TAC march to stop violence

On 26 April, the day before we left Cape Town, some of us went to Khayelitsha to join Jung and Michelle, who had interned at Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), for a march against violence.

Below are several articles describing the march. Pictures taken at the march can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/marita.mccomiskey/TACMarchAgainstViolence

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Hundreds say no to gender violence


This article was originally published on page 5 of The Cape Argus on April 27, 2008

Led by Nwabisa Ngcukana, the young woman assaulted for wearing a mini-skirt at a Johannesburg taxi rank, hundreds of protesters on Saturday marched against gender violence in Khayelitsha.



The march, aimed at highlighting violence against women and children and held on the eve of Freedom Day, was planned by the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and supported by the Western Cape Youth Commission, the Western Cape Provincial Taxi Council and a host of other community-based organisations.



The protest comes two months after Ngcukana was attacked by taxi drivers and hawkers at the Noord Street taxi rank in Soweto for wearing a short skirt.



The march started at Harare Park and was soon joined by over 100 children dressed in school uniforms as it wound past the house where Nandipha Makeke, a TAC activist, was raped and murdered in 2005.



Sporting posters reading "Real Men Don't Rape" and "Hands off our Children", the protesters proceeded to the Harare police station where a memorandum of grievances was handed to the area's visible policing head, Superintendent Mncedi Mdonga.



There, TAC deputy general-secretary and former chairperson Zackie Achmat slammed police and Community Safety MEC Leonard Ramatlakane for not doing enough to keep perpetrators behind bars.



He said it was "sad" that criminals were arrested for one or two days and freed to continue raping and killing innocent women and children.



"We should assist police find the perpetrators," said Achmat.


He said Ramatlakane had failed the people of Khayelitsha and the TAC for not responding to their continuous pleas for "firm action" against criminals and rapists.



"Today we are not only angry at criminals, but also at the government," he said.



Carrying a brightly coloured banner reading: "I feel good in my mini-skirt", Ngcukana, 25, said she didn't expect so many people and children at the march.



"This is wonderful," she said, "especially on the eve of Freedom Day and the launch of the Mini-skirt Festival which kicks off in Soweto tomorrow."



Ngcukana said although her experience was "extremely traumatic", the many mini-skirt campaigns and anti-gender violence drives around the country had highlighted the plight of women, especially those living in townships.



Accepting the memorandum on behalf of Codeta and all taxi drivers in Khayelitsha, Peter Thethani, of the Western Cape Provincial Taxi Council, said the council condemned the actions of industry colleagues in Johannesburg.



He said although it was "culturally wrong" for Ngcukana to have worn a mini-skirt to a taxi rank, taxi drivers should not have assaulted her.



"We are against the violence, but we do feel that women should be dressed appropriately in public. That is the Xhosa tradition."



Key points in the memorandum handed to police and the taxi council include a call for community action and mobilisation to rid communities of gangsterism and crime, faster prosecution of criminals, more rape crisis centres and an end to victimisation of survivors by police and court officials. 



The next march against gender violence is planned for May 22 to the provincial legislature in Cape Town.






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TAC to Take Action to Stop Criminals Threatening its Members in Khayelitsha
3 April, 2008 - 18:37 — moderator

Since 2003 TAC Khayelitsha members have been actively involved in campaigns against violence, particularly violence against women, children, gays and lesbians.

On 16 December 2005, a TAC member 18 year old Nandipha Makeke, was raped and murdered. On the same day another member, Mandla Nkunkuma, was attacked and shot. Mandla Nkunkuma identified his attacker as Yanga Janet who was later arrested for the rape and murder of Nandipha Makeke.

TAC Khayelitsha activists rallied for over two years to see justice done in the murder trial of Nandipha Makeke in which four men stood trial. We attended over 20 court appearances.

On 17 March 2008 the charges against Zukile Fumbatha (accused No.2) and Janet (Accused No.4) were dismissed, because there was insufficient evidence to convict them. Janet was subsequently released.
On 2 April 2008 Thembinkosi Ntukani (accused No.1) was found guilty of murder and of being an accomplice to rape, while Bonga Sibhozo (accused No.3) was found guilty of murder and rape. Both were also found guilty of illegal possession of firearms and ammunition.

