Day (6)
The house the Irish built... This was the day we stepped out of Disney's Lion King African experience and saw the real hardships of the people within the Imizamo Yethu community. In this area people live below unimaginable conditions next to a landfill. The stench alone is unbearable but it is the vivid sight of people struggling to raise their families and educate their offspring that is intriguing and prevents you from looking the other way. Hundreds of families living in SHACKS, without running water thus, no bathrooms or showers, etc. So whose doing something about this? Who is making a difference? Unfortunately this description is far too common throughout Africa and the government does not seem to be making large enough strides for effective change. Lucky for Imizamo Yethu, Niall Mellon, an Irish pub tycoon and philanthropist pledged to the neighborhood that he would make a difference in 2002. Since then his organization has built over 12,500 homes armed with proper funds, will power and phenomenal volunteers they have revived this community and it's livelihood. We were given a tour of the area, before and after the renovations. The before is more devastating than anything you can picture and as we collected neighborhood kids along the way toward the after we saw the hope that people were holding on to. They now have a community center where people can learn computer skills, and have a small illness clinic and a shop to sell things they create from recycled scraps. Their creativity and faith is inspiring and really set the tone for our volunteer days ahead.
To learn more or find out how you can contribute your time, money or even attention, visit: http://www.nmtownshiptrust.com/
A majority of their toilets.
before.
after.
They still have sooo many more homes to upgrade to these standards.
Robben Island... Formerly used as a leper colony and as a defense base for Table bay in World War II, it is more commonly known for it's infamous imprisonment of political activists. One of the most popular inmates is none other than Nelson Mandela. Our tour throughout the prison was narrated by a former inmate who was there after being charged with crimes related to the political activities. His account of torture, he was electrocuted until he spoke, and life without communication between other inmates and his family was honest and eye opening. Although he arrived after Mandela, he told us of a time where they were forced to sleep on the floor and life a life of solitude since the government was afraid of their ability to motivate the masses. The walls within Robben Island hold secrets or pain and persistance and at one point parts of the manuscript of Nelson Mandela's novel, A Long Walk To Freedom, it held prisoners until 1996.
Nelson Mandela's Cell, 46664.
"While we will not forget the brutality of apartheid, we will not want Robben Island to be a monument of our hardship and suffering. We would want it to be a triumph of the human spirit against the forces of evil, a triumph of wisdom and largeness of spirit against small minds and pettiness, a triumph of courage and determination over human frailty and weakness."
-Ahmed Kathrada 1993
Within the walls of the Robben Island Museum
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