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Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM)

Southern Africa

Website: https://www.elca.org/Our-Work/Global-Church/Global-Mission/Young-Adults-in-Global-Mission

Country Coordinator: Tessa Moon Leiseth

Southern Africa Program: South Africa and Swaziland

What is YAGM?

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's Young Adults in Global Mission program invites young adults ages 21-29 into a transformative, year-long journey in international service. As they offer themselves in service, YAGM are shaped by the witness of our global neighbors. They share in the journeys of companion churches and organizations in one of ten countries around the world.

YAGM serve in: Argentina/Uruguay, Australia, Cambodia, Central Europe (Hungary), Jerusalem/West Bank, Madagascar, Mexico, Rwanda, Senegal, Southern Africa, and the United Kingdom.

My Placement:

Spruitview, South Africa

I live with a host family in their house in Spruitivew. Located in the East of Johannesburg in the Gauteng Province.

Dakalo

Origin: Venda

Happiness and Joy

There is a tradition in South Africa to rename people so they have an African name. I was given the name Dakalo, a Venda name meaning "happiness and joy."

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa- Development Services

During my year I spent a significant amount of time working with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Southern Africa's Development Services (ELCSA-DS). ELCSA-DS has projects focusing on addressing Gender Based Violence, HIV and AIDS, food security, income generation, water and sanitation, agriculture, and human trafficking.

In the office, I worked to develop a social media plan and maintain our social media presence, assisted with the planning and preparation for workshops and conferences, developed marketing material and newsletters, and collaborated on project proposals and evaluations of current and potential projects.

I assisted with three Lutheran Action Against Gender Based Violence (LAAGBV) Consultation workshops for A Competent Church, Victim Empowerment, and Volunteer Training. I attended the Lutheran Communion in Southern Africa workshop on Migrants and Foreign Nationals where I learned about migration and xenophobia within Southern African countries. I conducted site visits in Swaziland to HIV and AIDS programs in the regions around Manzini and Community Development programs in the Lowveld. I also had the opportunity to accompany my supervisor on a site visit to a potential project site in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and assist in the evaluation and proposal for the development of a project.

Working in the ELCSA-DS office has opened my eyes to NGO work around the world and the difficulties that surround projects in various settings, communities, and countries. It also allowed me to gain hands-on experience with planning, implementing, and evaluating a project.

Languages

South Africa has 11 official languages to accommodate for the various tribes and cultures that make up the demographics of the country. I learned a little bit of a couple languages. Here is my dictionary!

Hello!

- Sanbonani: Zulu, Swati

- Dumelang: Sotho, Tswana

How Are You?

- Unjani: Zulu

- Le Kai: Sotho, Tswana

I'm Fine

- Siyapilla: Zulu

- Ke teng: Sotho, Tswana

Fresh

Ayanda Pre Primary School

I spent time volunteering at the Ayanda Pre Primary School where I had the opportunity to learn about the school system in South Africa.

WORDS

Calendar of Events!

I had the opportunity to participate in so many different activities and events. Here is a list of some things I did and what they were!

September 25th: Arrival in South Africa where I had orientation and language training in Pietermaritzburg.

October 1st: Arrival at my placement in Spruitview, South Africa. On my first day I had the opportunity to attend the first part of a wedding. There were Tswana and Sotho traditional dancers providing entertainment and insight into the culture. During this part of the wedding, the bride is presented to the husband's family and she is officially part of his family.

October 24-25th: Lutheran Action Against Gender Based Violence Consultation on a Competent Church. Church members from ELCSA and other South African organizations came together to talk about Gender Based Violence and ways the church can combat it in thier communities.

October 30th: I attended the second part of wedding celebrations for two of my good friends. On the second day of the wedding, the bride transitions from her culture of birth into whatever culture her husband has. Both my friends were Swati so there wasn't a transition, but there was lots of celebration for the Swaziland culture!

November 7-10th: Victim Empowerment Workshop hosted by ELCSA-DS that brought together victims of gender based violence. The victims were able to share stories and gain support while learning new skills to help support themselves.

November 14-17th: Lutheran Action Against Gender Based Violence volunteer training workshop. Volunteers engaged in conversaiton about their experience and learned ways to involved men in the conversaiton of gender based violence.

February 25th: Youth League Conference in Spruitview. I was able to engage in conversaitons with the youth and young adults in my congregation about faith formation and the work of the youth league.

March 6-8th: Visit to Swaziland with ELCSA-DS where I was able to visit, learn about, and evaluate the Community Development and HIV and AIDS projects around the country.

March 21st: Tour of Robben Island, Cape Town, the maximum security prison that held Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners during Apartheid. My tour guide was an ex-political prisoner who shared his stories and experiences in the prison. It was amazing to see the cell where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years and walk through an important part of South African History.

April 1st: My host brother took my to a Kaizer Chiefs game - a must do while in South Africa! The two biggest soccer team rivals in South Africa are the Kaizer Chiefs and the Orlando Pirates. Your allegiance to either team is very important. My family supports the Kaizer Chiefs.

April 2nd: The first step to getting married is the settlement of Lobola between the two families. Lobola is the same thing as bride price and is a very important cultural tradition. All men participate in it. My friend Keamo had her lobola settled and is now in the process of arranging for her wedding! She had a celebration at her house where a goat was slaughtered and wisdom was provided by all the women. She was presented with her fist traditional Xhosa dress as she will be transitioning from being Sotho to Xhosa with her marriage.

April 10th: I was able to accompany ELCSA-DS on a potential project site in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal. We are putting together a proposal to evaluate the possibility of developing a community garden to help the area with food security and income generation.

April 27-30th: Eastern Circuit Youth League Conference. This event was a continuation of the Spruitview conference, except with all the parishes in the Eastern Circuit. Youth from all over came together to talk about their faith and the work they've been doing in thier congregation.