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Youth day
Saturday was a full and busy day. After the double-funeral I posted about last time, I attended a youth event in the afternoon. There were lots of kids there to spend the day with umfundisi, which they do once a year. We got some braai (barbecue) and the kids danced, played games and had fun. Some older youth spoke extemporaneously at umfundisi's request, and (as Nonkgutalo, the reverend's daughter, translated for me later) shared some very rough things they had had to deal with growing up, problems that are endemic in the harsh life of the townships.
One beautiful young woman who spoke was the runner up in the South African "Pop Idol" show, and is pursuing a singing career in Johannesburg. Another young man who dances ballet and is studying to do it professionally also spoke (both are pictured), as did a burgeoning hip hop artist who performed for the kids. All of them were probably not more than nineteen. Stories like the ones these young people shared are so important for the children to hear. To know that they are not the only ones facing challenges of abuse, poverty, HIV, being orphaned, hunger, and crime can bring a kid out of isolation and fear of disclosure to come into a supportive community who will give them a safe place to talk about their struggles, and to get some help. Even more importantly, as my co-worker Cicisa has often said, these young men and women were motivational speakers for the kids whether they set out to be so or not. They showed the children that kids from Guguletu who face all the same challenges can dream of life beyond the townships, and are not predetermined to remain stuck here.
It is a hard road for children to get out of the townships, and they usually need the help of others with resources (like this church, charitable groups, concerned citizens) to pursue their dreams. People do miraculously go from living in the township to getting an education, a fulfilling career, a good place to live, and the income to provide for a family. I have met them. But they are exceptional, like the kids from advantaged neighbourhoods and schools in the States who get into Ivy League schools. Just the idea of having a dream for themselves is a message many of the children will not get at home. The kids need to know and believe that they are "somebody", that they have gifts and talents, that they have something to contribute to their communities and the wider society, that they have something unique to bring to the world. It is really not so different from the challenges so many kids face in the US.
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