A forgotten post

I realized that I never blogged about the day we went to one of the townships, Gugulethu, for a braii (like a barbecue). Mama Linda, the resident cook at CCS, cooked for us and we brought it to this picnic venue. There was live marimba by Abakhaya.

Me with Mama Linda - I look like a giant next to her!

After lunch we went to the J. L. Zwane Community Center to hear performances by “An African Chord." This group was phenomenal. They are a fusion of traditional African mbaqanga, opera, pop, and jazz. What’s even better is that their music is geared to shed light on the severity of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.  The group sounded fantastic and the choreography was excellent. They sang the majority of their songs in Xhosa, but at the end they did one in English. The group is renowned worldwide and have been invited to the States multiple times. They often put on performances in community centers and at workshops, but they go beyond that and do street visits as well. The director is also a playwright and has written small scenes focusing on HIV/AIDS awareness. This group does amazing work in dispelling the ignorances concerning the epidemic.

Whew, this day was full!  After dinner we had Themba come and talk to us about Apartheid and his role in healing people from the effects of the regime.  He works with musical instruments to lead workshops and build forums in which people can come and deal with their emotions regarding Apartheid. His music was also very impressive (he even played a beautiful song on a piece of PVC pipe).  His words were like poetry.  Apartheid was officially ended 16 years ago in 1994, but Africa still has a long way to go to heal all the wounds caused by forced separation.