Munsieville is a place of contrasts. Hope and despair. Gentleness and rage. Virtue and unbridled evil. Order and chaos. And from my experience over the past few days - energy and inertia!
I have been in South Africa for the past two weeks, visiting the signature programme of Project HOPE UK - The Thoughtful Path: Munsieville - and working with the many people in the community who share our passion for the health and well-being of orphans and other vulnerable children, to stimulate the essential changes that are urgently needed to free these children from the "prison" of poverty, abuse, lack of opportunity and despair, that prevent them from fulfilling their potential.
As ever (I am a regular visitor to the township, which is a stone's throw from Johannesburg), this has been time of rich and varied experiences. Despite the bitterly cold wind of the South African winter - or possible because of it - Munsieville has been pulsating with music and dance. A few days ago, thousands of young people packed a huge tent in the township stadium for the launch of a Provincial Government initiative to target employment opportunities on young people, promising "One Job Per Needy House for 100 Days".
The tent rocked with vibrant local music and African dance routines, and the star of the show was Portia, a teenager who gave an eloquent and passionate speech on the role of young people in defining the new South Africa. The Provincial Premier's representative responded by promising her funding for a university place and extended the offer to young people who work hard and excel in Maths and Science at school.
The following day, we held a workshop for people committed to working with us on The Thoughtful Path: Munsieville. Public health doctoral studies students from East Tennessee State University made a presentation on the basics of monitoring and evaluation, and witnessed the enthusiasm of those present for providing solid evidence of the impact of their activities. We also unveiled the Thoughtful Path Leadership Academy - fifteen of those present indicated their willingness to enrol and commit themselves to the hard work of raising their skills to meet the challenges ahead.
And then to Saturday. The Munsieville Tourism Association had organised a Festival of local arts and crafts and invited Project HOPE UK to attend as special guests - I was asked to bring a few words of greeting and to say why we had selected this community for our defining children's health programme. This was an event full of colour, energy, beauty and all that is good in Munsieville, a township within the UNESCO World Heritage Site, "The Cradle of Human Kind".
In my comments to the crowd I congratulated the township on taking the "Yes We Can!" message given in Soweto by Michelle Obama five days earlier, to a new level. The ordinary citizens of Munsieville have a different chant: not "Yes we can!", but "YES WE ARE!": so many in this community are already working to bring positive change. And that, above everything else, was why we selected Munsieville for our flagship project!
So, why, or why, is the initiative, urgency and determination of the "ordinary" people - most of whom do what they can without being paid - not matched by those employed, and well paid, in South African officialdom? There are many good people at all levels in local, provincial and national government, many of whom have bent over backwards in support of what we are doing in Munsieville. But there is a disease running through the system that saps and deflects the energy of those seeking to serve the most vulnerable members of the community.
Just as well, then that we, and our many brave and dedicated friends, will never take "no" for an answer. "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" ..... for yet another meeting in an official office, pressing the case until the vulnerable children of Munsieville hear a resounding "YES"!
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