Our day in Soweto

All I can say is what a day!   We were on the go the majority of the time and learned so much.

The day began with a short drive into Soweto.   Our first stop was FNB Stadium which was known as Soccer City during the 2010 World Cup.  This stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies and many match games during the World Cup.  The stadium's capacity is approximately 90,000 and is the only place to date that has hosted the most world leaders at one time for Nelson Mandela's funeral.  This stadium also hosted Chris Hani's funeral.

 Our first stop was the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital - which is the biggest hospital in the Southern Hemisphere, most beds in the world (at about 2000 plus use of stretchers), and the 3rd or 4th largest in the world.  It was built in the early 1940s for use as a military hospital during World War II.  We all learned a little about the healthcare system in S. Africa - completely free is you go to a clinic - and then get sent to the hospital, and only about $30 if you directly to the hospital.  If you have insurance or are wealthy you can go directly to a private hospital and only pay about $100 total.  We also learned a bit about the economy and the taxi driving industry.   Statistics show that the unemployment in the country is about 24.9%, while in Soweto it is listed as about 45%, although this is probably inaccurate as there are many "informal traders,''people who sell goods or services that are not documented or taxed.  For example, if you own your own car, you could pay about $8000 to an organization to drive a taxi in a certain route.  These taxi drivers can make up to $600 profit per day tax-free.

From there we headed to Regina Mundi (Queen of the World) Church.  This church was the meeting place for the political resistance during the uprisings.  They would meet in the church and when authorities were coming, they would pretend they were in a worship as to not get caught.  This is also one of the larger churches, holding 2000 people sitting and 6000 standing and is still in use today as a Catholic Church.

Our next stop was the Hector Peterson museum where the students learned his story.  He was a 13-year-old boy who was killed by police during a peaceful student protest.  The picture of him being carried by Mbuyisa Makhubo with his Hector's sister running alongside crying was published and brought the world's focus on what was going on.  The photographer, Sam Nzima was fired from International Newspaper due to publishing it.  While Mbuyisa Makhubo had to flea the country and has disappeared.  Apparently he fled to Botswana and was last seen in Nigeria.

We then took a walk down Vilakazi Street, a world famous street, where Nelson Mandela's home is (which is now a museum0.   Archbishop Desmond Tutu also has a home on this street where he still stays when he is in town.  We had lunch next to his house where the students had a tradition African meal of beef, lamb stew, tripe, potatoes and salad while having live entertainment of African dancing and Marimba music.  Everyone really enjoyed this.  

After lunch we headed to to Kliptown to our visit at SKY (Soweto Kliptown Youth).  We were greeted by TK from the organization who talked to the students about the Freedom Charter, which was written June 26-27, 1955, but not implemented until 1994 after apartheid ended when the ANC (African National Congress) came into power.  It was moving to have all the students circle around the monument and read the 10 statements.  From there we headed into Kliptown to spend time with some local kids.  We hardly got into the housing area and the students were greeted by the children - with open arms, wanting to be held and played with.  Many spent the tour with children either in their arms or holding hands.  They put on a show for us of dancing and singing.  We learned about the work they do at SKY - providing meals for the kids and after school activities and tutoring.  The organization has even taken in children whose parents have died and they live at there as well.  Leaving the children was difficult, many tears where shed, lots of hugs were given, and a lot of hearts were changed.  As we walked to the bus, it felt as though the entire communities children were walking with us.

After dinner, it was time to get ready for our drive tomorrow to Tshukudu (chi-kudu) tomorrow and 3 days of safari.  We will blog again when we get to Capetown.