Wentworth's Housing Crisis

One of my favorite things about working at the Wentworth Organisation of Women has been the opportunity to develop a close relationship with Myrtle. Besides being an incredibly hard-working woman with an infectious laugh, she is passionate about improving the community where she has lived for her entire life. Lately, a stream of people have been moving in and out of Myrtle’s office to give her their identification information so she can compile a list of people who all live in the Ark.

The Ark is a housing project on Austerville Drive, just down the road from many of our worksites. Two small buildings house ten families of about sixty people, with only one male and one female toilet shared among all. I was told about the Ark’s rat problem a few weeks ago, but mentally brushed it aside, convincing myself that it must be an over exaggeration. But, when I went to visit the Ark for the first time I had quite the rude awakening. As I was standing outside with the WOW ladies, a tiny girl with a puff of brown hair on top of her head bounded toward me, screaming “aunty Anna!!” It was Ronan, a sassy four-year-old girl who comes to after-school care at the WOW Centre who has become something of a favorite of mine. I had no idea that she lived at the Ark, and she insisted on showing me her bedroom. She gripped my hand and we made our way through the dirt into the building. The first thing I saw on the ground was three rat bodies, splayed out in the middle of the hallway. The walls that divided the different family’s rooms from each other barely served their purpose—many were on the verge of falling down, and none connected to the ceiling. Ronan unlocked the padlock on her sisters’ room and she showed me their beds, which barely fit in the tiny cluttered room, and a cement floor with more rat bodies lying by the wall. I fought to suppress tears as adorable little Ronan smiled at me, proud to show me her home.

The Ark

One of South Africa’s main television channels, eTV, was at the Ark to interview residents about their living conditions and their demands. One of the women spoke about how the rats that have recently invaded their living quarters are chewing up their children’s clothing, and how those who live in the Ark can no longer keep groceries in their home because the rats eat them up. Myrtle was interviewed, and she explained that the last time Wentworth had a new housing development was more than 30 years ago. Everyone who lives in the Ark wants to leave and live in better housing, but almost all are unemployed and there are no unoccupied houses in this area.

The next day, I attended a protest held by some of the Ark’s residents outside the Wentworth Rent Office. Cardboard signs read messages like: “Ten Families, One Home,” “Rats are eating our food and clothes,” and “We Want Houses.” Perhaps the most powerful of the signs read, “We not Black enough or White enough.”

Today, on my last day at the WOW Centre, we accompanied KwaZulu-Natal’s MEC (which stands for something like Minister of Executive Council) of Housing as he visited Wentworth to inspect the Ark, speak with the local rent office, and scout out free land that the housing division could potentially develop. The Ark residents were overjoyed that the government was finally paying attention to their problem, but the MEC was very vague about what would actually happen to them, and how long it would take to improve their situation.

When I ask most people why they choose to live in Wentworth, the answer almost always involves wanting to stay with family, even it means that you earn significantly less money living here than living somewhere more glamorous like Cape Town or Johannesburg. If there is anything I have learned while here, it is that Wentworth’s appeal is not in its parks, schools, or businesses—it is in its people and families. In a way, it seems that the government has taken advantage of this community’s desire to stay together; most housing in this area and in similar townships exists in the form of large apartment complexes, packing dozens of people into small quarters. Until Myrtle pointed it out, I hadn’t noticed that I have never seen homes for sale and I have never seen construction taking place. As I have been repeatedly told, this is not because there isn’t enough land in this community. The government is largely to blame, as they have allocated millions of rand to housing in this area that they claim was stolen, and they are alerted of unethical living conditions but take little action—the people of Wentworth deserve the housing that their country’s constitution declares is their right. 

The Tale of Two Worksites

The following post is by Marcayla:

Due to unforeseen circumstances, my original worksite assignment at the Wentworth Victim Friendly Centre has evolved to include a few days a week at Ocean View Place of Safety in the Bluff area also.  To begin, I’ll include a bit of background information about each worksite.

Ocean View Place of Safety is a government-owned residential facility normally housing between 30-35 court-appointed children from various backgrounds.  It was established well over 50 years ago and houses boys ages 7-12 and girls ages 7-17.  Its location was previously a military facility, as evident by bars over many of the windows and doors.  There is a primary school on the grounds, ensuring the younger children can continue their education while there.  Unfortunately, there is no secondary school, though.  This leads to many of the older teenage girls not attending any form of school while awaiting court dates. 

