So this is my first post after being here for nearly a month. So much has happened to me and I’ve been so busy that only now have I had the time (and internet connection) to share my experiences. I have so much to say, that one post just won’t be enough! So where do we begin?
I guess Sunday is as good a place as any. As a group, we “toured” the townships of Chatsworth and Cato Manor. I use the term tour lightly as it mostly consisted of driving straight through with barely the time to take a good photo. But alas, I got something better. From my window seat, I managed to capture several minutes of footage on the Flip cam. First was Chatsworth, an all Indian community. There wasn’t much to see, at least from my back seat, until we got to the Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple of Understanding, a beautiful edifice seemingly out of place in surroundings many Americans might call a ‘ghetto’ of sorts.
After leaving our shoes at the door, we entered the holy sanctuary and listened to beautiful Hindi music proclaiming “Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna”. The art on the ceilings was almost as beautiful as that on the Sistine Chapel. I must admit that as a Christian, I felt a little uncomfortable at the time but I realize that this was mostly due to my own sheltered ignorance to the significance of one of the largest religions in the world. That is why I was sure to grab a pamphlet on the way out to learn more about Hinduism and its connections to other religions including my own. It was a learning experience I didn’t expect to have when I signed up for Duke Engage but I am very glad to have had the opportunity.
After Chatsworth was Cato Manor, a black township of below standard living conditions befitting the “Africa” they show you on tv; the shanty towns where people survive off of less than a dollar a day. My window seat suddenly became a portal into another world. I was rocked to the core by the image of people living in this day and age in housing conditions considered inhabitable in the states as far back as the 1970s. Jean, our guide told us that just a week back a section of houses caught fire and many were killed. A week later, families are finding new scrap to rebuild their one room shacks. These shacks have no ligit electricity and if they have any, it has been rigged from another local connection. Many are electrocuted and some even die on a daily basis attempting to light their homes. If they cannot get electricity, candles are the only source of light once the sun goes down (which is around 5:30 pm during these winter months). A single overturned candle can burn rows and rows of homes to the ground in a matter of one day.
Although I am extremely grateful for my opportunity to be “engaged” in the city of Wentworth, I would love to spend even one day with the people of Cato Manor and do anything I can to improve the living conditions of people I consider my own.
View the video below for a view from my window seat. (coming soon)
