On my first week I was taken on a tour of the township. As we made our way through I realised the diversity of the place in terms of wealth and living conditions. On the outskirts of Munsieville I was surprised to see some reasonably large and well-kept houses as well as some smaller ones, however as we got deeper into the heart of the township we saw a very different scene indeed. Tiny one-room shacks made from rusty corrugated iron, often home to whole families; piles upon piles of rubbish at the side of the road; unhygienic and unsafe communal toilets; tiny children running around barefoot without an adult caregiver in sight.
At the end of my first week I felt shell-shocked - confused and saddened on a different level than I had felt before. My view of Munsieville was one dimensional - it was a dangerous, depressing, ugly place and no one should have to live there. Well this one dimensional view would soon change when I met the people of the community and heard their stories...
South Africa has some of the most beautiful sights on Earth...vast landscapes, buzzing cities, game parks, amazing rare animals. None of these can be found in Munsieville. To find Munsieville's beauty you have to look much deeper, past the piles of rubbish and rotting corrugated iron. It's the laughter of a child that feels safe and loved at crèche because of the sheer passion that their caregiver has for their well-being. It's the 'Mama's' (or ladies) of the community who, in their later years rather than settling into retirement like most their age, have stood up and taken action because they have faith in a brighter future for their township. It's the single mother who barely earns enough to feed herself or her children but who welcomes newly-orphaned children into her home and shares everything she has with them, purely out of love. The beauty of Munsieville isn't something you can necessarily see with your eyes, rather it's something you can't help but feel in your heart when you meet the people, hear their stories and experience the love and warmth that this community has to offer.
Hi Abi, this is fantastic, brought tears to my eyes. THANK YOU. Keep up the good work xxx
ReplyDeleteHow many "professionals" pass through places like Munsieville and make their assessments based merely on the evidence of the eye. Some see the nicer properties on the perimeter and, coupled with Munsieville's location within South Africa's most prosperous province, conclude that it is undeserving of humanitarian support. Others venture briefly into the "hell" of the ramshackled shack settlement and become overwhelmed by the challenges, the contradictions and the chaos, and turn away defeated.
ReplyDeleteWhat South African's depressed, undeveloped townships need is not unfeeling international development professionals who have become desensitised by their evaluation tools, rapid assessment techniques and risk assessment metrics, but people who will give them time, feel their pain, identify with their hopes and expose their own hearts to the vibrant heartbeat of the beautiful, creative, resourceful and generous heartbeat of those whose world is one of fear, broken promises and grinding poverty.
Well done, Abi for achieving a genuine heart-to-heart connection with the real Munsieville, so often missed by those posturing under a cloak of harsh, heartless "charity".