When TAC members queried the status of the investigation on the shooting of Mandla Nkunkuma we were informed the docket was lost. Since then it has been relocated but important medical records are mysteriously missing.

Janet, a known gang leader, and his associates have been intimidating and threatening TAC members, predominantly in the Harare area of Khayelitsha. Janet has made it known to many, including one of TAC's members directly, that he plans to murder a number of TAC members in order to “finish what he started”. Three TAC members targeted by Janet have therefore been accommodated outside of Khayelitsha in a safe house at TAC's expense as they fear for their lives.

On Sunday 30 March 2008 the home of one TAC member was broken into and Slulamile Hlonendlini, another member, was stabbed by an assailant suspected to be associated with Janet's gang. Both incidents took place in Harare, Khayelitsha. Hlonendlini had to be hospitalised at Tygerberg Hospital for four nights.

Yanga Janet and his thugs gather daily on the corner of Hlonela Street and Mew Way Road. This corner is an important bus and taxi stop for many residents of Harare. This is also the corner on which Janet shot Mandla Nkunkuma in 2005. This same location is where they regularly intimidate TAC members, particularly women, calling them names, staring at them menacingly and taunting them about their involvement in TAC.

TAC Khayelitsha has mobilised against violence against women since the rape and murder of Lorna Mlofana (a TAC member) on 13 December 2005. It is ironic and tragic that the members of an organisation dedicated to improving safety and justice in one of South Africa's biggest townships, now feel they do not have the adequate protection of the police or the courts.

TAC has therefore decided to take the following actions:
• An urgent court application is being sought to get a protection order against Yanga Janet and his associates.
• We will hold a public march in Harare Khayelitsha on 17 April focusing on community and gender based violence. We will protest the slow functioning of the judicial system and campaign for appropriate policing and investigation.
• We will hold a march in Cape Town on 8 May 2008 on the same theme.
• We will step up our community education and mobilisation programs.

TAC calls on the ANC, government, SAPS, community organisations, faith based organisations, trade unions, and ordinary community members to join us in our campaign against violence.

We will not allow our communities to be ruled by gangsterism, crime and violence. This campaign can be won, like many others in the past, through broad-based community organising.
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Amanda at Economic Justice Network (EJN)

Amanda's reflection on EJN


The past few months have been very hectic for Economic Justice Network, and it's been exciting to help out this NGO is the midst of all that it is doing. I've had the opportunity to assist at a conference on Econmic Partnership Agreements (trade agreements) which took place here in Cape Town, and was also able to attend a workshop on budget monitoring hosted by EJN in Johannesburg. I'm been assisting with activity reports/summaries to send out to partners, conducting research on food security policy in countries across Southern Africa, and doing work related to these meetings and workshops. As my internship draws to a close, I'm turning the report of the Economic Partnership Agreement conference into a publication which can be given to partners to help explain issues surrounding these trade agreements.

As I write this from the EJN office, I'm looking out the window at St. George's Cathedral, where Desmond Tutu preached during Apartheid. Beyond that, I can see the streets and buildings that I've come to know so well during my last few months of interning downtown. On a building behind this one hangs a huge banner that says "Western Cape: This place I call home", and after spending the past few months here, that couldn't be more true. I had never dreamed of fidning myself here in this historic, vibrant city, and I think a piece of me will always feel at home here in Cape Town.

Final weeks in Cape Town

Dear all,

Nearly impossible to believe that 2 weeks from today most of us will be back in Connecticut. The time has flown by and these final days have crept up on us!

Working to finish up papers and projects, finding ways to say farewell to colleagues and friends, deciding what things we still want to see and do, anticipating what it will be like to leave this place we have come to call ‘home’, and trying to predict what it might be like to fit back into the life we left 3 1/2 months ago, are things that are proving to be more challenging than many of us had imagined.

A half dozen of the 26 students have decided to extend their time here, a few being joined by family members, to do a bit of traveling before heading back to the states. The remainder of us are spending these final days trying to decide which of the many things we still want to accomplish can realistically be done before we get on the plane at 11:30 pm April 27th. Some are trying to creatively find ways to expand the size of our luggage to enable us carry home all of the jewelry, scarves, crafts, and gifts bought (purchased, of course, while trying to support the local economy, as someone has reminded me)! Many are trying to calculate how and when they will be able to return to Cape Town.

