A week in, and already I have decided that Cape Town is the most incredible place I have ever been. I feel like my entire center of gravity has been shaken, as I can’t quite piece together all of the fascinating, unique and profound parts of the city as one synchronized body. Cape Town is a sort of city of multiple personalities, which offers so many different attractions. By taking a step out onto the balcony of my apartment I can look across to see the picturesque Table Bay and mountain scene shaped in the background. However, hopping in a cab and taking the ten-minute ride in the City Center, I am surrounded by the huge industrial harbor, and the massive ships that serve as the major import and export centers of South Africa. Upon arriving in the city, one is able to walk into the scenic “V and A Waterfront”, a shopping center that displays one side of Cape Town’s commercial offerings. At night, the city comes alive with a vibrant energy, incredible food and incredible music. Its no wonder I am exhausted by 10:00pm every night- there is so much we can do all in one day!
However, despite its beauty and energy, Cape Town is also home to a type of abject poverty that stands completely in contrast to the fun and upbeat tourist attractions it is famous for. This darker side to the city was something that we were able to experience first hand this week during our tour of the Townships provided by the Amy Biehl Foundation. Knowing a little bit of the background history and information about the townships, I knew that entering them would probably be a very emotional and profound experience. I expected to be overwhelmed by a sense of hopelessness and depression at the physical manifestations of the lasting affects of Apartheid. However, my experience could not have been more gratifying and positively moving; I left the township feeling more grateful and uplifted than I have been in quite some time.
The immediate reaction to the shantytowns that line the major highways headed to the airport is obviously horror, and even fear. At first, I was horrified by the living conditions, the children walking around with no shoes on and with no parents or adults in sight. However, all this was washed away when the first group of children we saw were looking up at the tour bus, grinning from ear to ear and waving to us. This trend of openness and warm-welcome only continued, as almost every person that we passed made us feel welcome and appreciated in some little way. When we arrived at the after school programs that the Amy Biehl Foundation has created for children in the Township, we were able to watch groups of children from seven different school perform different dances for our group. All of the children were so happy and warm, and not to mention talented! I have never been in an area or neighborhood that is subject to such adversity and destitution, but you would never know it from the people we encountered. They were full of a sort of hope and goodwill that I have never seen before, and that is very rare in the world today.
I left the township of Guguletu feeling so thankful for the many things I have be fortunate enough to have in my life. I felt inspired by the optimism I encountered, and I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to go into the townships again, and help try and provide some small help to people who are truly in need, but who are also so appreciative of just having someone to hear their story, and share their life with. Only a week into my time in South Africa, and I already feel like the culture, the experiences, and mainly the people, have affected the way I will live my life in the future!
-- Chesleigh Fowler
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