One evening our team went over to John and Avril Thomas' home for dinner. John and Avril are the amazing couple who run Living Hope, among other things. They graciously opened their home to our team for dinner one evening and cooked up a whole feast of fish & chips. It was delicious.
John is one of those people who you could just sit and listen to for hours. He's full of insights and wisdom, and in general says a lot of profound things. He said one thing that struck me as really insightful...somehow it was profound and very basic all at the same time. It was one of those moments where you encounter something you already know to be true, but finally had it put into words for you. Here's how it went:
John was telling us about how his organization had previously responded to poverty--using the basic "Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime." (or whatever the exact wording is). He went on to describe how he had learned that route often failed because of the number of assumptions it makes about the person and their access to resources. Just a few common assumptions about this theory:
1. If you teach a man how to fish, it is assumed that he has a fishing rod, bait, and access to a boat.
2. It is assumed he has access to a pond to fish in.
3. It is assumed there are fish in the pond.
4. It is assumed there is an economic demand for the fish for him to profit from.
He went on to explain the lack of thought that often goes into work that ascribes to that kind of a statement. Perhaps if you really want to help someone out of poverty, and perhaps if you really want them to suceed, then you might need to make a pond for them to fish in. And you might need to stock the pond with fish. This whole anaglogy led up to the conversation John was trying to start, which was about microfinance (which of course strikes a common chord with a team from Mars Hill).
To me, this statement was brilliant. In some ways it was like my Social Work 101 class, yet in others it was this "why have I never thought of that before?" moment. I learned a lot from John & Avril Thomas. I respect their ideas and their passion for Cape Town. If you EVER go there, or if he ever comes here (which he has), take the time to shake his hand and introduce yourself.
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Cape Town
Here are some pics of Cape Town....perhaps I should just take a moment to show off its beauty. The picture below of is of Table Mountain with its "table cloth" on.
The picture below is of sunrise one morning. I may have had some trouble adjusting to the jetlag. I even woke up before the local rooster for about 4 days in a row. For those of you who know me, I don't get up early. I'm not kidding when I say I was waking up at 5:00am. It was great to catch the sunrise though. Often when I travel my goal is to catch a sunrise.
Below is Simontown's Bay. We often made our driver pull off on the side of the road to take pictures of things like this....
Below is a view of Cape Town from the shore of Robben Island.
Monday, April 16, 2007
Robben Island
We went to Robben Island for part of an afternoon. It was a moving experience. Here are some photos of what we saw, and in some cases an explanation below the picture.
This is a quarry that prisoners worked in. We were told that the sun would shine so brightly on the stones that prisoners would go begin to go blind because of the severe damage to their eyes. The hole in the quarry was used as a bathroom for the prisoners during the day. At times the prisoners would be ordered to move the stones to one side of the quarry, and upon finishing that work would be ordered to move them back to the other side of the quarry. Thats what made the work so awful- that it was often void of meaning or purpose. Thats what hell is, I believe. A lack of defined purpose or meaning. 
This is what redemption looks like. And what justice sounds like.
Sometime in the mid 80s, the prisoners were given bunk beds to sleep on (in the back of the picture). Before that, a prisoner had a mat. In the center of the photo on the floor is one of those mats.
This is the window to Nelson Mandela's cell.
Inside of his cell. 
So much to say
My blog has been sitting still for a couple of weeks. Between the everyday craziness and not knowing how to fully tell stories about what happened in South Africa, I'm falling behind.