I am fairly certain we all agree this has been an experience of a lifetime that will continue to influence how we see the world, and live of lives, for years to come.

Throughout the semester students have been completing Activist Projects at various places, in addition to spending three days a week interning at their assigned field placements. I think each would agree they have gotten far more from these projects then they could ever have hoped to give. As time permits, and with their permission, I am posting student descriptions of projects together with links to some of the pictures they have taken. I am certain anyone looking at their comments will be as impressed as I am.

I am also still posting details of our week long adventure to Hluhulwe, Durban and the Drakensberg Mountains (March 22-March 28)---which I may or may not have finished before heading home.

Being new to this world of blogging, I have continued to add features to the blog as I have discovered additional options:
* Cape Town weather (because who knows when one might need that information);
* a counter, to see how many times the blog has actually been viewed;
* a side bar listing posts by label to find specific posts without scrolling through the entire site;
* a few pictures embedded within the text of posts;
* pictures related to each post that can be accessed by clicking on the title;

Being new to blogging this certainly is a work in progress--- which I will condense, as well as update and edit, as I have the time and energy to do so!

In the meantime —enjoy!

Cheers from Cape Town

Place of Hope, Mia & Katy

MIA'S PLACEMENT




Place of Hope is an amazing place and truly fits its name. I have really enjoyed my time at POH and getting to know the clients there and the people who work there. I love spending time with the kids and getting to hear the life stories of them and their families. Many of these stories have brought me to tears instantly or at least later on that day. The things that these women have gone through, and still are able to get up each day with faith, hope and a peace with God, renews my faith. I am not sure where their strength and spirit comes from but wow, I am amazed that they can have so much.

At POH I do a little bit of everything, basically I fill in where I am needed. I work mainly as a receptionist, answering phones and controlling the keys and gate. But I also help out in the daycare, chase the school children around, run an after school program on Tuesdays, and just lend a hand where I can. But I love doing anything I can.

I have built some amazing relationships with the clients and the people who work there. I am only sad that it took so much time to build these and now my time is almost up. But I try to spend as much time as I can with my new friends, including visiting their churches on Sundays or getting lunch with them on the weekends. I have really enjoyed my time here and I hope that someday I will be able to come back again and that I will always be able to keep these relationships strong. It will be hard to say Goodbye. I do not look forward to it.
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KATY'S ACTIVIST PROJECT:

I chose A Place of Hope Women’s Shelter for my social activism project. This organization takes in women and their children who are coming out of abusive and violent relationships and have no where else to go. Violence against women is a serious problem in South Africa, so organizations like A Place of Hope are essential. Currently, the organization has 16 women and 27 children living there, along with 3 permanent residences. However, the shelter will usually hold up to 35 women and 50 children. In addition to providing the women with a place to live, they also provide food, clothing, counseling, childcare, and help the women find employment. The women are allowed to stay up to 6 months, but are not kicked out if they need to stay longer and each woman is assigned chores.

I spent 10 hours volunteering at a Place of Hope in one day, from 8:00 am to 6:00pm and I hope to go back a few more times before my time is up in South Africa. One challenge to my activist project was finding transportation to the shelter. I spent the entire day watching and playing with the children. Earlier in the day I spent time with the younger children, since the older children were at school. I sat with them while we watched the Lion King, 101 Dalmatians, and played different games. When the older kids came home, I stayed for after-care. We had an Easter egg hunt, since it was the week before Easter. I hide chocolate Easter eggs outside and then let the children run around and find as many as they could. We divided the chocolates evenly in the end among the children. After the Easter egg hunt, we played different games outside: catch, soccer, played on the swings, and just sat and talked. It was an exhausting, but very fun day.

It was my first time in any kind of day care and I learned how much attention and care children really need. The children were very sweet and welcoming to me. They fought for my attention and were excited to have a new playmate. I didn’t get to interact with any of the women staying at A Place of Hope, because they were all working. I was surprised to learn that all of the women are holding steady jobs. It was interesting for me to learn about the organization itself. As a Psychology major, the type of counseling they do for the women and children especially interested me. I also learned about the organizations main donors; where they frequently get food and other necessities for the residents. I learned that most of the people working at the shelter hadn’t received a paycheck in a while because of lack of funds. I was inspired that they were working without wages, just because they were so dedicated to the organization and the women and children. They are very understaffed because many of the workers couldn’t stay without a salary to support their families. This gave me some insight of the challenges many NGOs face. After seeing how great A Place of Hope is and the wonderful things they are doing by helping these women and children when they need it most, I decided to donate 2000 Rand to the organization that I had been raising for a fundraiser that fell through. I am going to request that this money goes to the salaries of the women working there.


