it’s a wrap
rosetta, miranda and i met up for an early morning cup of coffee at dulce cafe. it was cold and the air was crisp – much like new york fall weather. rosetta and miranda have been good friends for a long time and it is always a delight to see them together. we spent some time briefly surveying the work that has been done this month and shared some of our personal reflections that has stemmed from our own unique experiences. there were many moments we would look at each other and nod our heads in discouragement because south africa has a way of reminding one of its sheer brokenness that seem at times inextricable and immeasurably complex. but as we shared our common doubts, we also reminded ourselves of why we were sitting together in the first place – to affirm that everything we do and are trying to accomplish can and will be met by a drudgingly slow process – and perhaps to many points of futility – but that with God, all things are truly possible and that we must set our eyes upon Him if we are to continue fighting this battle.
after miranda had left for work, rosetta and i spent the remainder of the morning at her place to review the months work and discuss future projects that need development support. at her request and my acceptance, i plan to join the zimele US board to continue efforts in fund raising and capacity building. over more and more cups of tea – we shared many stories of our personal upbringing, our family, our careers and the mix of experiences that brought us both here. we share a common vision and i know that we’ll work together for many years to come.
afterwards, miranda and i drove over to the university of kwazulu-natal at the westville campus near durban, to meet with professor singh and his colleague martin to discuss the wartburg project – which aims to survey areas like swayimane in search for new areas of growth. it was quite an interesting conversation. if there was one thing i learned from it, it’s that the greatest obstacle that stumps most development work in areas like swayimane is land governance, which hampers efforts to improve overall infrastructure and cash flow from local businesses to outside markets. what one may find instead (as i have personally discovered) is that in isolation, subsistence and government handouts reinforces the deadly cycle of poverty that impacts both the family unit and ultimately – the new generations that follow and subsequently suffer from it. how does one break this isolation? we all seem to agree that no external ‘force’ can be responsible for such a change, but that a different kind of change has to occur from the inside out – from the very hearts and inner minds of the people who are entrenched in this sea of poverty. and it is to this point that i believe zimele is doing something right. martin also added a particularly insightful to the point that – contrary to popular belief – the notion of ‘zulu culture’ is very much stigmatized and varied at best (even amongst the zulus themselves) – that issues like the oppression of women are not necessarily a direct result of zulu culture or tradition, but is in fact muddied by the very opposite behavior found throughout zulu history; king shaka had the utmost respect for his own mother and to the women of his time.
in regards to the current progress being made, martin and singh explained that they gave their students carte blanche to carry out their research, and expected little to no contact with them until the very final day of presentation on sept. 18/19. in this vein, they hope to see this level of autonomy yield a broader spectrum of results. i was invited to the forum, but since i will not be around then – we are working together to set up a remote webcast under the condition that I can assemble a few interested students from the NY area business schools to attend as well. this is an exciting opportunity, and i cannot wait to follow its progress!
anyhow, it’s been a long day – but it’s officially a wrap. i’m sad to know that i will be spending my last supper with the brits tonight – especially with stefan, ali, and murray away for the weekend, but nevertheless – i toast to another great evening with my new south african family!
