Thank you for all who helped with another successful auction. This is the time of year when current Hands for a Bridge students from Seattle, Northern Ireland and South Africa connect face-to-face, by traveling across the world to develop a global dialog about peace and justice.

Name: Zimkhitha Ndinga

Year(s) in Hands for a Bridge: Since 2004

School Affiliation: Isilimela Comprehensive High School, Capetown, South Africa

 Post-secondary school education and/or work, and future plans:

After graduating high school in 2004, I took a bridging year and joined an NGO called the South African Education and Environmental Project (SAEP) where I received tutoring to help upgrade some of my matriculation grades as well as volunteered as an English tutor for high school students in Cape Town townships. In 2006 I enrolled for study at the University of the Western Cape for study towards an undergraduate degree in Politics and English. During this time, I continued to volunteer as a tutor and I loved it. In 2011 I was employed by the same organization (SAEP) where I worked as a Post Matriculation Programmes’ Coordinator. My duties involved ensuring that students who matriculated from some of Cape Town’s most impoverished township schools were afforded opportunities that would help them be successful in their future. We helped them prepare for exams, assisted them in getting information about the different study options available, helping them apply to universities and colleges, helping them access funding and then supporting them through university. This was my way of paying it forward and I loved every minute of it. All this we did, while also encouraging the programme participants to also pay it forward in some way. I did this work until 2014. I then went on to work as a Courses and Training Coordinator at the Market Photo Workshop, at the Market Theatre and on a research programme at the Desmond Tutu Foundation, based in the township of Gugulethu where I worked to ensure that young women had access to proper sexual and reproductive health services and information. I was employed as a Counsellor/Health educator.

I now work, on a freelance basis, for Nal’ibali, a national literacy campaign. I am also working, together with a friend, on registering an NGO that assists students in Langa’s primary school to access opportunities such as computer literacy, extra tutoring, extracurricular activities, employment or training for their parents, food and clothing, as well as pyscho-social and counselling services. We are also working on involving students from HFB Seattle in a pen-pal and book club programme with students from this programme. This is something I am very excited about. We are now working to formalize and register the NGO so that we can hopefully extend the services to all the primary schools in Langa.

Reflection:

I loved being part of Hands For A Bridge!!! I came from a very poor family, and was orphaned at a young age and raised by my grandmother. I did not know much about the world outside my own. Being part of the programme exposed me to so many opportunities and suddenly made me question the state I and many young people lived in. It gave me the opportunity to engage with young people who thought differently about the world and it made me see it differently. After joining, and visiting Seattle, I came back more aware of what role I could play in changing the lives of other young people and it definitely set me on the path I am on. The year I joined the programme, was the same year that I joined the debating team. When I got to high school, I was definitely the nerdy type and not good in any sports. I did well in my academics but had very little confidence. HFB gave me the confidence to both be myself and excel in what I was good at. I did extremely well in my debating and became the number one speaker nationally, and I loved it. Suddenly, being a nerd was the coolest thing. There are obviously a number of things that have contributed to the person I have become, but if I had to single out one, it would be HFB.

Please enjoy this newsletter put together by the HFB class of 2016-2017. The newsletter includes reflections, poetry, lyrics, photos: a snapshot of this cohort’s activities and learning.
HFB Newsletter 2017 PDF

Earlier this year, during the visitation by South African students, HFB students had a new opportunity. Students from both sides of the exchange spent the day at Jack Straw Studio recording poetry, monologues, and songs. We are thrilled to present just a few pieces here.

Asithande:

Bongi:

Olivia:

Shadrak:

Save

Over the course of the trip to South Africa, my cheek muscles hurt from smiling so much. You could say that it had to do with the weather–yes, I love the sun–but I think what was most significant was the wonderful people that surrounded me, taking me into their homes, and just accepting me for who I was. I met people whose beliefs I didn’t agree with, people who treated gender roles in a way that would’ve been unacceptable to me in an American setting. I met people who were from different backgrounds than me and were part of different cultures. And still, despite all of our differences, we were able to come together in one big Hands for a Bridge family. So, for me, that’s what I’ll remember most about South Africa. The family I found there, and the bonds I formed despite the oceans that separate us.

– Sophie Grosskopf