BellsInSouthAfrica2019

This morning, we left St. Martin's parish early to visit the Mandela Center in Rosebank for a meeting with Verne Harris, a historian, co-founder of the Mandela Center, and close friend of Mandela. We arrived and entered a meeting room where we would be able to speak to him for about 45 minutes and ask any questions we had. With all of the questions, we were able  to get another telling view of the Apartied Era. I remember one of the questions where someone asked Mr. Harris if he believed South Africa was free. He simply responded with "No." From his response, we all were able to see that although the most oppressive regime in South African history was over, the racial divide and cultural stigmas have not progressed. Most everything Mr. Harris told us was extremely eye opening and and he provided a new viewpoint we had not encountered yet. Besides speaking with him, the Mandela center houses both an exhibit on Mr. Mandela as well as his office that has been p...

While today's events lacked signifigant human interaaction, they involved deep immersion in the nature of South Africa. Today we went on a safari. About a six hour round trip was satisfied by a beautiful destination. While Cape Town and Soweto suprised many of us with their urban appeal,  the game park was more in line with the stereotypical idea of Africa. It was teaming with wild life. I recall a conversation with Alex. He said "I would have been happy to see one elephant." Not long after, we would be roadblocked by multiple elephants too stubborn to move. Despite the joy of the game park, we encountered a disturbance on our way back. Just north of Soweto, small wild fires emerged on either side of the highway. Some of us assume them to be the result of people attempting to burn their trash. It was a reminder of a reacuring issue in the area. There is a lack of public means of disposal. As a result, the streets are littered by mounds out trash. We have seen many peo...

Today we took a walking tour of Johannesburg which included a visit to the Central Business District, the Witswatersrand University art gallery, Constitution Hill, "Number 4 Jail" (where Ghandi, Mandela and many others were jailed),  and the chambers of South Africa's Constitutional Court (the equivalent of the U.S. Supreme Court).  We were received by Justice Edwin Cameron a current member of the Court and his clerk, Disantha, who gave us a detailed, guided tour of the courthouse and the chambers.  Justice Cameron spoke in depth about the progress South Africa has made, impediments to the country's past and future development, and the daunting tasks still remaining in South Africa. Finally, Fr. Bruce gave us a tour of the Jesuit residence in Johannessburg.  Esuamo Capula, a young lawer who worked for the Jesuit Institute in South Africa, delivered a lecture on South Africa as a geo-political linguistic and cultural entity.   Finally, we concluded today's ...

Life shined through a different window today, as the 11 of us ventured out to the morning mass, Nkanyezi School for Disabled children and Apartheid Museum. When I woke up this morning I was thinking that today would be just another mass with the same message of Jesus. Thankfully, I left the mass with a sense of pride and understanding for the hardships within Soweto. It was no ordinary congregation. Their voices were the stuff of angels. No less seeing the kids at the Nkanyezi Stimulation Center for severely disabld and often abandonned children, triumph over such hardship and tribulation in an area so torn by division, their smiles were nothing short of inspiration. The story of the school founder Ms. Tshabalala made me put into perspective my own determination and will power to commit to something I set my mind too. When she gave birth to her child, her husband made her choose him or the kid. After she left him she had to hold a job and care for Nkanyezi,...

Today we visited the Cradle of humanity. There we saw the four elements that made up the Earth. The process of evolution was shown with skeletons of our past ancestors. Then we visited the Long Walk to freedom statues. It included 100 statues of Douth African heroes throughout the history of Apartheid including Steve Biko and Nelson Mandela. 

This morning we visited Kirstenboch Gardens after attending mass at Nazareth House.  The homily was about being a witness.  The priest said, "God doesn't use What's App., and you can't find His answers on Google."  He continued..."There are only  two requirements for being a witness: (1) experiencing and (2) sharing."  He made the point that surely we have had some experience with God's love, and surely we have (and are able to) share God's love with others. Our hosts in Cape Town, Dominic Press (our tour guide), leaders and facilitators at the I Am Passion Youth Cafe (where youth are learning skills enabling them to find thier purpose in life and meaningful work), the members of the Hope Church youth ministry in Mitchells Plain, Sisters of Nazareth House (where they care for those who literally have no one else to care for them), and our friends in Soweto, like the driver, Mr. Mtembu, and his close friend, Tebogo ("TAY-bu-ho"), as ...