SOWETO and the Michael Maponya Clinic

Today was the beginning of the hectic week....hectic good...learning so much and I am only on day three!

Visited a small private college in the Joburg inner city. They provide free education to people from the townships, informall settlements and basically disadvantaged communities. It was really inspiring to see how they use the provision of free business education to create change in communities that are struggling. The mission behind the university (CIDA University) is to create "future agents of change" - essentially develope students to work in the business world or create their own businesses that can build their local economies. "Ubuntu" - I am because you are". ........

After a tour of CIDA, I did a tour of SOWETO......which stands for South Western Townships....I though SOWETO was an African term, but was surprised to find that it is an acronym. Soweto is where most Black South Africans live and is a site of extreme historical importance to the Black resistance movement in the 70s. Once an informal settlement is still in the process of being upgraded.

I visited a small community clinic (Michael Maponya) here in Soweto which we just happened upon while driving around. Most of the staff were women and they were so eager to teach me about how their facility is run, and where it began. Their AIDS support services are geared to pregnant women pre/post natal. They work extensively with NGOs in SOWETO to provide services that go beyond primary healthcare.

Also visited Nelson Mandelas old home where he lived before he was put in jail for over 26 years. So much history here......

We didnt have enough time to make it to the Apartheid museum, or to the Mandela Clinic, but i still have a whole month to go!