I’ve worked with Christy throughout much of my time there.   We planned a series of holiday programs during the three week winter break from school, ranging from reading with them to creating homemade masks.  In addition, we’ve spent a lot of time with the older girls.  Lacking school, they have so much free time during the day and really seem to appreciate just talking to us.  With their help, we also created 10 goals all the children agreed to abide by to make Ocean View a “Violence-Free Zone.”   It was fun tweaking the goals to be appropriate there; for instance, a general “no gangs” goal became “no cliques” in that setting.  Finally, Ocean View has all volunteers who spend time there create a banner to leave as a type of keepsake.  We decided to focus on a diversity theme in ours, painting a border of flags from all over the world and children of varying races holding hands.  It’s nearing completion – all we have to finish now is the children’s faces and possibly decorating the background.  

The Wentworth Victim Friendly Centre (or the Trauma Room, as often referred to) is composed of a team of 5 volunteers who work endlessly, assisting with cases including domestic violence, indecent assault, rape, hijacking, and alcohol or drug abuse.  They intervene and counsel in numerous situations, often offering counseling to both victims and perpetrators in an effort to bring about peace and reconciliation.  In addition, they are active members of the community by providing necessary items to those in need and holding awareness workshops in schools to educate students about abuse. 

While there, I’ve devoted much of my time into developing and implementing a winter holiday program for local children, in addition to helping distribute items such as bread or blankets.  I also generally help out wherever needed.  A resource centre and safe house are soon to be opened to the public, so I’ve helped some in that regards. 

One day while helping clean the safe house, Otis Redding’s song “A Change is Gonna Come” started playing in the background.  This really prompted me to think about South Africa and its adjustment in this post-apartheid world.  Much of the change many South Africans desire has not come quickly enough.   That system and its repercussions weren’t simply things that can be patched up quickly in less than 20 years.  I’ve noticed in Wentworth that there are numerous resources available for people, yet many of these resources seem underutilized.  This consists of both physical capital and human capital.  Finding an equitable way to overcome this challenge indeed is not a simple, straightforward path.

We were lucky enough to have a local businessman, Collin, over to discuss similar issues last night.  He works down near the South Coast as a human resources manager in local industry.  He spoke of the many barriers he faced in both preparing to and entering into the workplace.  Numerous universities denied admission to anyone who wasn’t white, so he finally ended up earning his degree in Lesotho through a scholarship sponsored by the United Nations. 

He provided an interesting prospective to the issue of race issues in South Africa.  Though whites only comprise 9% of the population, they possess 73% of upper-level positions.  To this end, there has been a Black Economic Empowerment program established to ensure that everyone receives similar opportunities.  Not everyone has taken well to this implementation though, as some cry reverse discrimination.  He attempts to overcome these obstacles with openness and clarity.  That openness and clarity he described has been a refreshing part of my stay here.  People generally seem to be very open about their opinions in regards to race or politics.

A Community Uplifted

Far too often, people have said that Wentworth relies too heavily on the government for support and have exclaimed the residents do nothing for themselves. While the sheer number of non-profits in the Wentworth community is enough to combat those sentiments—I recently experienced an event that proved the Wentworth community is taking responsibility for themselves and their neighbors.

The event was the launch of the first Wentworth violence free zone. A violence free zone being a targeted area of the community that has mobilized and pledged to actively work toward making their community violence free. This manifested itself physically in the following ways:

-Prior to the launch the community spent two weeks beautifying. This involved what appeared to be community clean ups. In doing this, members of the community were education about the new efforts and support was rallied.

-Violence free branding. All throughout the community there were the five colors symbolizing the movement painted everything; fences, house windows, brick walls, corner stores, etc.

-Wentworth taxi services came together and pimped out their cars boasting messages of violence free and prevention in action to serve as a daily reminder.

-Members of the community signing a pledge—promising to take preventative steps to maintain a safe community

The efforts for this zone was headed by the KZN Network in conjunction with PEPFAR and USAID but it was made clear that it was the community and their actions toward prevention that made the event possible. Members of the community rallied their families, their neighbors, and community leaders the day of the launch to listen and heed advice, on how to make their community safer. A large part of the event was coordinated by Prevention in Action and Brothers for Life—organizations based in Wentworth for the upliftment of Wentworth.

During the event in the neighborhood t-shirts that proclaim “I am taking steps to prevent violence against women” were given out with arm bands that said “violence-free,” to remind everyone wearing them that their wrists aren’t intended for violence. 

As I said before, prior to this event there was an overwhelming sentiment of government and public service reliance that I was beginning to succumb to, but on the launch of the violence free zone, I saw a community uplift themselves.

