Robben Island, Soccer, and What Little I Know About Apartheid

Robben Island is a small, flat island off the coast of Cape Town where political prisoners were held during Apartheid (probably the most famous prisoner being Nelson Mandela who spent over 20 years on Robben Island). The island has a long history as a leper colony, World War II training facility, and prison, but it wasn’t until 1961 that the first Apartheid political prisoners arrived (and 1991 that the last political prisoners left).
When I came to visit Bridges Academy last spring, I was a bit humbled by how little I knew about Apartheid – and still am. In the airport on my way back to Egypt, I went on a hunt for a readable book to teach me more about the recent history that created the unbalanced social strata that still exists today. After a long, critical book search, I came across More Than Just a Game : Soccer vs. Apartheid, a book about the Makana Football Association that was formed by prisoners on Robben Island. The book explained a bit of the history of Apartheid, blended into the context of the prisoner’s passion for soccer.
Most of the prisoners on Robben Island were highly educated and had been leaders for political groups fighting for a freedom and equality in South Africa. The prison contained people who have become doctors, lawyers, scientists, and the presidents of South Africa. The white guards did anything they could to degrade and demoralize the prisoners. They gave common law prisoners authority over the political prisoners (sometimes as guards), allowing them more privileges like better food and jobs on the island. When the political prisoners were first brought to the island, the common law prison facility was too small to house the huge influx of prisoners, so they were forced to work long hours in the limestone quarry breaking off rock that they would later use to build their own prison. Food rations were allotted based on race: Whites, coloreds, and blacks would all be given different amounts of food in the prison with the black food portion being the smallest portion with the least amount of nutrition.
To combat the dehumanizing attempts by the guards, the prisoners pulled together to form a soccer association. The organization of soccer on Robin Island is pretty unbelievable – until you consider who was doing the organizing. They had negotiated with the prison for years, consistently bringing up their case as to why they felt the game of soccer was important to life and work on the island. With each request usually came a punishment, but eventually the prison gave in and allowed them the privilege. There were individual clubs that involved managers and contracts, trading, schedules, tournaments, and awards. Most prisoners on the island, and guards for that matter, became loyal fans to the different clubs. The prisoners had fashioned goal posts out of driftwood and would carefully maintain the field that they worked so hard to attain. Teams would train and discuss strategies quietly in their cells at night or out in the quarry during the day.
Soccer on Robin Island provided the prisoners with the opportunity to exercise not only their bodies, but their minds. They were able to assume similar roles that they had played before life on the island by organizing, strategizing, negotiating, and networking. The prisoners wanted to make sure that every prisoner on the island had rights and opportunities and that everyone was treated equally – especially since they had been denied these rights in every other way on the island. The prison guards would sometimes use the right to play soccer against them by randomly deciding that soccer would not be taking place on certain weeks. The prisoners would then use their right to play as a sort of hunger strike – to forfeit their rights so that the prison could not use it against them.
Anyways, read the book. It’s fascinating. Apparently there is a movie as well, but I haven’t seen it yet.
About 3 weeks ago, Cece, Leeanne, Maia and I had the chance to take the Grade 8 class to Robben Island. The grade 8 class is pretty notorious for being the toughest bunch for teachers to handle, so we were looking forward to the chance to hang out with the students in a context outside of school (Especially in a context where we didn’t have to be their teachers, but were fellow students). Jenni dropped us off at the water front where we walked around with the kids and had a little photo shoot while we waited for the boat to take off. We then boarded the boat for Robben Island.
As we pulled out of the harbor, the boat’s safety video came on, followed by a video on the history of Robin Island. As soon as we left the harbor area, we didn’t hear any of it because everyone was yelling and laughing hysterically as the boat rocked like mad through the choppy water. We had a couple full barf bags by the end of our trip. Most of our kids were not used to being on a boat…
When we got to the island, we jumped on a tour bus that took us around a quick tour of the island that took us past the leper graveyard, the first prison, penguins, some of the structures established for the guards and their families on the island, and the limestone quarry that the prisoners had spent years of their lives working in (even long after the second prison had been built). Apparently, many of the prisoners had permanent damage due to the massive amounts of chalk dust they had to breathe in every day. The guide said that Nelson Mandela can’t cry because his tear ducts were clogged and injured during his time in the quarry.
After our bus tour, we took a tour of the second prison (the one built by the prisoners themselves). Our guide on this portion of the tour was a man that had been a prisoner himself for “crimes against the state” in the 1980s. He showed us the prison blocks where 20-40 prisoners would live together, the kitchen where large vats of food were thrown together, and the solitary prison cells where more “dangerous” prisoners were kept alone (like Nelson Mandela). Most of these prisoners were the leaders of political organizations.
I think our students enjoyed the chance to get out and see a part of Cape Town they had not been to before. I don’t know that they were severely impacted – but hope that as they learn more about Apartheid that it will sink in a bit more and that the images from Robben Island will stick with them to understand what people had to go through to fight for their freedom. Our students come from the townships that are the result of Apartheid. The townships were created to separate the blacks, colored, and white South Africans – creating more poverty, and therefore violence, a lack of quality education, and a breeding ground for AIDS. All of our students are orphans, mostly due to AIDS and other challenges of living in the townships. A lot has changed since the end of Apartheid, but there are many issues that continue as a result. Even the fact that a 4 white teachers were able to take 8 black students on a field trip and hang out with them as equals probably could not have taken place 20 years ago. I feel very privileged to be able to play my tiny part in the positive changes that are taking place.

