Meg knowing she's in the right place but also becoming more aware of harsh realities

This week I was once again reassured that I am in the right place at the right time. Nathan, the director of City Mission Educational Services, sat me and Pauline down on Monday to outline the exact tasks we will be in charge of throughout the course of the term. One project we came up with includes working with 40 young women that attend the school who range in age from 12-19, many of whom lack female role models, or really any role model at all. The program will be two fold: one on one mentoring and then group work once a week with all the girls together. This idea came after I realized how schools here lack in giving an education to young women about important topics such as: being a female in society, female anatomy, sex education, family planning, career goals, self esteem, hygiene, etc. Working with young girls to empower and educate them has always been a huge passion of mine. My hope is that through working with them, we can all learn from each other and that by the end they will at least be able to think about their classmates as positive female role models. I am excited to watch them grow and develop into even more intelligent young ladies, who will hopefully work to spread their knowledge to other young women in their communities. 

I also engaged in many intense conversations both in and outside of school this week on issues involving race, rape, and violence here in South Africa and the United States. In one extremely honest conversation with a few members of the CMES staff I realized many of the harsh realities they face after having children.

I asked one man how he felt about raising his daughter in an environment where rape is kind of running rampant. His response was simple, “It terrifies me” he said. This comes from someone who lives in a country where their very own president believes that if you shower after unprotected sex with someone who is HIV positive, you will not get HIV yourself. With all the misconceptions, like this one, about HIV/ AIDS and rape, I was not surprised to hear this. The sad reality set in that even if it does terrify people there is little they can actually do about it given how expensive and difficult it is to move somewhere more safe. I couldn’t help but reflect on how I would feel to raise a daughter both here and back home. I am sure the fears my teacher faces here and very similar to the ones my own father had while we were growing up since our countries face many of the same issues when it comes to violence against women. The only thing is, in the US it is covered up much more than it is here, and I don’t know if I rather raise someone in a culture like that or one where everyone is well aware of how often sexual assaults take place. I am trying to keep a good head on my shoulders and not let the stories I have heard this past week leave me feeling terrified all the time because I know this country also has so much good to offer, but it does leave you questioning not only how safe you should feel here, but once you return home as well.