A member from the national chapter of Brothers For Life who was in attendance to see the work of the Wentworth chapter gave a speech that concluded with “We will tell all of South Africa they have a lot to learn from the Wentworth community.” A message very empowering to the communities working to better themselves.

Education in Wentworth: Day-to-Day at Assegai Primary School

Definition of the word "assegai" as per the Oxford University Press's Dictionary of South African English:

"a spear, either short, for stabbing, as introduced by Shaka for the Zulu armies, or long, for throwing, usually with an iron blade: used from earliest times by Africans, both in hunting and war."

Although Assegai Primary School on Austerville Drive in Wentworth shares the name of this traditional Zulu weapon, it has nothing to do with wars or violence.  However, "Assegai" is the perfect name for this primary school of about 1200 "learners", as students are called in South Africa, because this government-run (equivalent to "public school" in the U.S.) school is fighting and struggling for a better education for the children of its community.

While working at Assegai, I have been pleasantly surprised and thrilled at the multitude of hospitality and warmth I have received from the children who rush up to hug me on a daily basis, even after a month and a half of working here, and the teachers who welcome me into their classrooms and their lives. 

While the children often become rowdy or do not listen to their teacher, I am continuously amazed by the love these children show so openly toward me.  During my first day at school, I had taken two steps out of a classroom when a young girl came up and hugged me.  I was then immobilized for the next ten minutes as one child after another came up to me, said hello and hugged me before heading off to their next class.  This was an experience that took my breath away; each day, as I am greeted by numerous children and teachers, I feel truly loved and am very happy to be able to interact with so many of Wentworth's children and teachers on a daily basis.  Working at Assegai has been a thrill, despite challenging at times, because I have not only been given the opportunity to interact and play with children, but also work with them in an educational setting in which I hope to leave a lasting effect on these kids' learning.

During a typical week at Assegai, I spend my time during the school days with the grade 4 students (for the first three weeks) and the grade 5 students (for my last two weeks after the school's 3-week winter holiday).  I help the students with their math and English work, assist the teachers with other tasks in the classroom, read stories to the class, and substitute teach when a teacher is absent.  After school, I run three different programs throughout the week:  On Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, I run a Literacy Workshop with the Grade 7s during which we practice reading aloud, answering reading comprehension questions, and going over new vocabulary words that we come across in our reading.  Many grade 7 students' reading levels are well below what they should be which becomes an even bigger problem when these students leave primary school (grades R to 7) and fall even further behind upon entering secondary school (grades 8 to 12).  On Tuesdays, I run an Arts Club for grade 3 students in which I teach the children to draw, paint, and do other crafts such as making paper snowflakes and gift bags.  Lastly, on Wednesdays, I run a Soccer Club for grade 7 girls during which we practice different soccer skills through drills, and use those techniques during scrimmage games.  For much of the year there is a boys soccer team, but no team for the girls.  For at least the two months I am here, I strive to give the girls an opportunity to also exercise and play soccer, and hopefully motivate them to pursue the establishment of a longer-lasting girls team in the future.

The children in my classes are very curious about America, and the questions they ask are quite entertaining.  The top things the children want to know about include questions about whether I have ever met any celebrities, which I sadly have to respond "no" to.  The most frequent requests are about Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, and Beyoncé.  I have also received requests that I sing the American national anthem for them; I did have my solo as I sang the anthem for a grade 6 classroom, and was pleasantly surprised as the entire class then sang the South African national anthem for me in return.  The children are also fascinated by the look and feel of American dollar bills and coins and stare at me with incredulous eyes as I inform them that a single U.S. dollar equals 8 rand.  Lastly, I have gotten questions about whether there are things like movie theaters, grocery stores, sports stadiums, and certain types of cares in America: South African and the United States do have many similarities in addition to their differences.