During our time at Living Hope, we spent a few days in a row at Living Hope's Health Care Center. They used to refer to it as their hospice center, but decided to stop calling it a hospice...well, because people usually go to a hospice to die...but 90% of their patients were going home healthy. A good problem to have. The men and women on our team had pretty different experiences, I think. The men were put to work sanding the rusted security gate and painting the entrance. It was easy to let skepticism creep in and wonder if we weren't just another group of Americans who traveled across the world to paint. It turns out the guys were a huge help to the man who does the maintenance of the grounds. Even the patients made comments on how much nicer it looked. In my opinion, anything that gives a patient a better outlook, anything that improves their aesthetic surroundings, is beyond valuable. I took some time out to check out what the guys were doing, and walked over at just the right time...as Jamie stepped into his paint tray. Check out his cool shoes (and shin and ankle):
During our time at Living Hope, we spent a few days in a row at Living Hope's Health Care Center. They used to refer to it as their hospice center, but decided to stop calling it a hospice...well, because people usually go to a hospice to die...but 90% of their patients were going home healthy. A good problem to have. The men and women on our team had pretty different experiences, I think. The men were put to work sanding the rusted security gate and painting the entrance. It was easy to let skepticism creep in and wonder if we weren't just another group of Americans who traveled across the world to paint. It turns out the guys were a huge help to the man who does the maintenance of the grounds. Even the patients made comments on how much nicer it looked. In my opinion, anything that gives a patient a better outlook, anything that improves their aesthetic surroundings, is beyond valuable. I took some time out to check out what the guys were doing, and walked over at just the right time...as Jamie stepped into his paint tray. Check out his cool shoes (and shin and ankle):
Here are Doug and Steve hard at work, and probably really glad that I was taking their picture. 
I spent the majority of my days at the health care center chatting with a man named Ken. He was quite the character. He spent most of his energy on defending himself with his humor and whit. He was charming and frustrating, sensitive and rude, funny and inappropriate, joyful and depressed, full of life and lacking purpose all at the same time. Some people thought he was a little crazy. One thing I am sure of is that he is brilliant. Sometimes the stories he told about his life and experiences seemed a bit fictitious...his days in the South African Army, his knowledge of language, his past careers...but I chose to believe him none the less. Part of me chose to believe him because I actually did believe him. He seemed too smart to be lying. He knew too many fine details about his past to be making it up. His stories were consistent. Most of the time that I spent not talking with him, I spent eavesdropping, and found his stories to be consistent from one ear to the next. The other part of me chose to believe him because people need to be believed in. I knew I didn't have the time to really dig deep into his life and heart and find the true Ken...we only had a few short days. So I chose to befriend the Ken that he presented me with, because that Ken needed to know that he mattered. That he had purpose. That he was fascinating and interesting and smart and valuable. That he wasn't rotting away in a hospice. It is a health care center after all.
Julie H. and Kristen spent some of their days with a beautiful woman....here they are next to her bed. 
One of the most interesting things to me was the way the health care workers took to the women on our team. Many of the women who worked as health care workers there were from the nearby settlement of Masiphumelele, some of them HIV positive. They were vibrant, affectionate women, to say the least. I think most of us would agree that the workers were more excited about us being there than the patients. They couldn't seem to get enough attention, and I want to be clear that I mean this in the best way possible. It was just so apparent that no one takes the time to pour value into these women. They do in big ways, definitely. It would be arrogant of me to not recognize that they are there through job-creation programs because people cared enough to help them out of poverty. What I mean is in the little ways....like girl talk, and laughing and joking with other women, and making crafts together, and oohing and ahhing over their babies. This was a gift for them. They even came in on their days off just to spend time with the women on our team and to show off their beautiful children. Here are a few pics of them....such amazing people.
One of the most interesting things to me was the way the health care workers took to the women on our team. Many of the women who worked as health care workers there were from the nearby settlement of Masiphumelele, some of them HIV positive. They were vibrant, affectionate women, to say the least. I think most of us would agree that the workers were more excited about us being there than the patients. They couldn't seem to get enough attention, and I want to be clear that I mean this in the best way possible. It was just so apparent that no one takes the time to pour value into these women. They do in big ways, definitely. It would be arrogant of me to not recognize that they are there through job-creation programs because people cared enough to help them out of poverty. What I mean is in the little ways....like girl talk, and laughing and joking with other women, and making crafts together, and oohing and ahhing over their babies. This was a gift for them. They even came in on their days off just to spend time with the women on our team and to show off their beautiful children. Here are a few pics of them....such amazing people. 
