Before I start I want to mention that this blog will be very sporadic to my very hectic schedule in preparing for my departure. I apologize for this, but I will be writing a more extensive reflection blog when I come back home on October 31st. If you don't know by now I'll be doing a 20 day overland camping trip from Cape Town to Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe.
This week I worked more on going out to performances for Siyaya and helping them record video footage for promotion. I did very little music teaching as I needed to concentrate on getting my going away presents together for everyone in the group. I decided that I wanted to make individual mix cds for each member of the group including their musical director, Bongani. So in total I made 15 mixes. It took a long time to put together, because I wanted each cd to be special to the person I was giving it to. Some of the people in the group were more into classical music and liked singing opera so I concentrated on making mixes with a lot of Italian arias and opera works. Some were interested in pop music so I looked for music that would fit their style and would be songs that they could possibly sing. Finally, for the instrumentalists I made mixes featuring great artists that play their instrument of study. It was a long process, but I'm happy to say it's done.
The other major project of the week was gathering video footage of the group for a submission into an arts competition. South Africa has a major arts competition every year called the "Spier Contemporary Arts Competition". The competition has over 1.2 million rand in award money that they pay to visual artists and performing artists. I've been in touch with a lady named Fadia who is one of the administrative workers for the competition and she said she was very excited to have Siyaya be a part of the competition. I also mentioned that I was interested in submitting the African Chord Choir as well and she seemed extremely excited about that.
On Wednesday, October 7th I got everyone in Siyaya to get into costume and set up their stage at the JL Zwane Centre. I had them rehearse and perform a couple of their strongest pieces and then recorded them. It was a somewhat emotional day as I gave them a motivational speech telling them how much of an honor it's been to work with them and how talented they are. I had to stop myself once because of the thought of leaving this amazing group was difficult for me to comprehend.
I was happy with the results of the recording and prepared to record the choir the next evening. The choir did an amazing job and I was happy to have everyone participate in hopes that I could really help finance the group. Everyone seem to really appreciate how hard I was working to do something to help the group.
Towards the end of the week Siyaya had some last minute performances at a high school. I went to the one on Friday, which was one of their best performances I've ever seen. There must have almost 1,000 kids that attended the perfromance in the main gym. The kids were all screaming their heads off like Siyaya was a rock group. Bongani stood up at the end of the performance to say thanks and introduce the members of the group. Every member got a huge standing ovation from the audience. Bongani even introduced me and had me stand up in front of everyone and once again everyone cheered as loud as possible. It was quite an experience.
Being that Friday was the last day I was to work with Siyaya I wanted to celebrate with them by going out to a township barbeque restaurant in Guguletu called Mzolis. Although I was excited about this day I was also dreading it. I had been dreading my last day with Siyaya for many weeks now as I knew it was going to be very upsetting and emotional for me to say good bye. When you spend so much time with a wonderful group of people that struggle so much everyday to live on the basic necesstities, It's hard to think that you are just going to leave them in a drop of a hat. Not only that, but I felt like I became a part of their family as I felt a strong connection to each member. These people were not only my colleagues, but my friends.
Almost everyone from the JL Zwane Centre showed up, which was about 30 people. We all had a blast eating, sharing stories, and enjoying each others company. After we finished eating Bongani stood up to give a speech thanking me for everything I did to help Siyaya. It was very heart felt and then he proceeded to have the group sing 2 songs that were to be dedicated to my last day. At that point I started to cry as I couldn't hold it back any longer. The songs were so beautiful and I felt so honored for them to sing to me. Once they finished I regained my composure and stood up to say a few words. I thanked everyone for welcoming me with open arms and making me a part of their family. I told them it was an honor to work with them and get to know each and everyone at the centre. I began to cry again and sat down while many people came up and gave me hugs and held my hand.
After dinner I was able to spend a little more time with the group. When the time came for me to go it was already late at night. Once again I broke down in tears giving a hug to everyone. Everyone was so supportive and helped me regain my composure. Bongani drove me back to his house so I could have some food and then proceeded to drive me home. We talked a lot on the way about keeping in touch, which made me feel relieved.
Overall this was the most difficult week of my journey. I don't usually cry unless it's dealing with death of a friend or a family member, but this time I couldn't help it. I really believe that the people of siyaya had a large impact on my life and I really tried to cherish every moment I had with them. I can only hope now that I can return as soon as possible to this wonderful place called South Africa. It was hard for me to understand the impact of this experience until I knew that I was leaving. I felt like I became so acclimated to life out in South Africa that I had no idea what it was going to be like to leave.
The people I've met through Cross-Cultural Solutions including the staff, volunteers, and people at my placement have been some of the most compassionate people that I've ever met. I feel very blessed to have had this journey. Thank you everyone for your love and support. I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavors. I will miss you all.
This will be my last blog until I return home on October 31st. Upon my return I will write a reflection blog based on my experience in South Africa and my reactions to returning home. I just want to say thanks to everyone who has kept track of the "Kevin Tackles South Africa" blog. I've really enjoyed writing it and I'm very grateful for all of your comments and feedback. I feel very blessed with all of the support you have given me and I hope you all got a little taste of my experience in South Africa. Once I return home I will be planning a slideshow viewing of all my pictures and will be giving some presentations at my church to inform everyone on my travels.
Enkosi,
Kevin Gschwend
U.S. Address
7300 Brickyard Road
Potomac, MD 20854
U.S. Cell # 301-758-7916
E-mail - kevin.gschwend@gmail.com
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