Poverty. Gender Inequality. Environmental Degradation. Political Corruption. Racism. Most countries in the world today deal with different versions of these issues and South Africa is no exception. In fact, I had the chance to confront each one within the first few days of settling into Soweto. I traveled to Soweto two years ago with Michael and other Bellarmine students and staff on our first trip to South Africa. Returning to Soweto sounded great because I thought it would be a chance to build upon already existing relationships, but the immediate sights and smells of this massive township reminded me of the community’s financial challenges, the drugs and violence, and pollution. I began to worry, doubting the validity of our project. Should we be focusing on something more tangible than stories?
The day after we arrived, friends that had stayed in touch over the past few years took us to a local food spot. On the way, we walked through the “wetland” that we had tried to clean up and clear out during our first trip. There had been no water to speak of in what must have been a former marsh that now served as a shortcut between blocks of houses. The ground seemed even drier than before, and more garbage clung to the brittle shrubs. I had trouble keeping up with our small group as I looked around at how little my last visit had meant to this small patch of land. Clouds of smoke from burning garbage mixed with the damp air, making me wonder again about the long-term effects of living with so much burning. Why enjoy a relaxed lunch to catch up with friends when I should be addressing these issues? And then I gave up. Or at least I tried to give up.
I tried to give up my need to put out the garbage, my disappointment in the wetland and my worry about the other issues I was not “fixing”. I did my best to momentarily give up my plans for a “transformative” project and follow the guys to lunch. I sucked in a long breath of smoky air and tried to settle down. Focusing some of my anxious energy, I started to look at our group differently. Looking at all of us I started to think of friends from home and realized that my initial focus on the problems that I thought I knew about Soweto prevented me from prioritizing people.
For that meal, the issues we think of when we hear “township” or “ghetto” took a backseat. We crowded together, laughing and eating our kotas, big sandwiches full of meat and french fries. We marveled at how awesome, albeit unusual, our friendship was given our differences.
Just before we were about to leave, Scott leaned over to share the last of the cream soda. He made a point to carefully pour it out as equally as he could, and I couldn’t help but think about the moment in the Catholic Mass when the gifts are prepared, bread broken, and wine poured. I would like to think Christ was present in this communion of soda and sandwiches, and I am not sure if anyone would have felt the same way if the focus of our meal was on what I thought my friends might be lacking in their lives. Frankly, this meal made me think that we do a disservice to anyone we care about if we treat them like a collection of problems.
This is not an excuse for inaction, in fact, it is quite the opposite. I believe our world needs immediate action and concrete steps toward peace, justice, and freedom. It is no coincidence, however, that our greatest champions for these virtues were motivated by powerful “being” moments. Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment is one such example of forced “being”. Twenty-seven years in prison matured his vision for South Africa, according to the staff at the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Not only was his imprisonment an astounding personal sacrifice, it also helped him revolutionize his vision for South Africa, turning it into the reconciliatory goal of a rainbow nation for which he is famous.
Nelson Mandela’s office
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The Simunye Team2016-08-02 15:22:442017-02-21 13:13:51Being A Mother For And With Others: Thabisile’s Journey Of Motherhood in South Africa
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The Simunye Team2016-07-22 13:25:562017-02-05 20:23:28“Im sorry. Goodbye.” Defining Family for LesediIt was St. Ignatius’ forced state of “being” during his weeks of recovery that transformed his life into the profound legacy it is today.
The 40 days Jesus Christ spent in the desert or the time the Buddha spent meditating under the bodhi tree are more examples that demonstrate why contemplation, stillness, “being” are so crucial to informing the right “doing.” Jesuit theologian Walter Burghardt writes that prayer or contemplation is a “long loving look at the real” that often comes to bear when we are forced to face reality.
Ms. Thembekile Prisca Tshabalala of the Nkanyezi center here in Soweto is another such example. Ms. Tshabalala’s youngest son was born with Cerebral Palsy with Hydrocephalus epilepsy. After her husband left her, she was forced to contemplate life as a single mother of a developmentally challenged child in Soweto. The bond with her son and her “long loving look” at the reality of the situation inspired her to found the Nkanyezi Stimulation Centre that has pioneered developments in the stimulation and education of children with physical and intellectual challenges.
The head gardener at Nkanyezi who helps feed and fund the school spoke with us about his own experience of contemplation. After losing a job he did not enjoy, Monde turned to alcohol for a time before a friend mentioned the garden at Nkanyezi. Monde radiates confidence and pride in his work, having found a vocation that lets him do what he loves for children that he considers his own.
Our stillness, our focus, our pause before doing, seems to clarify this need we have to know and work with God. “Being” before doing allows us to recognize the invitations of a God always on the move, always eager to add value and meaning to our lives. I found myself hungry for the kind of life Monde leads, a life dedicated to something bigger than ourselves where what we do is an expression of who we are, or rather, who we are called to be. Following these examples, I want to “be” before anything else and hope to “do” whatever seems necessary after a “long loving look at the real.”
The Simunye Team is composed of Michael Bakan and Drew Descourouez.
Michael Bakan is a first-year student at Georgetown University, where he plans to study International Business and Marketing. Over the past two summers, he has traveled to Soweto, South Africa on an immersion trip through his former high school, Bellarmine College Preparatory. During these trips, Michael developed a passion for using graphic design and other forms of artwork to share the stories of his friends in Soweto, as they strive to create a better South Africa in a post-apartheid, post-Mandela world. He is excited to return to Soweto to strengthen the bonds of kinship with his South African friends and to share the voices of those who are not often heard but will play an integral role in our future.
Drew Descourouez is a first-year student at Santa Clara University. Drew traveled to Soweto, South Africa in 2014, on Bellarmine College Preparatory Immersion trip. He has since traveled to nine other countries around the world and developed a deep desire to connect cultures through storytelling and personal relationships. Drew is also passionate about youth empowerment and hopes to learn more from his friends in Soweto about how young people can take responsibility for a shared future in a globalized world.
Learn more about The Simunye Project at www.ignatiansolidarity.net/the-simunye-project