Frank Cousins III

Frank Cousin is on his second trip with POA . His first was last year when he never wanted to leave. Again this year he does not want to leave but leave he must. He is going into his final year majoring in sociology with a minor in African American Studies. He is our guitarist extraordinaire and plays Jimi Hendrix to all our audiences in South Africa even when most do not know Jimi Hendrix. I admire that he persists in this. I know Jimi Hendrix would have too. His piece is entitled Leaving Zwelibomvu.

Enjoy, Nesha

Leaving Zwelibomvu

This year was my second year working with the students at Zwelibomvu primary school in Pine Town (a rural community about a 40 minutes drive away from Durban). This year is also the second year I was deeply saddened to leave this school.  Each time we work with the students a powerful bond is created in minimal time between the younger students and us. The closest attempt at explaining the relationship between us is that of brothers and sisters.

Mtunzi, one of my favorite students last year was as talented of a singer as he was a smart student. I knew it was unlikely that he would be returning to the school this year because it was his time to move on to high school, but Luyanda, a younger student from my group last year was there. Luyanda was the first student I recognized when we first arrived this year, and the last I waved to when we left.  Although he was not in my group this year, the five minutes of conversation we had after he calmly and quietly approached me after our program was finished was enough to revive those familial feelings. We talked about how he was doing and that he would soon be joining Mtunzi in their local high school. In hopes to hear from either of them should they have internet access and time to write me, I gave Luyanda my email address without  a second thought.

It would be naïve of me to think Luyanda did not fully understand we would not remain in Pine Town after our program was over, perhaps he comes to terms with that fact better than I. We were never meant to have enduring contact with the students there. All that is ever guaranteed in the workshops is an exchange of skills between two groups of students, however Zwelibomvu offers a different type of kinship. This kinship is unlike any other location but also offers a bitter taste when it comes time to depart. I must acknowledge the fact that I may never see or hear from any of them again, but there is always the chance we will meet once more, and I can always hope for this.

Frank Cousins III
Pedagogy of Action 2011 Team Member