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May
26, 2005
 To
be completely honest, it was a struggle for me to
stay engaged in today’s activities. The weather—overcast
and rainy—was much colder than we’d experienced
in the past weeks here.
We were
told we were going to leave at 7 a.m., so we were
all up early. But we didn’t leave until 9 a.m.,
which left a lot of us sleepy and disgruntled.
We began
with a trip to the University of Pretoria’s
School of Theology, where we were lectured to by two
gentlemen who work in the school.
First,
the Rev. Piet Miering, a professor, spoke about the
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and his
role on the TRC.
I was eager
to hear the Rev. Maake Masango’s lecture to
us about his view of reconciliation. Rev. Masango
was, in my opinion, more passionate about the topic.
He spoke from his heart and shared with us his experiences
growing up during apartheid and where he thinks the
South African government is now.
He was
a very genuine and real individual, so much so, he
referred to the three white students from Butler University
as the “pinkish ones.” When he said that,
I looked over to see what their reactions were, but
just from looking at their faces, I wasn’t able
to determine whether or not his comment bothered them.
Personally, I would have taken offense. I just thought
what he said was kind of disrespectful. I think there’s
a time and a place for everything, and I don’t
think that was the place.
After visiting
the University of Pretoria, we visited with the South
African government of HIV, AIDS, Tuberculosis and
NGO Funding and Coordination. While we were there,
we went through a Power Point presentation on paper
because the projector was broken. So, we read along
while the director, Collen Bonnecwe, basically read
all 26 slides verbatim. Not only that, there were
a lot of contradictions in the presentation.
 Monét
Cooper, the writer sent by the Office of Communications
to cover the trip, asked Mr. Bonnecwe about the use
of female condoms. She noted the statistics from the
material they gave us: 52 percent of the country is
female and females are most infected and affected
by HIV/AIDS. Monet’s questions to Bonnecwe:
“Since the female population is most infected
and affected, why are more male condoms distributed
than female condoms, especially since females are
at a higher risk and the most infected and affected
by the virus?” “Are there programs implemented
by the government that educate women about female
condoms?”
Her question
to one of a manager of a female-centered program was:
“Is there a cultural stigma attached to their
(female condoms) use?”
Mr. Bonnecwe
responded that female condoms are more expensive than
male condoms to produce, so they are currently encouraging
the use of male condoms. Also, he and a program coordinator
agreed that the male can help the female make the
best choice for her.
What?
Rheba Knox,
the Leadership Center’s assistant director for
Training, asked the next question. The report given
to us by Mr. Bonnecwe reported that the highest incidence
of HIV/AIDS was among women, but when looking at the
information for how the government is addressing HIV/AIDS
in the highest targeted populations of HIV/AIDS, women
weren’t listed in that category. Ms. Knox asked:
“Would you explain to us why there are no targeted
interventions for women, in general? Why aren’t
women as a group listed under targeted interventions?”
One woman
said the figure was an omission. The director rudely
interrupted her and said that women were included
in the tally. “Sex workers are listed.”
Ms. Knox wanted to challenge what he said. “Was
he inferring that all women getting HIV here in South
Africa are sex workers,” she asked the people
next to her. We had to leave because our time was
running short, so she never got an answer from Mr.
Bonnecwe.
We concluded
with a trip to the Anglican Church, where members
talked about their community projects and how they
were engaging youth in the Pretoria community.
It was
a busy day. When we returned to the hotel, I was hungry
for the dinner that greeted us at the hotel cafeteria:
stewed lamb over rice.
Arthur
Woodard '05, from Lake Charles, Louisiana, graduated
two weeks ago from Morehouse College with a bachelor's
degree in computer science.
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