Zanele
Ngwenyama
From January
to March I was privileged to work with an American agency that brings
volunteers from the States to South Africa. One of their main goals is to learn
about South African culture and we learn from them. I was teaching a group of
three the XiTsonga language and working as a translator for them in rural
communities of Limpopo. In between sessions we had cultural sessions where we
taught them about our way of life and they told us about theirs. I realised
that as much as there are differences, it’s the similarities that surprised me
more and showed me that humans still respond to human emotions, no matter where
they’re from in the wold.
The young
Americans would get to stay with host families in the rural areas. African
Americans later raised their concern of how white people in the group were
preferred over them, simply because race.
It didn’t matter that the young Americans were all bringing similar
skills to the area and much needed help. One host parent complained when she
realised that she was to host an African American. She demanded that the person
that was to stay in her home be switched, just so she could host a white
person. African Americans felt degraded as a result of the rejection.
