Straight from South Africa: One Minerva Fellow shares his experiences

By Benjamin Engle

At the beginning of July 2009, the second group of Minerva Fellows departed for their respective volunteer locations across the globe. The Minerva Fellowship program gives recent Union graduates the opportunity to create long-lasting programs to help the poor and solve social issues in developing countries.

The 2009-10 Minerva Fellowship program consists of eight members of the Class of 2009 who are located in six different sites around the world.

One of the Fellows, Eisenman, is working with a community organization in Hanover Park, South Africa, called the Community Action towards a Safer Environment, (CASE). The CASE program was placed in Hanover Park due to the community's disadvantaged nature. According to recent statistics, 61% of adults do not have an income, more than 80% of adults have not completed high school, and 20% of adults have not completed primary school.

According to CASE, their mission is to "break the cycle of crime and violence in which young people live by equipping community members to recognize and respond appropriately to both the causes and effects of crime and violence in their communities."

While he remains in South Africa, Eisenman is dedicating his time in more ways than through the CASE program. Additionally, he has created a co-ed soccer team of youth from the Hanover Park area, whom Eisenman has been training since August. The training will continue until April 2010, when Eisenmnan plans to bring the team to a tournament in Durban, South Africa. In Durban, the team will attend a soccer clinic run by the country's leading stars, and play in a tournament with 23 other organizations from South Africa.

Eisenman is now trying to raise money in order to provide his soccer team with jerseys, equipment, and transportation to the tournament in Durban, amenities that these South African children would not otherwise have.

In order to help him reach his goal, Green House is holding a fundraiser to contribute $500 towards the purchase of cleats, shin guards, and jerseys. If you would like to donate to Mike's cause, you can do so at http://www.backabuddy.co.za/michaeleisenman.

The following is an interview with Eisenman about his experiences thus far in South Africa.

How has your experience been so far?

I have been in Cape Town for 10 weeks, which means my time is already 25% finished. The weeks have absolutely flown by because I am still in the honeymoon stage, you could say. In the beginning, everyone I met was new and I was meeting a ton of people.

Where do you live in Cape Town?

I live with a colored family in a suburb of Cape Town called Athlone. Athlone is a colored community and the people have been living there since the forced removals during apartheid.

How would you describe your experience in Hanover Park?

Everyone shares a different story and a different experience, yet hardly anyone I meet lives with a chip on their shoulder. The area I work in is called Hanover Park. Hanover Park is one of the most crime-stricken colored areas outside of Cape Town filled with gangsterism, drugs, and prostitution. Most people get chills just when they hear the name. That is the truth.

Are you homesick? Do you like your host family?

I was homesick the first night I arrived and then last week. I was homesick because of the amazing support I have received from home.

One could not ask for a better host family. I live with Peter and Avril, who are two of the most amazing people you could ever meet. They own a volunteering company and are involved with 15-18 different organizations in the community from orphanages to schools to hospitals.

Everyone in the community knows them and loves them for what they do. I adore both of them and living with them keeps me very busy. I am also able to learn a lot about the apartheid from their personal experiences, which are extremely unbiased. That makes it much more enjoyable to talk about.

Is Cape Town what you expected? What is it like? How are you adjusting?

I tried to go into Cape Town with no expectations. There are many things that continue to surprise me on an everyday basis. Cape Town is amazing because it is easily the most beautiful city in the world. Within an hour of Cape Town you have scenic mountain ranges (in the city lies Table Mountain), you have the Indian and Atlantic Ocean, and you have over one hundred wineries.

You also have some of the most impoverished areas you will ever lay your eyes on. It is so sad because the homes are so dilapidated. You wouldn't even call them homes because they are simple shacks.

The crime rate is exceptionally high throughout Cape Town. Everyone has burglar bars covering all windows and doors, and there is not a soul living in Cape Town who doesn't know of someone who has been robbed, raped, or killed. Seriously. In my first two weeks, I was so surprised to hear of at least five or six of these occurrences. I don't want to say that I have gotten used to it, but it doesn't surprise me any longer. It still makes me sick to my stomach, though.

I adjusted to the change well enough that people think I am colored wherever I go. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable to be around white South Africans because they generally tend to be very cold people. They are even colder when I am surrounded by my colored friends and family. To adjust in the colored community, you need to be social, a good eater, and you need to learn a few words in Afrikaans. After that, you are all set, and feel like family immediately.

While in Cape Town what do you hope to accomplish? What are your goals?

I really want to make a difference in Hanover Park and have people remember not who I am, but the work I did while here. This month I put together a program in Hanover Park for pet education. We are merging with an animal rescue and nature conservation organizations to put together this event. We raised funds to offer free pet sterilization.

We will also educate the children on proper pet care techniques because dog fighting and pet neglect is extremely common in the Cape Flats. The main goal of the program is to teach people that investing in drugs only causes short term therapeutic "escape" if you will. One should rather invest their money in a dog or cat because it will provide many more benefits and there are no negative side effects.

The work I am focusing on is community development within Hanover Park and personal development for the children I work with. On my days off, I will often pop into one of the orphanages and take some of the kids out to the ocean for a day of relaxation so they can escape the repetition of a day in the home.

What would you like to tell the Union community about Cape Town?

I would like everyone to know that there are some serious problems in Cape Town that will not get sorted out for years to come. I understand that there are many countries and millions of people in the world who need help. But, I recommend people come and visit Cape Town to experience what I am experiencing and form their own opinions on the matter.

There are so many social and political problems in South Africa that it is almost sickening and has recently led to a military strike. I didn't even know this was possible to be completely honestly.

I am not expecting to change the world or even Hanover Park. But, if I can change the lives of a few people there, I will be more than satisfied with that.

Originally published in Union's Concordy on 9/24/09