The work done at a Place of Hope is specifically related to what we are learning in our Women in a Global Perspective course in many ways. It is dealing with domestic violence, a serious issue that needs to be addressed and eradicated. Domestic violence not only affects women in South Africa, but women in all countries around the world, including the United States. Women are verbally and physically abused in relationships regardless of their country, race, or class; it is a global women’s issue. A Place of Hope works to rehabilitate and heal women from their past abusive relationships, as well as empower women to become independent and strong. Ending domestic violence is an issue I feel passionately about and I plan to continue my involvement in battered women’s shelters when I return to the United States. I hope to find one close to home that I can volunteer my time.
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Steph and Ruth's Activist Project

Throughout the semester students have been working on Activist Projects in addition to the three days a week they worked at internships. I am fairly certain each would agree they have gotten far more from these projects then they could have ever hoped to give. As time permits, and with their permission, i will post student descriptions of projects and pictures.

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Steph and Ruth spent time at a Soup Kitchen in Khayelitsha. Both have written about their experiences and given me permission to post their papers. To learn even more about Iliso Care Society you can check the website at http://iliso.org/



Stephanie Maurer
7 April 2008
Activist Report

Iliso Care Society

From the first moment I met Vivian, the woman who runs Iliso, I knew that this place would be somewhere I would find inspiration. Vivian was overly enthusiastic about having Ruth and I to her home, which doubles as a soup kitchen and safe house for children. She came all the way from Khayalitsha to Mowbray on a minibus (R14, 50) just to meet with us at our home! I was so impressed by her enthusiasm, that I knew her project would be just as remarkable.

When we first arrived, she proudly showed around the center which literally was in her house. How shocked was I to see that each day she serves more than one hundred children and men and women with HIV/AIDS from her house. At home when someone says the term soup kitchen, I don’t usually just think soup. All the soup kitchens I have been to include serving mass productions of bread, pasta, canned veggies and occasionally some lasagna. But here at Vivian’s, she served the same soup every day. No one complains, they just bring in their containers and say how many ladles they need. It was amazing.

One thing Vivian made pretty clear was that she really didn’t need us. Mostly we were there to observe and spread the word, she told us. I was a little disappointed by this because I was hoping to work somewhere that needed my help. She didn’t, she had women from the community volunteering on days they could not get any work. So while we were there, I served soup and then per Vivian’s request took pictures of the place. She said that I should send these pictures to her, and also bring them home to show people what I saw.



I might not have done very much acting while at Iliso Care Society, but I did gather enough information about the place so that I will feel connected to it forever. I was able to see something in Vivian that is not something you can find in everyone you meet. I could identify the fight in her, the pure determination to make it. She developed her soup kitchen into a place which is actually considered a registered NGO. She is taking classes on how to be a better manager and she is handling all her own finances and donations in a very professional way.

Vivian knows how marginalized people with HIV/AIDS can be, and how hard it is to survive. Iliso does it’s part by breaking down the stigmas and stereotypes that often hold people back. With more safe havens like Iliso, there would be a greater opportunity for people to identify their problems and work together towards fixing them. The first step towards changing something is getting people together, and Iliso does just that.

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Ruth Clark
8 April 2008
Activist Project



Iliso Care Society

Iliso Care Society is not just a soup kitchen in Khayelitsha. It is a safe haven for children, a place for catching up with neighborhood friends, and an inspiration for South Africa’s future. Run by an extraordinary woman named Vivian Zilo right out of her home, Iliso Care Society (meaning “An Eye For Care” in Xhosa) serves hundreds of hungry people every afternoon, five days a week. A record is kept of each person who receives the food by willing volunteers, which is also my role.

