the trip is dwindling down I have began to fill my days as much as I can with activities. The activist projects I have been participating in are the Big Sisters Little Sisters and painting a library. For the Big Sisters Little Sisters project we have adopted a group of girls from a local township and are able to spend time with them. So far we have visited the Company Gardens, the planetarium, the Baxter theater, and we also took them to the Carnival. The Carnival was really fun especially with the girls! There were many colorful floats and people dressed up as different things dancing and singing. There was a concert that followed after where we were able to hear many local South African artists perform. The girls loved it. It is so nice to be able to find connections with people who live such opposite lives. They are all so kind and funny. 

The library project I am working on is also an extremely rewarding experience. Unfortunately, we thought the paint for the project got stolen so new paint had to be bought.  We have looked past the event and have proceeded with the library and it looks wonderful. We began to paint quotes on the walls and the books will be shipped very shortly. It provides us with such a sense of accomplishment when we finish for the day. We plan to return to finish the quotes and painting on Friday, the day before we leave Johannesburg.  I think as the weeks have gone by I have found my priorities changing. Instead of going out every other night, I find myself wanting to rather stay in and wake up early to accomplish more in the day.

Patrick filling up every minute of his time here

First of all, what/ how. How has it already been nine weeks? I remember like it was yesterday when my mom texted me saying “one week down, a lot more to go!”, and it has been eight weeks since then. I love and miss my parents but it is insane how not homesick I have been. Maybe it’s because I’m so distracted all the time but I’m also so happy to be here and don’t want to go home at all.

Monday through Wednesday this week at the clinic was interesting. I have gotten to do so much hands-on work there. The sisters, or nurses, leave me alone all the time to do bandaging by myself. It’s really awesome how much I get to see/do. On Tuesday, the 3 women left me alone all day to go to a Gender Based Violence Workshop. It was definitely an experience to have them gone that day, and I have such a greater appreciation of having friends with me at work. Also being the only white person in a room full of 500 was definitely interesting to say the least. Thursday after class, me Avery, and Allie stayed around UCT to play soccer for a couple hours. It was extremely hot that day so we didn’t last as long as we wanted to but it was a nice time because we got to distress and talk.

Patrick & Allie painting what will become the schools first ever library

The next day Allie, Anna, and I got up early and went to the paint store for Books For Nyanga. We chose the aptly titled ‘hope’ (peach) and another green color. After, we went directly to the school to see the job the carpenter did on the shelves for the books. We paid him a lot of rand so we were hoping it was going to be worth it; and it definitely was. All of the chairs and desks that were piled high to the ceiling were moved out. The broken down piano was thrown out and the shelves were varnished and nailed down. After a quick rejoice we started working on the walls. By the end of the day we had taken down everything that was unnecessary/broken down from the walls and fixed all of the scratches, and laid a first coat of paint on most of the walls. We were exhausted by 6:00 P.M. so we came back and ended up getting some incredible news: our story was about to be aired on NBC Connecticut! Completely unexpected, we all had to do a Skype interview to an NBC correspondent which she used portions of for an online article and a live newscast. It was so cool to be able to know we got the word out and how great this project could actually become. While talking about this I want to bring up a point that was reiterated in the online article. Allie, Anna, and I do not want this to be about us. We don’t want to set any precedent for any future UConn students to beat or match. We hope this happens but we definitely don’t want anyone on this trip or in the future to feel inadequate because all we really did was come up with an idea, send out a couple of Facebook messages, and do the work. But that being said, the idea was not hard and if we all actually wanted to give kids better lives here in South Africa and make them pass their exams we definitely could.

Another reason I believe Friday was probably my best day here was that night. My roommate Carl’s birthday was Friday so all 29 of us decided to go to Mama Afrika’s for dinner which is a restaurant and bar that features live music and classic African food. Unbelievable. Not only was the food amazing, but the African instruments and dancers were awesome to watch, listen and dance to. I even ended up playing on of the drums for a while! After, we went home and went swimming even though it was raining. I literally love it here. Every day is so awesome and jam-packed. Even though I know I’m spending a lot of money, it’s completely worth it and the best possible thing I could spend my money on. When I get back to the states, what am I going to be spending my money on anyway?

Obviously woke up to another awesome day on Saturday to the aquarium in the morning, a braai at a friend of Vernon’s house in the afternoon, and Carnivale at night. Carnivale was this big parade with these elaborate and colorful floats. They even had this concert right next to the parade which was awesome as well. I feel like I keep using the same descriptive words over and over again but there really isn’t a way to express on paper how happy I am all the time here.  You really have to come here to get the full experience and understand what I’m talking about.

The next day I woke up to a St. Patricks’ Day celebration at church, and then lunch at a pub in the city. After that I went home, exercised with some friends, and went to dinner at Marita’s flat. Marita was obviously so welcoming and was nice enough to offer Allie, Anna, and I dinner while we talked about our project. After a poor week last week, I’m happy to say I’m all better. Again, I’m very thankful to Marita and my classmates for making me feel so much better.