Anthony Bluford

The second dispatch is written by Anthony Bluford, just going into his third year at University of Michigan. He is planning to major in Afro-American and African studies with a minor in political science. His dispatch is entitled Transformation of Faith.

Enjoy, Nesha

Transformation of Faith

Everyone knows the old cliché “never judge a book by its cover,” but it often proves to be more complex than it appears. This cliché proved to be the problem for our group during the 10 days that we spent in Durban, South Africa, and I am not exempt from this criticism.

Before arriving at Zwelibomvu Primary School, I felt as though I was one of the greatest facilitators that the Pedagogy of Action has ever had in its 10 years of existence, but after my first day at the school everything was put into perspective.

I walked into the classroom, and all eyes were on me. Yet, that was not a feeling that was foreign to me. I was expecting that. What I was not expecting was the amount of effort, dedication, creativity, and innovation that it would take to open the minds of my students. Thobane, Nomusa, and Nokulonga drained me of all the energy I had, and after what seemed like hours of teaching I was only able to teach them 50 percent of the module. I left the school that day exhausted, irritated, and angry. I felt as though I had failed, and that maybe the students just could not learn the module.  I was adamant about them needing more time than was allotted.

I just could not fathom the idea of these students from the pastoral municipality of Pine Town actually learning this module. I thought of them as prisoners of their community. Zwelibomvu rarely gets visitors, especially a group of Americans that encompass races ranging from African American, to Indian American. In addition to the initial shock caused by cultural invasion, there was an immense lack of resources in the school. Broken windows, unpaved walkways, stairs without railings, the list goes on. The gamut of my skepticism in the students’ capabilities was insurmountable.

I had lost faith in my students, and more importantly I had lost faith in myself. I was ready to give up, but on the second day at the school there seemed to be a transformation. The students were excited to see us, and were prepared to learn. The language barrier that we placed on the students seemed to disappear almost completely, and by the end of that 2-hour day the students were teaching in both English, and their native language Zulu.

Looking back on my experience at Zwelibomvu, I wish that I were more like Mr. Bongo, a man with faith. Mr. Bongo had faith in Dr. Nesha Haniff, the students that she selects to teach his students, and the students at his school. He knew that they would be able to get over their uneasiness, and to be the stars that they are. I truly appreciate my experiences that I have had thus far in South Africa, but the experience that I had at Zwelibomvu Primary School will always prove to be an essential moment of transformation in my life.

Team member, Pedagogy of Action 2010
Anthony Bluford