Wednesday, May 23
Mitchell’s Plain is a township that Ocean View residents call the “Wild Wild West.” Our group traveled there with (a very pregnant) Sarah this sunny afternoon to volunteer with Hillsong, which just opened a church there. At first glance, we knew the township was different. It wasn’t just the fact that Mitchell’s Plain was flat and dry compared to Ocean View’s steep mountain backdrop and proximity to the coast. It wasn’t just the trash, which was everywhere. And it wasn’t just that Mitchell’s Plain was easily four or five times the size of Ocean View. The difference was in the homes—smaller, dirtier and more shack-like than Ocean View. And it was in the people on the streets, who immediately recognized us as white, and yelled at our truck as we drove by. We got lost, but Sarah never once slowed down or stopped the car. This isn’t the kind of place where you can ask for directions.
While Amanda and Katie stayed at the community center (used as a church by Hillsong) to play with a huge group of crazy Mitchell’s Plain children, Alison, Sarah and I went to a weekly food distribution out in one of the poorest parts of the township. Although Hillsong coordinates it, the food is prepared and cooked by local volunteers. When we arrived we found it already saturated with these volunteers and others from Hillsong, which gave us the opportunity to sit down and talk with some of the locals.
At first I sat down with an older woman who proudly told me that she grew up in District 6. She told me about how her family was uprooted and displaced, and how she had moved from one township to another before coming to Mitchell’s Plain. Then I sat down with a younger woman and her 3-year-old daughter. Just like any parent, the woman spoke about how talkative her daughter is, how she’s always getting into trouble. The woman was in school to become a nurse, but her husband kept stopping her from getting jobs. He thought she should stay home all day. The woman explained her frustration to us, she said having no one to talk to drove her crazy!
As we talked, the long line of people who were waiting for food got rowdy. Apparently some arguments and riots broke out, so the volunteers began packing up the remaining food and told them it was over. They have to behave, or they wouldn’t get anything at all. While I admire the attitude—it’s important for them to stand their ground so things don’t get out of control and they’re not taken advantage of—it was difficult to watch the people walk away and know that they would go hungry tonight. Some of them stayed around for a little while, thinking that the volunteers might change their mind, or slip them something. When we left there were still a few people holding out.
We went to a mall in Mitchell’s Plain for dinner. The mall was built by one of Sarah’s friends, and it was very nice. It felt very out-of-place in the poor township. But we were even more out of place– the only white people in the whole mall. As we walked through—four white college girls and a white pregnant lady—we definitely got a lot of stares, but no one yelled at us like they did when were in the truck.
Compared to Mitchell’s Plain, even Ocean View seems upscale. It’s hard to see that extent of poverty, sadness and lack of hope. But it’s also incredible to see how residents are responding—feeding their neighbors, bringing their friends to church, having fellowship as they cook food for others. With Sarah’s help I’m starting to understand the difference between a mission and a pilgrimage—and by listening to these people, observing their lives and learning about their culture, I’m better understanding how I can begin to serve.
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