Week of Diverse Cultural Experiences

I completed my first official week at the JL Zwane Community Centre. The centre had many visitors this week, two groups from the United States, The House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, MN and the ANSA organization based in Washington D.C., a couple from Windhoek, Namibia and a family of 5 from Forres, Scotland. Last Wednesday the centre hosted the Council for World Mission Churches made up of 15 people from around the world. It literally was the UN! They asked me to speak on behalf of the relationship between Open Arms and the centre. I was happy to and was also very proud to plug Kevin's book (for those of you who didn't get one from me as a gift, Kevin wrote a book called "Never Give Up", vignettes about his 6 month stay in Cape Town), I sold about 10 copies. The proceeds of the book go back to the centre for the nutrition program. Siyaya, the musical group from the centre performed, they were a big hit and they too sold many CD's. The group was very impressed with the centre and the programs presented to them. They asked many questions which I view as a good sign that they were interested in what is happening at the centre and in the townships regarding HIV/AIDS.

I have to admit that at home I do not attend the theatre or art programs very frequently. But in one week I had the opportunity to attend the theatre twice, watch a musical competition for high school students in Cape Town and listen to a choral group in a township.

I will now explain the diversity of each program.

The musical competition was held in Cape Town at a venue called Artscape. A beautiful building that is the home to the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra and the Cape Town Ballet. The competition was for high school students from all over South Africa. In the past, South Africa did not promote music in the schools due to cost but some of the Afrikaner schools decided that music was important for the growth of the students and so they began music programs in their schools. The Afrikaner schools are private and the cost to attend is very high precluding children from the townships the ability to attend. With the help of scholarships, children from lower income families now have the opportunity to enroll in these schools. The final 7 students were made up of 2 Afrikaners, 2 colored, 2 black and 1 Jewish student. The competitors were very talented. I found it very hard to have a favorite but secretly I wanted the pianist to win due to the fact that I have taken piano lessons. I wasn't disappointed though when the winner was a 15 year old violinist, she was amazing. I think we will be hearing her name along with Yo Yo Ma (cello) in the future! The girls wore gowns and the boys suits and ties. Very formal and professionally orchestrated. The winner received R10,000 which right now would be about $1,000. It was quite the evening.

The second musical event I attended was in the township of Nyanga. Nyanga means moon and is a black township next to Guguletu. Bongani, the music director of Siyaya, the group at the centre, started a choral group called African Chord Melodies. The group is made up of 40 boys and girls from the townships. He is trying to preserve traditional African choral music by forming this group and at the same time working to get youths off the streets and to give them an outlet for displaying their talent. The venue in Nyanga was at a community center. It is an older building with a few windows missing, the acoustics weren't quite the same as at Artscape, the costumes were simple black pants with either an orange or black t-shirt but when they started to sing and the voices came together you forgot where you were or what they were wearing! The music was powerful, they shared the same energy and joy of performing for the many free guests in the audience as the students at Artscape did for the many who paid. The audience was made up of one white person (me), two colored people (my friend Elizabeth and her son Chad) the rest were black. It was a wonderful experience. Like the church service at JL Zwane, all spoken word is in Xhosa so you can imagine how shocked I was when the announcer thanked "Jane and her two friends for coming" in English. Bongani's dream is to see the group perform in bigger venues where they can generate income to purchase "professional" costumes and to be able to afford transport costs. I know Bongani and I know he will work hard to make his dream come true!

The first theatrical performance I saw was a one man show at the Baxter Theatre in Newlands. A small, artsy venue with a very warm feeling. The play is called "The Crossing". It is the story of Jonathan Nkala's journey from his small village of Kwe Kwe in Zimbabwe to Cape Town, South Africa. Jonathon presented his story through acting, song and art. He makes a living by selling beautiful beaded artwork to tourists in Cape Town. The story is of innocence, pain and joy presented with humor, irony and love. I met Jonathon after the play, he is very soft spoken and genteel. I am sure this performance was very difficult for him but also very cathartic. He is now a temporary asylum seeker whose permit has to be renewed every six months.

The second play I saw was at The Theatre on the Bay in Camps Bay, a very beautiful, expensive area on the beach. The audience was made up of white people, many of them tourists. The play was called "Mooi Street Moves". It was performed by two professional actors, one black, one white. Mooi is a street in Johannesburg, South Africa. It tells the story of life after Apartheid and how during Apartheid Mooi street was an upper class vibrant area, after Apartheid it became a place of drugs and crime. The play was about the black man's struggle to make a living by selling stolen goods to a middleman and his relationship with the white man who came to Mooi street to find his brother who he hasn't seen in 6 years. I didn't understand some of the story because it was based on Afrikaner history. I enjoyed the play very much and once again I was able to learn more about the history of South Africa and its people.

I start a new week tomorrow and wonder what it will bring. I hope it will be as exciting as this last one so I can blog about something interesting and not just "I got up today and ate breakfast"! Thank you again for reading my blog.

The photo is of Bongani and the African Chord Melodies, sorry it is so dark, still learning to use my camera too!

Bye for now...