The Drums of Africa Still Beat in My Heart

Wheeew! This was a full week - meetings, debriefing sessions, interviews, and working on the photo voice project. We have surely accomplished a lot and in such a short time I have learned a lot about myself and the process of team work. Even though we don't always see eye to eye, what I appreciate most about the Building Global Bridges (BGB) team is the respect we have for each other. Respect is an essential to cooperation and progress in a group setting.

Another thing that I really love about my team is that we work hard and play harder :) Last night (Thursday night) Thula (UKZN partner) took a few of us to Cool Runnings, a chill spot in the city that was full of people from all walks of life. I must say, however, that I would have never known there were so many people in South Africa with locs if we hadn't gone to Cool Runnings. The main attraction was the African Drum Circle that included about 20 - 30 drummers. The circle was very welcoming to anyone who wanted to drum or dance. I decided to take part in both! Haha :D It was beyond awesome. I drummed until my arms were tired (about three minutes) and danced until I had sweated through my entire shirt. It was BEYOND amazing. After I finished drumming a guy I was sitting next to leaned over and asked me if I felt like I was at home. He continued, "do you feel more African now?" I did. He then gave me some instructions: Close your eyes. Meditate to the drums. Close your eyes and be alone with this energy. I did. For those few moments I was in another place, inside myself, moved by the vibrations in that room. It was powerful and I loved every second of it. That experience was much needed after a such an intense week. It was a great way for me to encourage myself to just let go and go with the flow, which is something I sometimes have difficulty with in more than one context. What an incredible experience with an incredible group of people. I am so happy to be here - soaking it alllll up :)

Jasmine

Most of the VCU crew is out hiking at Drakensberg today. I can't wait to hear their stories and see pictures tonight, but I decided to stay home and enjoy the peace and quiet to clean my room, listen to music, and get some work done before week three begins. Here are some feel-good images from last week to reflect my feel-good day today.

Thula and Jasmine

Lisa receives the full spa treatment on the Kenneth Gardens playground

Tamlynn, Michelle, and Monique

How Are The Children?

There is a "proverb" I have heard my pastor in Richmond, Rev. Dr. Stephen Howard (who is from Liberia) say:  "When you want to know how the village is doing ask how are the children?" This past week in Kenneth Gardens I have been particularly observant of the children.  One of the play areas equipped with tire swings and a soccer net has been the gathering place for our research team.  Initially without forethought or consideration, it didn't occur to me that this would also be a popular gathering or "hang out" spot for the children in the Gardens.  Therefore, as we assemble each day to go over our photovoice data collection plans with the Brettonwood learners, we have also been privileged with the great company of the younger children. 

If I had to answer that question, based on my very preliminary observations, I would say that the children are well and therefore the community despite how some outsiders (and maybe even insiders--we will know more about this once our data from the community "elders" survey are analyzed) may perceive things.  The children have jubilantly embraced us EVERY day that we are in the Gardens with an abundance of energy and joy.  And while we don't know what their lives are like back in their flats with their families they have exhibited a certain resilience that is hard to ignore.  No matter what difficulties and challenges they may be living as a result of growing up in an under-resourced and marginalized community--they have not let that diminish their excitement and eagerness to "play in the sun" each an every day.  This is a lesson that many adults can certainly benefit from.  Dr. Mosavel stated in  one of our debriefings that:  "Every moment counts. Life is a series of moments."  Even when we as adults have failed to fully embody through our actions, words and interactions with others this concept, the children have not. 

So, how are the children in Kenneth Gardens?  I contend many of them are well and thriving despite being faced with some difficult  circumstances that are beyond their control and possibly even their awareness. A critical factor appears to be the fact that it is indeed taking a village to raise the children and they have cross-generational care providers.  For example, the faces of the younger children really lighten up when they see the Brettonwood students and they know them by name.  This is impressive and touching to see because ultimately the reality is that we will be leaving Kenneth Gardens and it is good to know that their joy and sense of freedom won't leave with us.  They have elders (adults) and older children in the community who are attentive, responsive to their needs and nurturing.  Two "elders" stand out in particular--Ms. Khani (featured in one picture with me and the project's UKZN PI Monique and in another with one of our UKZN research team partners Tamlynn). The there elder  is Ben (my picture of him was blurred by sun).  Ben along with his two sons coach on a voluntary basis the neighborhood soccer team which according to Ben has been a unifying force in the community--bringing the adults out of their flats and together to support the children.  I would also like to add that external partners like Monique and her team who out of pocket purchased the first uniforms (shirts) for the soccer team have been instrumental to helping the community members provide a nurturing environment for the children. And again, I dare not under estimate the influence of the older youth.  One of the pictures below is a picture of a Brettonwood student (girl) holding one of the smaller children.  The other pics are of Kenneth Garden children playing soccer and interacting with our research team.

