All Quiet on The Western Front

I decided to give myself a weekend of respite from all the social activities/partying/sightseeing...so there isn't a lot to report from the last week or so. I did the usual Biscuit Mill food gorge on Saturday, but spent most of my weekend in bed, reading books and occasionally looking out the window to see if it had stopped raining (it's Wednesday today and it's finally sunny, if you're interested).

In PAHRO news, the office is starting to get busier with an influx of volunteers. This includes, as of today, three other Aussies: two girls from Sydney and one girl from Melbourne. I never thought I'd be so excited about seeing Australians overseas (or that I would be so deprived of home company - this is the first trip I've taken where I've gone this long without seeing a single Australian). I didn't realise how much I've missed the accent, the bogan jokes and our smugness about how nice the weather is back home. If only they'd been here during the Rugby World Cup!

Maria, Sarah (USA), Charlotte (Switzerland) and I have been working on a community project with some young women in Manenberg, one of the townships. PAHRO has previously run workshops with the girls out there, but we are starting from scratch with a new program that will hopefully be more sustainable and will see the girls themselves running the show (with PAHRO volunteers providing assistance and resources where we can). Last week we went door-to-door and met with some of the girls who are already engaged with the community centre there. Given that most of what I see of the townships is either from the safety of the minibus or the comfort of a town hall/community centre, the day was a real eye-opener. Everything feels more real when you're on the ground, walking around. It was also the first time I had been inside the homes in a township. No space is wasted in these dwellings; one of the houses had a washing line running through the kitchen, which also had bunk beds along the side of the wall.

We are focusing on young women and girls who have dropped out of school and/or are young mums. In fact our youngest girl, who is 15-years-old, is 4 months pregnant and no longer at school. Although some were shy, I think there were one or two girls who have the ability to take charge and lead the group. I even made a few new friends, including this 2-month-old baby (named Mohammed) who the girls thought I was going to abscond with:

Today we went back to meet with the girls we had recruited last week; we took afternoon tea and brainstormed with them ideas for activities for themselves and the community. With any luck, we will have a program up and running by next month (although unfortunately I won't be here to see it grow). The girls also taught us a few choice phrases, in Afrikaans, to yell at the minibus drivers.

In terms of case work, I have had many varied and interesting cases. Currently, I am drafting submissions for a court hearing relating to a family and domestic violence matter. I also have a few refugee files, a criminal law case and a few other civil matters. I am still doing the Mock Trial project (we are currently working with high school students from the Ruyterwacht community) as well as with the boys at Bonnytoun. Mainly, I am trying not to think about the fact that I have barely two weeks left in the office during which I must complete all my work!

I foresee a return to form this weekend, so my posts will go back to being chockablock with tales of late nights, adventure sports and other such things as I've come to expect from Cape Town. Stay tuned!