Today was a very busy day for me and for our group of travelers. I spent the day in business meetings exploring opportunities that are the result of connections made through iZania. These meetings confirmed that business opportunities are available in Africa for those who can add value, and are willing to work at building quality relationships needed to forge profitable outcomes.

Our primary content today comes from a thirteen year-old traveler who visited Soweto. Below are her own words to describe that experience.

Going to Soweto was an amazing experience! We saw the good, the bad, and the ugly. The most touching part of those three was the ugly. Seeing families live in one room when their house is so bad that it's not even considered a house being made out of whatever they could fine really got to me. Waving at the children that lived there and just looking at how their clothes are and their environment compared to mine just made me feel truly blessed. But every time I think about the children I just want to do something about it because no one deserves to live like that.

Another part that touched me was going to our tour guides parent's house and seeing his niece. She was 13 just like me but yet something seemed different about me and her. When I looked at her closely I noticed that she was a lot smaller than me. From an American point of view she would look like an 8 year old American girl. It made me wonder why there is a difference between us. The best part of all is

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Today, our travelers saw the dual faces of Apartheid in South Africa.  The morning started with a tour of the capital city of Pretoria, which is now the greater metropolitan city of Tshwane - incorporating the White inner City with 13 outlying Black and Colored townships in to one metropolitan government council.  This political reconciliation bears the slogan "We are the same."

The centerpiece of the tour of the central city of Pretoria is the Union Buildings, which house the offices of the President and Vice President.  Nearby, stands a monument to the journey of the Afrikaners to the region - the Voortrekker Monument.  These symbols of the former Apartheid rule stand in stark contrast to the reality of today's progressive society that celebrates all cultures with national holidays  and other cultural celebrations.  The current Executive mayor of the municipality is a Black woman, Dr Gwen Ramokgopa.

In contrast to this Afrikaner heritage is nearby Lesedi Cultural Village, which recreates the cultural experience of the native cultures of the region.  This experience includes a guided tour of four homesteads - Zulu, Xhosa, Basotho and Pedi.  The tour includes a dance celebration and a pan African feast featuring a variety of local native dishes. This day was a moving and enlightening experience.  Our travelers moved emotionally from feelings of anger , celebration, and reconciliation -- as the

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

"They invited us into the tent!  Regular tourists wouldn't get to see this part of South Africa." That was the most apt description by one of our travelers of the reception that was organized by our South African brothers and sisters from the churches of Christ in Tshwane. 

We visited the Church of Christ  in the Atteridgeville Township for a welcome reception after a long day of travel and relocation from Cape Town to Pretoria.  The former townships are now incorporated into the metropolitan government council.  Yet the township citizens still experience a deprived life.  Much progress is being made, but the churches are still struggling.  This congregation worships in a tent, and they are working hard to raise the funds for construction of a church building. 

Brother Ernest Cato delivered a Gospel message of support and encouragement with the aid of interpretation from Brother Tebogo Ramatsui, the minister in Atteridgeville.   We were entertained by a choir of young South Africans, and their melodic a capella voices brought some of our travelers to tears.  Darien Flowers, one of our teenage travelers said, "I wish I could bring all of my classmates here to see the real South Africa."

Just when we thought the trip couldn't get any better, we were lifted to a higher level of connection with our African heritage.  Even though it is not likely that any of us are direct descendants of the nations of Southern Africa,