Introduction to my blog

Dear Family, Friends and Colleagues,

I traveled to South Africa with the Pedagogy of Action once again this summer. I am extremely grateful have been able to participate in such an amazing program a second time. In case you have not seen it yet, here is last year's blog: Pedagogy of Action South Africa 2007 . This time the focus of the trip was a bit different from last year, While we did teach the oral HIV module, we also conducted focus groups and in-depth interviews with our past students, in order to find out how effective the program has been, and if the module is being used even when we are gone.

While on the trip three dispatches were e-mailed out to family and friends back home. I created this website in order to put all the dispatches in one spot and share them with you. By clicking on titles in the 'Blog Archive' above you can read about our journey. This blog is by no means all inclusive, but it offers a glimpse into this program and how much this journey means to us. We hope you enjoy sharing our story and we thank you for your support of this program. We would not be able to do it without you!

Sincerely,
Ashley

Dispatch #1 - May 27, 2008

Sawubona!

Greetings from the students of the Pedagogy of Empowerment Program and our mentor Dr. Nesha Haniff. We are writing you from the beautiful campus of the University of Zululand (UniZul), where we are in the kind and able hands of Gugu Gule, Coordinator of the International Linkages Office, and Dr. Zethu Mkhize, Assistant Director of the HIV/AIDS program at the university.

The bulk of our work here has consisted of conducting focus groups with students at the University. Our conversations have centered around the implications of gender and tradition in the spread of HIV and the effectiveness of the module, the oral methodology developed by Dr. Haniff and used by this program. In my group, which is co-facilitated by my peer Zakiyah Sayyed, I have found our discussions on the role poverty plays in women's empowerment and, in turn, the continuing problem of the pandemic to be particularly illuminating. These conversations have allowed us to connect with our peers on a level that a typical study-abroad program would probably never enable.

For me, personally, South Africa has been a place of great beauty and an unparalleled space for personal reflection. The drive from Durban to UniZul alone showed me some of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen in my life. The students and faculty at UniZul have been unabatedly giving, compassionate, and open with us. I can see why my focus group partner Zakiyah considers this place to be a kind of second home for her; the people have welcomed us as if we are students at their own university and, in the case of Mama Gugu, members of her own family.

As a musician, I have been given many unique opportunities here. In Durban, Professor Haniff, my peer Ashley Issa, and I attended a concert given by the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra, which was excellent. I am actually hoping that I will be able to perform with them as a substitute violinist on their May 22 concert. The performance we attended was an opportunity for me to not only hear some beautiful music but also, upon noticing the entirely white make-up of the ensemble and its audience, reflect on the pervading problems of race in this country and our own. Since coming to UniZul, I have been warmly welcomed by the Centre for Arts and Cultures, where I was recently able to witness a truly stunning performance of percussion, poetry, dance, and song. Rarely have I been so touched and stimulated by show of this kind. In studying musicology at the University of Michigan I have been able to witness traditional forms of African song and dance from a distance, dealing with both the practice of studying traditional and world music and the dangers of researching other cultures in a way that exoticizes them. Here, however, I was able to see a performance of modern African culture by African students that rendered their grounding in the rich culture of South Africa with their country's experiences with colonization, industrialization, and globalization. To just sit, however, and realize that I was in Zululand watching a performance being given by my peers in the study of the arts was stunning, unto itself.

I think that is all for now; the only thing I know I have left out is our experiences with each other in the nightly meetings in which we all gather with Professor Haniff and the time we have spent together outside of our work. In the meetings, we have been dealing with issues regarding our research and our own lives that have enabled us to get to know each other extremely thoroughly and rapidly. Outside of the meetings, we have been able to enjoy each other's company, discuss our lives back home and our time here, and laugh very, very hard about ourselves, our experiences, and just about anything else.

Wishing you all the best from South Africa. Sala kahle!

Matthew Leslie - Santana

Dispatch #2 - June 2, 2008

Hope is a four letter word that can bring the revelation of empowerment or facilitate the trap of false generosity. From our time at Cato Crest Primary School located in Durban within the extremes of poverty, the school poses as social capital to the community through its teachers, environment, and ability to radiate children's faces. The faculty's optimistic attitude is displayed through the school-children's smiling faces and their confidence level. Even though one might believe the harshness and reality of the children's lifestyle would degrade their spirit, these children are the brightest and most inspired group I have encountered. The vibrant essence of these students' character endorses the notion of empowerment and their ability to cause a change within their community and themselves.

