Today, an outing to Vrygrond Township was arranged for all the exchange girls.
Vrygrond is a disadvantaged community of about 12 000 residents situated near Muizenberg on the False Bay coast about 25 kilometres from central Cape Town. It the oldest township (also known as Informal Settlements) in the Western Cape. Informal Settlements are basically a collection of informal, often illegal, housing structures and houses which have no access to basic water and sanitary services. They were established by the Apartheid government. A law called the Group Areas Act was created which determined where non-white people (blacks, coloureds and Indians) were allowed to live.
I have heard about apartheid, but it was such a surreal experience to visit a township and see the 'shacks' that people actually live in. All the beauty we have seen so far in this wonderful country and then to see people close to the city who live in houses that are made up of galvanized roofs, plywood, corrugated material, even garbage bags. What a life! I felt weird or perhaps embarrassed to walk through this area. It is hard to imagine that a few million South Africans live like this. The unemployment rate is high at Vrygrond, more than 80% is unemployed, and people deal with crime, drug and alcohol issues on a daily basis.
After a tour guide showed us around a small area of the township for about 15 minutes, we visited a kindergarten. This is where we would spend most of the day. As soon as we entered the building, the kids came running towards us. We all brought some presents for them, which they immediately noticed. They quickly unwrapped them and they were very happy with it! They were all so excited to play with us. One little guy grabbed my arm and proudly showed me around the building. It was quite small: four tables where they could draw or eat and a few cabinets with crayons, pencils, dolls and other stuff where they could play with, but that was basically it. It didn't look very bad though, it really seemed like the little children really liked it there. For hours we played with them. One moment I took out my camera to take some pictures, and I'll never forget how excited they became over such a thing that is so casual to me. Once I allowed one boy to take a picture, all the kids came running to him, wanting to use it as well. The chance that one of the children would drop it and that it would break was very big, but I didn't even care about it anymore at that moment. It actually made me feel so sad. We often forget how much we actually have. I felt so incredibly spoiled...
After a while it was time for them to sleep. At this moment we left. We said goodbye to all the little boys and girls...
Today really opened my eyes. Walking around the township made me feel so spoiled, but sad and helpless at the same time. I can't help wondering about the future of these little kids we visited today. So uncertain. The contrast really is too big. Most of us tempt to forget how fortunate we actually are that we can go to school, that we can study, that there probably is a bright future ahead of us, that we will earn enough money to live in a normal house, go on holidays overseas, buy whatever we want... We think it's all just a matter of course, but we mustn't forget that that's not the case for everyone... It al seems so unfair. I really felt the urge to help, but there is so little I can do, which made me feel so helpless. It was a very inspiring day, and again, this all really opened my eyes.
Fortunately there are a lot of organizations and people who raise money for these communities to help them build schools, houses, or anything else to improve the quality of life of these children.
Vrygrond is a disadvantaged community of about 12 000 residents situated near Muizenberg on the False Bay coast about 25 kilometres from central Cape Town. It the oldest township (also known as Informal Settlements) in the Western Cape. Informal Settlements are basically a collection of informal, often illegal, housing structures and houses which have no access to basic water and sanitary services. They were established by the Apartheid government. A law called the Group Areas Act was created which determined where non-white people (blacks, coloureds and Indians) were allowed to live.
I have heard about apartheid, but it was such a surreal experience to visit a township and see the 'shacks' that people actually live in. All the beauty we have seen so far in this wonderful country and then to see people close to the city who live in houses that are made up of galvanized roofs, plywood, corrugated material, even garbage bags. What a life! I felt weird or perhaps embarrassed to walk through this area. It is hard to imagine that a few million South Africans live like this. The unemployment rate is high at Vrygrond, more than 80% is unemployed, and people deal with crime, drug and alcohol issues on a daily basis.
After a tour guide showed us around a small area of the township for about 15 minutes, we visited a kindergarten. This is where we would spend most of the day. As soon as we entered the building, the kids came running towards us. We all brought some presents for them, which they immediately noticed. They quickly unwrapped them and they were very happy with it! They were all so excited to play with us. One little guy grabbed my arm and proudly showed me around the building. It was quite small: four tables where they could draw or eat and a few cabinets with crayons, pencils, dolls and other stuff where they could play with, but that was basically it. It didn't look very bad though, it really seemed like the little children really liked it there. For hours we played with them. One moment I took out my camera to take some pictures, and I'll never forget how excited they became over such a thing that is so casual to me. Once I allowed one boy to take a picture, all the kids came running to him, wanting to use it as well. The chance that one of the children would drop it and that it would break was very big, but I didn't even care about it anymore at that moment. It actually made me feel so sad. We often forget how much we actually have. I felt so incredibly spoiled...
After a while it was time for them to sleep. At this moment we left. We said goodbye to all the little boys and girls...
Today really opened my eyes. Walking around the township made me feel so spoiled, but sad and helpless at the same time. I can't help wondering about the future of these little kids we visited today. So uncertain. The contrast really is too big. Most of us tempt to forget how fortunate we actually are that we can go to school, that we can study, that there probably is a bright future ahead of us, that we will earn enough money to live in a normal house, go on holidays overseas, buy whatever we want... We think it's all just a matter of course, but we mustn't forget that that's not the case for everyone... It al seems so unfair. I really felt the urge to help, but there is so little I can do, which made me feel so helpless. It was a very inspiring day, and again, this all really opened my eyes.
Fortunately there are a lot of organizations and people who raise money for these communities to help them build schools, houses, or anything else to improve the quality of life of these children.