Postcard from: South Africa
Heita!
Itâs crazy to think that in the last week Iâve been in three different continents. But, now that my traveling is done, and the grandeur of seeing the world has passed, Iâve been able to spend some quality time reflecting on what it means to have spent the last month volunteering in Mamelodi, South Africa.
Mamelodi is a township that was established in the 1950s as a black-only area during South Africaâs apartheid laws. The white-ruled government created a system in which black citizens of the nation were not treated like citizens at all; they werenât even treated like people. Even though such legislation ended in 1994, the shadow of apartheid still covers much of the country and systematic oppression has disadvantaged millions of South Africans.
One consequence of South Africaâs racial inequality is the broken education system throughout the country, and especially in the townships. For most students in the townships, English is probably their second, third, fourth, or even fifth language. However, after second grade, most schools are taught completely in English because it is the language of business and government in South Africa. This means students have to learn all their subjects in a language other than their primary one. Additionally, the quality of the schools is far less than ideal. One of the students I worked with this summer told me that his teachers just sleep on the desk during class, and that he doesnât learn anything when he goes to school.
The Mamelodi Initiative (MI), a nonprofit organization based in Mamelodi, was created to provide educational assistance to teens living in the township. My team partnered with this organization for three weeks to volunteer at their Winter Jam, a fifteen day program during studentsâ winter break that aims to improve math, English, and life skills. MI seeks not to be Mamelodiâs hero, but to come alongside the local change makers to learn from and grow with the community. MIâs philosophy on this is summarized well by a Lilla Watson quote: âIf you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you  have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.â The entire partnership was focused on empowering the local volunteers to serve their community. We were there to provide additional resources to assist their team and to learn from each other.
During my preparation for this trip, my time as a teacher, and reflection during debrief, I learned a lot about Godâs heart for justice, and how the Church is called to serve and love the world. The message of the Gospel is important, but it looses a lot of its power if the story stops after the resurrection. When God created his plan for the world, he wasnât only concerned about forgiving sinnersâ mistakes. He has a bigger plan to right every wrong and bring justice when Jesus ushers in a new Heaven and a new Earth.
Revelation 21:4 gives us a glimpse of this future: âHe will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.â
The adversity that unfairly plagues the people of Mamelodi quite frankly sucks, and it breaks Godâs heart; but the story of Mamelodi is not just one that prompts compassion. It is a story of people who strive to âlearn, grow, dream, and achieve.â Yes, there are tin house settlements, high rates of HIV, and lots of pollution. But this is just one narrative of South Africa, just one story of Mamelodi. There are also hard working individuals who have created their own business, an entire community of people who love and take care of each other, and there is joy, and there is hope.
This summer has challenged me to change the way I act out being the body of Christ on Earth. I find it much harder to be ignorant of the injustice in the world, but I also find it much easier to have hope in the beauty of a just God who will dry every tear. I cannot save a community. I cannot save any individual. But if my brothers and sisters are not free; I am not free, and if part of the Body is suffering, the whole Body is suffering. Only God can save, but part of seeing the Kingdom of God as present, means that we should âdo justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our Godâ (Micah 6:8).
-Aimee Patras