Flowers Growing in the Concrete

Almost every South African I have met thus far has teased me by saying that when Americans come to South Africa, they expect to see lions and people in tribal wear. Each time this happens I laugh at the presumption and insist that Americans know how developed and modern South Africa and the Cape Town area are. But then I ask myself, what then, defines this country? Its history is so deeply rooted that the effects are still very evident today.

I went with one of my South African friends to Rhodes Memorial which is past the upper UCT campus and very high up on the hill. We went there to watch the sunset and look at the gorgeous view of Cape Town. He started talking to me about some of the effects apartheid had on society and how this has shaped the socioeconomic status. The UCT campus and all of the buildings in the mountains were reserved for whites back in the days of apartheid. The colored (this term is used here to describe people of mixed race or who are Indian) and blacks were forced to move to the Cape Flats, the flat ground in between the mountains. This is why all of the poor townships are on this middle ground. Its population still remains colored and black. While we looked out, I saw this vast flat land and pictured the people who lived there, and thought of how they might feel about this lingering segregation. I then remembered my homestay father telling me that the forced movement killed many. They literally died of a broken heart. They were given no warning and had to drop their life and completely start a new one.

My first day of volunteering was last Tuesday. Two other volunteers and I were taken about forty minutes away from Rondebosch where we stay to the township Khayelitsha. This township is not like Oceanview where I had my homestay. It is much poorer. There are different kinds of townships and while Oceanview wasn’t on the nicest side, most of the homes still had all the appliances and the houses were actual buildings. In Khayelitsha they are not, there are only scrap houses. A very sweet lady runs the orphanage we went to but it is clear she needs help. There are twenty-nine children ages 0 to 10 who are confined in a very small space. There is a play area and toys but the cramped space makes it very difficult for the kids to run around and get tired out. It seemed that they had all this pent up energy and needed to explode.  So we got to play with the children. It was really fun and interesting because a lot of them did not speak English so the verbal communication was lacking. However, we were able to play and communicate for three hours based on body language, facial expressions and drawings. A lot of these children are placed here for a day or so but then are moved somewhere else because of limited space. But there are also eighteen year olds who have lived here their whole lives and are just trying to figure out what to do next.

Despite this poverty there is something about the townships that amazes me; that draws me to them and makes me want to come back. While people were forced to move and many initially died from broken hearts, the sense of community now is extraordinary. People seem to be so close to each other and welcoming despite their circumstances. And they also seem to be extremely happy, happier than in the “white” area where I am living. Those children at the orphanage were literally glowing and would not take a break from smiling. It makes you wonder then, how these people got such strength and are so full of life. What’s their secret? Maybe poverty and class division are some of the biggest problems in South Africa but this has obviously not dimmed the light on some of the happiest people I’ve ever seen.