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Indra (International development of
reconciliation through the arts)
India, Lucknow, Study Hall Education
Foundation – South Africa, Durban, ARROWSA
intercultural exchange
17th – 23rd July, 2014
“It was a very big moment of my life to travel to
Durban. The experience was new for me and I enjoyed it very much. I had a great
learning experience and interacted a lot with the students of ARROWSA. I am
happy that I got such an opportunity and I look forward to more of these in
future.” Preeti Yadav
Background
In
2014 a bilateral Indra exchange was organised between a group of youth and
adult leaders from India Lucknow and Durban South Africa. The exchange from India was co-ordinated by
Study Hall Education Foundation under the leadership of the director, Dr
Urvashi Sahni and the South African exchange was co-ordinated by ARROWSA: Art,
Culture & Heritage for Peace under the leadership of the chairperson, Mary
Lange. The seed for the exchange was
sown in discussion between the leaders at the 2013 Indra Derry/Londonderry
Congress when both groups had only been able to bring a limited number of members
to the congress. Some of the India group
did not receive visas to attend the Derry Congress and the South African
funding from the National Arts Council had not been received in time for all to
attend. Therefore both groups had some
funding available to facilitate an exchange that extended the Indra 2013
congress. For the Durban, South Africa
to Lucknow, India, leg of the exchange narrative report see:
The
narrative report below focuses on the Durban, South Africa leg of the
exchange. The report is compiled by Mary
Lange and incorporates contributions by the Lucknow, India group compiled by Suman
Dwivedi.
Objectives of
the exchange
Participants from Lucknow,
India
The
students below were accompanied by two Study Hall Education Foundation teachers
–
Ms
Suman Dwivedi and Ms Ila Sarin
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Aditya Prakesh, a Class 11 student
from Study Hall Education Foundation;
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Pratyaksha Mehrotra, a Class 11
student from Study Hall Education Foundation;
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Vaani Jain, a Class 10 student from
Study Hall Education Foundation;
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Preeti Yadav, a Class 10 student
from Vidyasthali;
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Shweta Badjpai, a Prerna Graduation
student from Study Hall Education Foundation;
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Tulsi Jaiswal, a Prerna Graduation
student from Study Hall Education Foundation
Funding
The
Lucknow, India group funded their own air tickets, pocket money and Ushaka
visit.
ARROWSA
funded the transport, food, accommodation and excursions via funds from previous
fundraising as well as contributions from management and supporters (see
below).
The ARROWSA
Durban team
-Mary Lange,
ARROWSA chairperson – coordinator of the Durban visit and co-funder
-Luthando
Ngema, ARROWSA management and UNISA lecturer -coordinator of Pretoria outing
enroute to Durban and co-funder
-Joy
Seidle, ARROWSA management and Sherwood Primary School teacher – assistant host
and co-funder
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-Michelle
McLachlan, Bechet High School teacher and liaison
with
ARROWSA and co-funder
-Lauren
Dyll-Myklebust, ARROWSA Management and co-funder
-Eliza
Govender, ARROWSA Management and co-funder
-Sana
Ebrahim, ARROWSA Management and co-funder
-Mr
Padayachee, Bechet High School principal and co-funder
-Frik
Lange, Osmond Lange Architects and co-funder
-Annie
Lange and Shikar Seetahal, transport
-Shona
Seetahal, catering and co-funder
How the
intercultural exchange achieved the objectives mentioned above;
What challenges
were encountered and if and how they were overcome?
Logistics
Communication
started soon after the ARROWSA leg to India and it was led by Luthando Ngema
and Suman Dwivedi who had met each other in Lucknow, India. Once more visas proved a challenge and the
group had to postpone their original dates due to a few learners not receiving
their visas timeously. It should be noted for any future groups that South
Africa has many public holidays in the March/April time period and these should
be taken into consideration when calculating the number of working days required
for the application process. The
postponement resulted in a change of participants as the new dates clashed with
some of the students’ exams.
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“I had a good time on
this trip to Durban. We learnt a lot and really appreciate the efforts made
by everyone to give us such a warm welcome. We felt like a part of their
family and made a good bond of friendship.”
Tulsi Jaiswal
“The trip was amazing
because there we got to meet wonderful personalities – Joy mam & Merry
mam. I’m really thankful to them for the lovely trip.” Shweta Pajpai
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Activities
The
itinerary (see attached) was also planned in discussions via email between the
two groups prior to the visit but it was purposefully made flexible in order to
incorporate any activities requested by the visitors when they were in Durban
and learnt more about what was available.
This proved to be a positive action as the itinerary was changed
slightly with some activities not taking place and others incorporated. The
itinerary included: intercultural exchange, visits to heritage and cultural
sites, such as The Palmiet Nature Reserve and the Bergtheil Museum, as well as
participation in a Durban High School and visits to other educational
institutions.
