Week Three in Cape Town

Week 3 started off with an unexpected adventure; early Monday morning, instead of meeting with my supervisor to review my grant proposal, I was ushered off into a tiny car with one of the board members of my organization to an ominous “meeting” in the wine country. In the car the founder spoke little of where we were going and simply informed me that I would enjoy the location, and be happy to be a part of the experience. I tried several times to hint at asking where we were going, and he simply spoke of this meeting that was in regards to the Palestine Solidarity Alliance movement and the current elections in Cape Town.

Boschendal, Franscchoek Winery

Upon arriving into the wine country I was taken aback by the scenery. It was something unlike I had ever seen before. The landscape was a blend of a long stretches of vineyards contrasting with the mountains.  It was a semi stormy day and the sky was trying to fight off the rain clouds. We pulled into the driveway of one of the most outstanding estates, and that’s when it hit me that we must be attending something quite important.I finally turned to Bram and told him to give me a quick description of the event so I could prepare myself. Turns on I got to meet the ambassador of Israel, the ambassador of Pakistan, the minister of agriculture of South Africa and other important political leaders. It was truly incredible. During lunch I was able to sit with these political figures and be apart of their discussions regarding a range of topics from the economic stability of South Africa, to the struggles of finding ways to have a free, non-racial and democratic Palestine State. Many South African anti-apartheid radicals were present, and it was curious to see the way they drew parallels between the South African apartheid and the Anti-Apartheid movement against Apartheid Israel.

Later that day, I had the opportunity to experience my first wine tasting in one of the most renown wine regions with Ebrahim Ebrahim, deputy minister of South Africa and member of the ANC, as well as Bram, the founder of Passop and one of the most interesting people I have ever met. I was fascinated by Ebrahims' stories and all the information he had to offer me regarding his time as a political leader. I sincerely appreciated the wine and was excited to get to learn about the different types and how they are distinguished from one another. 

The rest of my workweek was filled with tasks relating to the Disability Project. The director and I were on a time crunch to find a space for the day care center. We spent hours upon hours drafting the perfect proposal in order to finance the day care. Its quite helpful because we have an on going group chat with all the members of the project where the participants often share ideas regarding the project. We decided that we should make a promotional fundraising video where I will be conducting short interviews with each member in order to get their full stories. I have already met with one member, Rumbidzai where she shared with me her extensive struggle of a being a refugee mother with a child with a disability. Her son, Munsashe Mahoya is eight years old and suffers from cerebral palsy. She stressed the importance of finding him the right care and how it has been a great challenge. Its incredible to see someone who truly has had everything taken from them still possess the utmost care and compassion no matter how hard she has been beaten down. She explained to me that many people in her home country Zimbabwe, and now in South Africa, her country of refuge, belittle disabilities to the point where they won't help her because they claim disabled children have no future. It was devastating knowing that she has received little aid simply due to the fact that she has a disabled child. We also discussed possible plans for the day care center and what she hoped to see out of the project. Many members are satisfied with the simple fact that they have a network amongst each other which provides support. 

My weekend started off with surfing on Saturday with a group of friends and on Sunday, which had to be one of my favorite days in South Africa so far, I went to Mzolis. In order for me to properly give you an idea of what Mzolis is, picture a space filled with people from every part of town, heaps and heaps of different kinds of meat covering all the tables and loud music blasting through the air. By definition, Mzolis is a butchery in Gugulethu, a township on the outskirts of Cape Town. But for me, it was so much more. It seemed to be a place where a community came together to enjoy one common thing: meat. I feel as if it were a time were I was truly able to get a taste and small peak into the culture in the townships. We danced for hours throughout the days and enjoyed smokey, sauce drenched meat.