Nicole Walsh: Reflection on the Township Tour
Going on a tour through the township was a painful experience. I have seen extreme poverty before this program, and I assumed that my past would make me more prepared for the townships than my companions. Though I did feel a sense of deja vu at some points, I have come to realize that no number of intimate interactions with struggle can ever make seeing another struggle any easier. It made my chest ache to see the people who felt trapped in their own community. It made me sad to see an understocked library. It made me upset to think about what dreams people had before they came to the city and whether or not this place has fulfilled them.
Thankfully, the townships also made me very proud. We might be very different, but I always feel a strong connection to other people. I left the township feeling amazed by my fellow humans. There was so much creativity throughout the township. I could see it in the students practicing a dance routine, the two artist’ pieces, the jewelry and hats made from recycled materials and the clever solutions to problems. The amount of ingenuity and resourcefulness was mind boggling. I saw one home where an entire wall was made from scraps of material, and it looked structurally sound. My friend Dave once made a little building out of scrap materials that we nicknamed the “scrap shack,” and this township home looked very similar. However, my friend Dave works in construction. This mental connection left me wondering about the careers and skills of the homeowners that I’ll probably never meet.
I also noticed a spectacularly strong sense of community. The smaller children were allowed to run about freely, and I don’t think it was from neglect. It seems that because the community was so tight knit that caretakers could trust those around them to make sure that the little ones would be watched by someone nearby. These positive observations of the township filled me with hope. It gave me hope that these communities will be able to find what they want out of life.
Despite these positive realizations, I can’t seem to shake my struggle with the fact that we went through this township on a tour. Tour buses include these tours on their itineraries. An entire industry is being built around these informal settlements, and I still don’t know where the money goes, who benefits, what is the community’s perspective and what is the fascination behind the demand for going on these tours. I left the tour feeling dirty and that wasn’t because of sanitation conditions. It was because I contributed money to go on a tour of someone else’s neighborhood. I payed to walk past people’s homes and make assumptions about who they are and the life they lead. It felt exploitive. Yes, it was someone from the community giving the tour. Yes, it was a resident shaping the tour’s narrative. However, these points have done little to dissuade my concerns about our group’s relationship with the township community.