South African Journey Through Global XchangeCreate Now is thrilled that we were one of five youth organizations in the U.S. selected to participate in a Global Xchange program sponsored by the British Council and Volunteer Service Organization (VSO). This is the first ever multilateral exchange program and the first time that the British Council (in 75 years) has included Americans, so it’s quite an honor! Here’s a photo of our team with Dr. Nicola Brewer, the British High Commissioner to South Africa, who paid us a visit:  The team bonded quickly in our first week. This was largely due to the efforts of Meghan Steed and several advisors of the British Council in preparing us for our journey, and our two program supervisors: Sheila McCormick from North Ireland and Menzi Maseko from South Africa. They had organized a comprehensive program including ice-breakers, group presentations, city tours and much more.  As part of the Global Xchange, everyone is matched with a counterpart from a different country. The goal is that we work closely with our partners to share our best practices. In addition, each pair gives a two-hour presentation to the entire group during the first week of each phase of the program.Rafiki Callixte is my counterpart. He manages an orphanage for 130 boys in Kigali, Rwanda. As I got to know Rafiki and to learn of his harrowing experience of being tortured and struggling to survive during the genocide in 1994, my respect for him soared. I learned a tremendous amount from Rafiki during our brief time together. I was especially impressed with his ability to forgive the “friend” who had betrayed him. You can read his inspirational story on my blog, along with many more details about this fantastic journey. My host family, Elizabeth and John Calder, were a wonderful, generous couple. They live in a nicely integrated neighborhood called “The Bluff,” just across the harbor from Durban. Three of my African brothers (Rafiki Callixte and Julius Kwizera from Rwanda and Bernard Conteh from Sierra Leone) also lived there. Our dinner conversations each night were very stimulating, as we shared our cultural traditions and views on many different topics.  During the second week, each counterpart pair was assigned to shadow a local organization that served youth. Rafiki and I were appointed to SCOPES, led by Mandla Mngadi. This crew walks all over Durban checking on these outcast street youth, who are 8 years and older. Many are orphans, while others are runaways or throwaways. Most are addicted to huffing (sniffing) glue, which permanently paralyzes them.There were allegations by the street kids that some police officers regularly beat and rape them. We witnessed a metro van circling, just waiting for SCOPES to leave so they could capture the children and drive them miles away from the city, where they dump them, often horribly abusing the kids in the process. Street youth from rival neighborhoods also kidnap the girls and then rape and kill them. Global Xchange arranged for some social workers in the municipality to meet with our group to address some of our concerns, but there still didn’t seem to be an urgent call for action to save these kids’ lives.  The last week was a fitting finale to Phase 1 of the Global Xchange program. We all worked together to put on a community event and within three days, “Music Heals” was created. We brought in over 120 kids from various townships, as well as the street kids. We offered them workshops in Poetry, Music and Hip Hop Dance, plus a performance with amazing local talent. Around 30 teachers, administrators and youth workers were also trained by our team members.Thanks to a generous donation from the Durban Municipality, we were able to provide all of the street kids with a hot meal. The best part for me was being able to connect SCOPES to Crucial Entertainment, Nowadays Poets and Cheerful Sound Entertainment. These are the organizations of our Global Xchange partners in South Africa. My teammates have agreed to open up their services to the street kids! There were a lot of fun times packed in, too, including the chance to snorkel for a little while in the Indian Ocean and visiting game parks with zebras, hippos, elephants and more, including a lion that ate our van! Of course, there was also time for a little shopping, since the Zulu handicrafts are spectacular.  I encourage you to also read the Global Xchange blog that the other American teammates (from LA’s Best, ReachLA and Street Poets) have contributed to about their experiences, so you can get a fuller picture of our Global Xchange program in South Africa.Stay tuned for Phase 2, when we will all reunite in Belfast, Northern Ireland for three more weeks of exciting collaboration from March 6-28. We plan to march in a parade together for St. Patty’s Day!  |
Click here to learn about our "Create A Mural Now" workshops, where youth work as a team to design and create a mural. The theme can fit your needs. Each project culminates with a party and gift bags for all participants.