BlackListed! Magazine

Listening to the media, it would seem that the entire continent of Africa is in a state of complete desperation. However, my recent stay in the rural Sand Sloot, South Africa proved otherwise. There is another side of South Africa, a side that is often overshadowed by stories of AIDS, orphans, and political corruption.

Although this story will probably never be featured on CNN, it’s a widespread story that represents the majority of Africa’s population: children. This is a story of the tenacity of the rural South African child.

In the Northeastern region of South Africa, near Mokopane, is a small rural village called Sand Sloot. Homes there lack modern-day technology like indoor plumbing and electricity, making common tasks far more tedious compared to that of the average American home. Water is fetched from communal wells or taps sometimes hundred of yards from the house. Vehicles are nonexistent. Food is prepared over the fire, which mostly consists of the grain millie maze and rarely of meat or vegetables.

Children outnumber adults there. While most homes are headed by gogos (grandmothers), many are headed by children as young as 12 years old. The absence of parents in Sand Sloot is mostly due to the AIDS epidemic. However, in many cases parents are forced to leave their children behind to find work in the nearby city of Johannesburg

While these conditions may seem unbearable to Americans, the fact is, this is life for these rural children. They smile, play, and sing, even though they are hungry, sick and deprived of what Americans would consider basic needs. They seem to be oblivious to the hardships in their life. Rather than be concerned with acquiring the worldly goods they lack, they are obsessed with discovering the world around them.Mmadikoti, the local school started by the villagers, is a reflection of this obsession. Mrs. Langa, the school’s headmaster, says the school is over capacity every day because almost all 611 students are in attendance daily. Visiting Mmadikoti, I immediately noticed the obvious: overcrowded classrooms and very little supplies to aid teachers in their lessons. Teachers write out worksheets by hand for their 50-60 students because they have no copy machine, and students share pencils and erasers with one another. Discipline is not a problem in rural South African schools; the kids want to be in school, and it shows.

Intelligent beyond belief, the children are engineers and builders by nature, making every toy they own from scraps found around the village. It was amazing to see how despite limited or in many cases non-existent resources, innovation still prevailed. In fact, creativity among the children was incomparable to the children I have encountered anywhere in the States. Mastering the skills of sharing and cooperation, it seems it is the difficulty in these children’s lives that sharpens such inter-personal skills.

It is easy to become distracted by the stories in the media concerning the large-scale problems in Africa. The children of Sand Sloot made me forget about that. I noticed them for who they were; the way they sang or laughed—not the diseases they had. While poverty in rural South Africa is definitely a problem, it does not define these children. These children do not see themselves as victims and neither should we. Whether they’re orphaned or HIV positive, these childrethey have and will continue to face whatever comes their way. The children of Sand Sloot don’t want the usual material goods such as new toys or the latest clothing. They want to be educated. It’s as if they know education is the only thing that can fix the larger problems of Africa. These kids want simple things like paper and pencils... with erasers on them.

An avid photographer, Brandi Hill, is a Criminology major at the University of Florida. Since her return she has started a non-profit organization, Photos for Africa. This fall with the help of various student organizations, she will be raising money for educational resources for the children of Sand Sloot. December 2007 she will return to Mmadikoti to host the school’s first picture day. She will also be distributing school supplies. For more information on how you or your organization can help, visit www.photosforafrica.org or Facebook Brandi Hill (UF NETWORK).

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