Soweto

Our week in Soweto has been the highlight of South Africa so far. There were some mixed expectations on the table after learning some of Soweto’s violent past, and receiving some wide-eyed looks from Afrikaners in Pretoria who discouraged us from going. However, Soweto turned out to be much more than it was portrayed to be. We soon realized this as we began the week with Gospel harmonies ringing through our ears at a Sunday morning service at the Soweto Vineyard Church, where we stood and were out-sung despite our best efforts. Here we got a sermon from Pastor and Outtatown speaker Mpho. It was amazing to see what versatile speakers there were, the sermon was translated by a talented local translator back and forth from Zulu to English. We then packed our gear and camped out at the Ipelegeng Community Center for the week. Here we found time to re-group after being at separate home-stays the week before. I was surprised to find the people we encountered here to be some of the more friendly and fun people we’ve come across so far. Many of us joined in on some community aerobics classes in the gym while others were invited to do fun things such as watch a comic play put on by some local actors.

From our community center we toured Soweto, gathering out front every morning to jump on the bus. The first days we spent learning about the town, we saw the miniscule wealthy area and the vast poverty,which surrounds it. I had my mind and heart filled from our trips to the Apartheid Museum and exhibitions on the Soweto uprising of the 1970’s. These experiences were some of the more meaningful ones, and helped to put into perspective the stares and gestures our group received as white people walking down the Soweto streets. On the Wednesday we ventured to a region of Soweto known as Kliptown where we were entertained by the phenomenal “Gumboot Dancing” presented by some of Kliptown’s youth. We were bombarded by their boisterous culture as they sang and danced and every young kid found an Outtatowner to cling to and follow all the way to the buss. This was an entertaining time for all of us, and it was a gib part of what made Soweto a unique experience for me.

To close the week we spent two days in service both at an HIV/AIDS hospice, and down in Kliptown again at a nursery where we served food, played games, and laughed until the kids were tired and slept. Overall, the week was a very enriching time, and I think that everybody else would agree with me when I say Soweto was Soweet!

Aaron Streight