So it’s been a number of days since I wrote in this blog, and I will do my best to do them justice. Sorry for posting all of this at once. Last week (Sunday, May 31 to Friday, June 5) we were in Gugulethu, which is a poor township associated with Cape Town. I could go into detail about the whole experience and what we did each day, but it would take forever. Instead I will try to discuss my feelings and thoughts as I try to make sense of what I have seen.
I was startled the first day when, following a trip to a treatment action campaign office, we visited an AIDS clinic. It was a small building packed with desperately sick people, and the air resounded with deep coughs. While I saw some sick people last year, especially at Brownsfarm clinic, those experiences did not hold a candle to the level of sickness at this place. Moreover, the patients had probably been waiting around for hours in the contaminated air. We were subsequently led to a side room away from the patients and told about the program, which works to treat AIDS and tuberculosis together, as many of the patients that show up to clinics have both diseases.
I was most shocked simply by the levels of poverty. It is something that must be shocking every time you see it, because I thought that last year’s experience would have prepared me. It didn’t. The clinic was surrounded by shacks on all sides, and the patients looked very sick and very impoverished. Moreover, many of the struggles that surround the treatment are related to poverty. Despite the fact that the patients health is lower because they are not eating well or at all and living in deplorable conditions, they are limited by their inadequate educations. This prevents many of the sick people from really understanding the treatments they are receiving and the proper way to carry them out. All in all, the healthcare situation in Gugulethu is very poor.
` This was just one of many issues we confronted during the week. While this trip is designed to confront the AIDS issue, much of the time was spent learning about poverty and its repercussions in the community. AIDS is a complex issue that is intertwined with the South African culture and the poverty of the township. I think it is impossible to remove it from the other immeasurable influences in the community.
In this vein, much of what we saw was on the level of the individual. We worked closely with a woman named Johanna, who is a volunteer with the JL Zwane community center. Her work involves community outreach, and she spends her days visiting many of the members of the church to make sure they are doing okay. Many of these people are old, suffering from a variety of illnesses or general feebleness or both. Many of these people are unable to attend church for these reasons. We helped deliver food parcels to a few of these people. I noticed that many of these elders also have grown children at home who are, for whatever reason, unable to work. Many of these grown children are alcoholics or otherwise desperately ill (often AIDS and its associated diseases), and they rely on the grandparents for sustenance.
This situation leads to one of the most startling aspects of the township. Since the grandparents are too old to do much and the parents are out of commission, the young children of the grandparents’ grown children are often left to care for two generations of older people. This means that many school age children are forced to either not attend school or spend their entire evening taking care of their sick elders, leaving them with little time for either education or childhood. The children, who are members of the community that most need care and attention, are left without any support in a situation that often leaves with hungry tummys and worse. It is very sad.
These kinds of scenarios are rampant in the township, as thousands of people are struck down by AIDS. Many children are often left caring for younger siblings after their parents die, with almost no support from their community. There was also a young reverend from Florida, named Mel Bars, who was at JL Zwane working with these orphans. The community center takes special care of about 50 young people, putting them through education and supporting them with food. It was very cool to see Mel’s work, and, while the stories associated with the orphans are tragic, the program also has a lot of really motivated kids who are making the best of a bad situation.
I think this is the greatest irony of the township; that terrible conditions exist, but the adversity encourages individuals to make great achievements in the face of challenging conditions. This is one element that has challenged me during both trips; that I come from so much privilege and that I have a responsibility to make the most of it. I think I have done a good job of that, but there is always more to be done. Given that I will have some free time this summer, I need to find a bigger way to get involved in the community and help people. I have always said to myself that the most powerful way to impact a community is to make my own work the best it can be, but I think that community outreach is also a big deal. It would not take much for me to brighten the lives of a few people, and I think that committing to some kind of work would be really beneficial in my life and teach me more about generosity.
Generosity is another thing I am working with. At one mindfulness retreat the leader talked about three major issues people face: confusion, greed, and irritability. Any individual is often pronounced in one of these ways, and I think I have problems with greed. I am always trying to take the best for myself, and I am afraid of giving because I want to conserve my resources for myself. I think these practices have negative consequences in my life, and I am trying hard to be mindful of this. This has been ongoing over the last few months, and this trip has been a fun opportunity to practice this. I think volunteering in the twin cities when I get back could be a great way to work on my generosity and get a better sense of the personal rewards of being generous.
One thing that was discussed both this year and last is the concept of making a difference in the life of just one other person. I haven’t always believed that this is important, but I see in Gugulethu that positively influences just one other person’s life is a powerful thing. It benefits both the giver and the receiver, and creates more love in the universe, which is always great. I need to keep this in my head as I do work over the next year and eventually head to medical school.
I think this is all I will write for now. It is a lot of information, and I am doing my best to process it all. I will definitely be writing tomorrow, so stay tuned.