Things that I've noticed

For us Baha'is taking a year out of your life, relocating to any place in the world and dedicating that entire year to unpaid service is quite a normal concept. In my life anyway I just always knew I would go on a year of service. So now that I'm here and actually experiencing it I've noticed a few things, things that I hadn't considered before, things that I didn't think were part of the package. When the idea of something is so common to you, like service is for me, you don't really take into consideration a whole lot of things and now I will share with you some of those things I didn't expect and some things that have been a surprise to me.

Money

So you take a year off to do some volunteer work. In my head I was like big deal, I can go a year without making money. I am going to Africa, it's not like they have shops there.

BIGGEST REALITY CHECK!!!

Oh they have shops here, they have lots of wonderful things you can spend your money on and recently I have realised that I am most definitely a shop-a-holic. I don't just mean the type of person that likes to go out and spend money and buy new things I mean I seriously think I have a problem. I have gone shopping mental while I've been here, I have bought so many new clothes and shoes that when I moved from Joburg to PE I couldn't fit them all in my 2 suitcases, I filled 3 more bags full of stuff. THEN I moved here and it just hasn't stopped.

Here's a listen in on the conversation that goes on in my head when I'm in a shopping centre...

"Ok I just need to buy a couple of tops and that's it, I will go to Mr Price because their stuff is cheap and I can find what I need"

on the way to Mr Price

"That shop looks cool, I'll just go inside and have a look. OMG!! This is the cutest cardigan ever, I can't deny owning something like this and I'll wear it all the time.. now what colour? OOhhhh I like this, I'll just try it on and this too I need more colourful things"

take the items to the cash register

"That totals 900rand"

My face = shocked

"Is that more than you expected?"

"To be honest I didn't look at the price tags"

So I overspent at that shop a little but I got 3 really nice cardigans and one of them was on sale which validates everything.

I come home with all my shopping, Lunathi looks at me "Oh you went shopping, I wanted to go on Friday"

me "I can go shopping again on Friday"

I really don't know what happened, I used to be so disciplined with my money.. wait that's a lie I love spending money. I love talking to the workers in the shops and the extra connection you get with them when you're actually buying things. I love how everything you buy gets hidden in bags so that you get to relive the experience of seeing new things all over again when you get home, I love thinking about all the ways that I'm going to use my new items, I love ripping off the price tags when I try things on again at home and have no regrets in my choices. Even writing about buying things is making me want to buy new things and don't get me wrong it's not just clothes, I like spending money on everything. Food, credit, taxis.. giving away my money and getting something back for it is such a good feeling.

So what's the problem you may ask, what's wrong with exchanging money for goods and services? Here's the catch, I'm technically a poor person. I have x amount of money to last me the next 10months and my x is getting smaller. If I don't slow down with my spending I am going to run out of cash and then I'll have to do the unthinkable, the unimaginable, the unforgivable... I'll have to rely on my parents for money. You heard me, my parents. The two souls who brought me into this world and reared me and loved me and cared for me and from whom I have been 90% financially independent from for the last 4 years. I can't go back, that would be like reversing in maturity. I would be going back to my 16/17 year old state. Next thing you know I'll have to ask my mum to sleep over at my friends houses and beg my dad to write me a note so I can get out of school.

When I was preparing for this trip, when I was putting money away and all the rest of it I really didn't think spending money would be this tempting. But I just have so much time on my hands and that leads me to the next segment...

Serving

So who'd have thought that when you go on service you have to do service. Ok I'm exaggerating, I was fully aware that I would be working, that I was taking on a full time job of service but service in the Baha'i sense is a funny thing. See unlike most youth who go on service I decided to go home front pioneering. Most people go to schools or temples or the Baha'i World Centre. The service is structured and organised, you wake up at a certain time, you have specific jobs to do, there are other kids on service from around the world, you have designated days off...etc I don't get that and I didn't realise how much harder my way would be. Before I came here the idea of serving in a 9-5 sort of way was absolutely the last thing I wanted to do. Before I came here I was 100% certain that going into a community and assisting it with it's teaching work was the best thing that I could do. I wasn't wrong but man oh man I did not realise how hard it would be.

