S2A2 Week 7

Anne, "Sabs", and Aire at the V&A Waterfront collecting Fair Trade surveys

I cannot believe that it is my second to last week at EMG and in Cape Town. It has really started to feel like home after being here for nearly 8 months. There have been so many ups and downs, but overall it has just been incredible.

I know that I have to come back here in the near future. There's so much going on, and I want to be part of it. This week, I've mainly been working on putting together a report that summarizes the data collected from the SAMWU questionnaires about water management devices that I mentioned in an earlier post. Hopefully, I'll be able to meet with Lance or Jeff from SAMWU, sometime next week (before I leave).

It's August 1st today! Just a random exclamation. Some of my best lessons from this internship have really come from the informal conversations I've had with my supervisor and co-workers at EMG. Yesterday, Lazarus (who works in the same office as me) discussed his idea to start an NGO that focuses on education, which is run mostly by former teachers/principals. It's really inspirational to work each day with people who are so dedicated to serving others. It's a contrast to much of what I see elsewhere, but I know that there's a lot of of hope and enthusiasm from young activists. I really want to believe that some of our work will come to fruition and show results in the near future.

Last week, I helped collect surveys with my fellow EMG interns and another intern for Fair Trade South Africa. The surveys were trying to assess what South Africans know/think about Fair Trade to determine how it needs to be marketed here, if it is going to be expanded. Currently the main fair trade products are all agricultural, but there are also a lot of handicrafts that could potentially be Fair Trade certified. I wonder if it's really necessary or prudent to use Fair Trade as a means to accomplish the goals of improved worker rights/environmental sustainability, since there are local initiatives in place. Is the umbrella of Fair Trade always necessary?

S2A2 Week 5

Tuesday, 15 July we had the Western Cape Water Caucus meeting. The morning was hectic trying to get everything together, but we got to Obz Community Centre, only a little behind schedule.

Jessica opened the meeting and I feverishly began taking minutes. It was an advantage to have my laptop there in a way, but I felt like I couldn't fully participate since I was trying to record everything around me.

There were a lot of major water issues discussed, but I thought the discussion around the impending failure of water infrastructure was particularly interesting. I don't think it's just a problem in South Africa. I remember hearing about a major water pipe bursting in NYC and a news special about America's "aging cities," which many countries are facing.

Back to the internship though, the rest of the week after the meeting was quieter, but it took quite some time to write up the minutes and follow up with caucus members. I think the most challenging part of helping to organize the meeting was trying to contact everyone and get any sort of feedback about the meeting agenda.

Since not everyone at the meeting belongs to an organization, many people do not have access to a landline or internet so e-mails were not that effective or useful as a means of communication. It's different for me to switch from my usual mode of communication to phone calls. However, there is something to be said for the personal nature of calling, and each place I called had a different background noise. Some places had phones ringing and sounded like offices, while others I called had a baby crying in the background or noisy chatter.

There are a lot of big issues to tackle, and it seems not a lot of support or resources for most civil society organizations here, but there's hope.