South African Higher Education

During apartheid, higher education in South Africa was organized along racial lines and the black institutions were inferior to the prestigious white institutions. When the new anti-apartheid government took over in 1994, they set out to reform higher education and tackle the inequalities. In 1997, the Higher Education Act, was enacted to transform higher education through a series of mergers and incorporations. The goal was to collapse 36 institutions (universities & technikons) into 22 institutions and integrate the have's with the have-not's. The first of these reforms started in January 2004 and the growing pains continue to persist. Now there are three types of institutions; traditional university, technikons (polytechnic), and comprehensive university (traditional and technikons merged together.)

The University of Pretoria used to be one of those prestigious white institutions (Africaans) and now it has incorporated the Vista University-Mamelodi campus. It's still prestigious, as it has been listed in the top 500 universities in the world, but it's become more diverse; you see white, black, coloured, and indian students on campus and you hear many languages being spoken, not just Africaans.

The University of South Africa (UNISA) is quite a monstrous institution, with over 240,000 students. It is the flagship university in Africa for distance education. The main campus is in Pretoria and I went on a campus tour where I discovered NO classrooms, NO student life, and a lot of dead trees (they print study manuals for all 240,000 students). UNISA was merged with Technikon South Africa in January 2004. Here some photos from my campus tour.

PHOTOS: My campus tour of UNISA, the largest distance education university in the Southern Hemisphere, serving over 240,000 students. WOW!!! Not your typical campus vibe!

Feel the African Spirit through Song & Dance

Saturday night we (my flatmate, Helen & Edwin, and three teachers visiting from the U.K.) went to the African Renaissance Concert at the University of Pretoria concert hall. Four different choirs performed and they were each uniquely wonderful to the point that we were dancing in our seats. The UP Chorale was my favorite indigenous repetoire as they donned traditional dress while dancing and singing wildly in the 11 official languages of South Africa. The event started at 7 p.m. and went on for 4+ hours...I got lost in time with the soul-stirring of African song & dance.

Licked by a Giraffe!

After being licked and slobbered on by a giraffe and bitten by a lion cub, I am now ready for a real safari. I went to the Lion Park in Jo-burg with the bosses daughter and luckily we both LOVE to take photos, so we spent hours waiting for the perfect shot of the giraffe's tongue sticking out. The white lions are endangered species and their hazel-yellowish eyes can be dangerous, as they suck you in! Here are a few of my favorites...

I go on a real safari in 12 days! I will be accompanying a University of Pretoria alumni group to the Park and the biggest event will be a braai (that is the South African language for a BBQ) in the bush. Everyone keeps making jokes that we won't be eating much but the lions will (I'm not quite sure lions like grilled chicken.) After Kruger National Park I will travel down the east coast to Cape Town. I can't believe I have already been here for 1 month. Where does time go???

"You are the first WHITE woman I have EVER sat by..."

I spent this past weekend in a black township, SOuth WEst TOwnship (Soweto). This township is well-known for the anti-apartheid student uprisings in the 1980's and is home to Mandela and Desmond Tutu. I stayed at Lebo's Backpackers and experienced true local flavor; a vibrant nightlife tour and a 5 hour bike tour. Three fellow white travelers and I went on the nightlife tour with Lungi, the local tour guru. Lungi is 34 years old and during the 80's went into exile in Botswana for his family's political affiliations with the Pan African Congress (PAC). He took us to 2 dance clubs and 2 shebeen's (pubs that are in people's homes), where we were literally the ONLY white people. But, incredibly the black people were happy to see us, they greeted us, shook our hands, told us that it meant a great deal for white people to walk in their world. And damn, they can shake it (dance)!!! We arrived home at 5 a.m. and I slept until the bike tour the next day. There are 8 communities in Soweto and we rode through a good majority of them, stopping to talk with people and greet little kids. We passed around the local brew in a large bucket, with everyone taking a sip, in a shack constructed with sheets of corrugated metal with local unemployed men (who asked if I could talk to George Bush and get them jobs). We visited the site of the student uprising, and experienced life in the shanty-towns. An older gentlemen that we rode past was shouting something in zulu and pumping his fist in the air, Lungi translated, the old man was saying, "We are one, togetherness, peace to all." The raw emotions of this man got the best of me. It's hard to understand how the black people don't bear hatred towards the white people after all the oppression they have experienced. And on we rode... Since it was Saturday, many people were out relaxing with friends and family, so we stopped at some house parties and tasted the local life. The highlight for me was when Lungi and his friends busted into some traditional zulu dance. Wow...you can't help but stand up and start clapping to the legs being kicked high with emotion. One of Lungi's friends said, "You know Leasa, you are the first WHITE woman I have ever sat by." I gave him a big hug and reveled in the barriers that we were breaking down. More edification in cultural competency!

Apartheid Madness

Nothing I write here will do justice to the brutality of apartheid. However, I have learned a great deal about the apartheid history and I feel moved to share a condensed version with others because I don't think many of us were schooled in "South African Apartheid History." I hope that this will inspire you to research the details on your own time. And I have to say that Mandela is just one of the freedom fighters...there were many more who lost their life's, were imprisoned or lived a life of exile.

Late 1940's-50's-The Nat'l Party began initiating laws that would eventually constitute apartheid. These laws institutionalized racism. Here are a few examples:

Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, Act No 55 of 1949
Prohibited marriages between white people and people of other races.

Group Areas Act, Act No 41 of 1950

Forced physical separation between races by creating different residential areas for different races. The black communities were relocated to Townships.

Bantu Education Act, Act No 47 of 1953

Established a Black Education Department in the Department of Native Affairs which would compile a curriculum that suited the "nature and requirements of the black people". Africans were to receive an education that gave them skills to serve their own people or serve as laborers for the white people.

