Our time in Gugulethu was really impactful for a lot of us. So much so that six of us decided to get the word bambelela tattooed on our feet. Bambelela is a Xhosa word that means hold on or never give up. Many of the people that we met in our stay were so resilient and never gave up, especially the young man some of us met during the food parcel day and our host families. For me it is a reminder that there are so many people who are in situations way worse than my own. By remembering their determination and how they are able to be happy with what little they had, I hope to be better able to be thankful for what I have. Many times in the past I have forgotten to be grateful for what I have and taken things for granted. Now that I have seen the situations of many people worse off than my own I have a better perspective of what I truly have in my life.
We had the opportunity to go to Robben Island yesterday. It seemed to go by quickly but one thing stuck in my mind. When the political prisoners came to the island’s prison, they were all put together in the same cell area and they all worked together. This was regardless of what political background they came from. Rather than sticking to their friends or comrades of the same beliefs, they took advantage of their diversity and inter mingled, they became one group of people. They also used their time together to discuss the current situation in South Africa at the time. In that way when they were released they were prepared to begin talks with the National Party (creators of Apartheid). They took advantage of their disadvantages. They used their gift of diversity for the good of the nation rather than letting it pull them apart. During a reunion of the prisoners at Robben Island, they chose to signify this individuality to unity by having each of them take a stone and putting them all in one pile.
More to come later, my mind is going through a time of reflection. Hopefully I will soon be able to make sense of the random thoughts.
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