The first time I went to Khayalitsha, I was astonished at Vivian’s amount of dedication to her fellow South Africans. Here was a poor woman, living in Khayelitsha herself, giving all she had to as many as she could. She was using her own home as a soup kitchen for anyone who needed it, and also as a shelter for children. She began Iliso all on her own, slowly accruing devoted helpers and eventually becoming a registered non-profit organization. She handles everything from the purchasing of food to the finances, and is even attending a workshop to become a better manager. When Stephanie and I went there, Vivian made it clear that we would be gaining more for ourselves rather than helping others. She encouraged us to take pictures to show at home and to chat with the people coming in. We served some soup, posed for a few photos, and just acquired an understanding of what it is that Vivian really does. And just like she said, I am positive that I got more out of the experience than any Capetonian lining up to get soup.

One thing in particular that struck me was how many people come to get soup, and do so willingly. I could not imagine that many people in one area needing such a small amount of food that desperately. Babies and grannies alike, no one was ashamed of their need. I could not imagine myself, in America, being so humble—if I only had one ounce of their humility! And then to see Vivian, an equal in their eyes, serving them and helping them. I was struck, and knew I needed to go back.

My time in Cape Town will definitely be punctuated by Vivian’s soup kitchen. Ideally, I would like to raise money and awareness back in America to help her cause. An inspiration to me is Jackie Sheltry, who went on this trip last year, and sent me a large amount of money to donate to Vivian during my time there. I would love to be able to say that I will do the same thing, and I am absolutely going to try. To still be connected to a small, but significant, organization in Cape Town a year later is extremely commendable.

Witnessing the work done at Iliso Care Society is also amazing to me because of how it relates to my classes this semester. Learning all about non-profit organizations in Vernon’s class was probably the most obvious, which did make me appreciate Vivian’s more. But seeing all those women come in with babies on their backs and toddlers at their sides and their older children coming with more containers for soup really made me appreciate the work of women in this country. Between Vivian, her volunteers, and these brave mothers, it truly seems that women carry the weight of South Africa. Without these women, the world really would be a different place.

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Sarah Stockmann on Christel House School

Christel House South Africa is a school for children from townships such as Manenberg, Langa, Hanover Park, and Delft. It is an independent school, and the students pay nothing to go there. The students receive two full meals and snacks at school, which is sometimes the only food that they get all day. Christel House is an international organization with schools in Venezuela, Mexico, India, South Africa, and Indianapolis, Indiana. The South Africa school opened in 2002 with grades one through five. It now has students in grades one through eleven, and will have it's first graduating class next year. Because they have grown so quickly, they now have two different locations, one for grades one through six and the other for grades seven through eleven. They have recently started building a new facility that will be able to accommodate their learners.

As an intern, I have been assisting the teachers in their classrooms. I have mostly been working with grade one learners. Coming into Christel House, about half of the grade one learners do not speak English; they speak only Xhosa. Therefore, there is a teacher's aide in the classroom that translates for the students. There are about thirty students in each class and two classes per grade. Coming from a U.S. perspective, thirty students seems like a lot for one class, but compared to class sizes of 50 or 60 in the public schools in the townships, thirty is quite reasonable.

One of the most rewarding experiences for me has been seeing the Xhosa speaking children gradually learn English. It is amazing how fast they learn and how excited they are when they are able to make sentences and communicate with their teacher without using a translator. By far, my favorite part of the day is "interval" (recess) when all of the student get to go outside and play. As soon as I walk out of the classroom, I am swarmed by students who want to hold my hand and hug me. They also LOVE to play with my hair, which can get kind of overwhelming having 5 or 6 children pulling my hair in every direction. I have had some very memorable moments, and the kids are absolutely adorable.



Here's just one of the many cute conversations I've had--
Me: "I should just pack you up in my suitcase and bring you back to America with me"
Lorenzo (grade 1): "My mommy says we are going to America."
Me: "Well, when you get there, you come knock on my door, okay?"
Lorenzo: "What number are you?"

I have thoroughly enjoyed my internship and recently was accepted into the school of education for elementary education. I am looking forward to bringing this perspective and experience with me as I start my education classes in the fall!

If you are interested in Christel House South Africa, there is a great video online at http://www.christelhouse.org/?section=locations&subsect=SouthAfrica

South African Blessing

South African Blessing

Walk tall, walk well, walk safe, walk free
And may harm never come to thee.

Walk wise, walk good, walk proud, walk true
And may the sun always smile on you.

Walk prayer, walk hope, walk faith, walk light
And may peace always guide you right.

Walk joy, walk brave, walk love, walk strong
And may life always give you song.