Before going to South Africa, I thought the trip would be like all of my other trips across the pond. Boy was I wrong. There have been several experiences that have confirmed for me that South Africa has changed my life. I'm not just saying that for effects, I really do believe it has changed my life. The direction I thought I wanted my life to go is definitely not where it is going anymore. The first experience was standing in Lebo's park. Just standing there in silence I got a better understanding of the people of South Africa. They are a people of strong will power and persistence, they are brave, but also forgiving. It may sound a bit cheesy, but that within the first hour of being in Soweto I seemed to change the outlook on my own life. The second experience occurred when I felt two small arms wrap around my legs one afternoon. she was the little girl who clung to me the rest of the afternoon. This little girl had the face of South Africa, she personified the country for me. She stole my heart away. The other experiences come from all of the individuals I've discussed in my blogs, I think in this blog-site, but mainly in my other blog-site www.mesinsa.blogspot.com. To briefly list those individuals: Lebo, Bilquees (Bo-Kaap), Thabo (DACPM), the women from the SAHPF. All of these individuals and South Africa, in general, are inspirational and I intend to carry that inspiration with me for as long as I can. Oh and I loved the scenery. Table Mountain and the beaches were absolutely gorgeous...just thought I would throw that in there.
First question: two change processes taking place in South Africa.
We can look at the change processes in two ways, at the macro and the micro level.
1) At the macro level: The government of South Africa and other institutions within South Africa have been building off of the phrase "forgive, but never forget". These institutions have built monuments to honor lives lost and significant events during the Apartheid and they erected museums to tell the story of the Apartheid, of Mandela's life, of other individuals who fought for freedom and equality. Good examples of such structures include the Apartheid Museum, the Hector Pieterson Museum, and some of the smaller monuments we saw in the townships. These structures are meant to remind people of the events that took place, but they should also be a way to make forgiveness and reconciliation a less bumpy road.
2) At the micro level: The micro level seems to be much more effective than the macro level. Individuals take the initiative. As stated above, people like Lebo and the women of SAHPF have taken things into their own hands. The government can only do so much. These local level grassroots movements are what is changing South Africa, these of the acts that are helping south Africa move forward. For example, Lebo's does not just benefit the surrounding community, it also benefits the world. Those that have stayed at Lebo's are entrusted with a duty, or even an obligation. We must spread the word! Our job is to let people know about Soweto. We need to tame those fears and let people know that Orlando West welcomes outsiders so that they can see the beauty of the area and the people that live there. Locally, Lebo employs community members. The money flow stays within the community. Just yesterday I was talking to someone and he had said that he didn't want to go to South Africa. I felt that I was obligated to tell him the what it was really like. I'm not claiming that crime doesn't exist there. It does, but crime exists everywhere. Granted the crime may be more dangerous, because the crime is more violent, but the entire time I was there I didn't witness very much crime. People shouldn't be discouraged to go there just because of the crime because it is an absolutely beautiful country. One of Lebo's goals is to encourage more travelers to stay in Soweto to see that the assumptions aren't necessarily true.
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