First Week

Five days into working at our NGOs, I think we are all working to shift our expectations. Having been with our organizations for a week, we are slowly beginning to understand specifically what it is they aim to do, how they execute that, what their results are, and what their needs and hopes are for the future. But even these aspects of our NGOs are difficult to define, as the measurements for concepts such as “success” and “future” are very different here in the Wentworth community. I have found that the things I would consider to be “small triumphs” in the States are less than trivial here, while other things that I might disregard constitute some aspect of an accomplishment. Moreover, the ideas that I have for my so-called improvement of these NGOs are, in truth, completely unfeasible. What’s the use of putting in a computer based system for client paperwork when no IT help exists? As much as we think we know and understand how systems and organization work, I now realize that our knowledge only extends as far as our culture. And as similar as Wentworth is to Durham, the differences between the two places are too vast to enable any sort of transitive shift. These are all things we will be thinking about over the weekend and through next week as we work to design feasible and sustainable projects for our organizations.

Friday evening, we went to a rugby sports club to watch the Ghana game. Though we were saddened by the Black Star’s fall, the company proved to be highly entertaining. The following two signs were spotted, posted on the walls by members of the club:



Saturday morning, we worked for a few hours in the garden next to the building that will, once finished, become a safe house for women. It is located directly next to the police station and the Trauma room, and this is not by coincidence. When it does open, the women who to come to this place to seek safety will achieve just that with the help of around the clock police patrol and burglar-proof entries. Unfortunately, the building needs extensive work both inside and out before it can provide this for them. Katie’s host father, who’s coordinating the efforts on the house, spent day working on the burglar-proofing and plumbing while we worked to clear trash from what had become a landfill of a garden. The soil is fertile to perfection; the 10 year-old trashbags and dead tree roots detracted from this. As we worked to dig up the area and divest it of trash, rocks, bricks, and tiles, we only found more and more of each. Two barrel-sized areas extended 1-2 feet deep with waste, and still there was more. Recognizing that this required professional equipment to empty, we opted to spend the remainder of our time tilling the soil in the quarter of the area with the least trash. By the time we left, the area was on its way to being ready for seeds. We hope to return on future weekends to make progress so that by the time we leave, the garden is rubbish free and bursting with green growth.

We went that afternoon to Durban proper to a Fan Park at Suncoast Entertainment. The area was beautiful:


There, where we watched Germany beat Argentina (good riddance, Diego Maradona!), had a nice group dinner, and watch Spain edge out Paraguay. The inside of the Entertainment center, which also includes a big casino, movie theatre, and dance club, featured the following signs upon entry:


Naturally, no one obeyed, and the place resounded with loudly blown vuvuzelas after each game and for the newlyweds who walked through after their reception. Perhaps, as with the national anthems before the soccer games, they’ll have to start asking for the vuvuzelas to be quiet during “Here Comes the Bridge.” Our suggestion? Buy your earplug stock now.