Despite a glowing welcome and great conversations with the kids and teachers, Assegai Primary School faces many challenges in regards to providing its students with an effective education.  To start off with, the school is filled with large classes, each with over 40 learners to only one teacher.  This is a problem unto itself because it decreases the interaction available between each student and his or her teacher.  This can be particularly worrisome for learners who are struggling in class and are not receiving enough attention to improve their grades.  Furthermore, there are no substitute teachers at the school.  So when a teacher is absent, that class is often left without any teacher to watch over them which ends up in a classroom full of loud and rowdy students where little learning is accomplished. In the first two weeks of my time at Assegai, a different teacher was absent on 7 of the 10 days, so a lack of replacement teachers is a constant issue.  Dealing with constantly-misbehaving children is also very taxing on the teachers of the school: many have told me how tired they get trying to control classes who often seem uninterested in learning and do not seem to realize the importance education will have on their future.  However, while behavior and keeping order is certainly a problem in each of the grade 4 classes I had been helping in, the kids are not the only ones to blame.  Many of these children have had difficult lives, often exposed to violence and drugs at home and are not always receiving the attention they need from their parents.  Many young kids are also on Ritalin to help them focus in class.  One young boy in grade 4 has the reading level of a grade R (the South African equivalent of kindergarten).  This boy failed grade 4 last year, yet still is not receiving the attention he needs to improve his reading ability.  Nevertheless, many teachers do find innovative ways to keep their learners captivated and focused: the grade 5 class I have been spending the remainder of my time in is quite well-behaved and respects their teacher, which may in part be due to the team point system the teacher uses in class and her kind, yet powerful demeanor. 

The provision of "elective" classes at Assegai is also an area of concern.  There is no formal  physical education or gym program at the school.  Instead, a coach, whose salary is paid for by a local chemical company trying to "give back" to the community, comes to the school every other week to spend some time doing physical activity with the children outside.  However, this coach must see both the lower and upper primary learners so each class of children only sees him once a month (for about an hour) which is not nearly enough structured exercise for the learners.  Secondly, the computer class is severely under-resourced.  There are about 35 computers in one small room of the school; however, about 15 of these computers don't work so only about 20 are usable.  However, since classes are so large (ranging from 40-45 learners on average), about half the class sits idly wasting their time as the others get to do a computer program for a couple minutes (classes are only 30 minutes once a week so by the time everything is set up and learners are settled, there is only about 15 minutes to do any sort of computer activity or teaching).

My time at Assegai Primary School has shown me that this teaching institution has many strengths - its warm, welcoming staff and learners, many bright children, and an organization dedicated to helping shape generations of children.  However, there is still much that Assegai can and must improve upon in order to keep growing as a institution that serves its community.  Working at Assegai has given me a wonderful first-hand glimpse into the workings of the South African school system that has taught me more about the struggles and needs of the Wentworth community and given me the opportunity to share my skills and interests with learners and staff of this school.  

Happy Birthday Madiba!

Wednesday, July 18^th was a very special day for South Africa. Nelson Mandela, or more commonly known by South Africans as Madiba (his Xhosa clan name), turned 94 years old. For his birthday, Mandela asked everyone in the country to give 67 minutes of their time to help someone else. We were all very glad to be in South Africa for such an important day of the year, and we all got to experience Mandela Day in different ways. For those that work in more office jobs, they spent their 67 minutes helping others. John picked up trash outside of the SDCEA office, and Michael went with SDB to help out at a crèche (day care). Those who work at children’s homes, like Amit and Sam, got to experience the receiving end of the 67 minutes movement, as big companies in the area brought lunch to the home or came to hang out with the children. For the past few weeks, with my work at WHOC finished, I have worked at Oceanview Place of Safety, which is a temporary home for children ages 7-17 who cannot safely live with their families, because of abuse or violence. There is also no juvenile hall system in Durban, so when young boys break the law, they are sent straight to jail. When young girls break the law, however, they are sent to the Place of Safety. I work there every day, and Marcayla joins me on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Lauren also worked there during the holidays, but is now back at Assegai Primary School. Last Wednesday, Marcayla and I were fortunate enough to be at Oceanview for Mandela day. The day started a little slow, but you could feel the excitement growing as it neared lunchtime. The had been preparing all week for a presentation to honor Mandela, and to thank Woolworths (a clothing store chain) for donating lunch and gift bags to the kids.

            Around 12pm, the director of Oceanview, Mr. Moodley, gave a speech and kicked off the presentation. Each grade had prepared a small piece for the audience, which consisted of Woolworths staff, Oceanview staff, all the Oceanview kids, the kids from St. Monica’s home who go to school at Oceanview, and the volunteers including Marcayla, myself and two girls from UKZN who were serving their 67 minutes there. Some presentations were short, like reciting poetry, or singing pieces of a song. Others were longer, like an unbelievable song and dance performance from the girls, or a thank you speech. The crowd favorite was definitely a condensed Mandela biography reading done by an 11-year-old white boy named Brayden. The reading was complete with pictures as well as off-script ad-libs, which made the whole presentation. Some of them included “politicians are those people that stop other people from throwing rocks at white people’s houses”, and a nice, but slightly irrelevant story about that one time Mandela rode a bus. The whole staff, who is mostly black, as well as Marcayla and I could not contain our laughter, especially when Brayden went off on tangents talking about “white people back then”.

