Social Entrepreneurship in South Africa

On Sunday we went to Robben Island. It is known for the prison where Mandela spent more than 20 years, before he was shifted to another Prison. We had a wonderful bus tour around the island and stopped at a beautiful viewpoint to see the panorama of Cape Town. Later on we visited the prison and were able to see the cell of Mandela. The boatstours on and off the island also were an highlight. Lucie: "Visiting Robben Island today was so important to me because it gave us a strong insight into South Africa’s history. Thanks to our amazing tour guide we learned a lot about the prisoners who were kept on the island, mostly due to their revolutionary political actions. Especially hearing and seeing how Robert Sobukwe and Nelson Mandela lived during their times as prisoners was impactful."

On Saturday we visited the Bo-kaap quarter, located inside the cape town city bowl. It is characterized by colourful houses. The tiny streets, the cobbles and mosques build an unique ensemble. There are also several artists, who have spread a unique spirit. Then, we visited the Slave Lodge - Iziko Museums. They have three main galleries, one about the lives of the people in South Africa, another about enslavement and a thrid about the fight for freedom. We visited the current exhibition "1000 women voice" about the crime and abuse against women today. Furthermore, we had an interesting guided tour in the slave museums exhibitions. The rooms of the museums were former workspaces for slaves. In the afternooon the highest Mountain, the Table Mountain, was visited. Some decided to take the Cable Car, while others climbed or decended the summit. Unfortunatly, the summit was clothed in clouds, but nevertheless we enjoyed the day.

This friday started with another great lecture by Varkey George about emotional intelligence for social entrepreneurs. We learned how we can use emotional intelligence to be successful in our everyday life and at the workplace. He called our attention to the influence of emotions especially for the future. After that the groups went on with their work. Dr. Kathrin Bischoff supported the teams with her methodical expertise and answered questions. Early Childhood Development Saskia, Johanna, Melina and Lucie supporting the Early Childhood Development programme at Etafeni. It provides high quality and holistic education to almost 90 children between two and six years old. As it is targeting children affected by HIV/AIDS, it doesn’t only offer high quality education to build a path for brighter futures, it also provides overall care. The high quality education can be ensured due to small learning groups of 20-25 children per class. Etafeni provides well maintained and spaciou...

This morning started with another lecture by Varkey George. In order to get a deeper understanding of what he teaches, the Kusasalethu Group was invited to present more about their social enterprise. Kusasalethu is a Xhosa word that means "Our Tomorrow". Xhosa is one of the 11 official languages of South Africa. The founders Peace Boza and Bongani Makeleni were born in the township "Khayelitsha" and after having studied and found jobs, they want to give back to the community through several projects.  One of the projects is  Bag of Hope .   It is for children in primary schools, who are facing many life challenges such as drugs, gang violence and poverty. Often school is the only place where they can escape and focus their minds and energy on something positive. Education is of fundamental importance when it comes to uplifting them to build better lives for themselves, especially at this young age. But often they do not even have a bag to carry their school b...

On Wednesday, the day started with a lecture by Prof. Jacqueline Goldin of the University of Western Cape. She made us aware of the interregional issues water management faces and that water is not only owned by one country. That is why it is important that the countries work together in cooperations to solve the problems we will face in the future due to water. This may be too much rain (such as monsuns or tsunamis) or too little (such as droughts). Fit for Life, Fit for Work The Group of Jonathan, Kevin, Julia and Linda is working for the "Fit for Life, Fit for Work" program.  One of the Etafeni's strategies to prevent the high rate of HIV infection amongst young people in Nyanga, is to engage unemployed youth or school drop-outs who have potential in intense work on themselves, help them to find employment and continue support for them for a twelve-month period. The Life/Coping Skills course involves six weeks of personal development, including sel...

Today's lecture by Barbara Miller, a former development manager at Etafeni, gave us valuable insights about her experiences in working for a NPO. She told us a lot about the South African culture and society as well as how the conditions for the people in Nyanga are. Furthermore, we discussed dilemmas that NPOs are facing and we were looking for solutions. Today, the team I want to present to you is the "Health Project Team"  On the photo (from the left to the right) Viviane, Anna,  Anthea (the Project Manager), Aileen and Lina The project "Mobile Testing Unit" is part of the health program and focuses on the health care of Nyanga residents. It is managed by Anthea Brooks, the head nurse and the project manager of the group. She describes the project as followed: "I am responsible for the health project at Etafeni: for basic medical care, diagnostic testing, education and family planning. I look after the children on site and most importan...

The second week started with a day at Etafeni again. We attended again a very interesting lecture by Varkey George about challenges of the world and the role of the public and the private sector. But the other thing we learned was that the South African winter is very cold and because there is no heater in the lecture room, we were all freezing. That is why we decided to buy a heater and to donate them to Etafeni at the end of our stay. Varkey George: "The most important thing is to create thinkers for democracy." This week I want to present every day another of the five student projects to you: Women Income Generation Project In the photo above you can see (from the left to right side) Karina, Mother Teresa Lumani - the project manger, Theresa, Reihan and Niklas working together. The Women Income Generation Project is one of Etafenis oldest projects. The project runs since 2002. This project aims to provide the HIV+ women with more possibilities for thei...