It's hard enough to pack up, leave your friends, family, job, car, cat, guinea pig, comfort and independence but to leave it and come to a place where you are the only one starting from scratch is really difficult. When you go on service to one of the Baha'i institutions it's more than likely that there will be other people in the same boat as you so you all band together and go on the journey supporting each other. When you plant yourself in a small community where most the people have been living here for decades and you are the only one in your position it's kinda hard. I make friends really easily but sometimes you can't always make yourself fit in already made circles. It's hard when everyone you know is a friend of someone else. It's hard when everyone has jobs, classes, sports teams and social commitments and you don't. Now I'm not saying that the people that I've encountered haven't been wonderful and open to me, it's just that everyone here has their own lives and I have to try and make myself fit within them.

I'm seriously considering leaving South Africa at the end of this 6 months and going to one of the Baha'i schools or something where I can serve for the last few months. Serving in a community requires so much self initiative and it can be very frustrating. The most frustrating of all things is that I can't initiate anything if I don't have a way of making it sustainable. It would really be easy to go into communities, round up a bunch of kids and do children's classes and junior youth groups everyday. I could honestly spend the next 6 months dedicating everyday to running classes, but what's the point if there's no capacity built within the community to sustain those groups? I have the will power and the energy to build up those resources but the problem is that I can't control other people. I can't force people to volunteer to become animators or children's class teachers. That's where you get stuck. I feel like my service is dependant upon other people because I can't do anything without resources to follow through and so far those potential resources have not shown the commitment that is required. I have a school principal who is willing to give me 250 kids for junior youth groups and if I could I would run the whole thing myself but I can't, I need other people and at the moment there is no one to call on.

Because of my limited time here I feel like I can't do all the things that I would like to do and that is not an easy thing to accept. But I have faith in the people of Port Elizabeth and even though it's hard and draining I am sure that things will work out.

Other people

Youth year of service is something so natural to us Baha'is so when it comes to telling other people what it is that I'm doing in South Africa I've been pleasantly surprised at their responses. Because it's such a common thing for us to do I never thought about the idea of dedicating a year of your life to something from the eyes of someone foreign to this concept. The admiration and intrigue on the faces of so many of those who I've met has been so nice. I had a guy last night compare me to Che Guevara in the sense that what he did was sacrifice his own gain and want for the good of all. He said that here in South Africa the problem is that even after the white people gave political equality to the blacks (and I say political equality because it is really mostly equality on paper) it's now the blacks that are suppressing the blacks because of their greed and want. He said that if we all sacrificed and gave back to our communities what we've been given then everyone would be better off. He said that the fact that I came to a place that I had no personal ties to and owed nothing to for the sake of helping it was similar to Mr Guevara.

That actually blew me away!

I have had so many reactions similar to that, I've been called courageous and brave. When I was leaving I never thought of myself as either one of those two things. I just thought going on service was a normal thing to do.

There's one characteristic of service which has come as no surprise to me and that's the part where you get tested. Every hardship and uphill battle and wall to climb is part of my process of growth. In the most recent letter from the UHJ it talks about how knowledge must be tested and it is tested in the fields of service. This is most definitely something that I am experiencing here. Everything I thought I knew about the Baha'i Faith has been tested here in South Africa and it's giving me a more diverse and deep understanding of what this is all about.

I will come back to Sydney more knowledgeable than ever before and you will all praise me and be my servants!!!! haha nah just kidding

Well I hope I didn't rant on too much. Please ask me for clarification on anything that I've said in these posts if you think you need it. What I write is the thoughts in my head and I may not always express them with clarity, I wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong meaning out of something I've said.

For now that is all, next post will be more about Port Elizabeth and everything that's going on here :)

Breezes of Confirmation

Usually when you think of Africa the first images that come into your mind are of people living in shacks, starving children who don't have access to education or health care, communities riddled with HIV and other diseases, poverty, distress, hopelessness... etc Well I'm here to tell you that those images are not entirely untrue or exaggerated. There are parts of South Africa that look very similar to this. They are the townships, kind of like housing commission but worse. Townships are the governments answer to those who fall below the line. They are entire suburbs of small tin shed houses crammed beside each other. Recently these shacks are being replaced with cement houses but even those houses are still the size of a shoebox and in some cases there are over 5 people living inside. There are so many reports on the news of people dying in fires who are living in these tin shacks and the pictures of what's left show how dangerous these houses really are.

Now the people living in these communities aren't starving or without the essentials. They dress well, some of them work, their children go to school and so on but I'll put it this way you couldn't tempt me to live where they are. No Way!!

