Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 11:20AM
Serve the City House, Stellenbosch, South Africa
Wow yesterday was intense! We started at 8am, writing a to do list for the day. It was the first to do list that was ever fully completed in unpredictable Africa! Our first mission was to tow Elsa’s broken down car to a shop. We connected a rope tow to the back of the Yaris, put the 1983 Opel in neutral, and started our adventure. Lourens drove the Yaris, I steered the Opel. That was quite the start to the day. We successfully brought the car all the way across town with no issues at all (right). I felt like I could do anything after that. So we continued our packed day.
Lourens met Elsa for breakfast and dropped me at Mugg and Bean where I wrote yesterday’s post. After an hour we drove over to Kayamandi to fit the door at the shack. We had to take it to a place to cut it to the right dimensions, yet another adventure. The door was too long for the Yaris, so we had to tie down the trunk hatch and pray that the door wouldn’t slide out. Luckily we had a short distance to drive. Another successful adventure left us with a perfectly cut door. Next on the to do list was lunch and emails. We stopped at the Stellenbosch University to eat and use the wifi there. Stellenbosch was buzzing with excitement as the new semester started yesterday. If I come back to study abroad, I will definitely be going to Stellenbosch U. Anyways, we only spent a little time there and drove over to Enkhanini. We picked up Mama Unas and her husband Whitey and drove to the butcher (right). Mama and Whitey go to this place once a week to buy meat and bring it back to Enkhanini to sell. It is a business they have started on their own, but only invest time in it when they need the cash. Unfortunately the place was out of meat- they sold out after an hour of being open!
Serve the City is partnering with Mama and Whitey's meat business (above). We took the car into the shop to get fixed earlier so that Mama Unas and Whitey could use the car to transport the meat from the butcher to Enkhanini to sell. As they make money from their business, they will slowly buy the car from STC and in the process grow their business. I find it very interesting that Mama and Whitey limit their dreams; or maybe I should say: I find it very interesting that Mama and Whitey’s dreams are limited. They were content with having a house and getting by, completely content. Lourens showed them that with some careful planning and work, they could have a car- they blossomed. They became very excited at this idea and their new dream, their biggest dream, grew to having this car. While their dreams grew to this point, Lourens and I were thinking, with some additional information that was given to us, about how the business could grow to be so much more than just two people and a car. There is a large demand for meat in the townships with low supply. My limited knowledge on economics tells me that high demand means high profits means quick growth. Now here is where we pause ourselves. As observant members of society, we see the gap between rich and poor. As informed students of the world, we know that the gap is caused by corruption, capitalism, and consumerism. So we must stop and ask ourselves at this time of investing in a small business and setting goals: are we supporting the capitalist system we currently oppose? The answer we came to is no. In the goals for growing this business will come the natural creation of jobs, an increased flow of capital in a developing nation, and the education of community leaders in effective business practices. With that in mind, the goals and dreams for this meat business, if accomplished, will bring about the exact product we are striving for: community development. Sorry I got a bit carried away there; I can already see how this has truly grown to be my passion, completely affirming my plans for pursuing International Community Development over the next two years at the University of Maryland.
So, once we finished with our meaty adventure, we went back to the house, packed up our bags, bought some KFC, and headed back to Enkhanini. We actually spent the night there! It was a great experience for me to see how life changes when the sun disappears. It also gave us some intimate time with Mama Unas and Whitey. Some of their friends joined us and at the apex of the night, we had a room full with people: Mama and Whitey, the head pastor of the church on site, another community leader, and a few others. It was a fun filled night. Lourens brought his laptop and showed some videos and pictures of our times spent in Enkhanini. Then he whipped out PhotoBooth. I will let the pictures do the talking.
After awhile everyone left and Lourens and I went straight to bed (below). We really had a fun time talking and getting to know each other better over the course of the night. I hoped to sleep through the night, but I woke up around four thanks to a couple dogs. My mind got caught up in the sounds of the night, keeping me from sleep for a little while. I eventually found the z’s and slept until morning. Elsa picked us up and brought us to the house where we had breakfast with the future Serve the City leader, Juan. He is such a great guy, really possessing the vision and spirit of STC. Lourens and Juan had an STC meeting for planning the coming of a future team from America. I took the time to get you caught up on my life!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 11:08PM
STC House, Stellenbosch, South Africa
After breakfast this morning, Joel met Lourens and I. We suited up, packed up, and grabbed our helmets- last bro sesh scooter ride. We looked like your typical American biker gang just with less tattoos, less weight, less leather, less horsepower, and better looks.
We drove through the wine lands and found ourselves at a very cool farm. We sat down and enjoyed the company of each other over chips and beer. I am really going to miss these guys.
When we got back to the house, Lourens had to run some errands, so Joel and I stopped off at a few places so I could buy gifts (I’m not telling you where :P). We returned to the house to find some people already arrived for the braai. We quickly cleaned up and got the place pulled together for the coming guests. It was a great time for me to say goodbye to my new friends and have a last good old South African braai (below).
Now it’s time for me to pack! This may be my last post until I get home. I depart tomorrow morning at 11:35am and arrive at Dulles in the U.S. 12:05am Friday. I have a lot to conclude from this trip, so stay tuned for an action packed, thought provoking couple of posts.