1952- The African National Congress (ANC) began the defiance campaign where blacks peacefully refused to obey apartheid laws... many were arrested.

1955- Congress of People drafted the Freedom Charter. A charter that demanded the rights of all South Africans...

"All national groups shall have equal rights."

"The people shall govern."

"All shall enjoy human rights."

1962- Mandela arrested (44 years old).

1963-Mandela sentenced to life @ Rivonia Trial.

1976- Soweto student-uprising (black students took to the streets...angered by apartheid oppression.)

1986- The government declares a state of emergency due to continued anti-apartheid riot & protest.

1989-Mandela begins negotiations (while in prison) with Botha & later with DeKlerk, the Presidents at the time.

1990-Unbanning of all anti-apartheid political prisoners & organizations.
1990-Mandela is released (71 years old). He spent 27 years in prison.

1994-Mandela voted first time in his life (along with all blacks.) He won the election and became President of South Africa.

Random South African Thoughts!

A few random thoughts:

1.) HATFIELD--I live in the student neighborhood by the University of Pretoria, called Hatfield. Within 2 blocks of my home, there is a square with a mall, banks, eateries, grocery store, cafes, and internet cafes. I have found a Chinese restaurant that serves up some mean sushi (yes, sushi at a Chinese restaurant), my favorite cafe is News Cafe where you can watch SkyNews (a UK news channel as scandalous as FoxNews) and read the local newspaper filled with an crime reports, and the grocery store sells burrito shells (rockin!) but no refried beans. On Sunday, there is a local market where you can buy amazing African artwork (for cheap), food, and watch live African entertainment. It's something I look forward to every week.

2.) FOOD--the food here is delectable! The crispies (in the photo) are fried yummy desserts filled with rich syrup. Hard attack time...but so delicious! The authentic local food is spicy and flavorful. In Soweto, there is a cozy tavern in the township, Wandie's Place, that serves up traditional South African cuisine and this picture displays my plateful of goodness. Pap (ground maize that looks like mashed potatoes, but tastes like nothing) is a local favorite that is served with most authentic meals.

3.) Today is a HOLIDAY! Yes, Women's Day in South Africa is a public holiday. What a novel idea!

4.) ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS...over 3,000 immigrants from Zimbabwe are pouring across the border into South Africa. Times are tough in Zim, as the food and resources are depleting and the leader, Robert Mugabe, is an oppressive individual. However, South Africa doesn't have the opportunity that many Zim's hope to discover after swimming through a crocodile infested river to cross the border.

Livin' in South Africa...

After 11 days in Pretoria, South Africa, I'm feeling more settled in. I finally have a visitor's access card to campus, laundry card, and internet at work (university bureaucracy apparently exists all over the globe.) I'm working at the University of Pretoria Office of Institutional Advancement (the fundraisers), and they welcomed me with a tea party (see photo in top right corner.) Ninette, the grantwriter (that's not her official title...but that is a simplistic way of explaining her job duty), is around my same age, minus a few years, and I will be working with her writing proposals. They request funds from local companies for campus projects such as science centers, community engagement projects, and events. I find it interesting to be on this side of university functions, especially in South Africa, where resources don't come easy. In addition, I hope to contribute my knowledge of international foundations with a specific focus on developing African Higher Education.

My life outside of the office:

1.) The other evening I met a random University of Pretoria student and she offered to rent a movie for me on her membership (because I didn't have my passport.) What if I was a bloody, no-good, thief? Well, she didn't seem to mind and so I told her my story, why I was here, and she offered to show me her residence (she lives in campus housing...much like a sorority house.) I met the girls and toured around the residence, we ate our chinese take-away and then she drove me home. It's these types of experiences that make me realize the kindness of the Afrikaans people.

2.) I met a student from Zimbabwe and she explained how living in South Africa is very difficult for her, as she feels unwelcome by the whites and she explained, "The blacks are xenophobic." She is dating a Dutch student and he was beat-up last year by some Africaans men who disapproved of their white/black relationship. It's these stories that make me realize that residual racism from the apartheid days is still very much alive.

3.) My evenings consist of hanging out with my roommate, a post-graduate fellow from Spain (see photo of Eva in Kitchen), reading (see stack of books), watching educational movies about the apartheid days, visiting Helen & Edwin, and listening to great African music (thanks to Edwin). Also, see the photo of my bedroom.

4.) This weekend I went on a 5k wildlife walk with 2 ladies from work. The walk was through a nature reserve with animals. Even though we didn't see any wildlife we did get a medal with a zebra at the finish line (see photo of Linda & me with medals.)Woohoo!

Black Township Primary School

My English friend Helen works for a UK charity organization that allocates donor money into the black township elementary schools to build libraries, science labs, buys books, and computers. On Tuesday, I joined her on a tour of two of the primary schools she works with. This time we went into the Mamelodi Township (yet another poverty-stricken community where blacks were relocated to live during the apartheid.) The schools infrastructure and resources were bare minimum. In one school…rats live in the classrooms with the kids and as the rats run over their shoes, the kids just keep reading the material that the teacher has given them and it doesn't even faze them. The outhouses serve as an excuse to get out of the overcrowded classrooms (55 children to one teacher). The children wear school uniforms and are just so damn happy. I can't get over how jovial these beautiful, black, poverty-stricken township children are…they just don't know any different. I'm sure life is tough in the township as unemployment sometimes reaches above 60%. When I pull out my camera, they all run towards the camera and exclaim, "shoot me, shoot me" and quickly strike a cat-walk-worthy pose. As much as I love to take pictures, these excited little posers could keep me shooting all day long. Their smiles are enough to fill up your whole glass with love and energy.