So we have these townships all over South Africa and they are quite normal. As far as I've experienced no one looks down on you for living in a township but I have yet to see a white person living in a township. So there are some quite obvious extremes here in South Africa, the difference between the middle class and the poor is quite large let alone the difference between the wealthy and the poor. Google an image of Sandton, it's like Sydney; full of designer clothing stores, fancy pants apartments, flashy cars. Then look next door to Hillbrow with its abandoned buildings, it's intense crime rate and the condition of the housing and see the difference.

Today I saw this injustice first hand, I saw the way that respect is conducive to money, that worth is parallel to wealth and this I saw in a field which should show no bias and should strive for equality for all.. the field of education.

Kyga (pronounced kaykhah) is a township about 10min away from where I am now living in Port Elizabeth. It is a huge township so big that there are suburbs within it. The Baha'is have been doing a lot of work in this area offering children's classes and junior youth groups and today Desmond(a local guy living in the area) and I went to the one school in Kyga to talk to the principal about starting a junior youth group in the school. The Junior Youth group programme is a socio economic programme designed to assist kids in this turbulent age group (11-15) try to overcome the trials and difficulties that come with growing up and becoming an adult. The world looks at this age group as destructive, rebellious and out of control. The JY programme instead sees this age group as full of potential and simply in need of avenues to direct their energy. The media has been mostly unable to provide positive and wholesome role models for these kids so we try and offer them something better to look up to and something more fulfilling to inspire them rather than fame, sex and money which is what some have tried to convince us is what is best. That is pretty much the speech that I gave the principal and then the entire teaching staff, the principal was so impressed by this concept that she called all the teachers together to have me speak to them. And now we have been given 255 students to take 3 times a week for the junior youth program. OMG!!! How am I going to manage so many kids, there are only 2 of us at the moment able to run the classes. So I have to find new people willing to help and train them so that they are ready to assist us. I think this project is going to be all I work on for the next 6 months and I'm so excited.

The irony is that the first book in the Junior Youth series is called Breezes of Confirmation and as I explained to the teachers the central premise is that if you want something and you take active steps towards it God will confirm you in your actions and doors will open for you. I saw that today, I saw those doors open and all it took was a small amount of initiative. All it took was one meeting. Imagine what we all can achieve with a little effort.

Our meeting with the principal was all the more easy to arrange because of a strike currently going on at this specific school and here is where you will see the great injustice that is politics, money and discrimination. It's not only the teachers of this school that have called a strike, it's the entire community. The parents are refusing to send their children to school and you know what the funny thing is, even if they did send their children there is no school as such for them to attend.

Jacob Zuma, the South African president stands and announces 1 GOAL! EDUCATION FOR ALL! The advertising campaigns are still playing repeatedly on t.v and yet we have a school in a poor farming township with nice brick buildings but no desks, no chairs, no books, no computers, no supplies. The school which is the only school in the entire area has been waiting for years for an upgrade. Finally that upgrade came, construction began on the re-building of the school. Construction was supposed to end in October last year.. it hasn't. The classrooms currently available are cramped with students. There are too many kids for the number of classrooms and with already a lack of resources the teachers are struggling to do their jobs. The pass rates at the school have been dropping and yet there has been no extra assistance to resolve the problem. The teachers and the parents decided enough was enough, parents refused to send their kids to a school where they would have to sit on concrete floors especially in winter. They demanded that the government give them access to the remaining classrooms where construction had been completed and to give them furniture. 3 days into the strike and we are sitting in the office of the principal as she tells us they are yet to hear if they are getting their furniture. She asks us how many other schools we know of that don't have a single phone, how many other schools we know of that don't have electricity, how many other schools we know of that don't have a single computer not even one for admin work. She tells us that she wants to offer these kids more but there's no money, then she tells us to await the news of pay increases in the government departments. There's no money for education but there's always money for politician pay increases. She asks us to think why? Why has this school been so neglected, why was this school re-built without any budget for furniture? It's a school in a poor, farming township. That is her response and it's so frustrating because we know how hard it is to convince these parents that their kids are better off in school getting educated than working early to bring income for the family.

The best moment of the whole meeting was when after my presentation to the teachers one of the teachers said that during the holidays she and some others had been talking about how wonderful it would be if this sort of program could be run for the kids and then we came, she thanked us so much and said she was so grateful that we were there to offer this for the children.. that's confirmation.

Johannesburg

The story of this city.

