Cultural diversity is no easy game

When people think of Africa as a continent, they often envisage poverty, hardship & people living in what they would deem as relative ‘squalor’. This of course is not the case for everyone but as we know only too well, it is increasingly prevalent and recent statistics suggest it is the sad reality for more than half of the population in Africa. South Africa holds 50% of its people haunted below the poverty line and in most towns and indeed larger cities, there will be at least one substantial if not numerous townships scattered outside the buzzing metropolis.

Townships (otherwise known as slums, shantytowns, squatter camps, or, if like me you prefer the less derogatory term, rural communities) as you can see above can vary from dirty and impoverished to quite cheerful looking yet basic settlements. They were first constructed during the Apartheid era, where it is was critical for government to separate the blacks and whites and keep them in designated areas. It was the infrastructure and western technology brought over from overseas whites that created the cities while the ‘informal settlements’ were created for the black populations outside of the city centres where it was still possible for it’s inhabitants to find work. As you can imagine, the settlements grew with accelerating momentum and before long had soon exploded and become firmly recognized homes for hundreds of thousands of people.

The townships across South Africa today are still as distinctive as they once were, despite Apartheid now firmly revoked. They are predominantly, if not entirely occupied by black citizens and the way these people live their lives is not dissimilar to how it would have been 40, 50 years ago. The only crucial difference now is that freedom has entitled a population to no longer feel shackled by oppression.

But was Apartheid unreservedly a bad policy? Of course that is a rather controversial question to pose, but I can’t help but weigh up the pros and cons of that time. I find, and will continue to find Apartheid a morally abhorrent period in history but it doesn’t mean that we can’t analyze it. The way Apartheid was handled was sickening and the treatment of millions was unforgivable. On the other hand, and forgive me for sounding dispassionate, what prevailed as a result was a far more controlled country than is true today.

The government were on such high guard that they were ruthlessly strict, crime was controlled in a similarly rigorous fashion and the municipalities were run far better. Yes -the blacks got their freedom and damn right too but the ramifications for South Africa today is corruption and wrongdoing. South Africa as a country appears to be one of organized chaos and it is a shame to reflect and comprehend that in reality, during Apartheid the country was in fact just organized. People will argue that this so called ‘organization’ was organized brutality and inhumane segregation, and for the most part I agree; but in scrutinizing the situation however, I now find myself failing to see the situation in such absolute terms.

 

Kids will be kids?

Something that I keep noticing in South Africa is the mentality of mothers and their approach to parenting. It may seem that I’m talking loosely and have no right to judge a parent as I am not one myself, but I am in no way saying this is negative behaviour; merely something that is interesting. I should probably also add that the mothers in question are those of poverty, those I have encountered on the streets and in the townships. These mothers treat their children as though they are much older than their years, and though of course their love for their young is undeniable, the way they interact with them is something that continues to intrigue me. They don’t pay attention when they fuss; they hoist them up on their backs with little tenderness and allow their babies to sit there squashed to their backs for sometimes hours on end.

If anything, I commend these women. In Western society, we indulge children so much, almost too much I feel. Of course it’s perfectly natural and loving to coo over a little one and show it love and affection at all times, but in my (naïve) experience, it seems like these African mothers have developed a more successful method. And the result is that you rarely see their children sulk, whine or cry. I think I can count on one hand the instances that I have seen a black baby crying. They sit like little patient angels on their mum’s backs, happily bobbing along as she sets about her day. They are brought along to work and forced to entertain themselves, sometimes with less than a plastic bottle of a bit of wood. There are few Western mothers who would ‘put their children through this’. Mothers in the UK, although I am in no way faulting their parenting in any way, are on call at all times and cosset their children at every opportunity. I am sure there are exceptions and of course I appreciate that I am speaking somewhat generally. And I’m sure a lot of you are thinking, ‘so what, that shows an attentive parent’. And you’re right.

My experience with young children comes from being an off and on nanny for 6 years. I adore children. I find them interminably fascinating and fun to be around and admire their wonderful ability to ground adults and hold them in the present. Children at a young age don’t have the aptitude to worry about the future, they only live for the day; something I can bet a lot of you wish you had. I sure do anyway. In my opinion, from the mothers I have had the pleasure of working with, those that shone were the ones who didn't let it worry them when they encouraged their child to amuse him or herself. Ultimately, I think these children will grow up to be far more self-sufficient and less insecure, so for the short period of time where it must feel like one is ‘abandoning’ their children, in the long run it is definitely for the best.

African children seem to display a maturity that you don’t see in their counterparts in the UK. They often have the responsibility of a younger sibling once they reach a certain age, a job that they do with dignity and love. They work from an age that some people in the Western world would be stunned at, but again, do this it appears with minimal fuss.  They seem to have been instilled with the right values from a tender age and a knowledge (despite this perhaps not being verbalised) that they must work for their food, their home and their school.  They work to live. You see a fierce pride in their eyes which I find humbling. I think we could all take a leaf out of these African mothers’ books. I’m sure a lot of them wish they could swap lives with a mother from the UK, having the luxury of spoiling and doting over their child, but life sadly hasn’t dealt them those cards. I’m not saying to UK mothers ‘strap your baby to your back and ignore him/her’ but perhaps a little less indulgence wouldn't be such a bad thing? And hey, you may get a little less crying -that wouldn't be such a bad thing would it?!

Nourish: Earth Body & Soul

I just felt like I should write a short entry about the lovely Sarah and the work she is doing at Nourish; the company she founded a year ago.

Nourish is an NPO that helps within rural communities to uplift its people while promoting social responsibility and encouraging environmental education. We were lucky enough to be invited along with her for the day to see what Nourish is all about and it certainly exceeded my expectations I can tell you that for sure. Sarah is only 24 but in my mind she epitomises the perfect person for this job; she has a wonderful attitude, bags of charisma and a wealth of knowledge that is essential for a successful business like Nourish.

We tagged along to a tree planting and educational environmental talk, a wonderful grade R hand knitted dolly donation and to a school uniform distribution in 2 primary schools. The expression on the children’s faces when they were presented with a brand spanking new uniform was magical to watch and it was moving to see just how proud they were. A lot of pictures were taken and a lot of smiles were smiled. It was a truly memorable day and Rog and I feel privileged to have been a part of it.

I wish Sarah all the luck in the world and my fingers are firmly crossed for her that Nourish will continue to flourish.

For more information, please visit the Nourish website and help Sarah in any way you can:

www.nourish.org.za