Week 7: Muizenberg Pt. II
Oscar and SADRA
We spent Monday and Tuesday with Oscar Siwali, the head of the Southern Africa Development and Reconstruction Agency (SADRA). Oscar welcomed us warmly and introduced us to SADRA’s mission: to intervene in conflict and to teach others to intervene in conflict. Despite having only three full-time staff members, the organization partners with a wide variety of community groups and leads trainings and workshops across Southern Africa. The project we
spent the most time learning about was the Peer Mediation Trainings, a program in which the most at-risk students in high schools with high levels of gang involvement and violence are trained in mediation and conflict de-escalation and positioned as peer mediators within their school. We were amazed to learn how well this project works; the average violent conflicts per week have dropped from 15 to 3 across the schools SADRA has partnered with!
On Monday, we had lunch with a variety of community leaders who work with SADRA and heard more about the changes they are creating, as well as enjoying live musicians who called several of us up to play along! On Tuesday, we got to know a group that runs reading clubs for kids to work against illiteracy, which is a huge problem in this area of South Africa. Also on Tuesday, we met with one school’s peer mediators and talked with them in small groups about their experience with SADRA trainings and acting as mediators in their schools as well as how their lives have been different after attending training camps.
– Laurel Evans
Robben Island
As mentioned in the previous blog post, we had anticipated visiting Robben Island on Friday of last week, but due to traffic from a sporting event downtown we had to reschedule our tour for Wednesday, March 1. With a tour departure time of 1 pm, we left our backpacker by 9 am so that we wouldn’t risk losing our tickets. Once we arrived at the V&A Waterfront, we spent some time reflecting on the books that we have been reading and having space to debrief our time in Cape Town thus far. Eventually, we headed over to where we would load onto the ferry for our ride to the island. 
Personally, I was feeling a little nervous about how rocky the boat might be and potentially feeling a little seasick, but all of us made it through with our health intact. Once we landed on the island, we walked to the prison where our tour guide met us and showed us around the group prison cells and individual cells. This included the cell that Nelson Mandela lived in for 19 years. We then hopped on a bus to tour the rest of the island, seeing some of the houses that guards and wardens lived in while the prison was in use. Now the island is inhabited by those who work for the museum.
– Anya Kauffman
Dion and Stellenbosch
We visited Stellenbosch on Thursday and met Dion Forster. Stellenbosch is a beautiful city full of wineries that we could see from the mountaintops. However, Stellenbosch is also the most economically unequal city in South Africa. We began our time at the University of Stellenbosch with Dion Forster. Dion is a professor at this university with a focus on public theology. He explores the differences and ties between secular and religious beliefs.
Apartheid theology was birthed and developed within the University of Stellenbosch. As a result, the Seminary of this University focuses its studies on two things: Constructual Engagement and Critical Deconstruction. Constructual Engagement has a recognition of black consciousness, exploring what it means to recognize the blackness of South Africa and what it was designed to be. Critical Deconstruction, however, explores the internalization of lies about race (and gender) that lives within South Africa or even the world itself.
Engaging with Dion was a great time of listening and learning. He gave us an opportunity to ponder and share how we could use our fields of focus (nursing, business, photography, etc.) to change the world until “that day comes”; reference to Revelation 21. After, we explored the little town of Stellenbosch with eateries and shops. Our group had a great time eating lunch together and learning about the cultural significance of wine in South Africa.
– Natallie Brown
Table Mountain and Rugby
On Friday we hiked up table mountain which was much more exhausting than I thought it would be. The trail was composed of stairs and switchbacks, with climbing almost straight up for two-plus hours. The view from the top was hidden by clouds which was very disappointing. We took the gondola down the mountain so a few of us could get back in time to surf for an hour before dinner. On Saturday the majority of us went 
surfing one last time before heading to a rugby game in the afternoon. The game was the Durban Sharks against the Cape Town Stormers, and it was quite exciting even if we didn’t know what was going on. It ended up being a close game with a final score of 29-23 in favor of the Stormers.
– Grant Leichty