Monday, March 26, 2007
Our Time at Living Hope
Our time at Living Hope started with a day of touring all of the different community centers and projects that Living Hope has. We started at the main center, which is best described as a campus. There were a couple of buildings that house offices and workspaces for staff, and in a separate building is a healthcare center. We visited several community buildings within different settlements that Living Hope is involved with.
One settlement we visited is called Ocean View, which is a coloured community.
*You may have had a big red flag when you read "coloured". Side note: there are about 4 different racial groups in South Africa. The most commonly known are black and white. Black people make up around 75% of the population, white people make up about 13% of the population. A third group is the coloured population, which makes up about 9% of the population. A smaller fourth group is Indian, which makes up about 3% of the population. ALL of these terms: black, white & coloured are politically correct and not offensive. Its hard to get used to, but trust me.
Anyway, Ocean View is a settlement that looks different from other usual settlements. Because most of the buildings are "real" buildings, as opposed to shacks, it gives Ocean View an appearance of not being such a bad place. Unfortunately substance abuse, unemployment and abuse are giant issues in this community. Here are what the homes looked like:
The streets, in my opinion were eerily empty. In the other settlements we visited there were people walking in the streets, out and about.
What is interesting about the homes is that often you will see small little luxuries....often people who have little to no money will own a television and a dvd player, or a cell phone, or other items like that. For a long time this was a confusing thing to me. It seems as though it is very clear--eat or watch tv? But its not as clear cut as that. At a certain level, a person needs to keep their sanity, to live life in a relatively "normal" way, to be connected to the world....and sometimes thats what a cell phone or a television can bring. Many of us would probably be willing to give up a few things if it meant we could keep our cell phone, even if we pretend to hate it.
It was an interesting place, to say the least. We met a woman who runs an afternoon program for children in the community, which provides a safe place for children to spend their afternoons. There is also a small meal that is served to children who attend. We met the woman who runs the program for the 62 children who attend....all by herself! To make things even crazier, she runs the program out of a room that is smaller than the size of my living room. It is a teeny room, and somehow this brave woman runs a program to give these kids a safe place, food, and love. Its a beautiful thing.
One settlement we visited is called Ocean View, which is a coloured community.
*You may have had a big red flag when you read "coloured". Side note: there are about 4 different racial groups in South Africa. The most commonly known are black and white. Black people make up around 75% of the population, white people make up about 13% of the population. A third group is the coloured population, which makes up about 9% of the population. A smaller fourth group is Indian, which makes up about 3% of the population. ALL of these terms: black, white & coloured are politically correct and not offensive. Its hard to get used to, but trust me.
Anyway, Ocean View is a settlement that looks different from other usual settlements. Because most of the buildings are "real" buildings, as opposed to shacks, it gives Ocean View an appearance of not being such a bad place. Unfortunately substance abuse, unemployment and abuse are giant issues in this community. Here are what the homes looked like:
The streets, in my opinion were eerily empty. In the other settlements we visited there were people walking in the streets, out and about.
What is interesting about the homes is that often you will see small little luxuries....often people who have little to no money will own a television and a dvd player, or a cell phone, or other items like that. For a long time this was a confusing thing to me. It seems as though it is very clear--eat or watch tv? But its not as clear cut as that. At a certain level, a person needs to keep their sanity, to live life in a relatively "normal" way, to be connected to the world....and sometimes thats what a cell phone or a television can bring. Many of us would probably be willing to give up a few things if it meant we could keep our cell phone, even if we pretend to hate it.
It was an interesting place, to say the least. We met a woman who runs an afternoon program for children in the community, which provides a safe place for children to spend their afternoons. There is also a small meal that is served to children who attend. We met the woman who runs the program for the 62 children who attend....all by herself! To make things even crazier, she runs the program out of a room that is smaller than the size of my living room. It is a teeny room, and somehow this brave woman runs a program to give these kids a safe place, food, and love. Its a beautiful thing.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Meet the Team
I'm realizing it might be beneficial to introduce our team to you. We are definitely a potpourri of individuals...among us we had several parents, a couple social workers, a graffiti artist, a couple musicians, a couple staff members from Mars, a grant writer, a seamstress, and a whole lot more. It was quite the mix, and we had a marvelous time together. Here are a couple pictures of the team along the way...
