Accra, Ghana! An African city!

Goodbye Siyabona, hello Accra, Ghana. Accra, the capital and a city with a population of 2 million sits right on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. While the Atlantic Ocean water temperature back on Long Island, New York may be freezing cold the water here is almost too hot to swim in. The city is in an interesting position, while in some areas it appears very developed and modernized according to western standards, there are a tremendous amount of areas in Accra that resemble parts of Nairobi, Kenya, Dar Es Saleem, Tanzania, and the townships in South Africa. While I would argue that Accra is about 12-13 years behind the much more developed South Africa, there are signs of progress. One example are the malls, ironically the shopping malls look like anything you would find in a major city in the west, yet, surrounding the malls are informal settlements or shops that do not fit into western standards but are very authentic and African. The streets are bustling with individuals trying to make a living, selling everything from t-shirts to CDs and DVDs. The historic sites such as the W.E.B. Dubois Centre, Independence square, national museums, and the various embassies while visually appealing would not meet western standards of how to best preserve a landmark; nonetheless these places hold particular value to the country and to the world. They symbolize and document part of the struggle for freedom. To further illustrate the Accra experience, the beachfront, which is of course a gem and a commodity in most developed places, here the various entities, businesses, and developers have not paid much attention to its potential and its competitive it could have over other cities. The Afia Beach Hotel where I am currently residing, sits on the beachfront, however, according to western standards one would not frequent this location because of the debris and brush that sits on the sand on the beach. Despite this, it’s still a beautiful beach with warm waters and some fun waves. So to sum up the Accra experience thus far, it’s an adventure. It’s something that we in the west might not understand but it’s Africa, it’s underdeveloped, its making progress slowly, it has great potential and it just need the right resources in place to guide its development.

The Marist student contingent heads back to the USA while Professor Summers heads to Ghana to explore educational opportunities for Marist College

Today the Marist College student contingent will travel back to the United States. After three weeks of touring South Africa, the students trip has come to an end. The hope was that the students learned a thing or two from their experiences in the various communities, cities and settings, that they were exposed to in South Africa. While the students head back to the United States, Professor Summers will head to Ghana to explore some educational opportunities and partnerships with universities there. Thank you all for reading our blog while on our amazing adventure.

Some of the best of South Africa: Acres of Love and the Apartheid Museum

After enjoying breakfast at our Christian Retreat Center, we began our morning and afternoon by visiting the charity Acres of Love. The mission of this charity is to give orphaned South African children a ‘Forever Home’ where they can grow up, go to school and become part of a family. Acres of Love currently runs 18 houses throughout South Africa that are home to 5-10 boys or girls per house, including children who have special needs and many that are HIV positive. This charity provides each child with top of the line medical care such as Anti-Retroviral medication, as well as speech and occupational therapy. Unlike other orphanage systems each house is run by a permanent ‘House Mother’, not a rotating staff, and more importantly the children are always welcome at their ‘Forever Home’ no matter what their age (many other homes kick kids out once they turn 18). Acres of Love is a tremendous organization and definitely one of our favorite charities we visited, so we urge you to learn more about them at their website- www.acresoflove.org.

We finished our afternoon today by visiting the Apartheid Museum, which was a great way to sum up our experiences about what we learned while here in South Africa. The museum took about two hours to walk through and started by taking us through colonization of South Africa by European settlers, factors that started apartheid, struggles under apartheid, and of course the beginning of a democratic Republic of South Africa. In sum this museum, much like our trip, showed us the good, the bad, and of course, the uniqueness of this country which will always hold a special place in our hearts.

Soweto, Hector Pieterson Memorial, and Newtown, Jozi! The right to the city or not!

Today was our much anticipated excursion to Soweto –the hotbed of anti-Apartheid force. We walked the only street in the world that once housed two Nobel Peace Prize Laureates – Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Another point of Soweto pride is their recognition for sparking the youth uprising and its pivotal role in the fight for equality.

We learned much about the youth uprising at the Hector Peterson Memorial—dedicated to the first young boy to be killed in the freedom struggle at Soweto, June 16th. The museum was very powerful and impacted us greatly as it exposed us to photos, video-clips and first-hand accounts of passive resistance that turned into tragedy. We were inspired as both fellow students and democratic citizens. We were encouraged to see the power of students. The Apartheid regime tried to brainwash the Black youth under Bantu education. In 1963, Prime Minister, H.F. Verwoerd, the “architect of Apartheid” exemplifies the ruling party’s manipulative antics: “When I have control over native education, I will reform it so that natives will be taught from childhood that equality with Europeans is not for them.”

Fortunately, racial issues contextualized in the education system in America were less ideologically corrupt, but we still see many similarities between the struggles of our two countries. Similar to pre-Brown v. Board of Education America, the South African Apartheid regime demanded separation. Only, Apartheid did not claim “separate but equal…” in fact, they made sure separate was not equal.
We also had the opportunity to tour Nelson Mandela’s home where he resided with his second wife and children before his imprisonment. We were able to see how deeply his family was affected by the struggle, Winnie, his ex-wife, was imprisoned numerous times, banished, and forced to fortify her home to protect her children from attacks and gun fire. Later she became the President of the Women’s League of the A.N.C.

Some of our group had the great fortune of running into the Ambassador of Argentina with which they shared marvelous conversation from education and perceptions of culture to exactly what the FIFA World Cup is bringing to individuals and entire societies.

Next we enjoyed some local flavor at Wandie’s, a popular and authentic dining and music spot, but not before we almost purchased three painfully cute pups for the U.S. equivalent of $4 a piece. They were being sold by three adorable young entrepreneurs.

