Day 3 Into Our Hearts

 Day 3 Into our Hearts

After two days of experiencing the Cape Town sights and sounds, peaks and coastlines, and acclimating, we ventured into the Langa Township (abbreviated to LA). We started the morning with Siviwe explaining the origins of townships, and in particular, why Langa was formed 101 years ago. We walked part of Langa, which numbers over 100,000 people. No doubt one of our highlights was meeting community artists, drummers/musicians, and leaders, including an incredible young man, Tulani, who is deeply committed to elevating his Langa community. He shared with us many initiatives currently being undertaken in Langa, and talked about leadership. Siviwe pointed out, "We are are to inspiree people to work hard not to MOVE OUT (of Langa), but rather to work hard in order to MOVE UP (in Langa)." In a very touching moment, Siviwe shared how the Poly-WSL-GIP connection started, how this relationship has inspired and transformed educational trajectories for a number of students, and how these students will likely be part of the Langa's future leadership. 

After this stirring and informative morning, we proceeded to meet with the students at Leap High School.  Instantly the two groups of students, without any adult prompting, started conversing. We eventually did an introduction activity (see photos), broke bread, played games, and fostered connections. We concluded our initial three hour visit by breaking into student groups that will create programming for the current students in iThuba. Our Poly students were exemplary ambassadors on behalf of Poly. Tomorrow, March 20, we visit the Archbishop Desmond Tutu exhibit and then resume collaborating, brainstorming and creating educational lessons with our friends from Leap High School for the newest group of students at iThuba.