As with most things in South Africa, you never really can tell what is going on right away. This is the case with the teachers and public servants strike that has been going on for the past 21 days.
As far as we know, the teachers’ unions have decided to suspend the strike so that the students can actually learn something before exams which start up in the next few weeks. The unions agreed to the 7.5% pay increase and R800 housing allowance, but there is still no final agreement and nothing is set in stone about the terms the teachers requested. Despite all this drama, the temporary strike suspension is wonderful news for the Amy Biehl Foundation. Today, for the first time in 21 days and for only the 3rd time since being in Cape Town I GOT TO GO OUT TO THE TOWNSHIPS AND TEACH THE KIDS!!!!
Don’t get me wrong, the plethora of jobs I have been given in the office has been great and I have enjoyed getting to know the staff and the inner workings of a non-profit, BUT one of the main reasons I came to work for the Amy Biehl Foundation was to be out in the townships teaching the kids by helping them learn life lessons through computers and reading. Today was just a preliminary day so I went to several different classes (peer education, violin, recorders, traditional dance, computers, bead work, and foundations) to see where I would want to work. I’m pretty sure I’m going to stick with the computer class as planned, but it was great to see the different classes at work after so long.
The best part of the day was sitting in the sun at John Pama Primary school, watching the traditional dance class practice for their next big performance coming up at the end of September. As I sat and watched these kids dance barefoot on the pavement, a shy girl came up to me and kept eyeing my hair. I told her it was okay to play with it and the grin on her face was enough to melt the hardest heart of stone. For the next 30 minutes, I sat there enjoying the kids dancing and getting a free head massage! Never mind the tangled mess that I have yet to undo and put into some sort of order….her sweet smile was well worth the knotty chaos.
South Africa is a long way off from rebuilding what was lost during these last three weeks of striking. The teachers have their work cut out for them and many have lost a lot of wages as a result of their time away. I’m not sure what this means for the end of the year, but I do know that the Amy Biehl Foundation (myself included) will do what we can to make sure these kids are kept off the streets and learning as much as they can.
If you want to read more about the strike, I’ve included a link below….
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