On Wednesday the 21st of July I will say my farewells to Johannesburg as I venture off South to a place called Port Elizabeth. PE will be my home for the next 6 months, a wonderful family names the Fudu's have accepted to take me in while I endeavour to serve their community to the best of my abilities. Capacity building is a term that I am going to use often and one that I will explain now. The purpose of my work here in South Africa is to help build the capacity of the community through sustainable activities. What I mean by this is I want to help foster the growth of the community spiritually but in a way where once I'm gone those involved will be able to stand on their own two feet. My role will be that of an accompanier and an instigator. So what are these activities I speak of? Well wherever you are in the world these same activities exist if there is a Baha'is Community. They are Children's classes, Junior Youth Groups, Study circles and Devotional meetings. Each activity plays an active role in raising the spiritual awareness and capacity of a community and helps the individuals develop personally and guides them through a path of service. My focus is on the children and junior youth and for the sake of the kids I left in Sydney I hope I can be of assistance here.

So the journey in PE is yet to be uncovered but I would like to sum up my experiences here in Joburg outside of the World Cup.

Now, after 2 months in Joburg what have I done?

I have been fortunate enough to be living with Sadaf who is the Institute Coordinator (she does all the admin stuff for the above mentioned Baha'i activities). Part of her job was to go around and visit different classes to see how things are going and to encourage the groups. Of course I followed her everywhere and I don't regret it at all. The wonderful thing about Study Circles is they bring together people from such diverse backgrounds and you get to learn so much from their experiences and understandings. I have met some really wonderful people who, through their own journeys, have challenged me to think about concepts that have always been so familiar to me in completely different lights. The thoughts and discussions have moved me to rehabilitate my own understandings on things and to refine the way I perceive certain things. It's amazing the things we take for granted in our lives. I have very much taken for granted my upbringing in a Baha'i family and the freedoms and opportunities that upbringing gave me. I have met people who have become Baha'is but for fear of their parents retributions are unable to openly share their Faith and to hear directly from one of these people their absolute regret in not having been raised as a Baha'i I truly realised how fortunate I am. It's really interesting how it's always harder to teach the ones who are closest to you. I find it so easy to go to the house of a complete stranger, knock on their door and invite them to the Baha'i activities but it has always been so difficult for me to do the same to some of my closest friends. I guess one of the reasons is that you'd be shattered if they rejected it.

Anyways.. As well as study circles I was also able to attend a children's class and Junior Youth Group held in an area called Alexandria. This was a wonderful experience because the children took me back to Vanuatu where I served at the Baha'i school in 2008. The purity and innocence of children is universal. The way a child reacts to praise is the same in every country. The look of joy in a child's eyes is common amongst all children. The pride a child feels when they've achieved something can be mirrored in every child on this earth. There is something so uplifting about the education of children, as much as it shouldn't be about yourself you can't help but feeling fulfilled, energised and refreshed after every class. In the following photos you will see a glimpse of the time I was able to spend with these kids. You should also take note that the children were the photographers and unlike Australia you don't need special permission to take photos of the kids and put them online :)

Every Friday night, a wonderful guy named Farzom opens his home (bachelor pad) to a deepening/devotional. In the deepening each fortnight someone is asked to talk about their journey finding the Baha'i Faith whether they be from a Baha'i family or not. I was fortunate enough to attend 2 of these deepenings and here talks from 2 very different but equally wonderful people about their own spiritual journey. Sometimes as they would talk you would be hearing your own story and other times you would be amazed at the struggles that people go through on this path. If anyone is inspired by this *hint hint Campbelltown community* it is a great way to bring people together to talk about the Faith in a more personal yet informal setting.

Farzom's bachelor pad


There you have a very brief summary of some of the more spiritually uplifting things I've been doing, not to say that the World Cup doesn't life spirits (as long as your team wins). I will be in touch once again when my adventures in Port Elizabeth are under way.

The end of Ayoba time

So I'm just going to start off by teaching you all the South African that I've learnt while I've been here. In order for you to fully appreciate the language(s) of this country I'm just going to throw all of it into one big sentence...

"Howzit my scatti? Are you making a plan for ayoba time, shame, can you borrow me your pen is it? Ke nako yoh yoh yoh shap shap I'll see you just now or now now"

Mine and Melody's favourite line was "THIS IS NOT AYOBA!!"

ok so definitions:

Howzit? = hows it going

Scatti = dear

Make a plan = sort it out/figure something out

Ayoba = cool

shame = poor thing or awwwww but also used for everything

borrow me = lend me

Is it? = now this one im still learning.. at first I thought it was like 'is that right' or 'oh really' but people here use it all the time for everything

