Uthando means love in Xhosa.
In this case it’s not the sentimental Valentine’s Day kind, but rather, from what I saw and experienced, a gritty, earthy love. A ‘love your neighbour’ kind of love. The kind of love that embraces mutual respect and caring and has the strong desire to make a difference.
I have only ever had bad experiences with tour guides. Truly, after years of travelling on my own, the only times I have tolerated tour guides was where it was either compulsory, or when I had no other option.
So that was my first surprise. James Fernie, of Uthando South Africa, is an excellent person to have next to you to share a township experience with. He is articulate, engaging and intelligent. He engages with you in a two way conversation. And above all, he has a passion for working with the communities that we visited. This was evident in everything he said and did. But mostly, and more importantly, that was evident in the warmth that he was greeted with and the respect with which he was received, and the warmth and respect that he showed in return.
And here is a second thing that is difficult to understand.
Uthando is not a township tour. It is not even a township tour experience. Uthando is a unique opportunity to personally interact with community members in Khayelitsha and Gugulethu as they move about their daily schedules.
If I was the mayor for a day, I would make it a gift that I bestowed on every family living in Cape Town – to spend a morning with people like James Fernie and organizations like Uthando, being respectfully and safely introduced to people living in Khayelitsha and Gugulethu. People just like you and I – nice people, caring people, people with hopes and dreams and families and anxieties and a sense of humour, just like us.
Our tour started in the centre of town where five of us jumped into a microbus and headed out on the N2 with James driving at a very sedate pace and answering questions and clearly explaining the abridged history of South Africa. By the time we reached Gugulethu I had learned things that I didn’t know and been reminded of things that I had forgotten. Having his rich and engaging commentary was critical to the experience.
Seeing the simple cross that marked the spot where Amy Biehl had died moved me more than I could imagine. I was surprised at myself, and I still can’t understand why it was so moving. But there we were, outside a service station, and there was this black granite cross, and it washed away any irreverence I might have felt, and made the moment of entering another community mean something.
When we pulled up outside one of the social outreach program centres of the Neighbourhood Old Age Homes (NOAH) I was expecting old people in chairs looking cold and sombre, and slightly resentful at our intrusion. Instead, I walked into a room brimming with warmth and energy. The NOAH programs provides a platform for about 130 older community members to spend time together each day, to sing and dance, to make soap, to exercise and to have breakfast and lunch together. But mostly I suspect to do what older people do the world over; to reminisce, and tease each other, and laugh, and remember and to share sadness and hardship and joy. There were a lot of wrinkled faces with laughing eyes and engaging smiles. I received warm hugs and handshakes and I saw a look of pride and self assurance that people carry who have earned it. This was no tour. We simply sat and talked effortlessly and cheerfully until it was time to go. We were sent off with a vigorous song and dance that left me wandering how I could get my hands on whatever they put in their tea each day.
After stops at the Khambulani Day Care Centre and a nondescript side alley that led to a small clearing where Uthando was building a new house for one of the members of the old age home we stopped at the Abalimi Bezekhaya (planters of the home) vegetable garden project. Sitting, drinking coffee and eating vetkoek with apricot jam, under the cool thatch, surrounded by well-ordered beds of lush looking vegetables made it difficult to believe we were in the middle of Khayelitsha.
Uthando works with, and supports, over 25 projects in various communities spread across Cape Town. We spent the day visiting several of these projects. As we drank our tea in the cool shade I reflected on what set Fair Trade in Tourism ventures apart from others that I had experienced. And I was drawn to a single, simple word:
people.
I headed home, touched and proud and inspired because of the people I had met. There was no artificial veneer or pomp or ceremony specially put on for a busload of tourists. No, there were real people, doing real things, and we had all interacted in a real way. And although it was brief, it made our day tangible, valuable and meaningful. There was a wonderful absence of pretence.
If you would like to visit Khayelitsha, Nyanga or Gugulethu, accompanied by somebody who knows the area and the community well, then contact James at Uthando via their website www.uthandosa.org.
For more information on these or other Fair Trade in Tourism adventures, visit the FTTSA website, or join FTTSA on Facebook.
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