Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Observing in the Creches

You have all been very patient with me (if anyone is indeed reading this) while I write about my weekends and ignore the bulk of the work I have been doing here. It has been really challenging trying to put into words the experiences I have been having every day. 

We climb into the van at about 9am each weekday, and head out into the township. Even after paying really good attention for a week and a half I still have no idea where anything is, so it's good that I don't have to find the places myself. We pull up outside a creche, I get out, and Mojalefa introduces me to the matron (like the boss/principal) and the teachers. I make sure he tells them in Sotho that they should not do anything different from a normal day before he leaves, and I think they listen about 50% of the time.

I find myself a little perch on the floor somewhere out of the way, and settle in to watch until about 2pm. During this time I pay very close attention to the physical space, the materials (toys/furniture etc.), the schedule of the day, and the interaction between teachers and children. The creches vary in age group and group sizes. Today I was in a creche with only 12 children between 1-5 years old. In other creches they may have 20 babies under 2, 20 two-year-olds, and 50 3-4 year olds. Rarely is there enough space for these numbers, but there is demand and the creches try to meet it.

Throughout the day I am invariably offered "bush tea," which I quite like (thank goodness, it would be rude to decline) and occasionally lunch with the matron or teachers. Their staple food here is pap (wikipedia) - which is a ground up grain that tastes kind of like grits and kind of like nothing. So far I've had pap and cabbage, pap and cream, pap and meat that tasted like sloppy joes, and pap and lamb. Mind you, I have never been asked if I am hungry or if I would like lunch before I am presented with the largest plate of food you have ever seen. When I first arrived it was very difficult to force-feed myself the giant portions, and I fear I may have offended with leaving some behind. Now that my stomach is adjusted to the time, the travel, and the pap, however, I can usually leave my plate sparkling clean.

The creches vary wildly in quality, along all of these dimensions. Sometimes the nicest facility may come with the least individual interaction, and sometimes a facility that is falling apart will have the most wonderful teachers inside. I have learned not to make any judgments until I have watched for a few hours, because I keep being surprised with the innovative ways some teachers make use of their environment. For example, today I saw old coffee cans being used as blocks, and an old bedspring being used as a trampoline.One thing they do a lot of here is singing (notice a trend?) and the teachers usually start my day with a little performance for me. I have seen the South African national anthem (which I am trying to capture on video), twinkle twinkle, and dozens of unknown Sotho songs involving some awesome dance moves.  What has been difficult are the centers where there is truly nothing for the kids to play with. In these centers, I am generally the greatest attraction just by sitting on the floor and interacting with the kids, as there is nothing else besides riding each other (literally) and running around for them to do.

It's our hope that when we are done refining this tool, we will have a document that can help point the teachers and matrons in the right direction with regard to early childhood care, especially for infants and toddlers. There is very little training available, and everyone really does seem to be trying as hard as they can.

I will let the pictures tell the story now. I had some qualms about posting photos of children on the blog, but since its purpose is to share what I have been seeing, I have come to terms with it. Don't spread them all over the internet, everyone.

This baby and I hung out all day at one center:

Without toys or furniture, there is plenty of room for elaborate songs. Here the 3-4 year olds lined up on the outer wall and the babies sat in the middle for some songs.  
 This little guy just got too tired and fell asleep right next to me:
 We do a lot of hand-holding:
This is one of my favorites. This little girl was tired so she found a spot to sleep under the crib. This other little boy then came along, took off her shoe, and played with it:
 When they have the materials, I get to see some awesome pretend play. Here a teacher has helped tie a baby doll onto this little girl's back, simulating how women here carry babies.
 This is an old bedspring being used as the awesomest trampoline. Can you imagine trying to pull this off in New York?
This little boy couldn't help falling asleep during story-time. I have shortened the video and lowered the quality in the hopes that it will upload here, our internet is slow. I hope it works!

I will write more soon, and probably include more photos and videos. They are just too cute! 

Sunday, July 24, 2011

A Weekend in Mangaung

Before Emily and I arrived, Chelsea and Sameen had expressed interest to Mojalefa and Doreen, who are our advisers here at MUCPP, that they were interested in attending cultural events in the community if there was a chance. They have been here in Mangaung for seven weeks, and have traveled nearly every weekend. As this weekend approached we began thinking about places we might want to go in the surrounding region, which would involve renting a car, booking hotels, and driving a pretty good distance.

During our preliminary planning, Mojalefa and Doreen mentioned that this might be a good weekend to stay in town and spend time with the community. Mojalefa invited us to a funeral yesterday that took place in his neighborhood. The deceased was a sixteen year old boy who died after being kidnapped. He was in grade 9, and the service took place at his school, with all of his classmates. While most of the speakers spoke in Sotho, and we could not understand, there was frequent singing throughout, songs that it seemed everyone knew. We drove with the funeral procession to the cemetery just outside of Mangaung, where there was more speaking and singing at the grave site. The coffin was lowered into the grave, and then the boys from grade 9 worked together to re-fill the grave, as everyone sang together. There were dozens of funerals taking place at the cemetery, it was full of cars and music.

The procession next moved to the house where the boy had lived, where his family had prepared food for everyone. They invited us to sit in the tent with them as honored guests, as we ate beef stew, potatoes, and home-made bread. We were surprised at how open the family was to us, letting us share in their food and traditions as outsiders who did not know their son. Funerals in this culture are very important, and Mojalefa told us that anyone in the community is welcome to come and eat with the family if they see a funeral taking place.

