BCS to South Africa: Yesterday - National Women's Day-UPDATED

Cathedral

All the important Bishops - and Wardie!!

“When you strike a woman, you strike a rock.” I heard this expression yesterday on South Africa’s national holiday, Women’s Day. On August 9, 1956, about 20,000 women marched to the union buildings in Pretoria to protest against proposed amendments to the Urban Areas Act of 1950. This act was meant to “tighten up control of movement of African women to town, registration of their service contracts, and a compulsory medical examination for all African women town-dwellers,” (Walker; 1982: p.129). Now August 9th is a national holiday to celebrate and recognize the triumphs and struggles of women, past and present.

Lunch on the waterfront after the cathedral

Other performers at the Cathedral

I think about once-in-a-lifetime activities a lot during this trip. But the singers don’t think that way, which accents our age difference, I guess. At the end of our tour yesterday Leonard got on the mic and talked to the kids about the possibility of coming back to South Africa. He talked about opportunities to work in the orphanages, or with environmental organizations, or other areas of the community that would welcome young energy. He laid out how exciting it could be for a young person to work hard and then relax for hours on the gorgeous beaches of Cape Town. I hope some of the kids consider coming back. They have real contacts and friends here now. This is truly one of the benefits of a trip like this; unlike a typical tour company 10-day excursion, the singers have had many positive ‘up-close-and-personal’ experiences.

So again back to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities – let me tell you about yesterday’s performance at the Cathedral. We got the indication that this would be a special day when the three women who work at the retreat center asked to join us on the bus to attend the service at the big cathedral. I’m not sure the particulars of how we came to be such a prominent part of the service (I do know Leonard worked some magic on our behalf, with the help also of Father Clarence, and not doubt Father Nobel as well,) but we had the opportunity to sing three pieces throughout the service to a packed cathedral of approximately 2000 people. We had the honor of performing before the Archbishop of Cape Town – the Most Reverend Dr. Thabo Makgoba. Also in attendance were two other South African bishops from the region and, the Archbishop of Melbourne Australia.

Not to give away all the little stories or our trip, but the bus broke down on the way to the church for this HUGE singing engagement and Jane was freaked out with stress – although she hid it pretty well. Suddenly the kids had to warm up on their own, and really get it together with zero time to spare. Because we were late, nobody had a program so we didn’t know what we would sing when. We practically walked straight off the bus and right on to the stage to sing. So now I’ll tell you again why I volunteer for BCS; the singers were truly professional under such stress and the pitch was perfect. The sound in the church was awesome and the audience of approximately 2000 people was captivated by the songs.

Singers of the day (from day’s gone by… can’t remember which day.)

Elizabeth – for being a wonderful nurse to some singers who got sick. (Everyone is well now!)

Janiece – for, after a low-energy and disappointing rehearsal, motivating the singers to shake off their fatigue and surprise Jane by asking for an additional 30 minutes of rehearsal.

Retreat center - courtyard outside the dining room

Below from Lucy:

Truth and Reconciliation

The majority of our stay in Cape Town has been spent at St. Raphael’s (pronounced as “St. Raffle’s”) retreat center right outside of the city. Many of us have spent a lot of time roaming around St. Raphael’s grounds, which are beautiful and wild. At one of our evening meetings we learned that St. Raphael’s has an auspicious history: it was the site of the first meetings of the Truth and Reconciliation Committee. The committee was created by Archbishop Desmond Tutu after the end of apartheid to document the atrocities of that era. Archbishop Tutu wanted to create an environment in which the truth about apartheid could be openly documented without fear of retribution for whatever crimes occurred. It was a monumental idea in that it showed that the only way for people to move forward from those horrible experiences was through truthfulness and forgiveness. -Lucy