When a student becomes empowered their voice cannot be silence and their presence cannot be hidden. Through teaching these students the HIV/AIDS module and watching their teach-backs to the entire school, these children without a doubt are superstars with successful futures. Although the module might not have immediately altered their lifestyle, the effect of giving these children the agency to "own" their education and knowledge will become a driving force for their potential endeavors. The assurance of these children's motivation and empowerment occurred when the audience began to ask questions. The forceful and engaging manner in which the students answered questions made them seem as "experts." Questions ranged from how HIV is acquired, stigma concerns, and how to keep your body's soldiers, white blood cells, healthy.

Empowerment supports individuals being critical of their current situation, past circumstances, and life expectations. Education is the backbone of empowerment and the basis for breaking the chains of oppression. Paulo Freire, the author of Pedagogy of The Oppressed, exclaims, "The insistence that the oppressed engage in reflection on their concrete situation is not a call to armchair revolution. On the contrary, reflection- true reflection- leads to action. On the other hand, when the situation calls for action, the action will constitute an authentic praxis only if its consequences become the object of critical reflection… To achieve this praxis, however, it is necessary to trust in the oppressed and their ability to reason." The instance the student decides that he/ she is able to teach the module and stands up to do so, the belief and trust within themselves begins to set their conscience free. The students of Cato Crest Primary School hold the key to their future within and the module is only one tool that unlocks their self-worth and enlightenment.

Even though the majority of our time at Cato Crest was spent teaching the module and empowering the community, we also participated in charity donations. The school has identified a group of twenty-six students in which one or both parents had contracted HIV and had passed away because of a related illness. Due to fundraising events and private donors in the US, these students were able to receive a food parcel consisting of fifteen items, a bag of winter clothes, and a pair shoes. The joyous and appreciative attitude of the children was beyond belief and extremely heartfelt. Their thankful outlook for items that most would consider insignificant, such as socks and an undershirt, humbled my view on life's obstacles. Furthermore, we donated eighteen fans to the school for the cooling of the sweltering classrooms during summer. Overall, the experience at Cato Crest Primary School was one of self-reflection, empowerment, and the remembrance of children that has forever affected my obligation to humanity for the better.

Dispatch #3 - June 5, 2008

Marumo Fatshe - Put Down Your Spear

Today in Kampala, Ugandans protested against the xenophobic attacks against Ugandans in South Africa and threatened to send home South Africans living in Uganda.Having been here for almost five weeks now I cannot say that I have heard of any Ugandans being attacked. The principle however of residents of African nationalities being attacked remains a valid point. The presentation of these incidents by the press used the words foriegners and xenophobia and as it was carried abroad, the interpretation was legitimately that everyone foreign was vulnerable. Indeed this was not the case. The attacks were an example of horizontal violence, the poor in the townships starting in Alexandria outside of Johannesburg, to Kwa-Zulu-Natal at Chatsworth, and townships in Capetown and the Western Cape - burnt the shacks of even poorer migrants, asylum seekers and refugees from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Mali, Sudan etc. Over 50 people died and it is estimated that over 20,000 people have been displaced.

No Americans or foreign nationals from Europe or other parts of the world were attacked. At some point during our stay here while the violence was going on I had a special class on the nature of these attacks and reflected on the fact that unless I had raised the matter, or they were following the news, they would have no idea of the level of these attacks. Most of the students realized the gravity of the situation when they received e mails from home and the university. When I first started to visit South Africa many years ago I would say that a person could visit this country and never see poverty or never see the homes where the people who served them lived, unless the informal settlements confronted them when they were whizzing from the airport as it does in Capetown-and then they are immediately swallowed up by the privilege and luxury of the city. Soweto is about 45 minutes away from Johannesburg, Khaiyelitsha is about an hour away from Capetown and Alexandria is about Half an hour away, the closest township to the city and one of the poorest in the country. This was the hub of the alarm that it would spread from there ... to Rosebank, to Parktown, to Bramley, to Sandton. It did not.

South Africans were shocked at this and there was a great outcry. May 25th was Africa Day. Indeed I would say that the majority of the country rose up and spoke out against this. the South African media for all its mistakes, like not covering the great contributions that the African foreign nationals made to South Africa, were vehemently opposed to this violence and every day aired messages against this by prominent persons. Many protected migrants who were afraid for their lives. Although this was an attack on South Africa as a place that celebrated human rights it was that principle itself that halted these attacks. It was the concept and practice of ubuntu(I am because you are) that prevailed. It was this African concept that protected us all and kept us and South Africa safe. The problems that caused this violence have not magically disappeared but civic society in South Africa made a decision to protect their society and their good name. Everyday they would say on television "Marumo Fatshe"- put down your spear.

Siyabonga

We Thank you South Africa

Nesha Z. Haniff

Director, The Pedagogy of Action

June 5th. 2008