“Act Locally, but think Globally” -Thando, co-founder of KYP
There were a number of moments throughout the day yesterday, when I was “for real, for real” caught up in my emotions with all that we were experiencing. All of those moments had one theme in common…how our students are responding to what they are witnessing and experiencing is truly breathtaking! This message is a bit long, but I hope you can read until the end 🙂
I must admit my own bias/struggle–I often question whether our guys are “getting it;” whether they understand the magnitude of what we are doing when we travel to various destinations (Jamaica, Costa Rica, Oakland, and now South Africa) or if our travels are just passing moments in time. After our trip to Kliptown and bonding with the people of the Kliptown Youth Program (KYP), I will no longer have that question! We are all “getting it” in our own way and at our own speed, and I am grateful for that.
Kliptown had us all captivated because of the scale of what we were seeing.
- Mass poverty.
- 75%-80% unemployment.
- A large community without too many things that too many people take for granted such as electricity, plumbing, and adequate shelter.
Tough to take it all in, but our young men were alert, engaged, and full of questions and insight!
After our tour of Kliptown, we were able to spend time with the Kliptown Youth Program (KYP) to see social entrepreneurship in action. KYP is a social program designed to affect change within the local community by empowering young people. KYP focuses on computer literacy & internet access, serving food, sports and arts, after-school tutoring, and so much more. The co-founders of KYP and our hosts for the day, Tulani and Thando, were just brilliant in how they guided us through the town and shared many of the social, economic and political conditions of the community where they were both born and raised. You may remember Tulani and KYP from CNN Heroes. Tulani was one of the CNN Hereos back in 2012, recognized for his pioneering work in South Africa and his vision for social change within his community. It was such an honor for us to meet Tulani in all his humbleness and work with the people of KYP.
Tulani challenged some of our perceptions of what “success” looks like: Do the brightest minds in developing countries need to study “abroad” in Western countries or should they remain local to affect change from within? Why aren’t there more opportunities for children to take exams in their native language instead of forcing students to pass through Afrikaans?
Thando and the young members of KYP also joined our LearnServe South Africa group in a fishbowl discussion about potential solutions for problems we identified in South Africa and America. It’s important that we take time to listen to the voices of our young people because their voice matters and they hold the keys to many of the problems that our society is currently facing. KYP and LearnServe South Africa identified the following common issues within both societies:
- the amount of uneducated youth
- access to food and food choice
- corruption in schools/drugs, violence
- youth unemployment
- teenage pregnancy
I truly appreciated our hosts and our young people. It was moving and refreshing to hear them wrestle with problems and potential solutions. I left the session a little more optimistic. They are hungry for change and they are working to find practical solutions.
Thando closed out our visit to Kliptown and KYP by joining members of KYP in a traditional gumboot dance (an African dance performed by dancers wearing wellington boots). BIG SHOUT OUT to Clinard, Elijah, Peyton, Tyrone, Eugene and Lewis for having the courage to join Thando in learning the dance at the end! Thank God I wasn’t asked to go up there! 🙂 We have the entire video recorded and as soon as we can download it, I’ll be sure to add to our google link that I’ve provided below.
In closing, I want to leave you with two special treats!
- Here are our photos and videos to date! There are a ton and we will be adding pictures daily. I hope you enjoy and are able to see a little bit of the joy we have experienced each day. https://goo.gl/photos/
2S9GS5pHLF7cMmUKA - During our Day 4 evening huddle, our students were all-stars in leading our discussion and reflecting on the day’s events. One of the questions they raised was “Did you see anything today that made you feel grateful?” Below are some of the responses I was able to record as I wiped some weird liquid out of my eyes…
- Today made me just want to hug my mom and take out the trash more often.
- I didn’t have to travel around the world to see poverty, but it does remind me how grateful I should be.
- I always appreciate the things I have and the impact I can make in my own community.
- What we saw today, we should take back to let others know how grateful they too should be.
- I am grateful every day. I pray every morning and night. But, to be here and see people without access to running water or a bathroom made me just go “wow”…I see things now on a whole other level.
- Last year was a humbling experience, but in many ways I returned to my old ways. Today was a gut check that it is much bigger than me.
- I wasn’t grateful before, but what I saw today shows me what I can be grateful for and return with when I go home.
Until next time, Hambakahle!
Ivan C. Douglas Jr.
Law Programs Teacher
Law Programs Teacher
Program Director
Empowering Males of Color Initiative
Eastern High School
Eastern High School