Final Homstay, final class, and moving on our own.

I have recently returned from my last homestay in Newlands East with a coloured family. The father, Jack, worked as a mechanic at GM in the early 1960s and loved to talk politics with us. He told us that all men are still boys and showed us his collection of American classic car models He is still looking for his favorite: the 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk. The mom, Dolly, cooked us great food and their two kids were very nice. I didn't spend as much time with them as i would like of because i came down with a nasty stomach virus.

Monday was spent with We Help Our Children and we sat in on one of their seminars. I took the opportunity to whip out a pen and paper and start research for my ISP topic on youth organizations. One thing I noticed was that while KZN YEP was a youth organization, this was more an organization for youth. But, I realize that KZN YEP had empowerment classes and maybe WHOC is the first step to creating a larger movement by creating youth leaders. I felt the seminar was a very up-down style of teaching and the kids weren’t involved enough. In the end, they became more involved, but I wondered as I walked outside and saw kids standing on the corner, How do you reach them?

I took the opportunity afterwards to talk with the head of the organization, Karl. He told me he didn’t think the problems lied within communities but failure from the government. He stated that there was a lack of necessary systems set up in school to give kids a holistic education-ie diversity, life skill training, and sports. He also mentioned the problem of teachers being confused about the material required by the government which added to a poor learning environment. He also went over their techniques to dealing with different ages which they called different stages which needed different techniques of counseling and mentoring.

The second part of the day started out well as we headed for a toxic tour of Wentworth. Wentworth is a coloured area which was located directly next to many toxic plants. The area has a high rate of asthma and cancer among other problems in what the Village Voice called “environmental racism” in 2001. I enjoyed the tour but felt a virus coming on, which hit me hard on the car ride back. Tuesday was our final day and spent at a Mosque and Hindu Temple. Interesting going from a place where they worship 1 God and forbid images to a temple where there are many gods with their statues throughout.

Wednesday, we (4 fine gentlemen) moved into our new "flat" and its quite nice. Its on the 11th floor and has a balcony with a "lekka" view of the beach. Pictures to come. I am done with classes, but start my Independent Study Project on Monday with the KwaZulu Natal Youth Empowerment Project. Because classes are over, and I wont have as much internet access, I will most likely post less than I have been.