"An Individual Life Can Change Society"

It's just after two a.m. here in Africa, and I'm sitting in bed.  I took a nap around nine and woke up just in time to watch Dudley Do Right.  Sounds productive, right?

I promise I'm doing more exciting things than that!

Today, we headed to Joburg from Pretoria to do a bit of exploring.  We spent the bulk of it in Soweto, which, given its close proximity to the gold mining, became primarily a Black South African area and even an evacuation camp where they were all dumped.  The history there is fascinating, both for its tragedy and its strength.

We started off the day in the Hector Pieterson Museum, named for a thirteen-year-old boy who died in the struggle for liberation.  The museum details primarily the struggle of Black South Africans for fair education.  With Apartheid policy, each student was required to learn in Afrikaans rather than their native language.  The government was spending R 644 (apprx. $60) for each white student, and only R 42 (apprx. $4) per black student.  The ratio was typically 1 teacher per 100 students.  The system was so poor, that many students did not learn more than 2-3 hours per day, and the teachers themselves were not given an opportunity for education.

To give you an idea of the state of matters, let me present to you a quote from Prime Minister HF Verwoerd:  "When I have control over native education, I will reform it so that natives will be taught from childhood that equality with Europeans is not for them."

Naturally, this did not sit well.  But it's what happened in reaction to that that's truly incredible.  We often talk about the power of youth, but here we actually see it in play.  They formed groups.  They made plans.  They organized a march, and even directed their parents to participate in boycotts until they got what they wanted.  One of the most incredible things to me was that they held meetings under the guise of activities like swim lessons to hide people who were wanted by the police.  I would never have thought of that!

The march they held was to make a statement, walking across town, holding hands and ultimately having the goal of demanding the signing of a petition.  Unfortunately, things went awry.  The police began throwing rocks.  The frightened children threw back.  Then, the police opened fire.  The violence following in the days ahead is unbelievable.  The road ahead was fraught with difficulties, but ultimately, these kids helped see to it that they got what they set out for.

Now each year on June 16th, they celebrate a National Youth Day.  Talk about empowerment!  It was amazing to see the youth of today recognizing the potential they had as they strolled through the museum...that is, when they weren't busy giggling and pointing at the blonde American.

I have seven pages of notes from the museum, but I won't bore you with the rest!  Afterwards, we headed to the Mandela House, as his family called Soweto home for 40 years.

The sacrifices that family made for their people are unbelievable.  It was not infrequent for one or both parents to be in prison, and even when Winnie was home, she was often housebound for twelve hours a day due to restrictions.  Of the 40 years they called that place home, Nelson was absent for 27.  He has commented that it is nearly impossible to be both a father of a family and a father of a nation.  My heart aches for them, but I know everyone is grateful for all they fought and stood for.

It is amazing to see firsthand the impact he had.  In our country, we often complain about our politicians.  Here, he is referred to as "Madiba" or "Tata"...meaning "Dad".

If you can't tell from my post, those two things took up the whole day!  We finished up with dinner at a local mall, accompanied by two of the lovely interns, Keneilwe (left) and Dineo (right).

(Also, I'm embarrassed to say that they are all too familiar with hashtags, and much of what they know of American culture they've learned from Keeping Up With The Kardashians!)

That's all for now.  This day has offered me newfound perspective on my own ability to create change, in fact, all of our abilities, and instilled a greater sense of humility and gratitude for all the privileges I have taken for granted.  My love to you all, always.

Lorien

"In judging our progress as individuals, we tend to concentrate on external factors such as one's social position, influence and popularity, wealth and standard of education...but internal factors may be even more crucial in assessing one's development as a human being: humility, purity, generosity, absence of vanity, readiness to serve your fellow men--qualities within the reach of every human soul."

--Nelson Mandela in a letter to Winnie Madikizela Mandela, 1977.