LIMPOPO SECRETS: Even though South Africans can never repair the deep trauma of injustice, Thabiso Sekhula has found a community where black, white, coloured and Indian are working together to build a better future
In my hometown, we are on day five without load shedding. We all have the anxiety of worrying when it’s gonna hit us again. Our trauma as a country holds us hostage to the next bad thing to happen.
We can sit all day and discuss whose fault it is; the truth is there’s no shortage of fingers to point. But where has that gotten us?
We can blame Eskom for load shedding and blame white monopoly capital for poverty, even blame the ANC for corruption. The truth is unless all of us take part in making things better, our children’s children will sit in a worse off reality, still pointing fingers.
I acknowledge South Africa has not given black people closure or justice for apartheid and the current injustices under democracy have trolls on the internet claiming life was better under apartheid – rubbish!
We are all just mourning the better life for all that we were promised, which doesn’t seem to get here. We can’t heal if we don’t acknowledge the injustices. But maybe we are too far deep in our trauma to talk about race objectively. Maybe the trust has been lost on all sides and has us all feeling like enemies.
But it’s not too late to change tactics.
So it was quite refreshing when I was invited to the small town of Modjadjiskloof where black, white, Indian and Coloured are working towards not repairing, because that’s impossible, but building more sustainable futures for the area through tourism.
A new tourism route is being established where the local communities will benefit. Everyone is open to working together and listening to young voices on how this should happen – without being defensive and thinking of profits first.
Acknowledging that the white farmers and businesses in the area have more resources, they then open their doors to local tour guides to build experience within the farms. Even more, they’re making resources available to build sustainable tourism eco systems led by young black talent for the benefit of all parties involved.
You have kids who are studying tourism at the local colleges working at the establishments not as farm workers, but as co-ordinators, birding guides, even as curators of Instagram experiences – I know, what is that?
That is a sought after marketing tool which uses extravagant images of people in beautiful gowns in avocado fields and forests posted on Instagram to attract visitors from around the world to come and recreate these images.
Giving the local kids exclusive rights to charge any amount for these experiences, giving a small levy to the owners for using the facilities and never paying venue fees – this is a multimillion dollar tool for marketing.
This allows anyone from the community who has a smart idea to make it a reality without any cost to them and all the benefits go to all parties involved.
It seems small but imagine 50 people come for one of these experiences paying R1,500 per person. The owners get R250 per person and the curator, who is a local kid, gets the rest, splitting it with the camera person.
It’s a very practical step for how a community can look out for each other and how instead of looking at life as them and us, instead thinking, how can we all benefit from what we have – which is a lot!
It is all our duty to change our fate, but it is more so in the hands of those with resources to listen to young talent on how we can bridge the gaps. There are many ways this beautiful partnership between communities and big businesses can unfold.
But if we choose to hoard our blessings behind high walls and fancy shades that cover our disgust at poverty, those with less will always try to feed their families with what they have at their disposal, and with desperation, as some resort to unsavoury methods.
We can’t mend the country, but we can build each other up, even you, as small or as big as you are able to. It starts with helping your neighbour.
