Classroom Update:
So far in our morning sessions with Dr. Webster we have discussed how to address issues of health and illness from within the experiences of local cultures, and how not to impose foreign theories and methods onto cultural situations for which they are unsuited. Our two books include “Healing Our Differences” by Collins Airihenbuwa, and “28 Stories” by Stephanie Nolen.
The first book, “Healing Our Differences”, analyzes the failures of Western intervention in the health matters of Africa and prescribes a fresh approach to this time-worn issue. Through three chapters of this book we have broached and come to terms with a number of important issues that bear upon our HIV/AIDS work here in Durban, South Africa, including: the importance of identity in developing health policy and the inequitable outcomes of “identity-neutral” health policy, some effective ways of “thinking globally and acting locally” or of addressing large-scale social issues by fully appreciating and working within the specificity of given cultural traditions/practices, and, finally, the ways that language itself is an organ of culture and one that can inflict grave injury when imposed without reflection on unfamiliar cultural arrangements.
Stephanie Nolen, in “28 Stories”, takes a more intimate approach to the subject as she weaves together the personal tales of hardship and perseverance that, although nothing more than a record the daily tasks of survival for the millions who are infected, together constitute what we distantly refer to as the AIDS pandemic. In this book we’ve so far discussed the author’s own experiences that eventually led her to dedicate her life to AIDS awareness, and also Nelson Mandela’s announcement of, and the world’s reaction to, the news of his son’s succumbing to the menace of AIDS. As you may be able to tell by now, the instruction given by Dr. Webster casts a constructively critical eye to Western health intervention in Africa, while not allowing us to become so bogged down in the world of “concepts” and “discourses” that we lose sight of the very human reason that brings us here.
Out and About:
On Tuesday we traveled into town for the community engagement part of the day. For the first time, our group had a chance to experience Durban outside of UKZN. Garey’s friend Lwazi* joined us on our journey. The two met during a peer education workshop at Lwazi’s high school. He explained how Garey sparked his interest in HIV/AIDS work and peer education, and the two have been friends since. He is from the Umlazi township, which is about 45 minutes from campus, and lives with his mother and sister.
UKZN is on their Winter Holiday right now, so like Mason, the campus is a lot quieter than usual. Downtown, however, was quite the opposite. Our journey began by taking a “kumbi” (a taxi) to our destination. Forget your image of a yellow cab. The kumbi is an 11-passenger van that transports people to and from various locations. To hail a kumbi, you gesture with your pointer finger pointed upwards to indicate that you are headed to town. At the pick up point, the kumbi waits until it is filled with anywhere from 11 to 16 passengers. Then, once the driver pulls off, everyone passes their money forward, indicating how many passengers they are paying for. Though it may seem like the seat next to the driver is the best (because it’s more spacious) the front-seated passenger is often in charge of collecting the payments and doling out change. The kumbi costs about 6 rand to get to town (the exchange rate is 8 rand: 1 dollar), and involves a complex system of routes and rules that drivers are expected to follow.
On the kumbi, we were all able to observe aspects of South African culture that are quite different from what we are used to in the US. The passing of the money to the front showed a level of trust and respect among riders. Women were often helped on and off the kumbi, and small children were held by strangers while their parents got situated. It was interesting to then compare these experiences to public transportation in the US, where it is taboo to strike up a conversation, let alone trust a stranger with your money.
After surviving the spatial constraints of the kumbi, we arrived to downtown Durban. We were dropped off close to the boardwalk, so we walked about 5 blocks to get a view of the Indian Ocean. Lwazi explained that Zulus believe that their ancestors come from the sea, so the beach as somewhat of a sacred place. Zulus view sea water as having many healing powers so often Zulus that live far inland we take gallons of water with them while leaving. Similarly, Zulu healings/doctors (known as Sangoma or Nyanga) use sea water for many cleansing practices.
After leaving the ocean front, we went to another part of the city called the Workshop. It consists largely of open air markets, stores, malls and vendors. Upon exiting one store, we watched a group of about 10 girls, ranging from toddlers to teenagers, performing traditional Zulu dance. Some people sat and watched, others stopped briefly, and more walked by, singing as they passed. Though we knew on some level how much music is a part of the culture here, that point became clear at this moment.
Whitney and Dr. Webster also enjoyed large amount of mint candy, of course sharing graciously with the group.
*Names will be changed throughout this blog, for the respect and privacy of those we meet.
The Project:
As part of our program, we want to engage in a project that will truly build bridges. We want this project to be collaborative and highly useful to the community/communities that we engage with. Our project will also need to be within our means, during our stay, and have a large piece focused on HIV/AIDS. These are all guidelines that we’ve created as a group and it’s important to us to be mindful of the issues that have come up in our academic lessons such as identity, culture, and global health.
Since meeting Lwazi, we’ve started to brainstorm ideas for a “Day of Action” in the township of Umlazi. Townships are locations and homes that where designed during the Apartheid era. Townships were made to house single racial groups in order for the Apartheid government to separate and control non-white people. The education in townships, along with housing and access to water and electricity are extremely below the standard of most other areas in South Africa. The purpose of townships was to separate, and thus illustrate the discrimination and violence implemented by the Apartheid government. Since the end of Apartheid the education system and housing system in townships are changing. A lot of funding and programs are growing and starting in the townships. That said, much of the funding is focused on treatment of AIDS instead of prevention.
While we were talking to Lwazi, he suggested doing small workshops on topics of interest. Lwazi told us that the message of sex-safe and use of condoms is rampant through out the township. Young people know all about AIDS and the transmission of HIV; the problem is that, much like in the US, people think they can avoid the disease. To add in an element of fun we’re planning on having a soccer game between the high school in the township and another team. The opposing soccer team isn’t quite put together; perhaps we will find people from the University and build our own team.
The success of this project will largely be in our ability to connect with other people and find ways to present old-knowledge in a new way, or rather, find ways to empower young people in the township to organize safer-sex workshops and conversations themselves.
We hope that you've enjoyed this post. Please post comments and let us know about any questions you have.
Behold...the Indian Ocean!
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