The picture to the left is missing Jamie, who was missing in action at the time the photo was taken. I think he still holds it against us for taking it without him...
The picture down to the right is of our whole team at Cape Point.
During the first half of our trip in Cape Town, we stayed at Living Hope's team house. To be honest, we were really spoiled. The house was perfect for teams, but I suppose that would be the case since thats what its intended for. The house has a staff that helps coordinate visiting team's schedules and prepares many meals for teams as well. They do an excellent job....and are sure to get you anywhere on time....
The house is owned by an American who wanted the house to be used for this purpose. He is a truly generous person to allow visitors experience the beautiful view that the house has. It is located on Nordhoek Beach. Below is a picture of the view from the terrace.
To the right is a picture of the team house. It is the house right up in the front of the picture...not the villa tucked away in the mountain....: )
The picture to the left is missing Jamie, who was missing in action at the time the photo was taken. I think he still holds it against us for taking it without him...The picture down to the right is of our whole team at Cape Point.
During the first half of our trip in Cape Town, we stayed at Living Hope's team house. To be honest, we were really spoiled. The house was perfect for teams, but I suppose that would be the case since thats what its intended for. The house has a staff that helps coordinate visiting team's schedules and prepares many meals for teams as well. They do an excellent job....and are sure to get you anywhere on time....
The house is owned by an American who wanted the house to be used for this purpose. He is a truly generous person to allow visitors experience the beautiful view that the house has. It is located on Nordhoek Beach. Below is a picture of the view from the terrace.
To the right is a picture of the team house. It is the house right up in the front of the picture...not the villa tucked away in the mountain....: )
We were very spoiled with the view!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Masiphumelele and King of Kings
The morning after we arrived, we got up to visit two local churches. The first church we went to was King of Kings Baptist Church. The church was very traditional and reminded me a lot of the church I grew up in. It was filled by mostly Afrikaaners (people of Dutch anscestry...think Grand Rapids), singing mostly familiar hymns and choruses. The only real marked difference between the King of Kings and the church I grew up in was the fact that everyone was bilingual and had much cooler accents than we did. Pastor John Thomas spoke that morning....we had a chance later in the week to get to know John and his wife Avril. They are inspiring, brilliant people.
We left King of Kings quickly on our way to Masiphumelele Baptist Church (pictured below).
We left King of Kings quickly on our way to Masiphumelele Baptist Church (pictured below).
This is the church that recently tragically lost their pastor, Phillip Mokson. Click here to read more about what happened.
Masiphumelele is a settlement in Fish Hoek, a town next door to Cape Town. Our experience at Masiphumelele Baptist Church was unforgettable. We only stayed for the worship portion of the gathering. We were told that the people of the church would feel obligated to feed our team of 10 after the gathering was finished...but they would likely be feeding us food that they couldn't afford to give us- so a meal for us would mean one less for their family. Also on a side note, the entire service was in Xhosa, a tribal language.
There is no formal start time for the gathering. One by one, people trickled into the open room (which is filled with chairs on Sundays). Suddenly a woman sitting in the row in front of me stood up and began to sing. Quickly the church stood to their feet and joined right in. The harmonies were perfect, the songs were beautiful. One after the other, songs were started by a single woman. There was dancing and clapping, and the most beautiful singing I've ever heard. It was a musical delicacy. I'm not sure it could be reproduced. Somewhere during the singing the room filled up with people....the men sat in the front left, the children sat in the front right, and the majority of the room was filled with women. Many of the women were wearing similar outfits of black skirts and white button-up shirts. The spirit of the people that were gathered there was so beautiful...a mix of hope and joy with grief and pain from the loss of their pastor and friend, Phillip Mokson. It was a truly beautiful experience, and it was something I could never forget.
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