Week 6: 23-27 May
The 6 weeks on Community have been a flying carpet under my feet, carrying me with breath-taking speed through the rich world I have been living side by side with all my life, but have never before explored with such depth. There have been stomach-churning lows and dizzying highs (literally and figuratively... some houses perch on the edge of some pretty precarious cliffs...), but all meld together in retrospect to form a beautiful tapestry of the Community experience.
Beginning to emerge from our six weeks of community immersion, I have never felt more in tune with my own country, and yet, at the same time, so distant. I understand the lives of my fellow countrymen with so much more depth, yet the knowledge that due to the circumstances of my birth, there will always be an invisible divide between me and the majority of the country's population makes me sometimes feel like a tourist in my own country.
Although we are 21 years into democracy, the racial divisions- often along financial lines- are very much still evident, one of the many remnants of the Apartheid regime (Elfers, 2012). It is rare to find a person of European or Indian origin in the 'townships', making Michaela and I particularly visible.
Walking through the community, I have attracted far more attention than I am usually comfortable with, being very distinctly 'different' from the average people passing through the clinic, hostels and community at large. With my isiZulu skills (finally) improving a little, I can pick up the occasional curious phrase or comment, but by the time I string together enough words to respond, the moment has usually passed, or one of my (lifesaving) isiZulu colleagues has stepped in to explain. I have to admit that I have, on occasion, pretended to understand less than I do, especially when shady characters in the hostels ask for my number or when the alcohol-drenched woman followed us around asking for a house...
The younger schoolchildren are particularly fascinated, making a game out of poking their faces into the library for the full 30 minutes of break-time to call out a friendly 'Hi!' to us, one of the few English words they know (Michaela and I finally took to hiding in the corners so we could eat our lunch in some degree of peace...).
Our 'difference' posed some important considerations for intervention. There sometimes seems to be a sense of respect for people of lighter skin, or the perception that these individuals are more educated than the local people. This can effect our ability to build an equal partnership between us and community members, which is a critical aspect of achieving relevant and effective community-based rehabilitation (Head, 2007). Often, our suggestions are simply accepted without critiquing our approach based on their own first-hand experience within the community. This occurred when discussing cases with the CCGs, when they would rely a lot on our professional knowledge, but offer little insight from their perspective until prompted.
On the other hand, we sometimes experienced the other end of the spectrum, where community members viewed us as 'outsiders', who can never understand the reality they face, something that is compounded by the fact that we are young, and only students. This was experienced to some degree within the teacher workshops, when we were greeted by blank looks, until we prompted discussion by explaining that our intervention can only be successful if we receive the valuable input that years of experience has equipped them with. That was the point at which the deep issues faced by these teachers emerged: the reality that their voices are rarely heard by parents, and by the Government. They have attempted to highlight systemic issues, such as the condoned pass system, that have resulted in children who are unable to read or write being allowed to progress to Grade 7 . Due to this system, these teachers are faced with overcrowded classrooms containing a range of children with various learning difficulties that they don't have the capacity or training to deal appropriately with.
The system of condoned passes has been one that has attracted debate over the past few years. While South African Education minister Angie Motshekga acknowledged in 2014 that the condoned pass system is not working, she stated that holding learners back discouraged them, causing an increased likelihood of them dropping out before completing their schooling (Mlambo, 2014). Ursula Hoadley, an associate professor in the University of Cape Town’s (UCT) school of education, is in agreement with this, stating that “The quality of teaching and learning in South Africa is low and so is our remediation support offered to pupils who fail. If you make kids repeat...they are not going to learn much more. It is better to let pupils progress to the next grade in the hopes that they acquire at least some new skills.” (John, 2015).
These concerns are vital for us to be aware of, as, not only does it directly relate to our scope of practice, but also determines the classroom dynamic in which the children we work with must function. It highlights the importance of the Government opening school-based Occupational Therapy posts, to provide very necessary support and intervention to these children, as well as to the teachers who face the burden of dealing with issues outside their training.
This block has had moments that have restored my faith in humanity, and moments that have shattered it. I have seen the face of this country that inspires hope, and that which induces deep sense of despair. Seeing the resilience of some people against the circumstances in which they find themselves filled me with a deep respect, like the young Boccia player who is determined to form a team within the community, or the young mother who, despite living in a rock-and-wooden-slatted informal house, always looks smart in beautiful hairstyles, walks up and down the steep hill to her home to fetch water with a smile, and repeat the same songs over and over to her child in the hope that he will learn a word, or repeat just one sound back to her. On the other hand, there were others, who shut down their dreams at the smallest hint of resistance, like the mother who believed her child would never progress and gave up on her child's school application every time a requirement came up that she felt incapable of dealing with.
I have met people who have highlighted my own misconceptions and stereotyped thinking patterns and reinforced more securely than ever that the series of events and circumstances that define us is not a linear progression, but a complex, dynamic interplay of factors. It's easy to put people in boxes: the mother who does not want therapy is simply uneducated and unmotivated; the community caregiver assigned to a client is overworked and undertrained; the child who is acting out in class has never been taught proper behaviour. However, this block has pushed us beyond these superficial observations to consider what in the very fabric of the community has caused these symptoms in these particular individuals. And while this has allowed us to direct our therapy more effectively, we often arrived at the harsh realisation that we are sometimes merely treating the symptoms, and that there is very little we can do as therapists about the deep, systemic issues ingrained within our country.
Discussing these issues together during our tutorials was an amazing experience, as we were able to see things from a slightly different angle, each experiencing a phenomenon differently based on our background and worldview. The tutorials challenged me to question every opinion I held, to determine what in my upbringing and value system contributed to that opinion, and how my internal bias would affect the way I approached a certain situation. In this way, I learnt more about myself than in any other module, by constantly monitoring and reflecting on my own performance. Going forward into the next block, I know this skill will be useful not just in future modules, but in my daily interactions as well.
Like this year, this block has pushed me to my limits. I have developed a fighting spirit I never thought I would ever possess, seen it crushed again and again by barriers that keep arising, and fired it up all over again. I have learnt the value of taking a moment to step back and regroup- to switch off my OT brain for a moment, immerse myself in other pursuits, and return refreshed to scale the mountain ahead. At times I have felt that I fell short, and experienced the frustration of being incapable of achieving a goal that once appeared within reaching distance. However, this has made the moments of actually achieving a goal all the more valuable. Community has not just allowed me to direct the lens outwards at the community and its workings, but also inwards into my own strengths and weaknesses as a therapist, and as a human being.
Mlambo, S. (2014, August 22). Angie says condoned passes not working. Retrieved from the Daily News: http://www.iol.co.za/dailynews/angie-says-condoned-passes-not-working-1739801 on 27 May 2016.
John, V. (2015, January 7). Motshekga sows confusion about pushing up pupils. Retrieved from the Mail and Guardian: http://mg.co.za/article/2015-01-07-motshekga-sows-confusion-about-pushing-up-pupils on 27 May 2016.
Head, B. (2007). Community Engagement: Participation on
Whose Terms? Australian Journal of
Political Science. 42 (3). 441-454.
Elfers, R. (2012, October 17). Apartheid impacts are still felt in South Africa. Retrieved from the Enumclaw Courier Herald: http://www.courierherald.com/opinion/174619881.html on 27 May 2016.
Nonetta (2007). Deviant Art. Retrieved from: http://nonnetta.deviantart.com/art/Despair-vs-Hope- on 261225951 on 27 May 2016
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