Changing Perspectives - Red Cross South Africa

There are some things that you can’t prepare yourself for no matter how much you think you can. We see images on our television screens of African countries affected by poverty. In our newspapers we read of the large gap between classes and on radio we listen to the rapid rate of new diseases being contracted on this continent. Even with this knowledge, again, you can’t prepare but rather you try to brace yourself for an experience which is likely to change your perspective you have of your own everyday life. The visit to a township of Daveytown, on the outskirts of Johannesburg did just that. Daveytown is a shanty town which lives in dark contrast to our home away from home here in Bedfordview. Bordered by some upper class suburbs, the most striking aspect of our bus ride was the quite large gap between ‘rich’ and ‘poor’. As guests of the Red Cross through Green and Gold Army’s involvement in ‘Youth Peer Education, an initiative by GGA to raise money to support a youth refuge of sorts, we were greeted by a mass of children, ranging from pre school age to primary level. A rousing rendition of the national anthem was sung by the youngest members before one of the volunteers, of whom was once a child from this refuge spoke and explained the way the centre operates. Alarmingly, we learnt that a large proportion of the children present are infected with HIV and sadly only very few will live to see out their teen years. You wouldn’t have known this was the case as the children interacted with their new guests as humble hosts. Some preferred to drag us away to play games, while others were content to sit and converse. I made my own little friend, Deogwu, who was shy to begin with but soon broke out of what came across as his introverted self and let me in to his world. What made his day was something as simple as running around with my camera, taking photos, and looking at them back on the digital screen. The morning continued with the volunteers singing native songs before we had an opportunity to speak to them about their struggles. With no running water, electricity or sanitation the centre attempts to provide basic comforts to the children of the township. These are necessities we as Australians take for granted so to hear this and the lives that children are exposed to brought home how very lucky we are.
Daveytown was a confronting but also uplifting experience for all those who attended. It opened up a door to the world that none of us could have imagined. What it did was ensured that at any moment in our lives where we begin to take what we have for granted, we only need to be reminded of the day we visited Daveytown and what we witnessed. That short visit certainly changed my perspective, as im sure it did everyone else’s.