The Beginnings of Sister's Keeper in Joe Slovo Township

That's me with a couple of the young ladies I'm working with this summer

There are aspiring doctors, scientists, artists, and social workers among the young women of Joe Slovo Township ---that is at least what I learned over the past week and a half since meeting some of the young ladies I will be working with over the summer. My first interactions with them confirmed that they were much like any other 13-18 year olds I’ve met. As they often switched between English and Xhosa in conversation, they shared their love for music, celebrity gossip, and “girl talk.” They hasted not to express their love affairs with Nicki Minaj, Kim Kardashian, India Arie, and local South African artists, but also surprisingly, some others before their time, like the unmatched(my objective opinion :-)) LutherVandross and Celine Dion. They love reading books and discussing its characters, a credit to their own interests, but also to the academic support work of ArtWorks for Youth, which encourages reading to both expand the mind and increase English proficiency. Through a combination of group sessions, one-on-one meetings, and informal observations, I have learned that these young women are FIERCE, even FIERCER than Sasha Fierce. They are articulate, strong-willed, ambitious, and have tremendous potential to be anything they want to be, but their lived realities paint a picture that makes it almost impossible for their aspirations to become anything besides that.

Joe Slovo Township

A drive through the Joe Slovo Township on any given day is enough to expose you to the complicated nature of poverty, community, a history of racial bias, and the intimate relationship among the three. I learned that Joe Slovo was an informal settlement established on Port Elizabeth’s outskirts years ago by a few Xhosa families unable to afford housing in Port Elizabeth proper. The land was initially private property and after a few inhabitants turned into a few thousand, the government recognized it as a settlement, where it has remained home to thousands of black South African families of Xhosa background. The homes are a combination of small government-made concrete structures and homemade dwellings made of zinc, scrap wood and metal, and other materials one might find in your average junk yard.

Some of the homes immediately outside of Joe Slovo Primary

While the government has recently begun constructing roads, dirt roads dominate the township, which have names, at least according to the handmade street signs on some street corners, but remain unknown to many community members and police officers alike. Running water and an indoor sewage system may exist in some of the government-built homes, but certainly not in the others constructed by residents. Estimates place Joe Slovo’s unemployment   at a rate of 50% at the least, though many suspect it to be even higher. Alcoholism is a common form of drug abuse within many families, and the lack of suitable and affordable public transportation make it even more difficult for people to secure economic opportunities that may otherwise provide a more promising future for these young ladies and their families. Yet, in spite of its unfavorable conditions, Joe Slovo, through the subtlest of gestures, represents both home and community to the many kids who playfully run along the streets and the men and women who eagerly reciprocate the gesture of a “thumps up” to other passersby, which is essentially the equivalent to a hand-wave in the states.

Joe Slovo Primary School

A 10 to 15 minute drive through Joe Slovo eventually gets you to Joe Slovo Primary School, which is one of the only schools in the township, if not the only one. It is also home to most of ArtWorks programming and to put it mildly, the catalyst for ArtWorks’ creation of the academic support program. It did not take even two days for the young ladies and ArtWorks’s founder to share with me the substandard educational conditions in Joe Slovo. On average, a fraction of the teachers show up to teach the students on any given day, and in the likely event that it rains, that number is reduced even further, as some teachers will leave their classes early to avoid the muddy roads they are likely to encounter on the walk home. On the days that teachers do show up, many students are learning at a pace that keep them several grade levels behind. Though the government made English the official language, most people speak almost exclusively Xhosa, which presents its challenges in the classroom. Compounded by the dearth of resources, students are unable to access other learning materials that may allow them to learn more effectively. Many of the students mention apathetic teachers and strained relationships between teachers and students, which make it more difficult for students to be engaged in the classroom.

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                                      Some of the girls playing netball at Joe Slovo Primary School

Being a Young Woman in Joe Slovo

If the neighborhood and school conditions weren’t enough, young women endure especially onerous circumstances in other parts of their daily life. Young women and their mothers are expected to fulfill domestic duties when they are at home, some of which include cooking and cleaning for the family. Among the girls that I am working with, many of them are coming from fatherless homes, and some are living with grandparents, aunts, and uncles, which I have learned is quite common. Access to sanitary towels is nonexistent at school and at home is considered a luxury for many families in Joe Slovo, so many young women will opt to miss school to avoid the humiliation and discomfort of menstruating while at school. Many are often raped by people they should otherwise be able to trust, including family members, boyfriends, and acquaintances. The idea of talking to family members about these issues is not socially acceptable(many mothers of these young women have themselves been raped too), so many young women do not have the supportive space they need to heal from such trauma. I have already noticed that these young ladies struggle with issues of low self-esteem and confidence, and have an especially difficult time trusting people, including their own friends, and for good reason.

                             A picture of some of the girls working on preparing the rules for Sister's Keeper

The Silver Lining

I know this post has been a bit lengthy, but I wanted to offer a better sense of the context in which I am working. This may all sound overwhelming, because quite frankly, it is. I find myself on a series of emotional rollercoasters as I try to both process everything that I have been witnessing/hearing and embrace the moments that inspire me to continue the work I have begun. After spending the first week getting to know the girls and conducting one-on-one interviews with them, I have been working closely with my local colleague to craft a program that we hope will address some of the common issues we know the young women are confronting, including low self-esteem and confidence, lack of trust, family issues, and abuse in various forms. The girls have already given the program a name, which they have aptly named Sister's Keeper. We have devoted the first part of the program to fostering trust and a sense of team within the group of young women, which I can already tell you, has been no easy feat. However, it is my belief that if these young ladies can begin to trust each other, they can be that much closer to nurturing a space of support that can empower them to more affirmatively chart their own paths towards becoming the doctors, social workers, artists, and scientists they aspire to be. Stay tuned for next week!