Jerry Illar

Hello Again!

This is our third dispatch and our third week in South Africa. We have one week left. The time has flown by and so much has happened. To tell you about some of our exploits are Jerry Ilar and Marissa Watts. Jerry’s piece which is entitled Privileged and Blessed is the reflection of the youngest in our group. He is 18 years old and feels privileged and blessed, it has been a privilege to have Jerry on this trip. Marissa has been our care giver but her dispatch  entitled “The Triumph of the Human Spirit” shows that the example of South Africa has affected her deeply. I hope your pleasure is as great as mine in reading all of these dispatches.

-Nesha

“Privileged and Blessed”

The beautiful city of Cape Town was our third stop of our month long work in South Africa. It was amazing to see the tall Table Mountains tower over the city, while the Atlantic Ocean washed the coastline. The trip would be significantly short giving us a small holiday from our hard work at the University of Zululand and the schools of Cato Crest and Mayville. Although we were on holiday, we still held one day of teaching to twelve Red Cross HIV home care workers, and six peer facilitators. Instead of teaching, we visited historical sites such as District Six and Robben Island to gain more understanding of the history of South Africa and the effects left by the Apartheid System. During our stay here we have been blessed with many memorable experiences, being in the presence of living history.

The District Six Museum was an emotional visit. We met a man named Mr. Joe Schaffers, who lived during the displacement of all colored people living in an area called District Six. His stories and eye witness accounts were powerful, and brought history to life. Mr. Schaffers stated how people were not fighting about the better race, but rather how they were all trying to fight the oppressive system of apartheid. He did not exhibit any anger towards the white race but rather how the system prevented him from living his own life.

The next day was followed by a tour on Robben Island. Everyone had this sense of excitement and anxiety to finally visit a place we have read about in Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, “A Long Walk to Freedom.” We were led by an ex-prisoner, Mr. Derek Basson, who was charged with sabotage at the age of seventeen. Our Robben Island experience came full circle as we met Mr.Ahmed Kathrada. I was surprised to be meeting a person who impacted the formation of the New South Africa, and was a leader along the side of Nelson Mandela against Apartheid. We were privileged and blessed to have the opportunity for Mr. Kathrada to take time out of his schedule to meet us. As he talked with us, he never exhibited any resentment of the adversity he experienced but how the others outside the prison suffered more.

These opportunities of meeting different historical figures, whether great or small, have inspired us in our work with the HIV module as well as our own work at the University of Michigan. Their experiences encourage us to fight the social injustices affecting our communities locally, nationally, or globally. Through their stories we are able to learn from the past, apply it to the present and hope for a better future.

Signing off,
Jerry Ilar – Teammate of the Pedagogy of Action