Thoughts from the field

We have been doing interviews with elderly residents of KG and with clinic users for the last two days. This experience has been very informative. I have learned how helpful the clinic has been to the community in providing health care, dietary advice, emotional support, and diagnostic screenings. Although the clinic does not offer as many services as some residents would like, it is awesome to know that although this facility is only open once per week it is able to make a positive impact on the health of community members. It is also interesting to see that many of the health issues that are plaguing the Black community in the United States (e.g., cardiovascular disease and diabetes) are also affecting Black South Africans. I am personally interested to know what community members believe are the causes of these diseases. I am looking forward to talking with more residents and learning more about health beliefs and attitudes in this community.

Yesterday, Morgan and I conducted an interview with a gentleman who had a stroke a few years ago. We learned a lot about how helpful the community clinic has been to him and he provided some great feedback about how the clinic could be improved. What was most interesting for me was how he has transformed as a person since having the stroke. He talked about how he was working and felt healthy and the next thing he remembered was waking up in the hospital on his back and being told that the left side of his body was paralyzed. He talked us through his journey, telling us that he spent two years in that position - on his back. He talked about the experiences that led him to start to try walking with a cane. He discussed how he felt as a father that was no longer able to do for his family what he was accustomed to doing, what he loved to do for them. He talked about the what I saw as the silver lining in the clouds - he isn't able to have the life he once had but he is able to have a life. Needless to say, the stroke had impacted him physically, emotionally, and mentally. Remembering all that he shared with me makes me think of some of the inadequacies in our health care system. First, we have a system that is largely reactive. More money is spent on surgeries and medications than on prevention efforts.  Imagine how much money and heartache would be saved if we placed our focus on successful prevention initiatives. Secondly, efforts to "heal" and help people are rarely holistic. Instead of creating environments where collaborative efforts are made to address the totality of people's health issues (physically, mentally, and emotionally), our system encourages them to a medical doctor, psychologist, and/or a psychiatrist. This to me speaks to the importance of practicing holistic medicine and psychology - understanding and actually addressing the fact that physical and mental health will never be independent of each other.

We are also still continuing to work with the youth from KG. Tomorrow is the last day they will take pictures in the community. I am excited to see what they will come up with on their last day. I have been so impressed by their creativity over the last week and I know they will continue to “wow” me until my last day here. Their energy is still giving me so much life. I love how I have connected with them – they are so warm and accepting, so inquisitive and inviting, so smart and charming. I am anxious to see what the final photo voice project display will look like. I know it will be nothing short of amazing.

In peace and love,

Jasmine

Mentor groups

For all interviews conducted during this project, each VCU student is paired with one UKZN student. For our photovoice work with the Brettonwood learners, each pair also makes up a mentoring team for 2-3 learners. On our last day of shooting in Kenneth Gardens today I photographed each mentoring pair with their learners and encouraged them to come up with a creative pose for the team picture.

Nomonde and Michelle with their learners Andile, Sukumani, and Zinhle

Carrie and Thula with their learners Mthobisi and Nduduzo

Jasmine and Sihle with their learners Bambelam, Siphesihle, and Sandiso

Lisa and Chiedza with their learners Ntokozo and Lwazi

Morgan and Yende with their learners Mncedisi, Thandeka, and Claire

Plus a little love from my one-woman team! (Photo by Thula)

Learning

Yesterday we began interviewing elderly residents of Kenneth Gardens and the experience was extremely eye opening. Once again I was made aware of how unpredictable field research can be. Decisions have to be made on the spot and there are no right or wrong answers. Moreover, I received a crash course in the need to let an interview work itself out. It is a process, a learning one at that, and all problems or issues may not be avoided.

To end the day we spent more time assisting Brettonwood learners with their photovoice project. As I anticipated, I have been completely blown away by their work and ability to conceptualize important things in their community. They are, for a lack of a better word, AMAZING. I hate to say it, but I don't think in our wildest dreams we would have been able to guess that they would be as thoughtful, creative, and inspiring as they are. Additionally, in spite of their high intellectual capacities, they are still joyous children to be around. Playful and hilarious. It is rare that I am among without smiling. 

Morgan

One more day of shooting

Tomorrow will be the last day of taking photos for the Brettonwood students. One of my jobs every night is to download and sift through the images they take. One night I stayed up for a few hours writing them comments on easy techniques they could use to improve shakiness or exposure issues. The next afternoon I told them that if they were interested they could come and see what I had written. In the end only one student asked about my comments, but I wasn't so disappointed because of how much I enjoyed looking through their images. Even though my role in teaching the kids (technical support) has been relatively small, the experience really has me thinking about pursuing teaching. I'm so thrilled to see how one assignment given to a group of people can yield so many different results.