After the funeral, Moja had us over to his house for a Braai (barbecue) with his family and some of his neighbors. We ate fish, chicken, and lamb, all cooked up in the yard. There was a lot of music and dancing, and conversation with the community. We got some weird looks at first, as it is not normal here for black people and white people to spend time together. Throughout the day though everyone was very friendly as they were introduced to us and joined us to dance. After it got dark a bunch of neighborhood kids were attracted by the music and fire and came to dance with us. They were really phenomenal dancers. It seems like everyone in Mangaung can dance and sing, and does both all the time. Here are some photos from the Braai:

Mojalefa's old house (foreground) and current house (background).


Laura, Emily, Sameen, and Chelsea.
We don't always wear all black... we had just been to a funeral.


Dance party with the kids by the fire:


Night falls at the Braai.


This morning we went to church with the receptionist at MUCCP, Relebohile. It was a three hour service, intermingling a lot more singing and dancing with prayers and a sermon. They welcomed us as guests and translated the sermon into English for us, which was a really kind gesture. The singing there was also incredible, I wish I could have taken a recording so people at home would understand. There was a drummer with a full drum set and a keyboardist playing two keyboards, and then a chorus of six people with microphones, backed up by a full house of singing men, women, and children.

This weekend was really interesting, especially after being in the creches all last week. Now when we see these children in their school environment, we have a little bit more of an idea of what goes on when they are at home, or at church.  Tomorrow we will be back in the creches, one a day throughout the week. I will post more about the work we are doing during the week sometime soon. 

Friday, July 22, 2011

The Cheetah Experience

I am yet again delaying the writing of the real, hard work of this part of the trip, to instead post about our outing today to "The Cheetah Experience." This is a non-profit in Bloemfontein looking to raise cheetahs and re-introduce them to the wild. Part of the way they make money is allowing visitors in to tour their "tame" wild cats. We were able to play with lion cubs, cheetahs, and caracals, as well as visit leopards, wolves, and lions outside of enclosures. This is very different and completely unrelated to the intense work we do during the week, but it was a really fun break! Here I am with a 5 month old lion cub and a fully grown cheetah:



This weekend we are attending a funeral in the township, followed by a big braai (barbecue) with some of the community we are working with. I have so much to say about my experience in the creches and I'm sure I will have much more to say after this weekend. 

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Arrival in Mangaung

I made it! I left my apartment in Brooklyn at 8am on Friday, and arrived at the Bloemfontein airport at 3pm on Saturday. It was a long day (or two) of travel, but went surprisingly smoothly. The night before I left I stayed up all night, hoping to reset my internal clock with a full night's sleep on SA time on the plane (which worked, by the way). I kept myself entertained with season four of Grey's Anatomy, all the way through the night. I only mention this embarrassing tidbit because of a wild coincidence. Season four focuses largely on the budding relationship between Dr. Torres and Dr. Hahn. As we were wading through customs in the Johannesburg airport, at 9am on Saturday morning, I could have sworn I heard Dr. Hahn's voice behind me. I go up to my customs agent, and sure enough, there beside me is the actress who plays Dr. Hahn, with her husband and two small children, fresh off of our flight from JFK. I'm not one to make a big deal of celebrity sightings, but the coincidence was so astounding  it really felt like it meant something. I'll let you know if I figure out what that could be.

I traveled from New York with one other Bank Street student, Emily, who is working with me on this project in Mangaung for the next three weeks. We were greeted at the airport by two other students, here on their practicum with Columbia's school of public health, Chelsea and Sameen. Chelsea and Sameen have been here for six weeks already, working on creating a link between the community health center and the many creches (preschools/childcares) around the township. The four of us are staying together in the “B&B” operated by MUCPP, which also runs the health clinic, as well as many other programs in the township. MUCPP stands for Mangaung University Community Partnership Program, and is a relationship between the Mangaung township and the University of the Free State. The health center, B&B, and conference center were all initially funded by a grant from the Kellogg foundation. We are currently the only guests at the B&B, taking up two rooms, dorm-style, down the hall from one another. We are very comfortable, and very grateful for our large space heater, as it is winter down here in the southern hemisphere. The days are pleasant, especially in the sun, but the nights are very cold, getting down to 28 degrees. The four of us cook dinner together in the communal kitchen here, and then snuggle up around our space heaters to record our data, plan, and talk about the things we are experiencing.

Without going into too much detail, Emily and I are tasked with refining a tool that can be used to compare the creches and figure out, within cultural and societal norms, what certain creches are doing well, and what they can improve upon. We worked together with our professors before we left, making the tool ready for our trip, and this is its pilot in the developing world. Every weekday that we are here, Emily and I are each visiting a different creche, all day, to sit and observe how they do things. This gives us the incredible opportunity to be welcomed into each center, and spend the day with very young children. So far I have only been to two creches, so I am not quite ready to share my observations and thoughts. Soon I will collect my thoughts and feelings, and share them here. I have a lot to say about this incredible, interesting place that I am lucky enough to experience in such an intimate way.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Leaving Soon!

Hello everyone,
According to my relatives, my great grandfather Harold Zellerbach used to write epic "Dear-All" letters keeping the family updated. Technology has made this much easier, especially when I'm not sure what type of access I will have to the postal service in South Africa.

I hope to update this blog frequently with pictures, thoughts, and general updates during my trip. I will be in South Africa from July 15 2011 - February 11, 2012, first in Bloemfontein and then in the bush near Hoedspruit.

My bags are packed, my visa is in hand, and all my belongings left on a plane with my parents back to California last week. All that's left now is to say my goodbyes and get on the plane!

More soon,
Laura