Ke nako = it's time

yoh = some kind of animal like sound to assist with emphasising expressions

shap = cool/ok

just now and now now = a little later or in a bit

funny story about just now, i was taruffing sweets to people and this guy goes I'll have one just now, so I hold the plate out infront of him waiting for him to take one and he's just staring at me like 'what?' and then he explained that just now actually means later which doesn't make any sense

Ok so I think i've filled your heads with enough learning now for more World Cup action

Melody was gone and my next game was the Round 16 Argentina vs Mexico so I was on my own. My plan of action was to make new friends at the game and so begins the next chapter of my voyage called New Friends

Luke

So I'm on the Gautrain coming home from the airport after dropping Melody off at the airport and I figure when I get back to Sandton I'll call a taxi. At Sandton station I see a guy infront of me with an Aus flag on his suitcase so I say hi to him and ask why he's arrived so late and soon the conversations turns into a deep and meaningful on life and the Baha'i Faith. Luke's friends drive me home and we agree to meet at the Argentina game which brings us to Peter, Yosie and Les.

Peter

I'm at Melrose Arch with Nima, Sina and Hendrick trying to figure out how I'm going to get to the stadium for tonights game, and then I have an epiphany! I'll get a taxi to the park and ride and then con them into giving me a ticket onto the bus. I go to get a taxi and into my life walks Peter. He is going to drive me to the park and ride for a very good price and he has been my taxi driver ever since.

Yosie and Les

I've managed to talk one of the workers into giving me a bus ticket and now I'm waiting in line for the bus to the stadium. 2 guys infront of me are talking about the Germany vs England game and the outrageous decision to deny the goal. I join the convo "I can't believe they disallowed that goal!" and we're all best friends. We go to the stadium and hang out for hours before the match, Luke comes too and we talk some more about the Faith and life and stuff. When the game starts we all split up and I go to my seat to find Mario.

Mario

We met (in the online sense of the word) on the Ggarmy forums where I was selling my extra ticket to the game. It's nice to have someone to share the game with and we talk and discuss the players and the cold and the horrible que for food. Here are some shots from the game.

So inbetween games and Baha'i activities I have to find ways to occupy myself, I do this by visiting museums and shopping. On one of these excursions I met my next 2 friends..

Cameron and Nik

So I'm at Constitution Hill which is the site of the Constitutional Court and up until around 15 years ago was a prison. Nelson Mandella and Ghandi both spent time at this prison (not at the same time) and prisoners were separated by race; white people in one section and coloured and blacks in another area. There is a tour and I join the group, we have to go around and say our names and where we are from, I go first with my "I'm Martha from Australia" there's a family of Canadians and some others and then it gets to the last 2 guys who with South African accents say "Sydney, Australia". Of course we click straight away because we have so much in common i.e Australia. We tour through the prison which is so strange because it's such recent history and then I start talking more to Nik and Cam and we decide to go to the Oriental Plaza together. Nik gives me a tour of Joburg and tells me stories about his younger days growing up in the city. We eat Sumousas for lunch and talk about the Faith and then they drive me home.

Ok so that's all the randoms who I've made friends with, now there are so many others here who I have met but I met them all through Baha'i things and so I won't go into all of them. I just wanted to tell the stories of these people who have been there with me when I was all alone and who have all been so receptive to the Faith.

Next is my last World Cup game.. the Quarter Final Spain vs Paraguay and this has to be one of the best games that I attend. Aryan and Nahaal have accidentally bought an extra ticket so I buy it off them. Although the seats are separate we are only a few seats away from each other. We are like 5 rows from the field which is amazing and besides Spain winning which was wonderful ME AND NAHAAL ARE ON TV!!!!!!!! It was pretty amazing if I do say so myself.

So that's the end of my attendance at any games I'm much too poor to spend the money on expensive semi final and final tickets. For the final all us kids go to Soweto Fan Park which is great, it's freezing but it's not too crowded and the vibe is really good. The closing ceremony is beautiful as I'm sure everyone saw. The game is on and we are all (mostly) going for Spain. Some of the locals seem to forget that the Dutch colonised them so there are those amongst us who are supporting the other side but it's ok because both teams actually deserve to be in the final. As the game goes on we are praying for a goal, not only because we want Spain to win but also because it is freezing cold and we are all tired and don't think we can survive extra time and especially penalties. There are only a few of us left when Iniesta scores that amazing goal and Spain emerge victorious. We fight the cold to stay and watch the trophy ceremony before leaving the World Cup behind. I have only known South Africa in World Cup mode so it will be interesting to see it without the tourists everywhere and the spirit of the World Cup in everything we do.