Dam part II

Here are some pics to follow up on the dam fieldtrip from last week. I think they learned something, and even if they didn't, they had fun getting off the school property and running around a bit. Here are the 8th graders in front of the Berg River Dam

and playing with the amphitheater that overlooks the dam

This is Sandile
Thandi, mystery hooded child, Lazola, and Sive the boy
and Zanele. She was sick this day, but I love her hair in this picture.
Time to head back to the van!

The best dam run ever

After a drizzly, cloudy day yesterday, I woke up today to nothing but sun and a light breeze. I met up with Leeanne for a run to the Berg River Dam - about 5 km away from the school. We'd never tried the run before so it was a nice little running adventure. The whole run was beautiful! The road was empty and wound through fields of grasses and wildflowers. When I got closer to the dam, I was overcome by flash of brilliance (actually, it wasn't exactly a flash. I should have figured this out a while ago). I've been talking about energy resources to my grade 8 natural science class, and tomorrow's planned lesson... hydroelectric power! And, because I'm here, I can pile my students into the van and drive them up to the dam to learn instead of talking about it in class. I love this!

The rest of my run turned into a running reconnaissance mission to check out how my plan would go down. When I got to the top to check out the reservoir, an older couple pulled up on a motorbike. The man proceeded to walk around, explaining to the woman how the dam had been built, how the turbines and the spillways worked, why the dam had been built... everything! I creeped their whole conversation to gain precious teaching ammo for our impromptu field trip tomorrow. On their way back to their bikes, I admitted to them that I had been snooping their conversation and why. We got into a great conversation. The man worked for the company that had built the dam and was more than happy to explain some of the more technical details. He had also spent a significant amount of time in Cairo while he was working in Khartoum in Sudan, AND he had spent a lot of time up in Santa Cruz surfing in his younger years. Small world. Yet another example of why talking to strangers can make life a little more interesting.

