South Africa on my mind

By: Brook
As some of you know last year while in South Africa I had the great fortune of working with a learner at Fezeka High School named Lwando Magwaca. I only had the chance to work with him for about a month but within that short time he completely captivated me with his talent, kindness, and his dedicated nature. What I was touched by most however, was his humble heart and contagious optimism. Despite everything that he had been through -including homelessness, domestic violence, community violence, the death of his brother and countless other tragedies-was his ability to keep his heart in the right place: in peace, towards others, and on his future.

Lwando turned eighteen this February, and is in the 11^th grade at Fezeka Secondary. Fezeka is not your average high school, and you know it the minute you pull up because it is behind a tall, barbed and guarded gate. Beyond the gate, there are more differences…there is no field out back where kids practice basketball and soccer. There is no lunchroom. There is no water fountain. There are no bright yellow buses lining a parking lot to drop or pick up kids. The bathrooms have no toilet paper, soap or towels. There is no heat or a/c, and there aren’t enough desks in any of the classrooms. The desks that are there are broken, and they sit in cold rooms behind jagged, broken panes of glass for windows. The most disturbing thing that is missing, however, are the teachers themselves. It is not your typical high school experience.

When I met Lwando, he was arriving everyday to Fezeka by foot, from about an hour away in another township. He sometimes stayed with friends that lived closer to school, which made his commute shorter, but he made a point to make Fezeka his home school because it is actually one of the better schools around. He thrives there, despite everything, joining the debate club, helping to form the poetry club, participating in local HIV/AIDS awareness groups and he is also a peer educator for Fezeka. He’s well known within his community as a wonderful poet, speaker and friend. I miss him dearly.

Because he has no phone, no internet/email and an undeliverable address (most places in the townships cannot get mail), it has been difficult to hear any word from him. The pieces of information I have gotten over the year have been sparse, with only a ‘he’s okay’ or ‘he says hello’. I could only hope that he was healthy, happy and staying in school. Finally, yesterday I heard from the Education without Borders in house teacher, Alex, at great length as to how he has been doing since I last saw him. It was a tough email to read. She gave me a bit of background into his past, too—and it was all hard. Parental neglect, endless days and nights of hunger, the death of his brother, the unfit living conditions, the perseverance through all of it…he still stands, trying to finish school and do his best with what he has.

Luckily, a bit of good news has finally come into the picture for him! Through tremendous generosity of Alex and some of her friends and contacts, Lwando is receiving medical care and has adequate housing and food. Additionally, through the efforts of his current EwB teacher Laura Egdorf, he was offered a spot on the Vision Youth tour that goes through South Africa to various spots so he can compete in poetry/talent competitions. He needed to match Vision Youth’s 5000 Rand donation, so when I got word, I dropped everything to send some savings towards his big dream. And after only a few days, me and Laura were able to raise all the money to send him on this trip! I’m overwhelmed that he finally has an opportunity to not only share his vision and passion with others around South Africa, but that he is also finally getting something he truly deserves. I am overjoyed to help him realize his dreams and can only hope that someday soon I can be there beside him for one of these opportunities. I’m attaching the flyer that I received about this opportunity that tells you a little more about Lwando, along with a request to send him critique of his work so he can perfect his craft. If you have the time, please read his poetry and send any words of encouragement, constructive criticism or the like to the attention of Laura, as stated on the flyer. If you feel inclined, you can also donate money towards Education Without Borders through their website (http://www.educationwithoutborders.ca/donate), or if you feel like donating any funds towards Lwando’s future educational ventures, you can place them through me or through Laura using the US address she provides in the flyer.

I can only hope this venture leads towards more opportunities to build Lwando’s confidence and educational and life experience while also exposing him to those who might be able to help him reach his goals of one day being a judge. Thanks for listening. I cannot even express how happy I am in this moment. The only thing that would make me happier is being there in person. And who knows? Maybe one day, I will be. Maybe one day very soon….

Here is a video of our time in South Africa from Rachel Hunter's film Strangers In Paradise.

Here is a video of his recital of his poem “the Burden of Woman” that he did while we were in South Africa: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cq0IjVCeSM8&feature=related

Page 1 (click to enlarge) letter from Fezeka:
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