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The
biggest influences on changes to the itinerary were: the realisation that the
group had been travelling a great deal in order to get to Durban and therefore
further long distances were not suitable; the visitors had in the meantime been
advised by family and friends in Lucknow re some tourist destinations that had
not been included in the draft itinerary e.g. uShaka and finally that the shops
and malls in Durban, e.g. the Pavilion and Westwood Mall, are very much part of
the Durban culture and social activities and as such were very popular with the
visitors.
The
visitors’ beach visit highlighted that their accommodation was not very far
from the beach and that they could walk there if in a group and aware of their
surroundings. Some of the visitors had never been to the beach or swum in the
sea before. A challenge was that one of the visiting students lost her purse on
a walk to the beach. This highlighted
that in South Africa use of the venue safe should be made so that valuables and
the bulk of cash are not taken on outings especially to less secure
environments.
“South Africa is a wonderful place to visit. Our
stay was at Durban. It was a beautiful city. We went to uShaka marine a water
park, the beach and University of KwaZulu-Natal and many more wonderful and
breathtaking places. I enjoyed it very much.” Pratyaksha Mehrotra
Bhekithemba
Dlamini, ARROWSA Bechet co-ordinator planned and facilitated the successful
intercultural exchange at Bechet High School where ARROWSA has an ongoing Indra
youth project.
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Both
groups performed pieces that included not only cultural practises but also
social challenges. Time was also set
aside for pairs of youth from Durban and India to sit and discuss questions
that they had about each other. They
then presented their findings on each other back to the entire group. The leaders sat apart from the youth when
they were engaged in preparation for this activity and therefore had time to
chat and discuss their group’s context. This proved as beneficial for the
adults as it did for the youth. Both the individual and group activities
mentioned earlier led to not only knowledge and understanding of differences
and similarities but also to much fun and bonding through laughter.
A
challenge was that ARROWSA had arranged for Bechet High to provide packed
lunches for this and the following day’s sessions for only the visitors as the
ARROWSA Bechet group usually bring their own packed lunches. In retrospect the
groups eating together would also have been a further learning and bonding
experience.
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“My trip
to Durban would definitely be a memorable moment in my life. The scenic beauty
of the city is immensely pleasing and captivating. Our host, the team of
ARROWSA gave us a warm and hospitable welcome. The cultural exchange really
inspired us as we got to together and shared a lot about our country and its
culture. I am greatly thankful to Mary Madam and Joy madam for us giving us
such a wonderful tour of the city and also the school. I really look forward to
more such trips” (Aditya Prakesh).
The tour on the Durban open air tourist, Rikshaw,
bus was useful in acclimatising the visitors to the broader historical and
heritage aspects of Durban as well as facilitating time for the ARROWSA Bechet
youth and the visitors to get to know each other better.
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“My trip
to Durban left me with thousands of sweet memories. It was an opportunity to
grow my personality. We were overwhelmed by the warm welcome we receive there.
On reaching Durban, I was over stuck by the beauty of the South African land.
Breathing the sea breeze filled my heart with excitement.” Pratyaksha Mehrotra
The India visitors’ two performances for a full
Bechet High School hall of grade 8s were very much appreciated by the Bechet learners.
A challenge was that teachers did not accompany the learners and discipline was
left up to ARROWSA. The challenge was
however overcome by the adoption of a firm stance and the engaging nature of
the visitors’ performances.
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Visits to the University of KwaZulu-Natal and
Sherwood Primary added an extra dimension of knowledge and understanding to the
tour of not only South Africa’s cultural diversity but also the economic
disparities in South Africa as reflected in educational facilities. Sherwood Primary performed extracts from a
school show for which they were rehearsing.
This was much appreciated by the visitors.
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The inclusion of meals together, specifically in
the evenings, resulted in the deepening of friendships started on the India leg
of the exchange as well as the forging of new friendships. Meals provided were intentionally chosen to
introduce the visitors to the varied South African cultural cuisine.
“There are
lots of similarities and differences between Indian and South African food. In
India we use many spices but in South Africa they use selected range of spices
and the big difference we found in the food were that the kind of food they eat
is less spicy but delicious.” Pratyaksha Mehrotra
A challenge was that participants who had gone on
the India leg e.g. Nonku Dube and Cindy Mkhize were only able to attend some of
the activities due to student and work commitments and Luthando Ngema, due to
living in Pretoria, was only able to spend one day with the group enroute to
Durban. Luthando did however go out of
her way to make the most of the time that she had with the group and took them
to the Union Buildings where they saw the statue of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela.
Friendships and communication have continued after
the exchange via personal and group social media. Individuals from both groups
have expressed that the exchange has led to a greater desire to visit and learn
more about each other’s countries. Both
groups’ management also emphasised that they would like to keep up the exchange
in future years.