The possibility of something great

A couple weeks ago, while the Rockharbor team was here, we had the chance to take a couple of our best students out to a dinner at SPUR, the "American" restaurant with a confused theme that would never fly in the states. Theme: mix between Native American/ Mexican/ Country Western/ Pizza parlor arcade ... All I can say is there was line dancing and paper hats made to look like Indian head dresses. Anywho, it was a huge treat for the kids.
During dinner, Leeanne (teacher/friend) was chatting to Jenni (principal/head teacher/school bus-driver, nurse, mom, etc/my hero) about the idea of taking Sibusisu (grade 9 student - very bright, especially in Math) to Stellenbosch University to check out the Engineering department there. His dream is to become an Engineer - the only problem is, the type of Math and Science he needs for the program is not currently offered at the school. I got excited and butted into the conversation, saying, "I'll teach it!!! Pick me! Pick me!" or something like that...
Well, the conversation did not end there. Jenni and Leeanne brought the idea up again yesterday - with the possibility of bringing in some of the other top grade 8 and 9 students who might be interested. Today I had a chat with Sibusisu, Sive (another incredibly bright 9th grader who wants to be a Chemical Engineer - YAY!!!), and 3 8th grade students, Lazola, Asanda, and Thandi, about the possibility of offering these classes - under the premise that they know what they're getting themselves into (a much tougher curriculum) and are up to the challenge. All students were incredibly at the possibility - especially Sibusisu and Sive, who are some of my most mature and dedicated students. It was great to see them get excited at something that requires more work, and a ton of maturity, but you could see in their faces that they understood and felt a great sense of privilege to have the opportunity.
I really feel like this is a teacher's dream come true if it all works out. I get to teach challenging subjects that I love to a small group of students that are committed to them, and WANT to learn! They are well aware of where they came from, and well aware of what these classes could mean for their futures.

Please pray that this works out.
There are a couple challenges that come along with this as well

1. I would have to prep some extra classes -which will take time, but under the circumstances, this is a privilege for me - some sort of nerdy, intellectually-stimulating pleasure
2. The real issue - courses here aren't just for one year or a semester like they are at home - if they choose to take Physical Science and the harder math, it is a choice that they will carry on through to graduation. They choose their courses and have to stick to them so that they can pass the national tests in order to graduate and get into universities. At the moment, I'm not planning to stay through to their graduation, so either another science teacher will have to come along, or they will have to take classes at another school for the last year or two.
One of the great things about this school is that we can be very specialized with our kids. They are coming from backgrounds that offered them very few options for the future. We have the opportunity to provide for them and to be creative in how we can make this happen. It's all very exciting.

These kids are incredibly bright, and deserve the chance to pursue what they want to. It is humbling to think that I truly have grown up, knowing that I could pursue whatever I wanted. I was given an amazing family with loving, supportive parents, a wonderful education, grew up in a beautiful location, and have been able to travel the world on unbelievable adventures. I have never been rich, and probably never will be, but I have still had so many opportunities available to me. I have been blessed beyond belief and am well aware that I am part of a very privileged minority.

Please pray that this works out and that the details that come up, and for the students who are taking this on (Sive and Sibusisu, probably Lazola, and possibly Thandi and Asanda - the last 2 are most likely going to pursue social work, and wouldn't need the physical science to get into those university programs).

Here is a picture of Sive, Me, and Thandi on Cultural Night (when the Rockharbor team was here). We don't always wear tribal face paint...

Cairo to Capetown

Well, it’s been over a month and a half since I packed up my last 3 years and said goodbye to Cairo. In being positively reflective, I have made a lot of friends and memories, have worked with some great people and taught some great students that I truly believe have the power to impact their country. There are definitely a few things I will NOT miss, but for the most part, I have a lot to be thankful for and will reflect fondly on my time in Egypt. I know I am not done digesting all that I learned and the ways I grew (or digressed), but all that will come in time.

I arrived in Cape Town in time to catch the world cup vibe and to attend a quarter final match (Argentina vs. Germany). Between Egypt and South Africa, this was by far the best world cup experience I could have asked for. I am convinced that the World Cup was meant to be best enjoyed on African soil. It was incredible to be surrounded by people from all over the world, all sharing the passion for the game of soccer. Looking back, it blows me away to think that when I was a little 5 year old on the soccer field, doing pirouettes and picking flowers, I was developing a passion for something that has connected me to people all over the world and has been the start to many unlikely relationships. It really is far more than a sport.

