Soweto

Saturday morning 7/28/07 we had a full tour of Soweto which included: visiting a poverty stricken township, small creche (daycare), the home of Bishop Desmond Tutu, and former home of Nelson Mandela (now a museum). We had never seen poverty like that in the township. The home we visited housed 16 people but was little more than three small rooms. However, each bed was neatly made with everything in its place. The creche was for the children of the township and was made from a steel shipping crate. The teachers at the creche explained the children's lesson plans and daily routine. Students, parents and supporters of EXCEL had donated new toys, coloring books, pens & pencils, etc. and we presented them to the teachers. This was followed by a wonderful impromptu moment, student after student took money from their pockets without any instruction from the staff, and placed it into the hands of the teachers and the owner of the house we visited. Our guide gently instructed them to use their right hand to give as using the left was disrespectful. It was an image each of these students will I'm sure carry with them forever.

We also saw the opposite of the township in Soweto. A hospital that stretched almost three blocks, homes with expensive intricate brick work and exquisitely decorated stain glass windows, hand carved designs on doors and gates that made one's jaw drop. Soweto is much more than the image presented in the media and our guide wanted to make sure we saw ALL aspects of Soweto.

The former home of Nelson Mandela was small but full of memorabilia. We saw over 300 proclamations and awards from around the globe, the boots he wore on Robben Island, a championship belt given to him by Sugar Ray Leonard and more. We took pictures outside of Desmond Tutu's home which he still occupies. Our guide let us know he still regularly walks through the community and has even invited full busloads of visitors from other countries into his home. We had no Bishop sightings but were satisfied to visit the homes of 2 Nobel Peace Prize winners a stone's throw from each other. INCREDIBLE!!!!