Hunger satisfied, we met up with a Professor Durseit and a student from University of Witwaterstrand in the Newtown section of Johannesburg. They showed how history impacts the culture of public spaces. Uniquely, Newtown enjoyed lively and inter-racial socialites who were allowed to enjoy performances at the Market Theatre, the only place during Apartheid where all races could perform on-stage together. After exploring the gentrified section of Newtown including the inner-city Gold-mine barracks which is now a historical site, we walked the back streets and saw first-hand how the government continues to stifle class interaction. On our left was an underground hip-hop venue and on our right were bridge pillars covered in graffiti art. The masterpieces were made by a famous artist, Rasti, for a youth celebration of empowerment on Freedom Day. In many of these areas, sadly, the pressures of commerce have cashed in and urban hot-spots have been replaced with governmentally controlled development.
The city’s vibrancy is apparent and hopefully the improvements brought on by hosting the FIFA World Cup will continue to uplift Johannesburg.

Jozi Zoo and Mandela's hide out Liliesleaf!

This morning we headed out to the Johannesburg zoo. We were able to see the lions that we missed on our safari in Hluhluwe along with polar bears, cheetahs, and a few ducks. It was interesting after seeing most of these animals in their natural habitat to then go to the zoo where the animals were all in separated areas. The zoo was not the only place that we were confronted with the view of walls today. On our ride to the zoo we passed numerous gated communities created to prevent or lessen instances of crime. This sense of security comes at the steep cost of being isolated from the rest of the greater community as well as the actual expense of owning or renting one of these places. In the midst of another community we found ourselves at Liliesleaf Farm. This was one of the best exhibits we have visited so far. We were thrust into the history of the creation of the ANC and the hideout that they created on the farm. What made this exhibit so unique was the fact that it was entirely interactive. We were able to experience the moments of Nelson Mandela hiding out posing as a farm worker, the creation of plans to overthrow the Apartheid government, and even the strategies of gun runners who supported the war against Apartheid. Each aspect of the exhibit was narrated by people who had actually lived it. Hearing their voices and the struggle against Apartheid as they saw it made it personal. It was almost as if we were sitting down with them in the rooms that they once used and even the safari truck that was used to smuggle ammunition into the country. We walked away from the museum both inspired and proud of the spirit that these people had while fighting for such a noble cause. After Liliesleaf, Darin brought us to see the township of Alexandra. For nearly half a mile, all we observed were shanty houses made of cardboard, wood, and tarp. There was an instant change in setting as soon as we crossed the opposite side of the river where we observed more developed housing. This landmark divide symbolized what we have been seeing throughout our trip—the economic divide between people living side by side.

Pretoria and World Cup Game----USA V. England

Today we started our day visiting Pretoria, and ended it by attending the USA vs. England World Cup soccer match. In Pretoria we had a tour of the Voortreeker Monument (it is a monument that displays the battle between the Boers and the Zulus, including a panel focused on the Battle of Blood River), as well as the house of Paul Kruger, the president of the Dutch people of South Africa in the late 1800s. After a stop at the historic church square and Parliament, our morning in Pretoria was over and we boarded our bus to Rustenburg to watch the game.

Once we arrived, the atmosphere both inside and outside the stadium was electric, with fans from all over the world supporting either the USA or England. Our seats were in the England fan section, so needless to say the crowd surrounding us went wild when England scored the first goal less than five minutes in to the game. Thankfully the USA answered back with a goal later on in the first half. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, a result that puts both teams in a favorable position for the remainder of group play. Viewing a World Cup game in-person was truly a unique cultural experience that we will be sure to remember for the rest of our lives. Brazil 2014 anyone?

Sacred Heart Marist Brothers' College and the start of FIFA!

Our day began with a trip back to Sacred Heart College, our third of the Marist family. We met up with the principal and several staff members that we had chatted with last night and they led us on a tour of the beautiful campus. This is one environment that truly cultivates success stories and the moral character they are dedicated to. The five pillars resonated not only with the education offered at the Marist school but the values of the community: simplicity, love of work, in Mary’s way, presence, and family spirit. The school prides itself on being able to offer a quality education to all students yet its renowned excellence attracts children of some of South Africa’s most prominent leaders such as Mandela and Zuma.

Although the school has begun winter break early for the start of the FIFA World Cup, we got to see the campus’s impressive amenities of which included newly renovated boys and girls bathrooms, planned, designed and contracted by the school’s 11th grade females. The school gave these young women a budget and with it they were able to create state-of-the-art restrooms; just one of the many approaches Sacred Heart uses to empower its students.

One of the school’s unique programs is an after-hours education for refugees (grades three through six). The classes are taught by former refugees, now teachers, and the students after learning English, focus on literacy, numeracy and life skills. We were able to see one workshop where the students were beginning to create a book based on a collection of their refugee experiences. One method of funding for this alternative education program is the school’s new café; all proceeds go directly to scholarship and learning funds. It was here that we all enjoyed not only great cappuccino but excellent conversation; we were able to get a better idea of the institutions vision. The experiences we have had with our extended Marist family have made us realize the importance of forging and maintaining relationships that we wish to continue, utilize and carry back home.

Decked out in Bafana Bafana gear we joined native South Africans for food fun and world cup festivities. Exuberantly, vuvuzelas trumpet the sort of South African patriotism that has been emanating from the people. This epic event did not fail to awe us with its opening ceremonies, nor did the brilliant performances of all four teams in the first two games. Between the two games we enjoyed a performance of South Africa’s history through the medium of its rich music culture. Tomorrow our stripes of green and gold will turn to red, white and blue as proclaim our true allegiance.