From what I've been able to piece together, Mkhululi was hit by a minibus taxi on Friday afternoon. The taxi was trying to pass another car and either didn't see Mkhululi or couldn't stop in time. He must have hit him at close to full speed to cause Mkhululi's injuries. I don't know if the taxi driver has been found or not. I was told that if he was, he would be made to contribute to the funeral costs because he caused the accident. We'll see if that happens or not.
I went briefly to Mkhululi's place Tuesday morning. He had a shack behind his mother's house. Most of Siyaya was there, and the rest were on their way. They weren't saying anything, just sitting silently thinking of what happened and was happening. I think some of them were probably contemplating their own mortality for the first time, as well (which seems odd given the daily problems with violence and deaths from HIV/AIDS, but when you're 20 years old you always think it happens to the other guy, not you). I approved a day off from rehearsal in Rev. Spiwo's absence, since they wouldn't have gotten anything done anyway. The guys stayed and cleaned and painted the mother's living room in preparation for visitors and the funeral (which will probably be next week).
Since Siyaya has a big concert on Sunday, they were back at work today practicing their songs. They have a replacement drummer, at least for Sunday. He's also from the township and has played for a while so Bongani thinks he'll do fine. I hope it all works out.
Look Out, Louvre
We had an art class of sorts at the Centre today. It was put on by a student group I've been working with the past couple weeks called Global Leadership Adventures (GLA). This program runs for 3 weeks, and pulls in kids from the U.S., Europe, the Middle East and South Africa. Many of them are from affluent households, and most would be considered high achievers in their schools and communities. They do academic sessions in the mornings, studying and discussing topics like poverty, human rights, economics, and homelessness. Their afternoons are spent doing community service projects. Ten kids have been assigned to the Centre and I've been their host/guide/taskmaster. They are a really great group of young adults, motivated and hard working. This group runs through next week and then I have another group of 10 coming.
I've split their time up to give them exposure to different people and settings in Guguletu and the surrounding area. Half of the time is being spent painting the Stormont Madebela school I've written about previously. I hope to get pictures tomorrow and will post them soon.
The other half is a mix of projects. Today we had an art class of sorts for the local kids, since it's school holiday and most kids have nothing to keep them occupied. We had three stations: drawing (pastel crayons and charcoals), painting (watercolors) and clay. It was a really great time. We had about 20 kids, 10 to 14 years old, come and they stayed busy for the full two hours. If they got bored we also had a pick-up soccer game going for a while. You can see some of what they were working on in these pictures. The level of creativity was very high, and they all put my stick men
pictures to shame. We even had a couple adults wander in and make something, which was lots of fun to watch. The interplay between the GLAers and the local kids was also really fun to watch. There wasn't much of a language barrier, and if there was the other kids would translate. Everyone was helping each other, with lots of laughter and sharing going on. At the end, everyone shared the cleaning responsibility. Then we had the requisite group photos, followed by about 15 minutes of good-byes. Everyone left happy, and most of the local kids were asking when
they could do it again (which we will in a couple weeks).It is absolutely amazing what can happen when adults take their stresses and anxieties out of the way and let kids be kids. Because GLA is a leadership development program, I told the students that they were on their own for the day. I gave them the supplies and they took care of the rest, organizing the tables and helping set starting projects for everyone. They also organized the soccer game. They did a great job. I think all of them could go on to great
things.
(I included the picture of the clay animals for my brother. "Hello Mr. Go-phair. Pay no attention to Mr. Squirrel...")More to come.
2 comments:
Carl would be proud of your artistry! Would you like to come over for a swim? We have a pool, er, a pool and a pond, the pond would be good for you. Also watched Revenge of the Nerds on Friday. What the fuck is a "frush" Takashi?
Looks like a great art day and even better the kids did it on their own. 2 hours of fun must be a precious commodity for the township kids, so well worth the investment. Tragic story of Mkhululi's death, no wonder you were not very talkative on Sunday. We'll keep his family in our prayers. take care, Mr. Ugly
The photo of the clay figures with the Caddyshack reference is too hilarious! Ranks right up there with the penquin photos, most definitely. Hasn't "anonymous" heard of subbing punctuation marks for cuss words? Dude! Now we have to consider this an R-rated blog. Gina
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