Yoh! Rhinos

soccer

here are some pics of the boyz playing soccer.

kevin, colin, paul, and luc

boy boy

calvin and puntsa

sphatlo

so finally we have real life images of the famous sphatlo!
highly recommended after a long morning of soccer :)

4 weeks in Soshanguve--from Kevin

The community here in Soshanguve never ceases to amaze me. Simply put, people look out for each other. It’s still hard to get my head around the fact that this “township” has a population between 1.5 – 2 million. Once you enter, it’s a different world than “the city”. I quickly noticed that people here really look out for one another and neighbors know each other. There are several elements to this; houses are pretty close together, most fences are low enough to see over or see through and there are tons of kids which instantly link families. While I’ve just scratched the surface of learning about the culture and people of this place, the close knit community is something that I’m struck by and know goes much deeper than I’ll be able to appreciate in my brief time here. It’s interesting that while “community” is what stands out to me, the stigma surrounding Soshanguve is that it is violent and unsafe. I have yet to ever feel “unsafe” here. I recognize my experience is tainted by the fact that I am an obvious foreigner, but I feel I’ve experienced enough normal day to day life here that I can confidently say that this stigma is not accurate. It’s staggering to think this township is close to the size of Dallas. To get an idea of the social walls that separate the “township” of Soshanguve from the “city” of Pretoria, imagine if the entirety of Dallas had the stigma of being violent and unsafe and nobody from the tons of surrounding suburbs ever went there. Imagine if it was a laughable idea for people in Irving, Lewisville, or Plano to enter Dallas. That’s similar to the social and geographical dynamics here. Obviously there are big discrepancies in the comparison but I think there is something to be said that in general, “mekuah” (white people) simply Do Not enter the townships. It’s a forgone conclusion that you just don’t go there. Local whites laugh at the idea…literally, they often think I’m joking when I say I’m going to Sosh. So it’s strange entering this ‘foreign’ world and finding it completely different from the local perception. I don’t mean this in a judgmental way at all but rather as a source of hope. I think the more people that enter Soshanguve, the more the negative stigma will fade away and the beauty of the people here and their way of life will touch and inspire it’s visitors both from South Africa and around the world. I’ll end by sharing a few examples of how I feel a beautiful community of ingenuity, creativity, and loyalty has grown in and out of the absence of resources and infrastructure.
The old saying “It takes a village to raise a child” seems lived out to it’s most noble ideal here. My host family consistently has neighbors’ kids over for dinner and are a huge influence in their upbringing. Our neighbors to the left recently had plumbing issues and at least three other households have got involved in the repair project, all the way from helping dig a new plumbing line to finding supplies. “Babysitting” is a non-issue on our block. When adults need to leave home, their children, whether infant or adolescent are looked after with open arms by neighbors. As soon folks found out I played soccer I was invited by two different teams to join in on their training. People here get around mostly by local taxis (mini-vans). You squish as many people in as you can and it’s a team effort to make change for the driver and get everybody where they need to be in areas with no street names. Usually people in taxis are very surprised to see me (being white) and are very accommodating. I’ve had everything from life advice to language lessons given to me by fellow taxi passengers. There’s much more to say and so much more for me to learn. But I thank God for the people here and how wonderfully they’ve welcomed me. Four weeks in Sosh has been food for the soul, heart, and mind.

Soshangroovy

Welcome to Block FF...

This has been my home for the last 10 days and i'll be here for the next 2 and a half weeks (i leave a bit sooner than the rest of the team due to having to go back to work). Most of the streets here in Soshanguve don't have names so i can't tell you my address, but let me try and describe the neighbourhood for you. Block FF is quite a new area in the township (it started to develop in the late 90s) but there are a suprising number of large houses, usually characteristic of the older blocks, which have gradually developed over the last 30-40 years. There is a new supermarket here selling standard items you'd find in any UK/US store along with township delicacies of tripe and chicken feet. I've sampled the former (and survived) and am awaiting the latter... Whilst i'm on the subject of food I thought i'd describe to you a 'township burger' also known as sphatlo (stephanie mentioned it in her last post). They are available on most street corners and consist of a huge chunk of white bread with the middle hollowed out and filled with achar (mango chutney) chips/fries (delete as appropriate depending on your nationality), palonie (reconstituted meat a bit like spam), cheese and sometimes sausage. I've not tried one yet but they've had mixed reviews from the team- Luc loves them, Kevin hates them and the rest of the team seem to land somewhere inbetween.

So, back to Block FF. I'm sat in the living room of Pastor Samson Mbonani's house listening to the church choir practice in the garage next door. Their voices are beautiful and gospel music is filling the air. Pastor Samson lives with his wife and son, Ndumiso, in the mission house behind the church he leads, Word Alive, and i'm staying with them during my time in Soshanguve. They are a wonderful family and have been very welcoming to me. Pastor Samson is very much behind the idea of innerCHANGE and has been influential in wlecoming IC to Soshanguve. Kevin and Adam also live in Block FF: go out of the church yard, past the supermarket, along by the school and over the football field and you'll get to there house.

These first few days have been very exciting for me: getting to know the team; seeing the neighbourhood; learning more about innerCHANGE; and listening to God. Let's see what the next days bring...

Andrew.

from Stephanie!

Our team has now been here a little over a week now and we are enjoying ourselves thoroughly.  Paul and Mariah have been spending time with some teens who are hosting a meeting tonight for HIV/Aids awareness that we are going to.  Aimee has been visiting HIV/Aids patients in their homes with Petunia.  I went with them one day and then spent another day giving piano lessons to some of the neighborhood kids, which was a great time.  Luc, Andrew, and Kevin have been spending some quality time building relationships with families in different blocks (neighborhoods).

This week has been full of meeting great people, eating great food (some team members not including myself were brave enough to try "spahtlo" which is like an African hamburger), spending time with our host families, getting to know our team more and more, and really enjoying ourselves.  It is beautiful here and the people are very gracious and welcoming.  We could use prayer for continued acclamation to the area and different culture as well as building relationships with people in different blocks as well as with our team.

Steph