Claire started her school without any help from politicians. This apparently is not the way things are usually done here. Even if they’re not involved, the politicians like to convey the idea that everything positive that happens is due to them.
The nearest school for children with learning disabilities is over 100 kilometers away. To raise funds and awareness, Tshiamelo had a four-day walk from that town to Vryburg. Claire and KJ did contact local politicians to try and get their help with accommodations and food for the hike, but no assistance was forthcoming. When the national media showed up at the end of the walk, however, the politicians magically appeared and acted like they’d been involved all along.
Tiger Kloof also started its soup kitchen without any help from politicians. On the day that the soup kitchen was launched, three big vehicles drove up unexpectedly. Politicians got out to have their pictures taken at the soup kitchen as if they’d had a role in its formation.
While the word people used was generally ‘politician,’ I think they were talking about the African National Congress and the ANC was specifically referenced sometimes. I am not in a position to assess the ANC’s evolution from the the party of Mandela and the end of apartheid to the party that is criticized regularly for corruption, but these stories are telling.
Part of the reason the parent who is a politician got angry at Claire may be related to the fact that she didn’t involve politicians in starting her school. ‘Who does she think she is starting this school? Who gave her permission to do this? Where did she get the resources for this?’ You might have thought they would be pleased to see a Tswana woman taking initiative in this way, but apparently not.
My last night in Vryburg, Claire had a friend and former Tiger Kloof teacher join us for dinner. We discussed a cultural difference where white South Africans are more supportive of each other’s success and black South Africans are more likely to criticize successful blacks. They talked about the drawing above. The next day, KJ posted the image on Facebook with the following message, which I have copied verbatim:
Black south african; please be encouraging towards your brothers and sisters as they climbing the ladder. Climbing that ladder took a lot of courage and effort of those who did. Celebrate their succed instead of pulling them down cause you didn’t had the courage and energy to walk a similar route.
No Foreign Lands 