So, aside from watching the World Cup, I pretty much hit the ground running at Bridges Academy. I’ve been teaching 3 different classes – Grade 8 Natural Science, Grade 9 Natural Science, and Grade 11 and 12 Maths Literacy (although my spell-check underlines “Maths” in red squiggles, it is indeed correct). I’ve also been coaching soccer and leading a discipleship group. There are about 50 students at the school from 6^th grade through 12^th grade.

The staff here is great. Most are native South Africans, and there is one other couple from the states that are here as full-time volunteers. There has also been a fun group of temporary volunteers along the way – Aaron, from Westmont who was here until the beginning of July, Maia from Canada, who flew in the day I got here, Emily from Southern California, who got here a couple weeks later and is leaving this weekend, and Leeanne who is a native South African, but volunteering for this term. We have had a great time together and have likened our friendships to a mass arranged marriage that somehow worked out perfectly! Thanks to Maia and Leeanne’s connections to the area, we have been invited to some local braais (barbecues) with friends, have gone to a rugby match, had some nice drives up the coast to see penguins and whales (not at the same time), and have had some lovely wine tasting adventures. There have also been two church groups from the states that came to help out at the Academy and in the townships – a team from Community Covenant Church in Goleta (where I went in college), and Rockharbor church (where I went during grad school). They have been great and have helped out a ton in organizing activities for the Academy students and giving the teachers some time to prepare and have a bit of a break. It has also been great to get to know some of the members of the teams and build some new friendships.

I wish I could say it has been an easy transition and that the students at the school have been overwhelmingly welcoming and loving, but in reality, it’s been tougher than I expected. It has actually been a pretty slow process of getting to know the kids and earning their trust. I have to keep reminding myself that these kids have been through far more hurt in their lives than I will probably ever experience. All the students at the academy are orphaned, most due to their parents dying of HIV/AIDS. Some have HIV themselves. They have grown up in the townships of the Cape Flats, one of the most dangerous slum areas in the world. Some have experienced violence, rape, pregnancy, death of friends and family, and many other forms of hurt in their lives. On top of this, add the racial tension that still exists in South Africa in the wake of Apartheid. Like I said, it is a process and my relationships with the kids are slowly starting to deepen and grow. It is a strange dynamic to be both teacher/disciplinarian and mentor. Teaching is becoming easier, and I’ve been able to slowly get to know more and more of the kids. It was very discouraging at first, but things are definitely picking up. I’m still convinced that this is where I am supposed to be, and know that God has brought me here to love these kids and help provide them with an education that can help them to break the cycle they have grown up in.

Well, there is more to be said, but I’ll cut it here with some prayer requests. I would definitely appreciate your prayers for these things:

· Wisdom and creativity in teaching – it is always tough to start new with a class or group of kids. Please pray for me to know how best to teach them in a way that makes sense, and to build skills through my teaching that will help them later in life.

· My relationship with the students – Please pray that the students would open up in trust and that relationships would continue to be built.

· The attitude students’ toward HIV/AIDS – there is still a huge stigma against HIV/AIDS in the communities where the kids are from, making it so that many students do not want to find out if they have it, or once they find out are afraid to tell anyone. We are trying to change this at the school but need wisdom in knowing how to best do this so that we can get the students the medication and support they need.

· Post-Rockharbor team– The Rockharbor team is currently here, and the kids are having a great time. We’re a little worried that the kids will have a hard time settling back down after the team is gone and resent having to jump back into working hard. Pray that the dynamic between teachers and students doesn’t digress, but that we can continue working hard and building relationships.

· Financial Support – I’ve been able to raise quite a bit of support, but am still far from what I will need for a year here. Pray that these finances will be provided and that I will find creative ways to raise money.

If anyone wants to see pictures of the school or kids, check out the website: http://www.bridgesworldwide.org/

Click on the adorable girl on the page to see some of our students!

Hopefully I’ll get a chance to see most of you in the next couple months! I’ll be in Cairo for a week on the way home in the middle of September, and will be back in California from October through the beginning of January before I head back to South Africa for the next school year.