Yesterday we went to the University of Cape Town to get registered and get our ID badges. The university is beautiful, and covered in ivy. Other areas are more modern too. The student population is so different from home though, much more diverse. Next we met up with Colleen. Colleen was our vibrant, knowledgeable tour guide for the day. We would stop frequently so that she could explain the history and progression of South Africa for us throughout downtown Cape Town where that history started. We made our way throughout the city and eventually went to District 6. District Six is the site where people were forcefully removed by the apartheid regime. They were forced to relocate to the Cape Flats with hardly anything in an area comprised of sand dunes. Colleen and her family were from District Six and were relocated to Mitchell's Plain. Other townships include Langa (the oldest remaining township) and the massive Kyalitsha and Guguletu. It is impossible to describe what these places are like. The creatively pieced together shacks of scrap metal and other findings stretch form kilometers and kilometers. Everywhere you look are dangerously tapped electrical wires just to suck some energy from light poles. We ventured through all of these areas as Colleen described how they came to be and what they are like know. They look dirty and disorganized, yet there is great control and organization within them. Some of the major issues are HIV/AIDS, TIK or crystal meth use in youth, early sexual activity, and gang violence. Many organizations are there to help from grassroots efforts including Love Life funded by the Gates Foundation. Essentially, Tuesday was an overwhelming amount of information both verbally and visually. One uplifting place we visited was Philani Nutrition Center. This is a place where professionals go out and identify malnourished children in Kyalitsha. They then invite the children and their mothers to come stay. The children are fed and educated while the mothers make woven work to sell and earn a living. It's a wonderful place! What an amazing day though. I'll have more to tell about today (Wednesday here).
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