Yesterday was an incredible outing for me here in Cape Town. About a month ago, I discovered the organization "Ons Plek" through the One Billion Rising Campaign, an international campaign to raise awareness about violence against women. On Valentine's Day, among the various flash mobs taking place across South Africa and the world to draw attention to the issue, the girls at Ons Plek also were rising up to make a difference. Moments later, I was googling Ons Plek, reading about their work and contacting their office to become a volunteer.
The organization provides services and support for girls who would otherwise be living on the streets. Some may have been trafficked; some have run away; some have been referred. Typically the girls have run away to the city believing it will offer them better opportunities than those offered to them at home. The girls tend to have experienced sexual abuse and come from unhealthy households. Whatever the case, Ons Plek turns no girl away.
The girls are provided shelter, couseling, tutoring and a support system to turn to. Ons Plek makes sure not to inflate the luxuries of the girls so that life after Ons Plek does not appear to be a dissapointment. They intend to make life in the home similar to the one the girls will experience once they leave at 18 years old. Therefore, the house is basic, providing them with things they need rather than what they may want. The girls must tend to chores and take responsibility for their actions. Ons Plek wants the girls to become self sufficient and learn the skills to be independent, able and confident when they move on.
One of Ons Plek's main goals is to eventually reintegrate the girls back into their families. Depending on each girl's situation, Ons Plek will evaluate whether the home environment they have come from is safe for their return and begin a gradual process of reintroducing them into their home. If the immediate family is not an option, then perhaps a cousin, a gandparent or an aunt or uncle will become a part of this journey of reunification. Home visits are a gradual process and not all are successful in the end.
So, where do I come into play?
Yesterday was my interview with Yumna Van Der Shyff, the unit manager and volunteer coordinator of Ons Plek. I traveled to the city of Cape Town from my home in Rondebosch and meandered through the vibrant streets of Cape Town City Center towards Woodstock to reach the home of Ons Plek. The house looked ordinary, plain, simple. With no door bell, I called out through the metal bars blocking the open door to get inside. I waited for Yumna in a living room area where she quickly joined me to begin the interview process.
Yumna is a social worker who has been working at Ons Plek for many years. She is extremely knowlegable about the hardships and motives that lead girls to the streets and the services they need to recover from the trauma and the happenings that has led them to their current situation. She calmly spoke about death, drugs, rape and trafficking. She talked about what is good for the girls, what reinforces bad behavior, what reinforces trauma, what we must do to help effectively. She did not falter in her speech and I could hear the expertise in her voice and see it in her eyes. She knows this world, understands it. The girls at Ons Plek come first, and I was being tested.
At the end of the hour and a half I spent with Yumna, she invited me to return later in the afternoon to assist with homework help for the girls and see if Ons Plek is a fit for me. I was excited to begin my work, but also anxious about all the things we talked about. What if I made a wrong move, said something offensive without realizing and upset the girls upon meeting them? I have read so much about girls who have been abused and trafficked and the experiences of their lives swim in my head and motivate me to help but also remind me that my life is in no way relatable. Would I be able to make a connection with these girls? Would they trust me?
Yumna listened to my concerns and her advice was this: "When you walk in later today, forget everything you have read in all your books. Just remember, these are children--children who want attention and care as any other child".
I absorbed her words and calmed my nerves.
I took a short lunch break and returned to Ons Plek at 3:00 pm. I went upstairs to the homework room and delved right in. The girls were warm and friendly, eager for my help and grateful for my service. I felt comfortable right away. I helped 8-year old Michelle with her reading and writing (it reminded me of when my little sister was learning to read, but at that time I had no patience). I assisted Amelia in her addition problems, which she was super quick and accurate at completing. I ran the course of subjects from english to algebra II to physics to geometry making my way around the room and around the curves of my brain reaching into the drawers of my elementary, middle, high school and college education. I couldn't feel more priveledged for the education I had acquired over the years than in this moment. I had a resource that no one could take away. No matter how much I shared, my knowledge would not run out. And in this moment, I realized how valuble it was for these girls to have access to that same resource and how education would bring more opportunty to their lives.
Although my brain hurt a bit towards the end, I was happy to share, and I actually realized that the math, chemistry and biology classes I had taken in college weren't just a waste of time. I'm glad I decided to pay attention to those in the end. It is funny when certain things come in handy.
I left Ons Plek around 5:30 pm and headed back to Rondebosch eager to write Yumna that I was overjoyed to continue volunteering and working with Ons Plek. I barely know the girls, yet already miss them. I will continue working at the home until June and it is already difficult to realize that when I leave, I may never see the girls again.Yet I am comforted in knowing I will be a part of their journey. And they will be a part of mine as I work with them, learn from them, and fight for them and girls like them worldwide.
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