            After the presentation, we had a delicious lunch of chicken stew with rice, and celebrated with cutting a cake and eating ice cream. I feel really lucky to have been able to experience Mandela Day in South Africa, but more specifically, to have experienced it at Oceanview.

           

Wentworth's March Against Domestic Violence

There are a number of labels associated with the city of Wentworth, but violence is one of the most pervading. People I have met are quick to describe the gangs in the area, or ask if I attended the opening of Wentworth’s “violence-free zone.” During the first week of our stay in Wentworth, a teenage girl, Tenique Stevens, was taken, raped, and killed, and her body was found on the same beach where our group had enjoyed introductory “bunnies” only days before.

I hate to make generalizations, but in this case, it seems appropriate – when Wentworth residents get angry about a community issue, they hold a march. A few weeks ago, in the wake of Tenique’s death, the community held a march against domestic violence, which some of our DukeEngage group members participated in. I was eager to attend the march, and was impressed at the 150 to 200 people who showed up donning Prevention in Action stickers and t-shirts. 

We walked through Wentworth’s streets as a group, and I looked around at the surrounding houses and apartment complexes to gauge the community’s reaction. Some people clapped or shouted in solidarity, but mostly I saw blank faces. Near the end of the march, I saw a group of four or five boys pretending to shoot each other in a mock gunfight, using plastic replicas of the very weapons that were part of the violence we were marching against.

There is evidence that this community is progressing. I met a Wentworth man who told me he was in a violent gang as a teenager, but denounced the lifestyle at age 30 and has been “clean” ever since. I also met a Wentworth man who said he raped a girl as a 13-year-old, but now travels to the United States to give inspirational speeches and sermons. On the back of every combi (a 10+ seat taxicab) is a large sign that reads “Wave if you like to take action against gender-based violence.” The signs are sponsored by two organizations – Prevention in Action (a large umbrella organization with the tagline “Working together to prevent violence against women”) and Brothers for Life (a group of men who publicly denounce domestic violence).

How does a community “get rid” of gangs and violence when they seem to be engrained in the community’s culture and history? I deeply hope for Wentworth to develop into the safe community it could be, but the journey from point A to point B is not a self-explanatory process.

Black-and-White Rainbow Nation

Before our group left for DukeEngage, I tried to prepare myself for what I was to experience. To be honest, I had a relatively rudimentary knowledge of South Africa.  I had studied its Constitution a bit in one of my classes, and had tried to skim its newspapers online every few weeks. Throughout my research, I kept coming across the mention of racial groups - mostly white, black, and coloured. This didn't usually trigger any discomfort on my end; I knew about South Africa's painful history with apartheid, but did not know much about South Africa post-apartheid. I assumed that these racial groups still existed in South Africa, but since the new South Africa is frequently referred to as a "rainbow nation," those groups coexist and blend together, much like they do in the United States.

I was wrong.

Being in South Africa has been eye-opening on my levels, but I have by far been shocked the most about topics related to race. Even though apartheid ended almost two decades ago, its legacy lives on. We quickly learned that different areas are still associated with the racial groups that were assigned to them many years ago. Coloureds (the multiracial group consisting of black, white, and Indian relatives) live in Wentworth, where we are spending our summer. Indians live in nearby Chatsworth. And I am still told by the kids at my worksite that it makes sense that my homestay is in Bluff, because that is known as a white area.

I have been working at the Wentworth Organization for Women (known as the WOW Center) for the past few weeks. I do a variety of tasks, but end up spending a lot of time with an afterschool program of 20 to 30 coloured children doing anything from playing soccer to chatting about their schooldays. Last week, my worksite director Myrtle told me that these kids almost never interact with white people, and if they do, it is probably a negative experience. She said one of the reasons she is most happy I am working at the WOW Center is to show this group of coloured kids that "some white people actually care about them."

We hear about and witness racism almost daily. One day, the woman I was living with, Tina, and I took her car to the carwash. We watched as the black (African) employee meticulously vacuumed out the trunk of a fellow black's SUV while playfully speaking to him in Zulu, and then saw the same employee refuse to open Tina's trunk even though she had paid for a full car cleaning. Tina was angry and refused to tip, but said it is commonplace for blacks to mistreat coloureds.

I still have a lot to learn, but one thing I know so far after one month in Wentworth is this: South Africa may be a rainbow nation, but those different-colored stripes don't always like to blend with each other.