The MMS Ubuntu Project 2009 - Finding Community

• a place where wealth is measured in terms of how many people you hold dear.
• a place where people WANT to hear your problems, because when you are down it creates a rift in the group.
• a place where isolation is not accepted and resistance to becoming one of the group is futile.
• a group of people who think as a unit, not as a set of individuals.
• the object of the Mount Madonna School Ubuntu Project.

To help us prepare for our journey we have been engaging with several wise mentors. We spoke with author and indigenous wisdom carrier, Sobonfu Some, who embodies a most beautiful definition of what community means from growing up as part of the Dagara tribe in her native Burkina Faso. She inspired us to continue searching for the meaning of community. We also spoke with Margaret Wheatley who is currently doing a lot of work in Africa to strengthen the role of women, and we talked with Peter Block who has recently written a book called "Community, The structure of Belonging." All have given us gifts for our journey.

With these gifts we are moving forward in our preparation phase of the process. The class has split into four groups, each with a different research focus such as Desmond Tutu, The Apartheid Movement, Culture, and History. As we learn more about the area we will be visiting, our excitement grows. We have begun working with some Non-Violent Communication (NVC) exercises to bond as a group and learn to express ourselves positively so that we will be able to manage when the inevitable challenges of the trip arise.

I am really excited about our project, however I am overwhelmed by how much we have to do in the short amount of time we have left. The class is generally very productive, which helps, and everyone seems to be really pumped about the trip. The group dynamics are very positive and each person is contributing to the group. Mari is spearheading the fundraising aspect of the trip, and having immense success. Her note follows.

The Philani Child’s Health and Nutrition Project in South Africa is an organization that tends to the needs of those who truly need it the most. Mothers and Children with no means of support or medical care are taken in by Philani. Beyond medical care, Philani offers: education and training to women, income generating projects, preschools, an outreach and home-based nutrition program, a mothers-to-be program, an orphans and vulnerable children program, a dental program and a care and support program for HIV positive mothers and children. As soon as we heard about Philani, our class of 20 juniors and seniors decided that this organization would be our main focus. We set a goal to have raised at least $1000 and to collect at least 100 baby outfits by the time of our departure in April. In our current stage of preparation, we have almost reached both of these goals. To raise money, we have asked for donations, as well as through the generosity of Jenny Turner, mother of 11^th grader Haley Turner, put on a charity haircut day and raised over $600! Upcoming in March, our class will be selling T-shirts and Tote bags with designs by Leah Nascimento at the Cabrillo Farmers Market on March 14^th and 21^st. We have received so much help from both our families and the community in getting this project off the ground and in the collection money and clothes. As the trip is getting nearer, now only a month away, our gratitude and excitement is growing, and we feel so blessed to be able to participate in an opportunity as great as this.

"The Philani Child Health & Nutrition Project has changed the lives of thousands of women and children in disadvantaged communities on the outskirts of Cape Town. Many of whom are the poorest of the poor - children suffering from malnutrition, mothers who are struggling to find any food at all to feed their families. Philani has provided life and hope with great commitment and loyalty since 1979. I am proud to be Philani's Patron."

-Archbishop Desmond Tutu

30 days and counting until we depart from the San Francisco airport, embarking on a journey that will never be forgotten. What awaits us is a beautiful country that is home to magnificent creatures and people, and of course one of the world’s greatest civil rights leaders of our time, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. We have been blessed with the opportunity to understand a culture of pride, free spirit, kindness and love, or what Africa calls ubuntu. Our ability to go to Africa and experience ubuntu is made possible by the supporting community that surrounds us; we all know and understand that this journey of epic proportion would not be fathomable without those that believe in our cause. For those reasons we embark on a right of passage with the highest intentions, our goal is to bring our best qualities to South Africa, and come back with an understanding of South Africa and what it means to preach, act and believe in peace.

It is our belief that when returning from a right of passage, it is important for those around you to realize that you have made a transformation. Although not everyone experiences a great transformation, it is crucial that we manifest the knowledge attained on our journey. We like to document our activities; blog, record videos and photograph with the hope that we can inspire or motivate someone else. Isn’t that the purpose of our trip, to learn and experience? What is the purpose of our knowledge if it is not shared?

Very few are ever presented with an opportunity comparable to ours, so it is our hope that we will exceed the expectations and return home with a hope, idea, belief, realization, or an overall greater understanding of the world we live in.

A few Saturdays ago, six of the juniors and seniors got together at the Cabrillo Farmer’s Market in Aptos to sell shirts and tote bags to support Philani Child Health and Nutrition Project. The shirts, which we designed ourselves, had “Ubuntu” (the name for our Africa project which roughly means “I am who I am because of who you are”) on the front, while the back showed an unfilled image of the earth with Africa showing. When we first got there no one stopped by. People would kind of pause and look at us, and then keep walking. We began to get very discouraged, but then little by little our piles of shirts began to shrink!

We are told that we can do anything if we put our minds to it. Well, we put our minds to it, were involved in every step of the process, and we sold enough shirts and bags to raise nearly $500. It was so rewarding and empowering to see our hard work really pay off.

With only three days left, I am beginning to realize how real this is. Before I was not nearly as excited due to the fact that the trip itself was months away. I realize now that the trip began at the beginning of the year in the sense that our journey starts with preparation. Going to South Africa is just the final exam. There is still so much to improve on after the test.

I can only imagine how different the trip will be from what I am expecting. I have little knowledge about the geography and culture of South Africa and I know once we get there I am going to be even more excited than I am now. Every day will bring a new challenge that I am nervous for. As SN says, this won’t be easy. He never promised us easy and I’m not expecting it. I feel individually we are all still pulling ourselves together to become prepared. Collectively we are ready and I can’t wait to see our results from the test three weeks from now.

When it comes to the interview with Desmond Tutu, I feel that I am as ready as I will ever be. Sure it is important to know a lot about him but I feel we won’t be hearing him speak a lot about himself but instead his outlooks and beliefs. In my opinion it’s hard to prepare for the interview. All of those who met the Dalai Lama said that their preconceptions drifted away once he came through the door. I am hoping for that effect. I want the whole trip to sweep me off of my feet and be the greatest learning journey possible through the unexpected situations that I must adapt to and cope with. It is scary, but I think we can do it.

Desmond Tutu was born on October 7, 1931 to Zacharia and Aletha Tutu. He was born Klerksdorp, South Africa and had relatively unstable health until the age of two. He grew up in an industrial town with no indoor plumbing or electricity. As a child he had quite a good sense of humor, but also a bit of a temper. At 14, he contracted Tuberculosis and was admitted to an isolation hospital. There was a good chance that he was not going to survive. This was the first time religion began to become a big part of his life. In recalling his hospitalization, he has said, “I can’t explain it adequately but a wonderful calm descended over me and it was as if God was assuring me, what I don’t know”. Desmond Tutu considers this his first experience in which he truly trusted God.

Religion has guided him and is a huge part in his role as a leader and humanitarian. He was Archbishop of Cape Town until 1996. Since then, he has worked as a global activist for democracy and human rights. In 2006 he launched a global initiative to register all children at birth. Unregistered children don’t officially exist which makes them vulnerable to trafficking and disasters.